Defense Counsel for Suspects and Defendants
A defense is not limited to an oral statement at the hearing. Learning the accusation, access to the file, the statement strategy, identifying lawfully obtained evidence, requests for investigations in the client’s favor, objections to protective measures and legal remedies must be pursued in a way that complements one another.
The legal services provided in this scope are:
- Legal consultation before a statement, interrogation or defense
- Protecting the safeguards of the right to remain silent, the assistance of defense counsel and being informed of the accusation and one’s rights
- Defense counsel during statements to the law enforcement and the public prosecutor’s office
- Defense at the interrogation before the criminal judgeship of peace
- Exercising the rights to examine the file and to obtain copies
- Gathering evidence in the client’s favor and requests for investigations
- Legal and factual review of the indictment
- Defense before criminal courts of first instance, High Criminal Courts and specially authorized criminal courts
- Preparing the strategy for the judgment and legal remedies
Arrest, Detention, Pretrial Detention and Judicial Control
Pretrial detention is not the result of a conviction; it is a protective measure whose statutory conditions and proportionality must be assessed in the specific case. The basis of the arrest and detention in custody, the statement procedure, the grounds for pretrial detention, the state of the evidence and whether a lighter measure would suffice must each be examined separately.
Review of arrest and detention in custody, defense at the interrogation, objection to pretrial detention and requests for release, lifting or modifying judicial control, and the compensation routes arising from protective measures are explained in detail on our page Arrest, Detention, Pretrial Detention and Judicial Control.
Having an arrest warrant lifted and assessing the methods of presenting oneself for a statement are also within this scope.
Searches, Seizures, Digital Examination and Asset Measures
In protective measures carried out on a residence, workplace, vehicle, digital device or data, the scope of the decision, the record of execution, the right to be present, the method of copying and imaging, the safekeeping of the seized items and whether the measure still needs to continue must be reviewed.
The procedures addressed in this scope are:
- Searches of residences, workplaces, persons, vehicles and other places
- Seizure of items and asset values
- Search, copying and seizure of computers, phones, servers, cloud accounts and digital data
- Review of the integrity of the digital copy, the examination method and the reports
- Seizure of mail, and the detection and recording of communications
- Surveillance by technical means and covert investigation measures
- Trustee appointments for company management and asset measures
- Requests for confiscation and confiscation of proceeds
- Lifting a seizure or other protective measure and returning the items
- Measures applied to the assets of third parties who are not suspects or defendants
- Ownership claims of good-faith third parties and their applications against seizure and confiscation decisions
Rights Before a Statement and Access to the File
A suspect or defendant has the safeguards of learning the accusation, having the assistance of defense counsel, remaining silent and requesting that evidence in their favor be gathered. Being heard as a witness is not the same as giving a statement as a suspect. The capacity and the procedure stated in the summons must be determined first.
Access to the file is not unlimited. A restriction order in the investigation and documents falling outside its scope are examined under Article 153 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CMK). A statement taken by the law enforcement without defense counsel cannot be used as the basis of a judgment unless it is confirmed before a judge or court (CMK Article 148/4).
If a relative is in custody
Provide the name, the unit where the person is held, any file number you have been able to learn and the time of the procedure. State health, medication, language and disability needs separately. Do not wait for all the documents to be collected. The legal functions of an objection to detention and a request for release are different; the route is chosen according to the decision.
Preparing for the Consultation and Next Step
Prepare the file number, the existing decision or summons, and the date of the approaching procedure. Note any missing documents; do not hold back a time-limited procedure while they are completed. After the review, the appropriate request, any additional documents needed and the scope of services to be undertaken are explained.