If you face criminal charges, no matter how minor, you should consider legal help to fight them.
You might be concerned about how much you should tell the attorney you hire. Maybe you think they will judge you. Maybe you worry they will share your information with the police or prosecution, or maybe you feel you just don’t know them enough yet to trust them with such personal information.
Your attorney is bound by a professional code to guard your secrets
When an attorney takes your case, they agree to do their best to represent you within the bounds of the law. They also agree to treat your information in confidence. So they are not going to diverge the secrets you tell them or tip off the other side. Doing so could lead them to lose their license.
Besides, that is not why someone decides to become a defense attorney. They do so because they know there are people who need their help to fight a system that is often weighted against them.
What about if I committed the crime? Should I admit that to my attorney?
Yes, if that is the case, you should tell them. Remember, criminal defense is not always about saying you did not do something. The prosecution might be sure you did something illegal, but if they cannot prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, then you should not be convicted.
Your defense may also include looking for technicalities that disqualify evidence or casting doubt on the prosecution’s version of things. Or, your defense may focus on mitigation, by showing a court that your actions were out of character and that any sentence should be lenient. The more information you tell your attorney, the more chance they have of discovering a detail that could help swing things in your favor.
There’s a lot to consider if charged with a crime, so the sooner you start examining your legal options, the better.