Understanding the Importance of Legal Representation
Do you need a lawyer even if you’re innocent? Hi, my name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa criminal defense attorney with Wirth Law Office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’ve been practicing family and criminal law for eight years now, and I want to help you make law easy by talking a little bit about whether or not you need an attorney, even if you’re innocent of the crime that you’re charged with.
The short answer is yes, yes, you need a lawyer. A lot of people think that just because you’re innocent doesn’t mean that you need an attorney, which I get why you would think that. It’s the same mentality of, oh, well, I’m not sick. Why would I need a doctor? Well, sure, but it could be worse than you think, and it probably is worse than you think.
The Hidden Complexities of Legal Battles
In these cases, when you’re facing criminal charges and you don’t know if you need a lawyer, you do because you don’t know how to play the game. It’s like sitting down and trying to play the game of chess without understanding any of the rules, without understanding who goes first, without understanding which pieces do what, without understanding, you know, I can move this piece this places, but this piece I can only move this places.
You can’t even figure out how to use your own tools, much less how to anticipate and counterthink what tools the other side’s going to use against you. So here’s an example. I have a client who was recently picked up for drug trafficking. I’ll just go ahead and call it a spade a spade.
A Real-Life Example: Miscommunication Leading to Charges
She’s charged with drug trafficking because she runs medical marijuana businesses, and she’s accused of having lied to get her license, specifically, she’s accused of having lied about where she lived when she got her OMMA license because when the first time she comes into contact with law enforcement, they’re banging down the door, putting a gun in her face when she’s literally just like trying to get out of bed, and she mistakenly says that she lives in another state, and so she could not have been here when an alleged crime occurred.
She doesn’t live in another state. Just saying you live in another state doesn’t make it true. I mean, she had been out of town recently because she was visiting family and things like that, but it’s the statement that she made. Oh, well, I don’t live here. I’m not an Oklahoma resident. I don’t live in this state. That is what the cops, that’s what prosecutors have taken and ran with to charge her with trafficking and everything else because she didn’t live here, and she obtained a license by fraud, so all of the medical marijuana plants that she had were therefore illegally obtained and illegally being held by her, all because she said one wrong thing.
The Critical Role of Legal Experts
Guys, that’s insane. It’s absolutely insane, and quite frankly, in my personal opinion, this entire case is being very dumb because of that, but that’s kind of my point, though. My client’s innocent. She did nothing wrong. All she did was say the wrong thing at the wrong time to the wrong agent, and now we’re having to go to a jury trial over this issue.
So yes, even if you’re innocent, you still need an attorney because just because you didn’t do anything wrong doesn’t mean that you know how to prove that. This client could get through this without an attorney. I don’t know. All I know is it’s a lot more dangerous and a lot riskier to try to do it that way, so if you’re coming into contact with law enforcement in any way, in any capacity, get a lawyer.
Start with a Low-Cost Initial Strategy Session
We’re here to help. My name is Carl Birkhead. I’m a Tulsa misdemeanor attorney with Wirth Law Office, and I want to help you make law easy. Call us today at 918-879-1681 for a low-cost initial strategy session. Don’t gamble with your freedom; get the professional legal support you need.
