Just because you have been charged with a crime does not automatically mean that you will either need to enter into a plea bargain or head to trial. There are a range of outcomes that can happen in your case. A judge may dismiss one or more charges against you. In some cases, the prosecutor may even decide to drop some or all of the charges that you are facing. Much depends on how vigorously you defend yourself from charges and whether you hire a criminal defense attorney to represent you early in the legal process.
The prosecutor can drop the charges against you, or they may elect not to press charges. Both of these outcomes lead to similar results for you. Either way, you will not need to go to trial or even have to entertain the prospect of pleading guilty in your case. Both are considered good outcomes in your criminal case.
Prosecutors Cannot and Should Not Press and Litigate Unsupported Charges

Prosecutors are governed by their own legal and ethical codes that they must follow in the practice of their own job. Although there is a certain amount of inherent prosecutorial discretion, they also should not press forward with charges against you that they know they cannot prove. A prosecutor can actually get into trouble with their own bar association, and they may even face ethical charges themselves if they press charges that have no sound basis.
A prosecutor needs to continuously reevaluate the case against you to ensure that they should continue to try to seek a conviction. The last thing that a prosecutor wants to do is invest the time and resources in a case that will result in a loss for them. It is not a wise way to spend the state’s money, and high-profile losses at trial can be very bad for the prosecutor’s reputation.
New Developments Could Force the Prosecutor to Drop Charges
Some new events may emerge during your case that may leave the prosecutor with little choice but to drop charges against you. For example, your criminal defense lawyer may have conducted their own investigation, uncovering key evidence that may exonerate you from the charges or severely undermine the prosecution’s case against you. The prosecutor may learn from their own efforts to develop their case that the evidence against you was not what they thought or was not as reliable as it seemed when they first charged you with a crime.
Losing Key Evidence Could Cause the Prosecutor to Drop Charges
The prosecutor may be forced to drop the charges against you when you succeed in challenging and suppressing key evidence that they propose to use in court. For example, you may have been charged with a drug crime, but law enforcement did not have probable cause to conduct the search that led to the seizure of the evidence (and no valid exception to the probable cause requirement may have applied).
Without the key evidence that forms the basis of the case, the prosecutor may be forced to drop the charges because they will never be able to win a conviction in court. The same thing goes if a key witness changes their story, or something happens that can greatly undermine their credibility.
A Violation of Your Rights Could Lead to Dropped Charges

Your criminal defense attorney may present an argument that your rights were violated during the legal process. An individual law enforcement officer may have illegally questioned you, or your right to an attorney may have not been respected. Law enforcement may have overreached when they were arrested. As new evidence about your case comes to light, the prosecutor may reevaluate whether they can win a conviction and trial and may decide to drop charges.
You Could Be Placed in a Pre-Trial Diversion Program
There may be other reasons why a prosecutor may drop charges against you. Depending on the offense at issue, the prosecutor may negotiate an agreement allowing you to participate in a pretrial diversion program in exchange for dropping the charges. In other cases, you may plead guilty to certain criminal offenses, while the prosecutor may drop other more serious charges. There can be an alternative resolution to your case that takes it out of the hands of the court. A criminal defense attorney is aware of these actions, and they can work with the prosecutor or the court to explore them on your behalf.
Hiring a Criminal Defense Attorney Maximizes Your Legal Options
The earlier you hire a criminal defense attorney, and the harder that they fight on your behalf, the higher the likelihood that a prosecutor may drop the charges against you. Having charges dropped is the best possible outcome in many criminal justice cases. Although it may not completely clear your name and reputation, there is a certain stigma attached to having to go to trial, even if you are eventually acquitted of the charges. Here, you will not have to go through the expense and stress of a trial, helping you preserve your reputation.
A Show of Legal Force Makes the Prosecutor Take You Seriously

It is essential that the prosecutor knows that you intend to fight as hard as you can to protect your rights throughout the legal process. Hiring a tough criminal defense lawyer from the Law Offices of Evan E. Zelig, P.C. sends an unmistakable message to the prosecutor that there is someone who can hold them accountable if they continue to try a case where there is little chance of success. They will get pushback that they may not receive when you are dealing with them alone. In addition, hiring a criminal defense lawyer can help provide you with exculpatory evidence, or can reveal evidence that undermines the case against you to make the prosecutor think twice about going forward.
There is no reason why you should try to go through the criminal justice process alone. You may not even know what your legal rights are, let alone understand that they have been violated.