Criminal law
Consultations
Release from arrest
Representation in court in trials of various degrees of crime severity:
- Driving while intoxicated / Refusal to test for alcohol level
- Driving while intoxicated
- Road accidents with victims
- Speeding
- Driving while disqualified
- Driving without a license/ With an expired license
- Deprivation of rights until the end of the legal process
- Administrative deprivation of rights by a police officer
- Administrative deprivation of a vehicle.
Representation at the Pre-Indictment Hearing
Commission on early release.
A plea for pardon
Frequently asked questions about criminal defence
The police have called me in for questioning — what should I do?
Before questioning starts you must be told what you are suspected of and informed of your right to remain silent and to consult a lawyer. Use both. A conversation with a lawyer beforehand takes half an hour; what you say in the interview stays in the file permanently. Arriving with a lawyer is ordinary practice, not a sign of guilt.
Do I need a lawyer straight away, or only once charges are filed?
Straight away. Most of a criminal case is built during the investigation — statements, confrontations, seizures. By the time an indictment is filed the material is already gathered, and correcting what was said in the first interview is far harder than building the defence properly from the start.
How long can someone be held before seeing a judge?
A detainee must be brought before a judge within 24 hours, extendable by a further day in defined circumstances. After that only the court extends detention, as a rule for up to 15 days at a time; the cumulative period of detention for investigation is capped, and exceeding it requires the Attorney General's consent.
What is a pre-indictment hearing?
It is the opportunity to persuade the prosecution not to file an indictment at all, before the case reaches court. The right applies to a substantial share of cases, and the defence presents its account and documents. In practice it is the last junction at which a case can still end without a trial.
Can a case be closed without a criminal record?
Yes, by several routes: closure for absence of guilt or insufficient evidence, a conditional closure agreement, or an application to change the grounds of closure. Which route is realistic depends on the offence, the evidence and what has already been said in questioning.
Will a record remain in the criminal register?
Entries are kept for a limited period and are accessible only to the bodies expressly listed in the law. An employer, with narrow exceptions, is not among them and may not require you to produce a criminal record extract.
