Defences
When a person pleads not guilty to a criminal offence, they must advance a defence. This may be a legal defence, such as self-defence or mental illness or a factual defence such as the existence of an alibi or arguing that the accused was mistakenly identified.
In order for a person to be found guilty of a criminal offence, the prosecution must prove them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. However, when the defence raises certain defences, the burden of proof is shifted. For instance, when the defence advances the defence of insanity, it bears the burden of proving that the defence applies. If a court is not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that a defence does not apply, it must find the accused not guilty.
This section of the site contains information on criminal defences.
About Armstrong Legal
Armstrong Legal is a national law firm with more than 30 years of experience guiding Australians through serious legal matters under various areas of law, including criminal law, corporate crime and traffic law. Because our team includes a number of Accredited Criminal Law Specialists, you can be confident you are being looked after by experts in their field who have passed a rigorous assessment and been conferred with Specialist Accreditation by the Law Society.
Each of our lawyers appears in Court almost daily, regularly furthering their real-world experience to provide confident, informed representation. Additionally, our culturally aware team supports clients from diverse backgrounds and can explain a person's rights and options in plain language to clarify the likely path forward, whether they are searching for "traffic citation lawyers", "lawyers criminal defence near me" or "blacktown criminal lawyers".
Whether you've been looking up "Brisbane district court", "drink driving lawyers Cairns" or "lawyer for defence", you can get started by calling us or submitting an online enquiry. For criminal matters, our 24/7 phone line connects you with a lawyer for urgent legal advice whenever you need it most, so reach out now.