A drug charge and a corresponding conviction can have tremendous implications for your life, affecting everything from your freedom, your reputation, your ability to work, and the time you get to spend with your children. That’s why you need to aggressively seek every angle you can take to attack the prosecution’s case. One that may be available to you in your case is attacking witness credibility.
Why witness credibility matters
The jury that sits on your drug case is going to hear a lot of testimony. They’re free to believe whichever witnesses they find most credible. So, if you can damage the reliability of the prosecution’s witnesses, then you might be able to beat the drug charges levied against you.
How to attack witness credibility in your drug case
The way you attack witness credibility is going to depend, at least in part, on which witness is on the stand. For example, an alleged co-conspirator who is now testifying against you will be easy to attack based on their motive and perhaps their criminal history. A law enforcement officer may be different, though.
That said, here are some strategies that you might be able to implement and should consider as you’re researching the prosecution’s witnesses:
- Bias against you or people of your race, ethnicity, nationality, or religious beliefs.
- Motivation to testify against you, such as when a plea deal is offered in exchange for testimony.
- A criminal record that shows a history of dishonest behavior.
- Previously made statements that are inconsistent with trial testimony.
- Gaps in testimony that simply don’t add up or don’t make sense.
Don’t leave your criminal defense to chance
If you can effectively use any of these strategies, then you might be able to beat the prosecution and obtain the outcome that you want out of your criminal case. That’s why now is the time to start developing your criminal defense strategy. Don’t wait too long to get to work, as doing so could put you at a disadvantage going into your case.