Facing felony charges is like someone splitting the world underneath your feet. You wake up living your life, then suddenly you find yourself facing criminal charges that might alter every aspect of your life.
The truth is painful. You may lose your job. Your liberty is at stake. Uncertainty puts a strain on relationships.
Your Job Won’t Wait for You
A vast majority of employers conduct background checks. A criminal record (felony) appears as a warning flag in all applications. Professional licenses? Gone. Security clearances? Revoked.
Regardless of whether you continue with your present job or not during the trial, the pressure wears on your performance. Court dates are lost workdays. Court hearings are stacked up. You lose concentration.
Some fields close their doors altogether. Banking, healthcare, and education – all these industries have no tolerance for felony records. The years you worked for can be finished overnight.
Freedom Becomes a Luxury
The bail for felony charges is usually in the thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. Can’t pay? They keep you in jail until trial. That could be months to come.
Pre-trial restrictions act as invisible handcuffs. No travel is permitted without permission. Periodic visits to authorities. Some are kept on electronic monitoring – it is a permanent reminder that freedom is not yours.
The judicial process is slow. Being kept from trial is living in a state of limbo. You cannot make major decisions. Planning anything when your future is in the hands of twelve strangers.
Your Personal Life Crumbles
The most damaging is a family relationship. Husbands and wives are afraid of money and reputation. Children raise questions you cannot answer. Friends run away, fearing guilt through association.
The humiliation sticks with you wherever you go. At the grocery stores, at school functions, in the neighborhood, you wonder if they are aware. The paranoia increases.
Financial Destruction Happens Fast
Legal costs liquidate bank accounts. Good lawyers run $5,000 to $50,000 and up. The cases that public defenders handle are overloaded. It is what you pay.
Unfortunately, the issues also compound the problem, resulting in lost income. Not going to work for the court means not getting paid. Bills keep adding up. Credit scores get lower. Bankruptcy becomes a clear possibility.
You have barely enough money even after you win the case in trial. The legal system does not compensate for your expenses. Building up finances afresh would require years.
The Ripple Effect Spreads
It also hurts your family. The husband/wife gets no sleep. Children perform poorly at school. Everybody tries to avoid stepping on your toes; they know how to rattle your nerves.
Any future opportunities are lost. College applications inquire about criminal records. Rental applications are turned down. Loan releases are uncommon.
Professional networks abandon it. Connections to the industry disappear. Your reputation, built for decades, gets lost in weeks.
What You Can Do Right Now
Find an attorney as quickly as possible. Don’t wait. Never speak to cops without an attorney. What you say can and will be used against you.
Document everything. Document everything to do with law enforcement. Keep text messages, e-mails, and any other evidence that could be useful.
Ready yourself and your family. They require an idea of what to expect. Speaking the truth would be less painful than surprises.
Began to create your defense bottom line. It becomes costly in terms of legal expenses. Family members may be required.
The Road Ahead
Defending against a felony case involves time, money, and emotional effort. Others are simply unable to withstand the pressure. Others also gain inner strength that they were not aware of.
The system lacks fairness. Good men are dragged into evil things. Errors are exaggerated. Justice does not always prevail.
However, it is not possible to give up. Your family, your future, your own life – it is all worth fighting for. The fight is tough, but you are not alone in the struggle. Understanding Criminal Defense Lawyer Fees: What to Expect and How to Budget
Each case varies. Any solution relies on certain facts, excellent legal assistance, and (sometimes) mere luck. It is important to act now before it is too late.
Your life is no longer the same. That’s certain. However, it does not have to be the end.
