This defence arises when an accused person denies any involvement in the crime and/or disputes the circumstances surrounding the alleged offending.
Some examples of a factual dispute are:
- The identity of the accused is disputed;
- The accused was not driving the alleged speed;
- The accused denies the damage was caused by his actions; or
- The accused admits guilt but disputes some of the allegations made.
These matters are often remedied by collecting evidence to disprove the claims made.
If you, as the accused, are disputing the facts of your case you need to seek legal advice.
It is not uncommon for defendants to engage criminal lawyers that just want them to enter some form of plea deal. Now sometimes this is the most appropriate way to deal with a case. It might involve risk management and containment of a factual matrix that may be totally aggravating if considered in its entirety before a Magistrate or Judge. A factual argument requires an experienced lawyer who can take your instructions about what actually happened and negotiate with the prosecution to achieve the best possible outcome for you.
That said, there are also plenty of times where an accused person should not plead guilty and therefore should not accept some form of plea deal.
Whether or not you should resolve your matter early, can only be determined by an experienced criminal lawyer. If there is a way to defend your case, we will find it and if there is not we will be upfront in telling you. At the end of the day it will always be up to you, the client, whether you choose to plead guilty or not guilty.
If you have been charged, please call our office today so that we can provide you with all of your options so that you can make an informed decision in how best to deal with your case.
