Refute, Rebuttal And Redirect: How Your Criminal Defense Attorney Uses These Tactics

Most people who have not studied criminal law do not understand how a criminal trial actually works. When they are the ones who stand accused, they believe the system will clear them. The truth is, it is only the skills of a good lawyer who can clear them, and only if the lawyer is really good at using refute, rebuttal, and redirect tactics. Here are the three R's of legal defense, what they mean and how they are used to get you your freedom back.

Refute

Refute means that your lawyer hears something said in court or seen in writing by the prosecuting attorney and you and your lawyer are able to disprove these statements. You refute or deny the validity or truthfulness of the statements and then provide your lawyer with the necessary evidence to show why the statements are being refuted. If there are witnesses that help support your cause and help refute the statements made, then your lawyer will want their testimony in court, especially if they are expert witnesses or they were with you when the event (that caused your situation) occurred.

Rebuttal

A rebuttal is needed when the prosecutor stakes his or her claim for the charges against you, or when he/she is finished questioning a witness for the first time. Your lawyer should be prepared to provide a rebuttal for whatever direction the prosecutor takes, which means that he or she should be a really good judge of character and an excellent predictor of human behavior in order to construct an effective rebuttal every time.

Redirect

To redirect means that your lawyer has asked the court for the privilege to redirect the attention of the jury to some important facts or evidence in your case that maybe they forgot. This often comes in the form of questions asked of a witness on the stand, but can also be a redirect to a video or other evidence already entered into the court files. The purpose of the redirect tactic is to switch the thinking process back toward you in your favor, and/or possibly negate something that the prosecutor just said. It is sort of a legal smoke and mirrors game that is only effective when there is strong evidence to support some or most of the claims and/or statements you have made.

If your criminal attorney does nothing to refute, rebutt or redirect during your case and just sits there, you should seriously consider requesting other legal counsel. For more information, contact law firms like The Fitzpatrick Law Firm.