A robbery is the taking of personal property from an individual or a business, either by violence or threat, with the intention to permanently deprive that person or business of the property. This particular offense is taken very seriously by local law enforcement and the courts. Therefore, if you find yourself facing charges, speak with a Fredericksburg robbery lawyer immediately. A skilled defense attorney will be well equipped to help you begin building the strongest defense possible.
Robbery is a felony, which means that anyone convicted of it may be a felon for the rest of their life and it is going to be on their permanent record. In addition, there are a number of penalties that are associated with robbery. There are heavy amounts of jail time, which are available under the statute up to life in prison, and require the assistance of a robbery lawyer in Fredericksburg to defend against.
While not everybody who commits a robbery is going to find themselves in prison for the rest of their life, the Virginia sentencing guidelines also called for significant amounts of incarceration upon conviction. If someone is facing charges like this, they should understand that if convicted that the penalty will more than likely be measured in years rather than weeks, days, or months.
The harshest penalty a person charged with robbery can face is incarceration and prison for the rest of their life.
Sometimes taking a plea is the best thing a person can do for themselves. If the attorney believes, based on experience and a review of the evidence, that a trial is likely to create a worse outcome than what is being offered in a plea, then sometimes it makes sense to compromise with the government. This allows for an outcome that everyone understands in advance rather than leaving it to chance and exposing someone to the possibility of worse penalties.
There are a number of elements in a robbery and the prosecution must prove each one of them beyond a reasonable doubt. They include a taking of property of some kind from or in the presence of another person. In addition, that taking must have been accomplished using either violence or the threat of violence. Lastly, the person who did the taking must have had the intention to permanently deprive the other party of that property. A Fredericksburg robbery lawyer is essential in understanding the prosecution’s intentions and investigations.
Every robbery in Virginia is treated as a felony as opposed to a misdemeanor. In addition to any jail time, fines, or restitution that a person might have to pay, the person suffers all of the deprivations under the law that come along with the felony conviction. Perhaps the most important is that the person is going to lose their civil rights. These encompass a number of activities that will no longer be a possibility, including but not limited to:
In addition, a felony conviction carries a significant stigma with it that is going to affect the ability of an individual to keep their current job, to gain employment in the future.
One of the most important components of a defense is knowing and understanding all of the players who are involved. That includes the judge, the prosecutor, and the police. In addition, the benefits extend to familiarity with the tactics that a prosecutor might use, the kinds of arguments that a judge is susceptible to, and ones that judges are not susceptible to. These are all important things for a Fredericksburg robbery lawyer to understand in developing the most effective defense. Having someone with local experience is critical, because if the attorney does not understand who each of those individuals are or what their tendencies are, they may miss out on an important opportunity to have put together a successful defense with the proper strategy.
Robbery is a very specific and unique kind of crime. There are elements involved in it which are different than in other property crimes and which only a Fredericksburg robbery lawyer that has experience with these kinds of cases is going to be able to deal with most effectively. There are a number of ways that experience matters. The first is there is no substitute for hours inside of a court room. Trying cases, making arguments, and being in front of a judge or a jury develop a very particular set of skills that can only be acquired over time.
Most of the time, a robbery case that is going to be tried is going to be very complex. An established Fredericksburg robbery lawyer can leverage their experience to gain an advantage over the prosecution by being able to out maneuver tactically, react to things more quickly, and to have a better understanding of the various scenarios that can play out in court.
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