When you’re charged with murder in Detroit, you can expect to face several legal challenges. And despite the city’s high homicide rate, the city has a firm grasp on holding people who commit murder accountable.
At White Law PLLC, our Detroit murder defense attorneys are empathetic to our clients facing this charge and can help you navigate your Detroit murder case. We’ll stand with you as we defend your rights.
What Constitutes Murder in Michigan?
Murder is the most serious crime you could face. And although navigating this type of case is challenging, our criminal defense attorneys in Detroit are ready to help you.
Murder is an intentional or premeditated killing. Michigan law states that poisoning someone, hiding oneself with the intention of killing someone, and killing a peace officer doing their job are all actions that count as murder.
In addition, if a person commits a crime that results in the death of someone, it also qualifies as murder. Common crimes people commit that could result in murder charges include:
- Carjacking
- Child abuse
- Arson
- Robbery
- Kidnapping
- Abuse of a vulnerable adult
- Torture
- Aggravated stalking
What Are the Different Degrees of Murder?
Above, we mostly discussed first-degree murder: the intentional act of killing someone; however, there are two additional types of murder you may be charged with in Michigan, which are second-degree murder and manslaughter. Second-degree murder is when someone kills another person intentionally, but it wasn’t premeditated.
Second-degree murder usually involves reckless actions that show a disregard for life. The other type of murder, manslaughter, has two possible charges: voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary manslaughter is when someone intentionally takes another person’s life in a high-emotion situation, like a heated argument. Involuntary manslaughter is when an individual kills someone unintentionally when they commit actions that are an obvious risk to others’ lives.
A common example of involuntary manslaughter is engaging in drunk driving and hitting someone with your car. If you’ve been charged with murder, our murder defense lawyer in Detroit, MI, can review your case in a free consultation and verify if we can help defend your case. We’ll look at your charges and the facts to determine our legal options.
Your Fight Is Our Fight
How We Can Defend Against Your Murder Charges in Detroit
Defending against clients’ murder charges is nothing new to us. We have the criminal defense experience necessary, and to create the highest chance of success, we’ll craft a personalized defense strategy just for your case. Here are some of the defense methods we’ve successfully defended clients with in our years of experience:
Argue Self-Defense
Depending on your case’s details, our team could argue that you were engaging in self-defense. Arguing self-defense can be successful, but certain factors must be present to use this defense. According to Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.972, for our murder defense lawyers in Detroit, MI, to argue self-defense, you must not have been committing a crime and believed you or another person was genuinely at risk of death or severe injury.
If this is true for your case, we can gather evidence proving that you were in danger and had a legal right to defend yourself, even if it involved killing someone else. But if there isn’t clear evidence that you had a right to self-defense, we’ll use a different defense method.
Throw Out Irrelevant Evidence
As Detroit murder defense lawyers, one of the most important aspects of our job is to fight against the prosecution’s irrelevant or unfair evidence. This can include everything from hearsay statements to illegally obtained evidence. By working closely with our clients and conducting a thorough investigation of the case, we can identify any evidence presented in court that could be deemed irrelevant or inadmissible.
When it comes to voiding evidence in a murder case, we could use several different strategies. For example, we may argue that certain evidence is irrelevant to the case and should not be submitted. This is common with evidence that the prosecution may use to influence the jury emotionally or prejudice them against you.
Another approach that we may take is to challenge the admissibility of evidence based on how it was obtained. This could include evidence that was obtained through an illegal police search, or that was obtained in violation of your constitutional rights. By challenging the admissibility of such evidence in court, we can file a motion to remove the evidence from the case, making it much harder for the prosecution to convict you.
Reduce Your Charges’ Severity
The final defense method we could use is reducing the murder charges you are facing. We use a combination of evidence suppression and proving that there is reasonable doubt that you killed someone intentionally. If this method is successful, we could reduce your charges to manslaughter.
Even though you could still face conviction, you are no longer facing the most serious criminal charge. If you’re convicted of manslaughter, you won’t have to worry about spending the rest of your life in prison or facing significantly higher fines.
We’re not just lawyers. We’re passionate advocates who will ensure that your voice is heard and your rights are protected.
Why You Need a Murder Defense Lawyer
When you need a murder defense attorney in Detroit, MI, you need our team at White Law PLLC. When you come to us with your case, we always put you first because we understand your challenges. Our attorneys advocate for you and work tirelessly to make sure we achieve the results that you need.
Our attorneys have diverse backgrounds, which gives you a wealth of experience in your Detroit murder case. We’ve already helped 30,000 clients and are ready to meet you and hear about your case. We stay updated with all the local and state laws so you can feel confident in our team handling your case.
In addition to our passionate lawyers, our team has cutting-edge technology that makes us a paperless law practice and, in turn, reduces costs for our clients. In a criminal defense case, we know costs add up quickly because of what’s on the line: your freedom and future. So we’re willing to help you save money and still give you the legal representation you deserve.
We understand that you may be going through a difficult situation and we are ready to help however we can.
Contact Us to Speak With a Detroit Murder Defense Lawyer
We can imagine your stress after being charged with murder, regardless of the severity of your charge. Our team of murder defense attorneys in Detroit, MI, at White Law PLLC is here to fight for you endlessly to make sure you have a fair chance in the justice system.
Call us or fill out the contact form on our website for a free case evaluation today.
We’re Experienced. We Care.
We Exceed Client Expectations.
