PA Criminal Defense Attorneys
If you have been charged with a crime in Scranton or Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania, you need a criminal defense lawyer with experience. You also need a criminal defense lawyer in Scranton or Wilkes Barre, who is not afraid to take your case to trial. The Trichilo Law Firm, LLC, and Robert C. Trichilo, handle all types of criminal cases in Scranton and Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania. Robert C. Trichilo is an experienced criminal defense lawyer, who handles drug cases, DUI cases, robbery, burglary, theft, rape, sex crimes, child pornography, white collar crimes, all felony offenses and all misdemeanor offenses. Robert C. Trichilo is an experienced criminal defense lawyer, who has appeared in every Criminal Court in Scranton and Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. You need an experienced Scranton and Wilkes Barre criminal defense lawyer if you are innocent, and you are going to trial. If you’re going to trial in Scranton or Wilkes Barre, you need the Trichilo Law Firm, LLC, as your criminal defense lawyer. We can assist you in every phase of your criminal case. We can help you achieve the best outcome possible.
In Pennsylvania, felony or misdemeanor criminal cases go through various procedural steps before they are completed. Those procedural steps for Pennsylvania felony and misdemeanor criminal cases can generally be described as the following:
- Filing of charges and arrest;
- Preliminary Arraignment and setting of bail;
- Preliminary Hearing;
- Formal Arraignment;
- Deadlines for filing discovery requests and pre-trial motions;
- Pre-trial conferences and pre-trial hearings;
- Jury selection and Voir Dire;
- Trial;
- Sentencing;
- Post-Trial Motions
- Appeals to higher courts.
There are important strategy decisions to be made at each step of the process. Strategy and skill can often make the difference in getting bail, pre-trial discovery and favorable pre-trial rulings on important issues in your case. The strategy must be tailored to the particular charges or evidence in your case. Different cases require different strategies. An experienced lawyer can often see weakness in a case that other people don’t see. An experienced lawyer often knows how to attack the weakest part of the charges or the evidence.
A person who represents himself or herself in Court is called a pro se Defendant. If a person represents himself or herself in a criminal case, they often give up important rights in the legal system simply because they don’t understand how the process works. People who represent themselves often miss key opportunities to exploit or attack any weaknesses in the charges or the evidence. Someone who is charged with a crime should have an experienced criminal lawyer on their side at each step of the process. You should have a criminal defense lawyer on your side, who can identify the right strategy for your case early in the process.
Sometimes, it may be in a person’s best interest to negotiate a guilty plea with acceptable terms. There may be times when it is desirable to negotiate a guilty plea with favorable terms. Sometimes a person would want a negotiated guilty plea to avoid a risk of conviction on other more serious offenses. Sometimes people simply want to avoid the time, aggravation and expense of a trial. Sometimes people take negotiated guilty pleas to avoid collateral consequences such as the loss of a driver’s license or the loss of an occupational license. In those situations, it is important to have a criminal defense lawyer who can advise you properly about the consequences of your guilty plea. Further, it is important to have a criminal defense lawyer, who knows how to negotiate on your behalf.
There is also a new trend in Pennsylvania criminal courts for people with addiction issues. Some counties in Pennsylvania have Treatment Courts for offenders with addiction issues. Treatment Courts are a significant development for Pennsylvania criminal defendants and criminal lawyers. Sometimes criminal defendants can avoid jail time by getting into a Treatment Court Program. In Treatment Court Programs, Courts try to rehabilitate people instead of punishing them with incarceration. Usually, offenders can get the criminal charges expunged off their record, if they successfully complete a Treatment Court Program.
If a person is a first-time offender, they may also qualify for an ARD Program. ARD is an abbreviation for Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition. ARD is a Program for first-time offenders with no prior felony or misdemeanor convictions on their record. This is another significant Program for people charged with crimes in Pennsylvania. If a criminal defendant completes an ARD Program, they may be able to get the charges expunged off their record and avoid potential jail time. In ARD, a criminal defendant must complete a period of probation and some treatment. The Court decides how much time an offender must serve in the ARD Program. The Court may also require an offender to complete some community service, pay significant fines and costs, and other terms and conditions determined by the Court. If an offender successfully completes all terms and conditions of the ARD Program, they will be discharged from the ARD Program. Afterwards, the offender may file a Petition to Expunge the offense(s) off their criminal record.
In order to get into most Treatment Court or ARD Programs, an offender and his or her criminal lawyer must fill out an application. In theory, the criminal offender must meet certain criteria before they will be allowed to enter any Program. Often times, the criteria of each Program are confusing and unclear. It’s not uncommon for the District Attorney to deny admission into a Program simply because of some confusion about the offender’s past criminal history. Sometimes, the nature of the present offenses and charges may prevent someone from entering into an appropriate Program. However, an experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to convince the District Attorney or the Court to reconsider a denial. It’s not uncommon for the District Attorney to overlook some important information in reviewing an offender’s application. Other times, the District Attorney might put too much emphasis on certain criteria, which leads to a denial. An experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to help you get into a Program even if there are obstacles. An experienced criminal defense lawyer may be able to get you into an appropriate Program even if you do not qualify for some particular reason.
Robert C. Trichilo, Esquire has worked as a criminal defense lawyer in Scranton and Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania for 19 years. He has experience working with police officers, District Attorneys and the Courts in Scranton and Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania. He also has experience handling criminal case throughout other counties of Pennsylvania. He has taken over 35 criminal cases to trial. If you need a fearless, experienced criminal defense lawyer, call the Trichilo Law Firm, LLC, at (570) 703-0682.