Lawyer for criminal law and criminal defense in Zurich

Yes, in Switzerland you generally have the right to be defended by a lawyer in criminal proceedings.
You may request legal representation from the very first questioning by the police or the public prosecutor’s office, and the lawyer may be present during the questioning.

If you are involved in criminal proceedings but do not have the financial means to pay for a lawyer, you are entitled to so-called official defense under certain conditions.
The state will (provisionally) cover the costs of your criminal defense.

A claim to official defense exists in particular if:

• a so-called necessary defense is prescribed (e.g. in the case of imminent imprisonment of more than one year, pre-trial detention or complex proceedings), or
• it is not a minor case and you can credibly demonstrate that you cannot bear the costs yourself.

The request for official defense must be submitted to the criminal authorities orally for the record or in writing.
If it is approved, you will be assigned a criminal defense lawyer.
If you are found guilty in the proceedings and your financial situation improves, the state can reclaim the costs.

It is always advisable to seek legal advice at an early stage, for example to check whether an application for an official defense has any prospect of success.

The attorneys at Spühler Attorneys at Law take on official mandates and handle them with the same care and commitment as mandates where the client pays the legal fees themselves.

Criminal proceedings in Switzerland usually begin with a complaint: either by an aggrieved person, a third party or on the basis of the police’s own investigations.

In the investigation phase, the police carry out initial investigations.
They question people and collect evidence.
If there is sufficient suspicion, the public prosecutor’s office takes over the proceedings.

The public prosecutor ‘ s office decides on further coercive measures (e.g. house searches, surveillance or pre-trial detention) and carries out the formal questioning of the accused and injured parties as well as other witnesses or persons providing information.

Once the investigation has been completed, the public prosecutor’s office can discontinue the proceedings, issue a summary penalty order or bring charges before the competent court.

It is advisable to consult a lawyer in criminal proceedings.

If you are questioned as an accused person, you may refuse to testify at any time – without this behavior being interpreted negatively.
You are not obliged to incriminate yourself.
It is advisable to seek legal advice before being questioned.

A summary penalty order is a simplified form of concluding proceedings under Swiss criminal law.
If the public prosecutor’s office is convinced after completing its investigation that the accused person is guilty and the facts of the case have been sufficiently clarified, it can impose a sentence directly without a court hearing.
Possible sanctions in the summary penalty order include fines, penalties or conditional custodial sentences of up to six months.

The person concerned receives the penalty order in writing.
A period of ten days begins from the date of delivery.
Within this period, the accused person can lodge an objection in writing.
If no objection is lodged, the penalty order becomes legally binding – it is then considered a criminal judgment with the same effects as a court judgment.

If an objection is lodged in due time, there is usually a public main hearing in court, which means that the court is responsible for assessing the accusation.
However, the public prosecutor’s office can also discontinue the criminal proceedings or amend the penalty order before the court is involved.
The objection can be withdrawn by the accused until the conclusion of the parties’ submissions at the main hearing.
If you receive a summary penalty order, it is advisable to consult a criminal defense lawyer.

Abbreviated proceedings are a special form of criminal proceedings in Switzerland in which a main hearing is largely dispensed with.
It is used when the accused person agrees with the public prosecutor’s office on the main points of the criminal proceedings (in particular the facts of the case, the legal qualification and the sentence).
Abbreviated proceedings are excluded if the public prosecutor demands a prison sentence of more than five years.

The prerequisite is that the accused person fully admits to the offense and agrees with the facts of the case and the sanction requested.
In this case, the public prosecutor’s office submits a proposed sentence to the competent court.

Although a court hearing does take place, it is limited to checking whether the accused person acknowledges the facts on which the charge is based and whether this statement is consistent with the case file.

The court may not increase the proposed sentence.

The abbreviated procedure can lead to a quicker and more efficient conclusion of criminal proceedings.

A fine is a one-off monetary payment, usually imposed for violations.
As a rule, it may not exceed CHF 10,000.
A fine, on the other hand, consists of daily rates, which are multiplied by the daily rate.
The daily rate is based on the financial circumstances of the accused (e.g. 90 daily rates of CHF 100 each result in a fine of CHF 9,000) and is mainly used for misdemeanors.
Fines can be imposed conditionally or unconditionally.
In the case of conditional fines, you only have to pay if you reoffend during the probation period.

Pre-trial detention is ordered by a compulsory measures court at the request of the public prosecutor’s office if there is an urgent suspicion of a crime and grounds for detention such as risk of flight, risk of concealment or risk of recidivism.
It may only last as long as is necessary for the proceedings.
As a rule, a judicial review must take place every three months.
The accused person can apply for release at any time.

Legal help

The law firm Spühler Rechtsanwälte will be happy to help you with your legal matters. ➨Contact a lawyer for criminal law in Zurichnow

Social aid

ExtraMural

ExtraMural offers free, confidential and anonymous support to relatives of people in prison.
The offer includes:

• Information and advice on the prison system, visiting rights and official matters

• Personal support with social and administrative issues and referral to other contact points or pastoral care

• Strengthening and perspectives through individual support and finding solutions

• Exchange in discussion groups with other affected people

• Understanding and openness to concerns, questions and fears without judgment

Further information can be found at: www.extramural.ch

Team72

team72 also offers confidential and free advice to relatives of prisoners.
You can find further information at: www.team72.ch/infostelle-fuer-angehoerige

In Swiss criminal law, a distinction is made between conditional and unconditional sentences.
The difference lies in whether the sentence is carried out immediately or not.

A conditional sentence means that the sentence is not enforced for the time being.
It is only enforced if the convicted person reoffends during a fixed probation period.
Conditional sentences are intended to provide a chance of probation if there is a good prognosis that the accused will not reoffend.
The probationary period is usually between 2 and 5 years.
A conditional sentence is only possible for fines and custodial sentences of a maximum of 2 years.

An unconditional penalty on the other hand, must be served in full – either as a custodial sentence or a fine.
It is imposed if the requirements for a conditional sentence are not met, i.e. if there is no favorable prognosis (e.g. in the case of serious offenses and previous convictions).

In addition, there are also partially conditional penaltiesPart of the sentence is carried out, the other part is suspended on probation.
Partially suspended sentences are only permissible for prison sentences of more than one year up to a maximum of three years.
The unconditional part of the sentence must be at least six months.

We also represent injured parties or victims in criminal proceedings. ➨Learn moreabout our victim representation services