EXCELLENCE IN CRIMINAL DEFENSE

Know and Protect Your Constitutional Rights

Attorney Ciraulo will aggressively investigate every aspect of your case, pursue every available avenue of defense, and is prepared to zealously represent your legal interests.

Police officers and prosecutors are charged with the duty to protect the public as a whole and may not always have the protection of an individual’s rights as their primary objective. It is important that you know your rights and have a skilled advocate on your side. Remember to always be respectful and polite to investigating officers, but you do not have to consent to a search of your home, your automobile, or your person if the police do not have a warrant. You may always seek the advice of an attorney prior to speaking to investigating officers.

Attorney Ciraulo can help all criminal defendants including those charged with assaultive type offenses, narcotics related offenses, crimes against property such as robbery, breaking and entering, and larceny, operating under the influence ( OUI / DUI / DWI ) and other serious motor vehicle offenses. Attorney Ciraulo will represent your interests at all stages of the criminal proceedings including magistrate hearing, arraignment, pre-trial, probable cause hearing, and trial in District, Superior, and United States District Courts.

FUNDAMENTAL CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLES THAT GOVERN YOUR CASE

Before you can be convicted of a charged offense, the burden is on the Commonwealth (the Prosecution) to prove unanimously to a jury of your peers that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

There are three fundamental principles that function as the backbone to our system of justice:

(1) Burden of Proof: The burden of proof is on the Commonwealth. You do not have to prove your innocence. The burden of proof never shifts to you.

(2) Presumption of Innocence: You are presumed to be innocent and remain innocent unless and until the Commonwealth proves that you are guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

(3) Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: At trial, the judge will instruct the jury that you must not be convicted of any criminal offense unless and until the Commonwealth has produced evidence that creates in the minds of the jurors an abiding conviction to a moral certainty that you are guilty of the charged offense. If the jury is not so convinced, you must be found not guilty. The jury’s verdict must be unanimous.