Criminal law
Criminal law
The totality of legal norms that punish certain acts considered harmful to social coexistence and determine the amount of the respective punishment.
Even when I was young, it bothered me enormously when people made hasty judgements about other people. My work in the field of criminal law and criminal defence is ultimately about fighting against such prejudices.
With commitment, know-how and empathy, I stand up for you – for your rights – so that you are not only right, but also get justice.
The sooner you hire a lawyer, the better your chances are. You should not wait until charges have been brought against you before taking this step, because by then many defence options may no longer be available.
Do I need a lawyer? court-appointed defense lawyers and chosen defense lawyers
If you are suspected of having committed a crime, it is not necessarily legally mandated that you have to be represented by a lawyer, but it is generally always advisable to hire one.
An attorney that represents the defendant in a criminal process is called a defense lawyer.
There are two forms of defense lawyers, court-appointed and chosen defense lawyers.
court-appointed defense lawyers
In the cases of mandatory defence (§ 140 StPO – German Code of Criminal Procedure) the court appoints a defense lawyer to represent the accused person. The accused can name a specific lawyer to the court as his/her appointed defense lawyer of choice. The court will then appoint this lawyer if there isn‘t an important reason not to (§ 142 Abs. 5 StPO).
You should utilize this right of proposal, because otherwise the judge will appoint a lawyer of his own choice. The court-appointed defense lawyer will initially be compensated by the state according to the Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz (Act on the Remuneration of Lawyers).
chosen defense lawyer
Even if your case isn‘t one that legally requires a mandatory defence, you can hire a lawyer anyway. This lawyer would then be called your chosen defense lawyer.
You should carefully consider if you really want to face the police, prosecutors and the courts without a competent lawyer that fights for your rights and interests.
In some cases, it‘s possible that the state will reimburse you for your legal expenses.
No matter if you hire a chosen or an appointed criminal defense lawyer, the sooner you do it, the better your chances will be. You shouldn‘t wait until you are indicted, because by then a lot of possible defense strategies might not be available anymore.
How do find a criminal defense lawyer in an emergency outside office hours?
If you are in Hamburg and urgently need the services of a criminal defense lawyer outside of my office hours, you can call the emergency number that the association of criminal defense lawyers in Hamburg has established.
The phone number is:
Please consider that this number is only meant for emergencies that occur outside regular office hours. An emergency is at hand when you are being arrested or a search warrant is being executed at your home or your place of business.
Please make use of your freedom from self-incrimination in these cases until your lawyer has discussed your situation with you (usually you should continue to make use of this freedom even after you have talked to a lawyer).
Freedom from self-incrimination
The principle of freedom from self-incrimination states,
that no one may be compelled
to incriminate himself.
STRAFBEFEHL
If a court has sent you a letter titled Strafbefehl, you should not ignore it for too long.
Juvenile law
Criminal procedures against juveniles are different from criminal procedures against adults in a lot of ways.
Criminal trials against people who were at least 14 years old and not yet 21 years old at the time of the act take place in juvenile courts.
Medical criminal law
Medical criminal law is a term describing criminal procedures against medical personnel (physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, dentists etc.) who are accused of having committed a crime while treating a patient.
remand detention
If you are heavily suspected of having committed a crime you can be put in remand detention. The legal requirements for this are the existence of grounds for detention and that the detention is not a disproportionate action compared to the alleged crime.
The insanity defense
In some cases there are indications that the defendant may not be fully responsible for his or her actions due to a psychiatric disease or due to intoxication at the time of the criminal act.
It‘s actually possible to be aquitted because of this even if you have committed a serious crime
Correctional law
Even after a final conviction there is often need for legal counseling, especially for people who were sentenced to a non-suspended prison sentence.
A major field of action here is to try to get the remainder of a determinate sentence of imprisonment suspended as soon as possible.
You need advice and want more information?
Rechtsanwalt Torge Luth
Forum Winterhude
Winterhuder Marktplatz 6 - 7
22299 Hamburg
Criminal Law
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Torge Luth