Kaplan and Kaplan, Vermont Criminal Defense Attorneys: A criminal charge of any kind is a serious matter.  Our first priority is to educate our clients about their constitutional rights and the legal process in defending a criminal case.  We take pride in developing an effective defense to the criminal charges against our clients and obtaining a favorable outcome whenever possible.  The Vermont Criminal Defense Attorneys of KAPLAN AND KAPLAN have combined decades of experience defending individuals accused of crimes in state court.  Our attorneys have significant experience defending clients charged with serious crimes including, aggravated assaults, domestic violence, sex offenses, drug offenses, driving offenses with death resulting, computer crimes and financial crimes such as fraud and embezzlement.  In addition to assisting clients at the trial court level of a criminal case, we also have considerable experience with appeals and post-conviction issues.

We understand the emotional challenges and upheaval which come with being accused of a crime.  We assist our clients in dealing with the stress and pressure of being accused of a crime in addition to our work providing a defense to the criminal charge.  We are always aware of the human side of criminal cases and take pride in listening to our clients’ questions and concerns.

The first issue in most criminal cases involves communicating with the police.  It is a natural and human desire for anyone to wish to explain his/her version of events to the police.  Most of the time, a person cannot talk his/her way out of an arrest or being charged with a crime. The police will often ask a suspect for his/her “side of the story” in order to obtain damaging statements from the suspect.  The police are rarely interested in a suspect’s “side of the story” except for how it can be used to support the police officer’s already established conclusions.  As a general rule, telling your “side of the story” to a police officer has a real likelihood of creating a very damaging piece of evidence against you in a criminal case.  We advise our clients to never speak with the police about a criminal investigation without our approval and never without our presence for the conversation.  The decision whether or not to speak with the police is an important and complex decision and should never be made without the guidance of an experienced criminal defense attorney.  Anytime you are contacted by the police in connection with a crime or possible crime, you should contact an experienced criminal defense attorney before you say anything to the police.