From Arrest to Verdict: Our Flagstaff Criminal Defense Lawyers Will Guide You Through Your Case

How Our Flagstaff Criminal Defense Lawyers Can Help You Through Each Stage of Your Criminal Court Case

Being charged with a misdemeanor or felony in Flagstaff or Northern Arizona can be a stressful and traumatic experience. You will likely be worried about the punishments you could face and the long-term consequences of a criminal conviction. 

One of the first steps you should take after your arrest is to retain our experienced Flagstaff criminal defense lawyers at Griffen & Stevens, PLLC. We understand how crucial it is to have legal counsel, and we will assist you every step of the way to help you achieve the best possible outcome in your criminal case.

When You’re Arrested for a Crime: Our Flagstaff Criminal Attorneys Help You Through the Process 

The ramifications could be harsh and affect your life long after you serve your sentence if you are charged with a misdemeanor like a DUI or a more serious felony such as sexual assault. The benefits of hiring our criminal defense lawyers cannot be overstated if you want to help achieve a good outcome in your criminal case. Here are ways we can help you throughout each stage of your criminal case:

#1: Examine the Prosecution’s Case and Evidence Against You

Our legal team will investigate the criminal case against you and the evidence the prosecutor is using to attempt to convict you. Our investigation will help us find weaknesses in the prosecution’s case and ways to challenge their evidence against you. 

#2: Develop a Strong Defense Strategy 

From our decades of defending our clients, we know you could have strong defenses to the charges you face—even if you are guilty. Our legal team will conduct an independent investigation into the facts surrounding your arrest and the criminal laws that apply to your case. This will enable us to develop a strong defense strategy that could help get the charges dropped or reduced to a less serious offense. We will also interview helpful witnesses and obtain other evidence you need to help support your defenses.

#3: Hire an Investigator or Expert Witnesses

Depending on the circumstances of your case, we may need to hire an investigator to help develop your defenses. They may interview witnesses used by the prosecution and others who could support your defense. An investigator may also examine the backgrounds of the prosecutor’s witnesses and prospective jurors and assist in your defense in other ways. Our lawyers may also recommend retaining an expert witness to help challenge the prosecutor’s evidence against you—such as blood alcohol content (BAC) test results or DNA evidence. 

#4: Get Your Bail Reduced

At your first hearing, the judge will set your bail. We can attend this hearing with you and ask that you be released on your own personal recognizance or that your bail be set for an amount you can afford. If you hire us after this hearing, we can file a motion requesting that your bail be lowered.

#5: Attend All Court Hearings

Our criminal defense lawyers will attend all court hearings with you, such as preliminary hearings, arraignments, status conferences, and hearings on motions.

#6: File Motions to Support Your Defense

Depending on what we discover in our investigation into the prosecution’s case against you, we may be able to file a motion to dismiss their case if they cannot establish all the elements of the crime you are accused of committing. Our lawyers may also file a motion to suppress evidence being used against you if the police conducted an illegal search or seizure, did not give you your Miranda warnings, mishandled the evidence, or violated your constitutional rights in other ways. Filing this motion could significantly weaken the prosecutor’s case or result in the judge dismissing the charges.

#7: Negotiate a Plea Agreement

Many criminal cases in Flagstaff are resolved through a plea bargain. If this is a good option for you, we will try to negotiate a plea agreement with the prosecutor. Because of our aggressive defense strategy, we are more likely to get a good plea agreement where the charges are reduced to a much less severe offense, or your sentence is less harsh. We will explain the pros and cons of agreeing to a plea deal so you can be confident that you’re making the right decision about whether to accept it.

#8: Conduct Your Trial

Our criminal defense lawyers have decades of experience successfully defending our clients at jury trials and will defend you at a trial if this is in your best interests. Read our case results to learn how we have helped clients like you get their charges dismissed or obtain a reduced sentence.