In some cases, a Denver criminal defense lawyer will negotiate a plea agreement by which the defendant is required to serve a suspended sentence. What does this mean? It is really a probationary sentence. In a suspended sentence, none of the jail time sentenced is actually served right away. Instead, the sentence is "suspended" until another condition is fulfilled. Typically, this means if you commit a different crime, you will not only be punished for the second offense, you will also be forced to serve the sentence for the initial offense.
Another significant benefit of your Denver criminal defense lawyer negotiating a suspended sentence is that it makes it easier to have the crime expunged from your record. If you get sentenced to a suspended sentence, it is easier to have the sentence expunged from your record. If you comply with the conditions attached to your suspended sentence, typically your defense attorney will be able to go back to the court and argue for the record of the case to be expunged. That means if you comply with the conditions set forth by the court, not only will you not have to serve any jail time, you will not have a criminal record after a few years.
Defendants who receive suspended sentences do need to be very careful to comply with conditions. Along with the sentence hanging over their head during the probationary period, the court often feels like it has cut the offender a break. That means the judge will feel somewhat personally slighted the second time, and will be more likely to throw the book at him for a second offense. Of course, this totally depends on the judge. Generally, a suspended sentence is a great outcome for a Denver criminal defense attorney to get for his client, and can result in a second chance instead of time behind bars.
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