You are charged with a crime when you are formally accused of the crime. For many criminal defendants, this happens in a two step process. First, you will be charged with a crime when you are arrested. Then, you will be charged with a crime in court when the state or federal prosecutor decides to proceed with a criminal case against you.
Being Charged With a Specific Crime
The elements of each crime are defined by state or federal offense. Since each crime is different, the specific allegations included when you are charged with a crime are unique. For example, the government will need to allege the following if you are charged with one of these types of crimes:
- Assault and Battery: that you threatened someone with violence and committed physical violence;
- Domestic Violence: that you physically or sexually abused your spouse, child, significant other, or anyone else with whom you had a familial relationship;
- Burglary: that you broke into and entered a home, business or other building with the purpose of committing an offense;
- Harassment: that you threatened someone in a specific way that is against the law. One of the most common types of harassment is sexual harassment. It is also against the law to harass someone because of their race, religion, or national origin. In some states, it is also a crime to harass someone because of their sexual orientation;
- Theft: that you broke into and entered a building with the purpose of committing an offense and that you took something that did not belong to you without the permission of the property owner;
- Fraud: that you intentionally deceived someone either for your own personal gain or to harm another person;
- Identity theft: that you used someone else’s personally identifiable information for the purpose of pretending to be that person, without that person’s knowledge or consent; and
- Slander: that you said something that was untrue and damaged a person’s reputation with your untrue words.
Defending Criminal Charges
You can begin defending criminal charges even before you are formally charged. It is important to be careful what you say to the police if you are taken into custody and to consult with your defense lawyer before making any decisions regarding your defense.
Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer
Criminal charges are serious both for the government and for the defendant. The government will be represented by prosecutors. It is important that defendants are also well represented and anyone accused of, or charged with, a crime should consult with a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible.
