Allen N. Cowling

Following an arrest, you will have an opportunity to prepare for trial and hopefully, you will have an attorney who is serious about defending you properly. Your first order of business should be to assure that you have an attorney you can work with. If you do not, we have a step-by-step process that will assist you in finding one that is right for you.

Once you are in the hands of a competent lawyer, they will file a Motion for Discovery in which the defense asks the State to provide all evidence, documents and fact witnesses they plan to use against you at trial and a list of their experts. The State normally has 30 days to comply and if they fail to do so, the defense attorney can file a motion to compel in which the defense asks the Court to order the State to comply. Discovery is a vital and a critical part of your defense and it should be analyzed thoroughly and by professionals when necessary.

Pretrial enables you to prepare for trial, so use the time wisely. One major issue is, you need to work with a professional who can assist in preparing you to testify. In false allegations of child abuse cases, the accused must testify and they must come across with more credibility than the accusing child, or a conviction is almost assured. Use your pretrial time to resolve all issues.

You win or lose a case well before you ever walk into a court room and believe me, sitting there picking a jury is not the best time to find out that your attorney has no clue as to what they are doing. Carefully read the links I have supplied on the left for a far more detailed explanation on discovery, how to assure you get it and what should be done with it as you prepare for trial.