Hate Crimes Defense

Hate Crimes are the most incendiary category of felony to be accused of.  The consequences that result from being accused of a hate crime can have tremendous penalties. These include fines, loss of employment and/or jail time.

If you have been wrongly charge of a hate crime, contact a lawyer now. It is important that you protect your rights against these kinds of charges immediately.

A hate crime is legally known as any form of criminal offense that is committed against a person based on nationality, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or race. In many situations hate crimes may also include crimes committed against property. These crimes consist of threats, robbery, intimidation or physical acts of violence. Studies have estimated that nearly 80 percent of bias-crimes are not reported to the authorities.

Typically hate crimes are committed by strangers who identify someone as being associated with a certain group in a negative way.

Different outcomes may result from a hate crime and can take place in different forms:

• Any act which may result in a serious injury.
• Any type of injury suffered regardless of amount of injury inflicted.
• Any form of violent threat that can potentially be carried out.
• Any act that leads to property damage.

Studies have shown that nearly 49 percent of hate crimes pertain to racial discrimination. After the September 11, 2001 attack against the United States, anti-Islamic discrimination crimes had reached a high of 481 incidents. Through it was reported that a year after the attack statistics showed a 67 percent decline. Around 20 percent of every hate crime are due to religion bias, 16.7 percent are from sexual orientation bias, 14.8 percent in ethnicity bias and virtually none towards disability bias.

When dealing with violent issues, such as these, it is crucial that you protect your legal rights.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of a hate crime, do not hesitate to contact a Criminal Defense Lawyer in your area.

Update: JC

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