Kentucky Tourist
Crime Defense Lawyer

There are two types of crime involving tourists: crime against tourists and tourist crime.

Crime against tourists is a major issue. As you might expect, crimes against tourists have to do with crimes committed towards foreigners either traveling from another country or simply another state. They specifically target tourists as they are more likely not to know the laws in the area, language, or simply may not want to waste time on their vacation trying to find who is responsible. However, tourists are by far the most targeted in petty crimes, and they are also at an increased risk of being assaulted or victims of more serious crimes, because they are so vulnerable not knowing a new area.

• In the wrong place at the wrong time
• Unaware of the location’s crime areas and habits
• Community or industry-driven crime against tourists in an area, such as multiple stores purposely raising the prices for customers of a different skin color
• Terrorist groups targeting tourists for hostage, ransom, murder, or forced labor
• Organized crime against tourists can seep into the media, covering up potentially bad rumors about tourist victims.
• While theft is the most common, tourists are disproportionately vulnerable to other types of crime and may unwittingly add to their likeliness of being targeted if they flash money around or look inexplicably tourist-like.

The second, less common definition of tourist crime is called ‘Crime Tourism.’ Crime tourism is different in that the offenders are the ones who come from out of the country or area. Crime tourism is the intentional targeting of natives to steal, pawn, or otherwise make money illegally. Crime tourists typically stay well below a certain legal limit to prevent being prosecuted to the fullest. This type of crime is rare and is usually not something people have to worry about, but there is a growing popularity of crime tourism.

If you have been convicted of any tourist crime, I’m here to fight for your case. Don’t let the prosecution get the lead in developing strategies against you when they are already ahead.

While crimes against tourists and crime tourism are two separate definitions in the legal field, they actually don’t carry a different sentence than the crime committed. Rather, these terms are used as a statistic to show that tourists are usually the ones most targeted while they travel and could be brought up in court by the persecution. However, it is important to keep in mind that the location in which the crime took place matters greatly. You will be tried against the laws in that specific county, state, country, etc., rather than your own. You could face significantly harsher sentencings in a foreign location if you are not familiar with the laws that they have.

Furthermore, although the punishment is not increased for crime against tourists, defending against a tourist crime can be challenging. Usually, once convicted of the crime, it is considered beyond a reasonable doubt that you have done what you are being charged with. This makes defending your case much more challenging, and up to the defense counsel to fight for the best possible outcome in your case.

As a criminal defense attorney, I have experience in defending many different kinds of cases. State and federal laws are completely different, and if you’ve been convicted of a felony level crime, you will face both courts defending your trial. You’ll then need to find a lawyer who is familiar in both types of laws to ensure that you can go through both courts smoothly. Choosing a lawyer unfamiliar with federal court may be detrimental to your case and could end up losing you years of life in prison or fined an exorbitant sum in the aftermath.

Typical responsibilities of a criminal defense attorney and what I offer:

1. I understand the judicial system. As an experienced criminal defense attorney with over 35 years of experience, I know judicial process through and through. In your case, I can help guide you through the legal system and all of the confusing steps that are commonly taken in the process. It can be difficult if you don’t understand the inner workings of such a complex structure, but I often give step-by-step guides that you can use to get through your litigation with the best possibility at lowering your sentence.
2. While working in the Kentucky area, I’ve built plenty of relationships and connections with the prosecutors and other defense attorneys. Knowing the other party and having a good relationship with them, despite being adversarial, can help you in your litigation process. I know that a lawyer with a good relationship with prosecutors can help in plea negotiations and push them in mine and my client’s favor. For this reason, I have been working the Kentucky area for years, continuing my law practices and developing connections. I use the connections I’ve developed to help reduce the charges, sentencing, or trouble you might have to face.
3. I fight to protect the future of my clients. An attorney who knows what they are doing in the court system can look at how the evidence is conceived, have errors dismissed, or reduce the charges you could face. You might even get the chance to walk free with dismissed charges, or prevent a felony from appearing permanently on your record. I offer you and your future, security, that you know you got the best chance to prevent the worst possible outcome in a trial. Criminal records can impact you in ways you couldn’t begin to understand.
4. Hiring me can save you money in the long run. It might seem counterintuitive that a lawyer could save you money, but when you are facing thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, a good lawyer can be the deciding factor in having those fines reduced or fully dismissed. A criminal defense attorney can even help give you job security if you believe you could lose your job as a result of the case. I always give my clients the best opportunity to reduce their charges and overall sentencing.
5. I can assess police conduct through TV, media, and social media to benefit your case. The police involved in your case also have to follow the rules when it comes to the acquisition of evidence. Illegal acquisition could completely expunge the evidence making it invalid for the court proceedings. This is often an impossibility if you decide not to hire a criminal defense attorney, as gathering the evidence could be locked behind various legal boundaries that are otherwise impossible to get behind. I have years of experience in helping people across the Kentucky area. I know how to gather all the evidence needed for illegal police acquisition to help you in your case and potentially get evidence dismissed.
6. I can advise you on the possible outcomes of the trial. Formulating plea deals, analyzing the prosecution, assessing sentence possibilities, questioning and examining witnesses, and gathering evidence for you and your case are all necessary for me to give you the best legal case I can. Courts do absolutely no gathering of evidence outside of the police reports and public information. This means it’s up to me, as the criminal defense attorney, to gather and provide the court all relevant trial information on your case.

Being convicted of a tourist crime is a difficult case to fight. As a defendant, the prosecutor will have most of the information they could need to prove motive and the evidence provided can easily hurt your case. You’ll need a defense lawyer who is up to the task to help you argue your case and negotiate the best deal possible for your future. I believe in standing up for you no matter the charges that you are facing. If you are facing a tourist crime conviction in the Kentucky area contact me to schedule a consultation so I can help you, as soon as possible.