Mistrial
One of the principles of criminal law that best illustrates the importance of having an experienced criminal defense attorney by your side is what is called a mistrial. Simply put, a mistrial can be declared when something happens during a trial that is unfair to one side or the other and is so damaging to the aggrieved party that it necessitates abandoning the trial and starting all over. Most often, this happens in jury trials when the jury becomes "tainted" by being exposed to evidence that should not have been allowed in at trial or in some other way that would cause the jurors to treat one side unfairly.
A classic illustration of an event necessitating a mistrial is when a witness in a criminal case takes the stands and proceeds to tell the jury that the defendant has a criminal past, or the witness has seen the defendant in jail before, or has participated in some sort of illegal activity with the defendant. Such evidence is only admissible in certain situations in criminal trials and is highly prejudicial to the defendant since all of the jurors now perceive the defendant to be a criminal and are much more likely to find him guilty of the offense for which he is on trial. When this situation occurs, the defense will almost always move for a mistrial and will almost always receive one.
Although it can often be beneficial to the defendant, a mistrial may not be an advisable tool to use if the trial is going overwhelmingly in favor of the defendant or the prosecution made some sort of mistake or forgot to get some type of evidence admitted that they may be able to get in at a later date if trial is postponed. Having the assistance of skilled criminal defense counsel will enable a criminal defendant to spot such situations and make an informed decision about how to proceed.
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