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Building a Maryland Armed Robbery Defense

Armed robbery is a felony that can bring severe long-term consequences to a person’s life. An individual arrested for armed robbery could be potentially facing up to 20 years in prison. If you were charged with an armed robbery offense, you may want to seek the services of a lawyer with experience building a Maryland armed robbery defense. A seasoned armed robbery could gather evidence, raise arguments to the prosecution’s case, and advocate on your behalf throughout the case.

Prosecution’s Burden of Proof

In Maryland, for a person to be charged with armed robbery, there must be probable cause to believe the individual took property from another person without permission by using force or the threat of force and that a dangerous weapon or a written instrument indicating the presence of a dangerous weapon was used during the crime. It is important to remember that the state has the burden of proof. This means they must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an armed robbery took place.

Preparing for a Defense for Armed Robbery Charges

An accomplished criminal lawyer begins building a Maryland armed robbery defense by reviewing the allegations. Initially, there is a charging document that sets out a narrative as to what happened and what the defendant’s involvement was. The defense attorney will then talk to the defendant in order to get an idea about what actually happened, how accurate or inaccurate the allegations are, and what is not included in the charging document. Based on this conversation and the allegation, the lawyer will start to figure out what kind of evidence the state has.

From the beginning, the attorneys want to familiarize themselves with the allegations, get a better understanding of the situation based on the defendant’s information, and then start determining what types of evidence the state is relying on and how strong or weak the evidence is.

Evidence Criminal Lawyers May Use in a Defense

Depending on the facts of the case, there can be many different kinds of evidence that a criminal defense attorney could compile when building a Maryland armed robbery defense. This typically includes testimonial evidence. If there are witnesses to the alleged incident that may not be consistent with the government’s position, then they will want to collect statements from the witnesses. Often, a private investigator will collect the statements to support the defendant’s case. There could also be valuable video evidence, depending on where the armed robbery allegedly took place.

If there is an identification issue with the alleged crime, then the defendant may have an alibi defense. The individual could have been in a completely different location when the armed robbery allegedly occurred. The lawyer could gather evidence of an alibi by gathering receipts, travel documentation, or other records that could support the defendant’s whereabouts.

A defense lawyer may also look to undermine the government’s evidence. For instance, if the state has a key witness testifying, the attorney could look for aspects of the witness’ background that could undermine their credibility.

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