Why Practice Criminal Defense Law?

At McGuire Law, we have been handling criminal cases for more than 40 years, ranging from simple misdemeanors to murder cases. During this time, we have come to appreciate and grow a passion for this area of the law. Criminal defense is an area of the law that involves the defense of basic individual rights before someone’s accuser—a basic principle of historical common law.

While we believe that the work we do is noble and worth our efforts, criminal defense has gained somewhat of a negative reputation. Personally, the most frequent question I get from my friends is “how can you represent a person if you know he or she is guilty?” The answer is simple. The prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the client is guilty. That is not always easy for the prosecution to do. To defend criminal cases the defense lawyer has to be very thorough, leaving no stones unturned.

Furthermore, the client may be guilty of a lesser offense because prosecutors almost always charge the client with an offense that is the highest possible offense and prosecutors have a habit of charging multiple offenses, some of which are not appropriate. Our job as criminal defense attorneys is not to brush wrongdoing under the rug, but to uphold the integrity and honesty of our justice system. We defend the rights of our clients no matter what they have been accused of doing because that is their basic right as Americans and as human beings.

We don’t defend crimes, we defend people. If you have been accused of a crime in Mason City, contact McGuire Law, PLC to learn more about how we want to help you fight for your rights.