I am innocent, how can I avoid a trial?

Question

I have been accused of a crime I didn`t commit, I was scammed out of a great deal of money and paid all the monies back to people who invested with me by way of taking out a huge mortgage on my property. I have lost over 400k, plus my partner, my home, in fact everything! One investor is saying she didn`t have all her moeny back but I can prove she has and is in fact hugely in profit. Both my solicitor and the police have this proof of my innocence, but in my solicitors own words, "The barristers have decided to make some money out of this!" The people who conned me are still getting in touch and trying to get more money out of me. My solicitor is holding onto all the proof as I`m sure he wants it to go to trial as he will get a lot of money out of this - a trial will kill me, I have done nothing wrong other than be naieve! Please, can anyone tell me what I can do or who I can go to for help with this? I am at my wits end, I thought the law was fair, but it isn`t!

Answer 1

You may have to bite the bullet here. If your case goes to trial, based on what you have said here, it may not get beyond the first day. A judge will have a fair idea of what is afoot, a jury will be like minded. Take it in your stride. Where money is concerned, and as you have discovered to your cost, people will go to any extreme to bleed you dry. You have to be more positive in your approach. Cracking now will be of no benefit whatsoever to you.

Answer 2

I do not see anything here to indicate which country you live in, which could determine how the answer is framed.

Barristors, AND Solicitors, do have a reputation for endeavouring to get a lot of money out of other peoples missfortune. However, they do not have the final say in read to criminal law in UK.

The job of the police is to gather the evidence that could be used for the prosecution. This is then passed on to the Crown Prosecution Service, who sift through the evidence and determine if there is sufficient to make it worthwhile taking the case any further. (though they have been known to make mistakes in the past) Normally, if the evidence is too light they will decide that it will not go any further.

You have said that the evidence from the prosecution (gathered by the police) and the evidence for the Defence (gathered by your solicitor) indicate there is no case to answer. Sounds like you should be ok.

Answer 3

Basic principles of English law (I don't know where you are) are:

Everyone is innocent until proved guilty in a court of law & no-one (except the Sovereign) is above the law.

If the CPS decide there is sufficient evidence to call a trial you will be summonsed and you cannot avoid this. The whole idea of a trial is to establish guilt or innocence, and the prosecution have the burden of proving your guilt, not the other way round.

Good luck.

Answer 4

First of all is this a criminal, or a civil proceeding. If it is a criminal proceeding you will have no choice but to retain a lawyer, unless you defend yourself. Without a lawyer or a decision of self defence granted by a judge, the prosecution will not even discuss the case with you. But, you can always go with a public defender, if you are in a bad financial situation. Public defenders are free of charge.

If this is a civil proceeding you have other options. Worst case, you go to court, you lose, you will have 30 days to make restitution. That is worst case. You can try to make an agreement with the complaintant, through their lawyer, to pay restitution over a period of time. If they agree to this get it in writing, have your lawyer look over the paperwork BEFORE you sign. If they are not willing to make an agreement, then i am afraid you will have to follow through with a court proceeding. Get as much proof together as possible, cancelled checks, emails, letters, anything to help in your defence.

If this was an ivestment type of deal, was any gaurantee of returns made? If not, was the risk of the investment explained? What paperwork was drawn up and signed? This is a very complicated proceeding, my advise is to obtain legal councel at any cost. It may prove cheaper than the consequences of not being represented. When it comes to fraud or a theft by deception charge, the laws are very complicated. Just as they are in any civil proceeding. An experience lawyer can help you avoid making mistakes and possibly save you money. I wish you the best of luck.

Answer 5

The only ways to avoid trial to my knowledge are to settle outside of court or to flee the country. I would recommend against settling if you are innocent and have proof. Since your innocent and have proof I think you should go to court. In fact you should see if you can counter sue for emotional distress and the like. Just make sure you get a good lawyer. If fact you should've went to a lawyer in the first place. Remember lawyers are you friends if they are on your side and they think they can sue the crap out of the other side. Sit down and chat with one. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT try and handle this on your own. They are better at this than you so logically get someone better than them.

Answer 6

The point of a trial is (supposed to be) to get at the truth.

Generally, the only way to avoid a trial is either to plead guilty (which obvious you probably don't want to do), or convince the prosecutor that there is not enough evidence because you actually didn't do it.

The bottom line is that innocence is not a defense until you actually get to trial. And sad to say, modern law is almost never fair. Justice in the end is the most anyone can hope for.

Answer 7

I am sorry to say that innocence is not a defence. It depends on how your case is portrayed to the jury. Who has the strongest case and the better gift of the gab - so to speak.
Your lawyer should be presenting all the evidence to the CPS of your innocence and stopping the case before it goes any further if he has all the paperwork. Or even presenting to the Judge in order to avoid any more costs.
If you believe the paperwork will prove your innocence and your lawyer is "sitting" on it - change your lawyer.

Answer 8

You poor soul, and to the eejit who gave first reply saying things like all folk in prison say that, well m8 thats just cruel, lets hope you never end up in a similar situation. Anyway, to the point now, my friend, my family have been through similar, this person was innocent, to an extent, in other words he did not do all the things he was accused of, but sadly he was sent to prison regardless, and he served his time, the best advice i can give you, is make sure you have faith in your lawyer, if you dont, change them immediately. If you are to stand any chance of winning, you haev to be certain that this lawyer is the right person to represent you, dont just take any old idiot. When you do go to court, dont be scared to look jury in the face, and hold your head up, i understand its a very scary thing to do, but att he end of the day, you have nothing to be ashamed of, and the people in that court room are just still people at the end of the day. i really wish you the best of luck, the Law is a scary thing to take on, especially when you seem to be on the wrong side of it. hugs and kisses xx

Answer 9

Get in touch with a Citizens Advice Bureau (C.A.B.) for free advice.

If the people who conned you are still getting in touch and trying to get more money out you, try to have poofs of this (emails, letters, recordings of conversations etc...). It might be considered as harassment!

See a G.P. if you feel depressed. This is very important.
.

Answer 10

You need to pull on your inner strength.You are innocent you have the proof then go to court & I hope you win.Then you can put it all behind you & try to live a normal life.Good Luck