Why you need to address motive in your criminal case

Before prosecutors can obtain a conviction, they have to prove every element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s a high hurdle to clear, and it opens a lot of doors for you to raise powerful criminal defense arguments. But before developing your legal strategy, you have to understand how the prosecution is approaching your case. That way you can tailor your criminal defense to counter the specific accusations the state lobs your way.

One issue that you may have to confront is motive, which is the reasoning behind the committed offense. While motive isn’t a part of the law that must be proven, demonstrating motive can go a long way toward proving intent, which often is a required showing prior to obtaining a conviction. For example, in an embezzlement case, the prosecution will have to prove that the defendant knowingly took money from their employer for their own personal gain. If the prosecution can show that the defendant had enormous gambling debts coming due, then they’ve established a motive for the taking which, in turn, shows that the theft was intentional.

How can you address motive in your criminal defense?

As you build your criminal defense, you should be sure to take motive into consideration. Here are some ways that you might be able to get a handle on the issue and damage the prosecution’s ability to prove intent:

• Contradict the evidence presented: If prosecutors have a theory about motive, then they likely have evidence to back it up. This doesn’t mean that it’s iron clad, though. In fact, there may be strong ways to contradict the prosecution’s assertions. That’s one reason why it’s important to depose the prosecution’s witnesses. By doing so, you’ll know how they’ll testify as to motive, which you can then use to assess which of your own witnesses are best positioned to dispel those assertions.
• Provide an alibi: The prosecution’s theory about motive can be destroyed if you provide a soundproof alibi. So, as you craft your criminal defense, make sure you understand the timeline that’s in play and consider what evidence you can present to demonstrate that you were somewhere else entirely when the alleged crime was committed.
• Use the rules of evidence: After watching courtroom dramas on television, you might think that facts are admitted into evidence all the time and that objections to admissibility are merely formalities that are always overruled. While some objections are overruled, others are sustained. Depending on the facts of your case, you might be able to use the rules of evidence to block harmful evidence from being admitted against you. And even if evidence is erroneously admitted, a proper objection preserves your right to appeal the issue.
• Attack witness credibility: When trying to prove motive, the prosecution will lean heavily on their witnesses’ testimony. You can’t afford to let the jury take these witnesses at their word. Instead, you need to find ways to attack their credibility and reliability, which you may be able to do by pointing out inconsistent statements made by the witness, demonstrating their bias or motivation to testify against you and even showing that they have a criminal history linked to dishonesty.

Take a comprehensive approach to your criminal defense

There’s a lot to think through as you build your criminal defense. Although that can seem daunting at first, it should give you comfort knowing that there could be several different areas of the prosecution’s case that you can attack. So, if you’re ready to build the holistic criminal defense needed to protect your interests as fully as possible under the circumstances, then now is the time to start thinking about your criminal defense options and what you can do to build an effective legal strate