If you have been charged with a crime in Pleasant Grove Utah, you likely have many worries and questions. Your first step should be to contact a criminal defense lawyer with experience handling criminal cases in Pleasant Grove. The criminal defense attorneys at Intermountain Legal have successfully defended criminal cases across the entire spectrum of criminal charges in Pleasant Grove and have extensive experience with the Pleasant Grove judges and the Pleasant Grove court system.
Our criminal defense attorneys serve Utah County and the Pleasant Grove area out of our offices based in Salt Lake City. There are many advantages to working with a criminal defense lawyer who serves a wider geographical area. Small town attorneys rarely have a large enough clientele to be able to focus their practice exclusively on criminal defense. Because they are not able to specialize in criminal defense, small town lawyers do not have the knowledge or experience of an attorney who focuses his or her entire practice on criminal defense. Also, lawyers who are more accustomed to working in other areas of the law often have very limited courtroom experience. At Intermountain Legal, our attorneys not only work exclusively on criminal defense cases, but we have criminal defense attorneys who further focus their practice on more specialized areas of criminal law such as DUI and domestic violence. This specialization gives you an advantage in getting your Pleasant Grove criminal case resolved so that you can move on with your life.
Criminal Defense Law In Pleasant Grove Utah
If you have been charged with a crime in Pleasant Grove, Utah, your case will be assigned to a court based on the severity of the alleged crime. Pleasant Grove has its own justice court. The Pleasant Grove justice court has authority to deal with class B and C misdemeanors, violations of ordinances, and infractions such as traffic violations which are committed within the territorial boundaries of Pleasant Grove. Examples of cases that would go to Pleasant Grove justice court are assault, shoplifting, and DUI. More serious charges such as felonies and class A misdemeanors are dealt with at the Utah County District Court in American Fork. Examples of case that would be handled at the American Fork District Court are manslaughter, robbery, and drug possession. The criminal defense attorneys at Intermountain Legal have extensive experience working with both Judge W. Brent Bullock in Pleasant Grove and with Utah County District Court judges Christine S. Johnson and Thomas Lowe in American Fork. The Pleasant Grove justice court is located at 70 South 100 East, Pleasant Grove, Utah and can be contacted directly at (801) 785-9461. The Utah County District Court for American Fork is located at 75 East 80 North Suite 202, American Fork, Utah and can be reached at (801) 756-9654.
Crime is relatively uncommon in Pleasant Grove. The crime rate in Pleasant Grove is 48% lower than the rest of Utah. In turn, the crime rate in Utah is 6% lower than the rest of the United States. Additionally, the rate of violent crimes in Pleasant Grove is 57% below the Utah average and the Utah average is 49% below the national average. These statistics are actually a disadvantage to a person charged with a crime in Pleasant Grove. Pleasant Grove has a dedicated police force of 25 full time officers augmented by a “Volunteers in Police Service” program which assists the Pleasant Grove police force by recognizing and reporting suspicious activities, crime, and traffic violations in Pleasant Grove. Because police officers have fewer cases to deal with, they have more opportunity to diligently follow through on the criminal charges that are filed. For example, in larger, busier cities officers occasionally do not have time to appear and testify against a defendant. This occurs more rarely in small, safe towns such as Pleasant Grove. Prosecuting attorneys as well may have a smaller case loads and so are able to invest more resources in going after individual criminal defendants, even for smaller crimes which may be taken less seriously in larger cities such as Salt Lake. Also, because crime is uncommon, judges in towns such as Pleasant Grove tend to treat the cases that come before them more severely. Criminal penalties in towns such as Pleasant Grove tend to be harsher than in larger cities where judges deal with more defendants.
Contact a Pleasant Grove Criminal Defense Lawyer
When you call Intermountain Legal you will speak directly with an experienced criminal defense attorney. We offer a free consultation in which we will listen to the details of your unique situation and offer you suggestions on how to proceed. It has been proven that, on average, defendants in Pleasant Grove who work with a criminal defense lawyer receive milder sentences than those who plead guilty at the outset of their case. Get the experience your case deserves by calling a Pleasant Grove criminal defense attorney at Intermountain Legal. We believe that everyone deserves a second chance and we will use our extensive knowledge of the laws and criminal court system in Pleasant Grove to get the best possible outcome in your criminal case.