When it comes to defending yourself in criminal court, nothing can be more important than hiring a reliable attorney to represent you. Experienced criminal defense lawyers understand all the red tape that has to be gone through, and know what it takes to win your self-defense case. There are a few things you can do to help your lawyer win your case including:

Create a Photo Diary

One of the most effective ways to prove that you were acting out of self-defense when you were charged with a crime is to create and maintain a photo diary that visually shows the injuries you incurred and how your recovery progresses as time goes on. If you were left with scratches, bite marks, cut, or bruises, after the fight, take the time to take photos of every injury as soon as possible afterward and then again once a week or so until you're completely healed.

Put the pictures in a photo album in chronological order so your progression is clear. By providing these photos to your lawyer and the judge, they'll be able to gain some insight into how much participation and responsibility the other party actually had in the situation. This should help prove your claim that your actions were purely made in self-defense.

Find Video Footage

If friends or acquaintances were with you when the fight happened, ask each of them to check their photos and video footage from that time to see if anyone captured what happened on camera. If so, you can have copies of the footage made to share with your lawyer so they can use it to build a solid case for you. Even if footage of the actual fight can't be found, you may be able to find footage that shows other people who were present so they can be found and asked to testify as a witness.

Write a Letter of Intent

Another way you can help your lawyer win your self-defense case is to lay everything out in a letter to the courts. Start by explaining what happened in specific detail, and why you felt that you had no other choice but to use self-defense tactics.

Then explain how you intend to handle similar situations in the future differently if possible so they don't escalate. This will help show the courts that you didn't intend to fight in the first place and shed some light on your determination to stay out of trouble in the future.

Using these techniques should give your attorney a little more leverage to work with when putting together a winning case for you. Contact a law firm like Medeiros & Associates for more information and assistance.