As your case proceeds, you’ll meet with your attorney – and talk to them on the phone. And your attorney is going to talk to you about evidence. In a criminal case evidence is what the State uses to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
This may have you asking – what kinds of things are evidence? Evidence can be anything from a video to DNA to drugs to the testimony of another person. This last one often leaves clients feeling frustrated and confused. You mean I can be convicted, my liberties taken from me, based on what another person says? And the answer to that question is yes.
When a person testifies at trial the judge gives the jury instructions on how to evaluate what that person says. And the jury ultimately has to decide whether or not to believe what the person says. But a defendant can be convicted even if there’s no evidence besides the word of another.
This is just one of the many reasons it’s important to have a trial-seasoned attorney. When a witness testifies your lawyer has the opportunity to question them. This is called cross examination. And you want a lawyer who knows exactly how to cross examine the most difficult or delicate of witnesses. You want Dunham and Ingram.