What should you look for when choosing the best criminal defence lawyer in Qld?
If you are facing serious criminal charges in Qld, most people
start by searching for the best criminal defence lawyer in
Brisbane.
However, the best criminal lawyer for your case, is not
always determined by advertising or rankings, but by their
experience with serious charges
and strategic framework to each case.
There are a number of factors to look for when choosing the right criminal defence lawyer.
What types of serious charges should a criminal defence lawyer have experience with?
When facing serious charges such as rape, drugs, fraud, or violent offences such as assault, choking, strangulation and suffocation, grievous bodily harm, or unlawful wounding, it is critical that you choose a lawyer in Brisbane who regularly defends serious 'indictable offences' in Qld.
These types of charges start in the Magistrates Court, but must be transferred to the District Court or Supreme Court to be dealt with. Indictable offences can usually take up to 2 years to finish, and require a specialist skill and strategy to successfully defend.
Ashworth Lawyers exclusively practice in criminal law and have been successfully defending serious indictable offences in Qld for over a combined 40 years. If you are facing charges in Qld, we are available now for strategic advice. Call us on (07) 3012 6531 or fill in our Quick Enquiry form to speak to our leading Brisbane criminal lawyers.
What are the consequences of serious criminal charges?
If you are facing serious charges such as rape, child exploitation material, manslaughter, murder, drugs, fraud, coercive control, weapons, explosives, or assault, the consequences can be significant.
Convictions for these offences often carry lengthy terms of imprisonment, strict reporting obligations, and long-term impacts on employment, travel, and reputation.
What can a specialist criminal lawyer do to help with serious charges?
A specialist criminal lawyer will focus on building the best strategic position for your case early. This often includes the following.
- Advise the best strategic approach in your case - this may be to negotiate the charges, request further evidence, or make a no-case submission to the court that there is not enough evidence from the prosecution to continue.
- Indentify gaps in the evidence - the prosecution has the onus to prove each charge beyond a reasonable doubt. This means, in most situations, you do not need to prove anything. If evidence to an element of a charge is missing, then that could be a basis to negotiate with the prosecutor to either downgrade or discontinue a charge.
- Manage complex forensic and digital evidence -
Serious criminal matters often involve forensic material such
as:
- DNA
- Fingerprints
- Phone data
- Computer downloads
- Financial records
- Expert reports.
- Apply to the court for rulings before trial -
Many serious charges proceed through committal hearings before
reaching the District or Supreme Court. A criminal defence lawyer
can use the committal process to:
- test the strength of the prosecution case
- seek further disclosure
- narrow or eliminate charges before trial
- Argue for reduction of penalty - If the
evidence is strong, then the advice may be to plead guilty. If so,
a case is listed for sentence.
Our Brisbane criminal lawyers have extensive experience in preparing strong submissions to the court for a lesser penalty. This can mean the difference between prison or a suspended sentence, or a conviction being recorded or not.
Preparation can include negotiating the facts, researching comparable cases, preparing character references, obtaining medical and psychological reports, or making offers of compensation. Detailed preparation can make a significant difference to the outcome. - Prepare your case for trial - Thorough trial preparation is critical. This includes briefing the best criminal barristers in Qld, preparing a clear defence case theory, and ensuring all evidence, witnesses, and legal issues are addressed well before the trial commences.
How do our criminal lawyers prepare your case?
For serious criminal charges, detailed preparation is the key to winning a case.
Our criminal defence lawyers work closely with the best criminal barristers in Qld, known for winning complex trials. As your legal team, we focus on detailed analysis of the evidence, careful development of legal arguments, and presenting your most compelling case to a jury.
Our steps include:
How do we choose the best barrister for your case?
We select your barrister based on the specific demands of the case, not reputation alone.
This includes careful consideration of the facts, the legal issues likely to arise, and the complexity of the evidence. Barristers come from varied professional backgrounds, and those backgrounds can be highly relevant to how a case is prepared and presented.
Depending on the matter, this may include barristers who:
- have previously worked as Crown prosecutors at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
- have experience in Commonwealth criminal matters, possess expertise in digital or forensic evidence
- have prior policing experience, or
- have professional backgrounds in tax or accounting that are particularly relevant in fraud and financial crime cases.
What is a defence case theory?
A case theory is the underlying explanation of what occurred and why the evidence supports that version of events.
It is not a collection of legal arguments and it is not developed in isolation. It is the framework that brings together the evidence, the legal elements of each charge, and the defence position into a single, logical narrative.
In a criminal trial, the prosecution advances its own case theory, explaining how the offence is said to have occurred and why the jury should accept the prosecution evidence. The defence case theory is developed in response to that position. It identifies where the prosecution account is incomplete, internally inconsistent, or unsupported by reliable evidence.
In serious criminal matters, the defence case is developed well before a trial date is set. Preparation begins by breaking down each charge into its legal elements and testing the prosecution evidence against those elements. This involves identifying precisely what the prosecution must prove, how they intend to prove it, and where the evidence falls short of that burden.
From an early stage, we analyse how the prosecution is likely to present its case, including how witnesses will be led, how forensic or digital evidence will be relied upon, and what inferences the jury will be invited to draw. That analysis is then used to identify points of vulnerability, whether arising from gaps in the evidence, inconsistencies between witnesses, forensic assumptions, credibility issues, or weaknesses in the way the prosecution case must be framed to succeed.
The defence case is developed with those issues firmly in mind. Decisions are made early about what must be challenged, what can be accepted without concession, and what evidence or explanations may ultimately need to be advanced. This ensures the defence is presented to the jury in a way that is coherent, grounded in the evidence, and persuasive.
How do we challenge the prosecutions evidence at trial?
Witness evidence is analysed in detail well before trial. This includes reviewing prior statements, identifying inconsistencies between witnesses, examining forensic assumptions, and assessing how evidence is likely to be presented to a jury.
Cross-examination is prepared with a clear purpose. It is not confined to attacking credibility, but is directed toward exposing weaknesses in the prosecution case and reinforcing the defence case theory. Potential evidentiary issues are identified in advance so that objections and applications can be made promptly and decisively during the trial, rather than reacting in the moment.
How do we ensure procedural fairness?
Criminal trials are governed by strict procedural rules and court directions.
Our criminal defence lawyers actively manage this throughout the court process, including ensuring that the prosecution comply with disclosure obligations, timeframes to respond to defence requests, expert evidence requirements, and trial timetables.
How do we communicate with our clients throughout the case?
Throughout the preparation process, we maintain clear and regular communication with our clients about how the case is developing, where preparation is focused, and what to expect as the matter moves toward trial.
Advice is provided in a direct and practical way, including discussion of risks, strategic decisions, and likely scenarios as they arise. This ensures clients understand not only what is happening in their case, but why decisions are being made and how they affect the overall defence strategy.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
