Criminal Defense
Mr. Sofocleous protects the rights of the accused. He represents clients that are facing misdemeanor, traffic, and other charges in court. A criminal conviction can have a lasting impact on your life, as well as a variety of immediate, negative consequences. He works hard to minimize or eliminate those consequences.
When you are facing a traffic offense, if convicted, you may lose your driving privileges, have large fines and court costs imposed upon you, and even serve jail time. If you are facing a more serious misdemeanor or minor felony charge, you could be facing a loss of civil rights and jail or prison. You have the right to have your criminal defense attorney represent you at every stage of a criminal proceeding. Mr. Sofocleous provides you with an honest evaluation of the evidence against you, his opinion on plea negotiations, and, when necessary, aggressive representation at trial. The sooner that he begins protecting your rights, the better your chances are for a good result in your case.
Criminal law is the set of rules set up by state and federal governments to punish individuals for committing crimes. The state can be a local, state or federal entity. The reasons for having these laws are to deter crime, to protect the rights of individuals victimized by crime, as well as to ensure those accused of committing a crime the protections afforded under the state and federal Constitutions.
Most ordinary crimes are covered by state criminal laws. For example, most thefts that take place within a state are covered by state criminal laws and ordinarily a suspect will be prosecuted by local prosecutors.
The main objective of criminal law is deterrence and punishment or retribution. There are two actions performed by the state in criminal prosecutions:
- Investigating and capturing the accused
- Trying and sentencing the accused
There are two levels of crimes – felonies and misdemeanors. According to applicable statute, crimes classified as Felonies involve punishment of death or confinement to a state correctional facility and the defendant has the right to a jury trial. Misdemeanors are generally crimes which have a maximum punishment of no more than 12 months in jail and one accused of a misdemeanor still has the right to trial by jury.
Some examples of Criminal Defense representation provided by Mr. Sofocleous are:
- Traffic violations, including: Reckless Driving, Speeding, and Driving While Suspended
- Misdemeanor Offenses such as theft, petty larceny and destruction of property; in addition to traffic cases and most criminal charges against Juveniles
Call Frank Sofocleous, Attorney at Law, at 703-237-6333 to address your legal needs today.