Criminal Defense Lawyer

If you have been charged with a serious crime, you do not need tolet the State make all the decisions. You have the right to fight and defend yourself.

When you are facing criminal arrest or investigation, you need an attorney who can thoroughly defend your rights. Michael Cohen has the experience you need when you are arrested or accused of a criminal charge. He has the knowledge and skill necessary to represent you at all stages of the process. Attorney Cohen handles all types of criminal cases from OWIs to misdemeanors to serious felony charges.

At our Eau Claire law office, criminal lawyer Michael Cohen will fight for you. He will relentlessly subpoena evidence and other materials so he can learn and understand the strengths and the weaknesses of the State's case. He will conduct his own investigation as needed to challenge the prosecutor.

Attorney Michael Cohen understands how the police and the prosecutor think. Criminal Defense attorney Michael Cohen uses his experience to get results. By combining his knowledge, skills and experience, he is able to handle the most difficult cases effectively. Criminal Defense attorney Michael Cohen has built a record of success handling cases other lawyers said were impossible to win. Some of the types of cases that Criminal Defense lawyer Michael Cohen handles include: 

Misdemeanor Crimes

Wisconsin law classifies some crimes as misdemeanors, which means they typically are less serious and carry a lesser punishment than felonies. However, the consequences of a misdemeanor conviction can still be quite severe and have a permanent negative impact on your life. Common types of misdemeanor crimes include:

• Disorderly Conduct – Authorities can charge a person for disorderly conduct if he or she provokes or causes a disturbance or acts in a way that could cause such a disturbance. A person who commits acts constituting disorderly conduct within an intimate relationship, can face domestic disorderly conduct charges.
• Battery – A person commits battery when he or she uses force against another person with the intent to cause bodily injury and without permission.
• Resisting or Obstructing an Officer – If you resist or obstruct a police officer while he or she is carrying out his or her law enforcement duties, you could face this charge.
• Theft – When a person takes the property of another person with the intent to deprive the owner of the property permanently without the owner’s consent, authorities can charge the person with theft.
• Criminal Damage to Property – This crime involves the intentional destruction or damaging of property of another without consent.
• Bail Jumping – Intentionally failing to appear for a hearing in a Wisconsin criminal court or intentionally violating a condition of your bond constitutes bail jumping.
• Possession of a Controlled Substance or Paraphernalia – Authorities can charge you with this crime if you knowingly possess an illegal drug or paraphernalia related thereto.
• Carrying a Concealed Weapon – In Wisconsin, authorities can charge you with carrying a concealed weapon if you carry a concealed and dangerous weapon.
• Traffic Offenses – Offenses such as Operating While Under the Influence and Operating After Revocation can constitute misdemeanor crimes.

Felony Crimes

Felony crimes are those crimes under Wisconsin law that involve serious criminal behavior and carry much stiffer penalties than misdemeanor crimes possibly including a prison sentence. Examples of felony crimes include:

• Homicide – Homicide is death by criminal means, which may be intentional, reckless, or negligent.
• Burglary – A burglary occurs when you break into and enter a structure with the intent of stealing or committing a felony therein.
• Robbery – A person commits a robbery when he or she commits a theft by using force against the person of another.
• Forgery – If you falsely make or alter an object or writing so that it appears that someone else made it, with the intent to defraud, you commit forgery.
• Drug Crimes – Wisconsin law and federal law list many drug crimes. The penalty for drug crimes depends on the amount and nature of the drug possessed and whether the crime involves sale or distribution or intent to sell or distribute the drug to others.
• Sexual Assault – A person commits sexual assault whenever he or she has any sexual contact or intercourse with another without the other’s consent.
• False Imprisonment – This crime occurs when a person intentionally confines or restricts another person without consent or authority to do so.
• Kidnapping – A person commits the crime of kidnapping when he takes another person away by force or the threat of imminent force without that person’s consent, with intent to to cause that person to be secretly confined or imprisoned against his or her will.
• Stalking – The crime of stalking is committed when a person intentionally engages in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person, and which causes the specific person, to experience serious emotional distress or fear bodily injury or death and the actor knows or should know that at least one of his or her acts would cause that result.
• Recklessly Endangering Safety – You can face these charges if you act in a manner in which you are reckless as to the safety of another person in a manner likely to cause injury or death.
• Arson – Arson is the intentional damage to another person’s property using fire or explosives, without permission.

Do Not Incriminate Yourself

If you are contacted or arrested by the police, exercise your rights.

While your inclination may be to cooperate with police in order to prove your innocence, this strategy can easily backfire. You may inadvertently implicate yourself or mistakenly admit guilt under pressure. Do not risk making your situation worse by talking to police. If you end up being questioned by a police officer about a potential crime, you should not talk and you should tell the officer:

Officer, Please Understand –

I refuse to talk with you until I consult my attorney Michael Cohen. I want to call him now. I also refuse to consent to the search of these premises or any other premises under my control, or in which I have an interest, or my car, or my body or my effects. I desire to exercise all my rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States and the statutes and Constitution of the State of Wisconsin to be free from any of your interference with my person or affairs. I want to be left alone.

If you ignore my exercise of these rights and attempt to procure a waiver, I want to confer with my lawyer prior to any conversations with you. I want to leave. If I am free to leave, please tell me immediately so I can go about my business.

If you attempt to question me, I want my lawyer present. I refuse to participate in any lineup without first conferring with my lawyer.

If you follow this advice, you will invoke your constitutional rights appropriately and avoid further incrimination. This strategy may reduce the state’s ability to prosecute you for a crime and will allow your criminal defense attorney to handle your case properly from the outset. Contact Criminal Defense lawyer Michael Cohen immediately.

Expunction of Crimes

Unfortunately, sometimes people do get convicted of crimes. In some cases, however, that criminal record can be removed. Criminal Defense lawyer Michael Cohen can help in those situations also.

In some cases, you may be eligible to have certain offenses expunged, or legally removed. Criminal Defense attorney Michael Cohen can help you determine if this is possible in your situation.

The job of criminal defense lawyers is to put together the most effective defense possible to protect your rights to due process. That is the bottom line. Criminal Defense lawyer Michael Cohen has the experience to fight for you.