Criminal Defense Lawyers

What is the Best Defense Strategy for Forgery Charges in NYC?

Navigating Forgery Charges in New York City: A Defense Attorney’s Guide

Being charged with forgery in New York City can be an overwhelming and scary experience. As experienced NYC defense attorneys, we understand the confusion and anxiety you may be facing. This guide breaks down key information about forgery charges and how an attorney can build the strongest defense on your behalf.

Understanding the Charges

Forgery refers to the crime of falsifying a document, signature, money, or other written instrument with the intent to defraud or harm others. Common forgery charges in NYC include:

• Check Forgery: Altering a check to steal money or make fraudulent purchases. This includes changing the amount, signature, or payee name on a check without permission.
• Identity Theft: Using someone else’s personal information to open credit cards or bank accounts for financial gain.
• Prescription Forgery: Creating fake prescriptions to obtain restricted medications illegally.
• Document Forgery: Fabricating or altering legal certificates, transcripts, letters, etc. to gain something of value by deception.

The exact forgery statutes in New York classify these acts as felony or misdemeanor crimes depending on the specific circumstances. As NYC defense lawyers, we can analyze the details to determine the precise charges you may face.

Gathering Evidence for Your Defense

Building an effective legal defense starts with examining all available evidence and identifying holes that create reasonable doubt of guilt. As your attorney, we will thoroughly investigate:

• The Paper Trail: We dig into financial records, surveillance footage, computer data, and relevant documents to understand what occurred. Any evidence contradicting the charges weakens the prosecution’s case.
• Witness Accounts: Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. We interview witnesses and expose inconsistencies in their recall versus documentary evidence.
• Expert Opinions: Handwriting analysis or fingerprint examination by certified forensic specialists can often prove whether a document is forged. Their testimony carries significant weight in court.
• Your Whereabouts: If able to confirm you were elsewhere at the time of the alleged crime, it becomes impossible for you to have committed the forgery.

Building this evidence trail requires experience dealing with police and prosecutors. As your lawyers, we know which materials to request and how to get access. No stone is left unturned.

Evaluating Defenses Against Forgery

While investigating the facts of your case, we simultaneously assess which legal defenses give you the best chance of beating the charges. Common forgery defenses we may utilize include:

• You Were Framed: Perhaps a business partner or estranged family member had opportunity and motive to falsify documents under your name illegally. We can introduce reasonable doubt it was their doing rather than yours.
• It Was an Honest Mistake: If the alleged fake document contains a minor, unintentional error, we can argue you lacked necessary criminal intent for a forgery conviction.
• You Were Coerced: If bullied or threatened into participating against your will, it may constitute a “duress” defense negating culpability.
• Mental Defects: In certain cases, mental illness may provide grounds that you weren’t responsible or able to understand the criminality of your behavior when the incident occurred.

Identifying defects in the prosecution’s version of events or legal theories allows us to undercut the basis of the charges against you.

Negotiating with the District Attorney

Once we feel we have developed a strong defense, we shift focus to engaging the District Attorney’s office prosecuting your case. As experienced NYC defense attorneys with relationships in the local justice system, we leverage our credibility to advocate for:

• Charge Reductions: We highlight flaws in their case and provide mitigating circumstances to negotiate down to less serious forgery charges. This results in lower potential fines and jail time.
• Diversion Programs: First-time offenders may qualify for pretrial diversion including community service, counseling, or probation in lieu of a conviction. Successfully completing terms set by the DA dismisses the charges.
• Plea Deals: If the evidence overwhelmingly points to guilt, we may craft a favorable plea bargain including reduced counts, a beneficial sentencing recommendation, or guaranteed probation eligibility.

Ideally through our efforts, the prosecution drops the forgery charges completely due to reasonable doubt. However, we focus on minimizing legal consequences if the case proceeds to trial.

Taking Your Case to Trial

While we work tirelessly to have charges dismissed pretrial, we prepare extensively for trial knowing the District Attorney may push ahead anyway. Our battle-tested NYC defense lawyers leave nothing to chance:

• Voir Dire & Jury Selection: The jury makeup can make or break your case. We choose jurors naturally skeptical of the prosecution’s arguments.
• Compelling Opening & Closing Remarks: First and last impressions matter greatly. We tell your story persuasively while undermining the DA’s narrative.
• Rigorous Cross-Examinations: We attack witness credibility, poke holes in testimony, and expose every inconsistency. No statement against you goes unchallenged.
• Air-Tight Case Presentation: Meticulously introducing evidence and expert analysis, we cast more than reasonable doubt on your guilt. The jury must acquit if not firmly convinced.

With an ironclad defense and razor-sharp courtroom skills, our NYC defense lawyers give you the best opportunity for full exoneration at trial.

Trust New York’s Premier Forgery Defense Attorneys

Defending against forgery allegations requires aggressive representation and intricate legal maneuvering. Our NYC criminal defense firm brings decades of combined experience exclusively focused on beating state charges just like yours. We have an impeccable track record achieving charge dismissals, acquittals at trial, and extremely favorable settlements for clients accused of financial crimes throughout the city.

We know how devastating and scary forgery charges feel. As your defense lawyers, we handle the heavy lifting at this difficult time while positioning you for the best resolution achievable. Call today for a free consultation with our top NYC forgery defense attorneys exploring your options. This initial meeting remains protected under attorney-client privilege even before formally retaining us. Let us stand by your side and fight to protect your future.

Resources

• How Can a Handwriting Expert Assist With a Forgery Defense? – Reddit Discussion
• Forgery Charges: An Overview – YouTube Video
• Common Defenses Against Forgery Allegations – Wikipedia Overview