Criminal law is the branch of law that deals with the identification of crimes and their sanctioning measures, as well as the imposition of penalties following the completion of an event judged to be criminally relevant.
Becoming aware of being investigated or accused in a criminal proceeding is always a difficult moment in a person's life and, also for this reason, relying on a trusted lawyer from the very beginning is of fundamental importance.
First of all, having acknowledged the alleged crimes and carefully listened to the client on the point, the lawyer must meticulously analyze the elements underlying the accusation in order to verify which are the best defensive strategies applicable to the case in question.
From this point of view, the important faculty of the lawyer appointed by the client is to carry out the so-called "defensive investigations".
This activity is particularly important in cases where the public prosecutor had not investigated certain circumstances favorable to the suspect, perhaps because he was not aware of it.
Among the acts with which, generally, one becomes aware of being investigated or accused we find:
- the minutes of identification and election of domicile;
- the guarantee information (so-called "Informazione di garanzia");
- the notice of conclusion of the preliminary investigations (pursuant to article 415 bis of the Italian criminal procedure code);
- the summons order;
- the criminal conviction decree.
Less often, one becomes aware of one's position as a suspect in the context of a search or seizure.
In the first two cases (as well as in those of search and seizure), the suspect receives very limited, or even minimal, knowledge of the crime hypotheses formulated against him, while in the other cases he is informed in much more detail of the accusations and is put in a position to access the records of the investigations.
In any case, whatever the first document received relating to a criminal proceeding, it is of fundamental importance to contact your trusted lawyer immediately.
The timely intervention of your trusted lawyer is essential especially in the event that the client has been subjected to personal precautionary measures such as, for example, pre-trial detention in prison, house arrest, custody in prison, removal from the family home, the obligation to signature, the ban on expatriation and the ban on approaching places frequented by the injured party victim of a criminal offence.
In case of application of a personal precautionary measure, in fact, the appointed lawyer is able to verify the existence of the conditions for the application of the same, generally consisting in the existence of serious indications of guilt and precautionary requirements, that is to say the alternative existence of the risk of contamination of the evidence, of escape, or of reiteration of the crime by the accused.
If the above requirements are met, it is necessary to assess the legitimacy of the precautionary measure applied according to the principles of adequacy and proportionality, or by verifying the suitability of the measure applied in relation to the nature and level of the precautionary needs to be met .
In other words, even in the event of the existence of the requisites for the application of personal precautionary measures, the least invasive and distressing restrictive measure must be applied, which is in any case able to guarantee the precautionary need identified.
If the above conditions and principles have not been respected, it will be possible to appeal the provision with which the measure was ordered.
However, the competence of the Criminal Lawyer is not limited to the protection of the suspect / accused person, but is also directed in favor of the offended and those damaged or injured by the crime.
First of all, it should be noted that whoever is the victim of a crime, in order to see the perpetrator punished, may need to draw up and file a complaint-lawsuit.
The correct drafting of the complaint-lawsuit, in many cases the first act of the criminal proceedings, is of fundamental importance to maximize the chances of success of the same and, above all, to avoid incurring the unpleasant consequences of a poorly drafted lawsuit which may consist, in the most serious cases, in the opening of a proceeding for slander against the plaintiff.
Always in favor of the injured person, or those damaged by the crime, the criminal lawyer also deals with the establishment of a civil party in the criminal trial, aimed at obtaining compensation for the damage suffered.
In any case, it is worth highlighting how the client will have to decide, with the help of the professional of his choice, whether to become a civil party in the criminal trial, or to set up a civil trial, completely independent from the criminal one, for compensation for damage from a crime.
If you have received notification from Italy of any criminal act and need assistance, if you have been the victim of a crime in Italy or, in any case, you need a urgent intervention in Italy by a lawyer of the firm, do not hesitate to contact us.
The Marconi Santese & Partners law firm in Rome (Italy), also through the network of lawyers, solicitors and attorneys involved, can guarantee excellent assistance in relation to all the different phases of the criminal proceedings, including the phases of the challenge of the criminal conviction decree and any precautionary measures. applied, also being able to make use of first-level technical consultants.