The Role of an Alibi Witness in a Criminal Defense Case

What is an alibi defense? Basically, an alibi defense is a claim that a defendant could not have committed a specific crime because they were not where the crime was committed at the time the crime was committed. Alibi defenses can be established through the testimony of a witness, surveillance footage, or receipts from purchases made at specific times and locations. On the other hand, having a close friend or relative say that they were with you all evening is not necessarily the best defense in a criminal case. In these cases, jurors may not believe the witness testimony of a biased relative. Hence, the strongest alibi defenses include different types of witnesses or additional evidence including:

• unbiased witnesses
• video or surveillance footage
• digital clock records
• toll records
• cell phone tower data
• credit card receipts

The more evidence you have supporting an alibi defense, the better your defense will be. This is especially true when there is video documentation such as the surveillance feed of a timestamped video.

What are the procedural elements of an alibi defense? 

Any individual who asserts an alibi defense will be required to provide notice to the prosecution. This notice must include specific information, and be filed by a specific time. If the defendant fails to provide timely notice as required by the Florida rules of criminal procedure, the court may exclude all evidence supporting the alibi minus the defendant’s own testimony. An error regarding filing can have huge repercussions.

How does an alibi defense work?

 Let’s say that a homicide occurs. The defendant is charged with the murder of a civilian. The defendant claims that he couldn’t have committed the murder because he was in a different place and time when the murder took place. Once your criminal defense attorney learns about your potential alibi defense, they’ll investigate the defense to ensure the best possible outcome for their client. To do this, the criminal defense attorney would start by trying to get as much information as possible regarding the location and the time of the alleged crime. After that, the criminal defense attorney would look for evidence supporting their clients being in a different location at that specific time. This evidence could include:

• testimony from friends or witnesses who saw the defendant at a different location when the crime was committed
• testimony from a server or other employee that may indicate the defendant was at a restaurant during the commission of the crime
• security footage from the restaurant indicating that the defendant was there as opposed to committing the crime
• the defendant’s receipt or credit card entry indicating that they were at the restaurant during the commission of the crime

Contact a Tallahassee criminal defense attorney today 

The Tallahassee criminal defense lawyers at Luke Newman, P.A. represent the interests of defendants who have been charged with various crimes in Tallahassee. Call our office today to schedule an appointment and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.