Second Degree Murders: Michigan Criminal Defense Lawyers

In Michigan, a person under investigation for killing another person may face charges for first degree murder or second-degree murder. The odds of avoiding either serious criminal charge will be greatly improved if the accused citizen immediately retains knowledgeable legal counsel at the start of the investigation.

That legal advocate acts on your behalf to try to get charges dropped, possibly resulting in you not being formally accused. As this article aptly points out, getting legal counsel sooner and not later is the ideal plan for obtaining your best-case outcome.

Critical Timing Issues arise in most murder investigations. The initial stages of any potential murder case are a highly important time for a potential suspect's defense team to help direct and supervise what is going on.

Any first-degree conviction carries one sentence which is life in prison. But 2-degree murder statutes exist in the Great Lakes State. For any second-degree murder sentence, a specific term of years (e.g., 5, 10, 30) can be ordered. Or that sentencing judge can give the convicted person life in prison.

On this page are links to other information about the crime of murder in the second degree in Michigan, and the second-degree murder requirements of "elements" of the crime, but this page focuses upon the single most important "secret" about such investigations and that is to SHUT UP! Let your legal professionals do all your talking.

2nd Degree Murders Meaning: The intentionally killing of another person can be an act done in reckless disregard for human life, or can be a criminal homicide, but was not carried out with premeditation. This is a decent 2nd degree murder definition.

Second degree murders definition. When we hear news reports of a person identified as the triggerman in a drive-by shooting into a crowd or residence and a death occurring, this may meet Michigan's second-degree murder meaning.

The word "homicide" is a neutral word, in terms of criminal culpability. The word only refers to the killing of a human being by another human being, and (in some instances) that killing may have been justified. For example, to act in defense of another (such as defending your children) by doing whatever is necessary to protect them, including inflicting bodily harm, deadly force may be proper and legally appropriate.

Therefore, anyone facing murder charges in Michigan needs to "lawyer up" and start collecting witness statements, video evidence and other information that casts a reasonable doubt that our client intended to kill. After the emergence of DNA testing in the early 1990s, nearly 400 INNOCENT people have been freed from life in prison by the Innocence Project, and its state affiliates. Over a dozen wrongfully convicted persons were on death row, too.

Every homicide investigation must be thoroughly and expertly investigated to see if the death may have been justified. But not all peace officers are trained the same nor do all have experienced law enforcement personnel for such felony crimes.

Other homicides may be excusable if facts support the defense theory of the case. A thorough investigation comes down to the provable facts and circumstances of how the killing occurred, and the "state of mind" of the accused citizen who is facing Michigan criminal charges.

By reading the Michigan statute under Section 750.316 (pertaining to types of conduct that can lead to a 1st degree murder), the next Michigan criminal code section (Section 750.317) bases its definition of second degree murder on the same underlying conduct, but not occurring with the perpetrator's specific intent to kill.

2nd Degree Murders Sentences. Although less severe punishments apply to second degree homicide than for first degree murder, the Michigan Legislature has enacted draconian Michigan laws by allowing life in prison, on a certain types of felony murder convictions, even though in the second degree. In the alternative, the sentence can be for a "term of years" with no high or low limit set.

After nearly four decades of "Law & Order" television episodes, everyone in America should be aware of how murder cases are investigated. Investigators, prosecutors, laboratory scientists, and other police forensic science personnel will immediately start collecting evidence, questioning potential witnesses, scouring nearby businesses and homes for any premises cameras, and sometimes will use various technology searches (e.g., cell phone tower data) to determine GPS positioning or communications by cell phone, via text or through voicemail communications.

Because either first-degree or second-degree can be punishable by imprisonment for life, the 5 tips given below about interactions with law enforcement must be strictly followed. By diligently adhering to these instructions, you give yourself the best chance of beating a murder charge.

Contacting a top criminal lawyer near me, the minute you get any inkling that you may be a "person of interest" in a murder investigation, is the only wise option. You should not be talking or giving a statement of any type, without expert legal advice. If the two words "life imprisonment" do not get your attention, then nothing else provided in this article will help you understand the life-changing situation that you may be facing.

1. The only information law enforcement is entitled to know from you is your name and address. If that information is shown on your driver's license, display that and shut up.
2. So, if a human being who was close to your or associated with you (in some capacity, like a business partner, spouse, lover) who was once alive is now dead, and police are focusing on anything other than this being the result of natural causes (like a heart attack or stroke), immediately consulting with a criminal defense lawyer is advisable. A great number of murder prosecutions are tied to heat of passion issues, and these often start with love (in a sexual and relationship sense), money or the love of money.
3. Voluntarily going down to the precinct to "give your statement" does not trigger your right to receive your Miranda rights, since you are not "in custody." If police HAD the "goods" on you, then they will cuff you immediately. Police officers take courses that teach them interrogation methods and various "good cop, bad cop" scripts to use in gathering "evidence" against you. Their job is to (a) get you on video & audio and (b) to get you to say what they need to hear, so that they can put handcuffs on you, and then read you the Miranda warning, when their decision to charge you with murder has already been made.
4. If you have voluntarily gone down to police headquarters, and are filmed coming in, sitting down, and acting normally --- at first, but then getting up and leaving when tougher questions are asked law enforcement will point to that as being "consciousness of guilt." So, your "plan" to cooperate with the authorities turns out to be evidence against you later.
5. Only your criminal attorney has full confidentiality about what you tell her or him in connection with any alleged crimes committed by you. A spouse can also have confidentiality, but sometimes that person later can be the State's best witness. Incidentally, if you must use an appointed criminal law attorney, he or she is also under a duty to keep everything confidential, too.

Your criminal defense attorneys and their criminal case investigators must identify and thwart aggressive police investigative tactics in your pending case. Before you hire a lawyer near you that does not focus on criminal defense litigation and limit his or her law practice to nothing but criminal law matters, contact us for a free lawyer consultation.

A great number of Michigan criminal law firms are within an hour's drive of the City of Detroit and other major population areas. Assure that the legal professional you retain for a 2nd degree murder case knows all aspects of the State of Michigan serious felony offense.

Familiarity with local area criminal courts is important also. A considerable number (about two thirds) of our law firm's criminal defense cases occur in 5 major counties (Oakland, Kent, Wayne, Ottawa, and Macomb). Yet, our team of criminal defense attorneys nearby will travel to all corners of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula to aggressively defend our clients facing criminal prosecution.

The criminal attorneys near me from Barone Defense Firm cover Lansing, Kalamazoo, Sterling Heights, Flint, Saginaw, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Clinton Township, Pontiac, Ypsilanti, Midland, Dearborn, Birmingham, Traverse City, Livonia, Detroit, Bloomfield Hills, or any other cities and counties in the great State of Michigan. Call today for immediate attention and speak with free consultation lawyer.

Contact us 24 hours a day at our law firm’s easy to remember toll-free number, 1-877-ALL-MICH or 877-255-6424, for a free criminal case review.

For your FREE lawyer consultation, call today to learn how to protect yourself from a possible unwarranted conviction. What do you have to lose, when the free legal advice with our litigation team’s criminal lawyers near me can answer many tough questions?