Job of a Singapore Criminal Defence Lawyer: Part 1
Many clients or prospective clients undergoing investigations or who are facing criminal charges ask me questions similar to the following:
Why should I engage a criminal lawyer? What can a criminal lawyer do for my case? After paying my criminal lawyer money, will my case be dropped? Will my sentence be definitely or confirmed lighter if I engage a criminal lawyer?
These are never easy questions to answer. I will describe the jobs of criminal defence lawyers in Singapore over this two-part article.
Generally, criminal defence lawyers in Singapore are responsible for representing individuals who have been accused of committing a crime. Our job is to provide legal advice, guidance, and representation to our clients throughout the criminal justice legal process. This includes conducting legal research, preparing defence strategies, negotiating with prosecutors, and representing our clients in court. The ultimate goal of criminal defence lawyers is to ensure that our clients’ rights are protected and to achieve the best possible outcome for their respective cases, which cannot and do not always involve acquittals. The following are some ways in which we provide our professional services.
Writing letters of representations (or “representations” in short): These are letters lawyers can write to an investigation officer or to the Attorney-General’s Chambers when investigations are ongoing or criminal proceedings are underway. We state our client’s best possible case in our representations and depending on where the strength of our client’s case lies, we make certain specific requests.
Sometimes, we ask for the investigations or prosecution against our client to be discontinued and in lieu, for stern or conditional warning to be issued. At other times, when a client faces multiple charges, we seek for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to proceed on certain charges and apply for the remaining charges to be only taken into consideration for the purposes of sentencing. There are also times when representations concern the most appropriate or agreeable sentence parties can seek for the Court to impose (example: high fine coupled with low or no imprisonment, or for the Court to consider calling for a suitability report regarding the making of a mandatory treatment order).
Arranging for Criminal Case Mediation Scheme Meetings (or “CCMS meetings” in short): These are meetings with the prosecutors, that criminal defence lawyers in Singapore can (at the time this writing) request for. Such meetings are held on a without prejudice basis to encourage parties to openly discuss an assortment of matters relating to the charges preferred against a client such as (a) the evidence available to either or both the prosecution and the defence, (b) the prospect of certain sentencing positions, (c) the possibility of the withdrawal or reduction of certain charges and, (d) any offers the prosecution are more willing to consider in the event an accused client elects to plead guilty.
Facilitating the Criminal Case Disclosure Conferences processes (or “CCDC process” in short): In the event an accused person elects to claim trial and if the Criminal Procedure Code provides the offence in question falls under the CCDC process, a series of events unfold where the professional assistance of a criminal defence lawyer will not only be relevant but very valuable as well.
A criminal case disclosure conference in Singapore is a pre-trial conference where the prosecution and defence meet to discuss the evidence and disclosure of information related to the case. During the conference, both parties exchange information, discuss any issues or concerns, and attempt to reach agreements on matters such as the admissibility of evidence, witness statements, and trial procedures. The purpose of the conference is to ensure that both sides have access to all relevant information and to facilitate a fair and efficient trial process. In the course of the CCDC process. Some of the following tasks are involved:
(a) The prosecution furnishes a summary of the facts, a list of the prosecution’s witnesses, a list of prosecution documents and a supplementary bundle containing the corresponding documents and, the statements recorded by the authorities the prosecution intends to rely on at trial.
(b) The defence furnishes a written case for the defence, a list of the defence’s witnesses, a list of defence documents and, a supplementary bundle containing the corresponding documents.
Written a mitigation plea and submitting an address on sentence: A criminal defence lawyer can prepare a formal written plea in mitigation and an address on sentence for his client and submit it to the sentencing court to ask the court for leniency in sentencing by providing reasons, legal precedents and explanations for the client's actions, as well as any mitigating circumstances that may have contributed to the offence. The plea in mitigation may include information about the accused client's background, personal circumstances, remorse, and any steps taken to address the behaviour that led to the offence. It is intended to persuade the court to impose a less severe sentence based on the mitigating factors presented.
…. To be continued in part two …