So you've been accused and charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct in Michigan (CSC), and you're searching the internet wondering how to find the right lawyer to fight for you. There are many lawyers online holding themselves out as "Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct Attorney," "Michigan Sex Crimes Lawyer," "Sex Crimes Defense Firm," etc. But does that mean that lawyer has special experience, let alone any experience, in handling CSC cases? Does that mean they've actually taken CSC cases to trial and received jury verdicts of Not Guilty, freeing their clients once and for all?
If you had a unique issue with your Mercedes, would you rather take it to a neighborhood car repair place called, say, "Bob's Full Service Garage," or a the service department at the Mercedes dealer with all the latest tech and training? That's an easy one. But when it's the remainder of one's very life on the chopping-block due to such a unique charge as Criminal Sexual Conduct, why do people choose to trust everything that matters to them to the hands of a "general practice" attorney? Perhaps because it's so easy for any lawyer to throw up a webpage or even a whole site calling themselves whatever key phrase will get them online search results.
At Prain Law, PLLC, we actually, specifically concentrate on defending those accused of Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct charges. You're not going to find one website online with our name using the title "Michigan CSC Defense Attorney" and another site where we're calling ourselves "Michigan DUI Defense Attorney" which you simply never saw because you weren't searching for that. That's because we actually do concentrate on CSC.
The good news is, you do have a choice. The downside is that because of tactics like the above, (assuming you care about this difference) you'll have to figure out which is which for yourself. You might wonder of a particular lawyer "What percentage of your practice is CSC? How many CSC cases have you taken to jury trial (not plea deals)? How many of those trials were in the past year? What were the results?" Those are reasonable questions, because whether your preference (right now, anyway) is to go to trial or not, we firmly believe the best choice is to have a lawyer with a proven track record of consistent trial victories specifically in CSC cases. Why...?
In our opinion, you'll be far better off in the long run if you simply accept this reality up-front - Criminal Sexual Conduct cases often go to trial.
The fact is, even those wanting to avoid trial may not like whatever plea offer they get. You unfortunately do NOT have any legal right to a plea offer that suits your needs and desires, or even any plea offer at all. And don't think you're going to ditch one lawyer for another and suddenly the plea offer will get better based on that. A prosecutor's decision making process doesn't work that way, and some prosecutors are particularly aggressive on CSC cases. Nobody wants to have to go on trial, but ask yourself this...
Do you want to spend a year in the County Jail followed by two years of strict Probation with a tether and 25 years on the public Sex Offender Registry?
Do you want to plead no contest to the accusations, go to Prison for 3 to 15 years, and then be on the public Sex Offender Registry for life?
That's what we thought. So now ask yourself "What would I do if that was the best plea offer the prosecutor was to make in my case?" If that were true, your only option would be to head down the path toward preparing for trial.
If developments in your case over time (which could include motions, further investigation, and a million other things) happen to result in a better offer that's acceptable to you, great. But either way, you'll need an attorney with a known track record of success specifically in Criminal Sexual Conduct trials. Ironically, it just may be that the best way to avoid trial is to march straight toward it with a lawyer by your side who the government knows is capable of winning with consistency if it came down to it.
That's where we come in. Here are some examples of attorney Brian J. Prain's proven results in CSC cases:
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree and 2nd Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Wayne County, MI (Detroit)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Ingham County, MI (Lansing)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Washtenaw County, MI (Ann Arbor)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 3rd Degree and 4th Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Emmet County, MI (Petoskey)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Tuscola County, MI
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree and 2nd Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Oakland County, MI (Pontiac)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 4th Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Wayne County, MI (Detroit)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree - Not Guilty all Counts following trial by Jury - Iosco County, MI (Tawas)
- Assault With Intent to Commit Sexual Penetration - Not Guilty following trial by Jury - Grand Traverse County, MI (Traverse City)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree - All charges dismissed prior to trial (Monroe County, MI)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree and 2nd Degree - All charges dismissed prior to trial (Tuscola County, MI)
- Criminal Sexual Conduct 1st Degree and 2nd Degree - All charges dismissed prior to trial (Monroe County, MI)
If any "Criminal Sexual Conduct Lawyer" (or similar name) can't rattle off a list of specific CSC cases they themselves have taken to trial recently, let alone trials they've won and received a verdict of NOT GUILTY of all (not just some) of the charged Counts of CSC so that their client actually walked out the Courthouse doors as a free man, then perhaps it's fair to ask what the basis is for however they may be advertising their firm if the way they're doing so sounds a little far reaching. Another great question might be "Have you handled a CSC case like mine before?" The lawyer will only be able to reveal certain public information, but it's still a good question to ask, and you'll hopefully get more than a one-word answer.
This isn't just your car - it's your life. Don't you have the right to know who you're dealing with and whether they have the skills and the guts to take your case to trial and get up there and actually win? Not every case out there can be "won," but imagine how it would feel to pay big bucks only to find out your lawyer is the timid kind, seemingly looking for any excuse to tell you why you should plead, i.e. making claims like, "...I know, but it's just really impossible to win CSC cases these days," etc. Nonsense!
Aside from proven case results, another thing that sets Prain Law apart from the crowd are the impressive queue of awards and honors attorney Brian J. Prain has received, including:
- Named one of the Nations Top 1% by National Association of Distinguished Counsel
- One of the 19 Best Criminal Defense Attorneys in Detroit according to Expertise.com
- Michigan's Top 10 by The National Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys
- DBusiness Magazine's Top Lawyers
- One of Michigan's Top 100 by The National Trial Lawyers
- Designated as Elite Lawyer - Sex Crimes
If you are facing Michigan Criminal Sexual Conduct allegations, don't hesitate to contact Prain Law, PLLC immediately. If you have the type of case we handle, Brian will speak to you personally during a no-cost, no-obligation, free consultation. Imagine having your most urgent questions answered by a live expert rather than scouring the internet only to find confusing, incomplete, and inconsistent answers! You can reach us at (248) 731-4543, or using our website contact form. You'll also learn about attorney fees and how to interpret them. If you're like most people and finances are difficult right now, you're in luck because Prain Law now works with LawPay to offer potential solutions for those with qualifying credit.