Services Offered

Peterson Legal offers a wide range of criminal defense services to its clients. But the easiest way to describe what we do is that we help with anything criminal-law related. If you have an issue that involves a crime then we can help. Because whether its the smallest infraction or the most serious felony we are passionate about criminal defense. So you should contact us if you have an old conviction on your record. Or if you’re facing an active charge and have a court date set. Or even if you have been contacted by police and there is an open investigation but no charges have been filed. No matter what stage of the process you’re in, give us a call and find out what we can do to help. Some examples of the cases we handle are listed below:

violent offense

Violent crimes are very serious in the criminal justice system and often involve heightened penalties. Along with stiffer laws, most prosecutors are very aggressive when it comes to their pursuit of violent offenders. This is especially true if the victim is active in their support of the case. Along with crimes that actually cause harm, violent offenses also include attempts and threats.

domestic violence

There actually is no criminal offense under Utah Law called domestic violence. Instead domestic violence is a tag that you add to other crimes. Once the domestic violence tag is added to a crime it makes the crime more severe and increases potential penalties. One of the biggest misconceptions about domestic violence is that the alleged victim is in control of “pressing charges”. In reality, the prosecutor is the one that decides whether or not to charge an individual.

Sex Crimes

There is a long list of sex crimes in the criminal statues of Utah. They range from low level misdemeanors to the most severe felonies. Additionally, the underlying conduct could be actual contact or intercourse, or just exposing or viewing. Regardless of the severity of the offense, however, they all include a heightened level of stigma in our society. Needless to say, there is a lot at stake if you’re facing a sex crime.

DUI

Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a very common offense. However, most people don’t understand the specifics of a DUI charge. Most people associate a DUI with only alcohol, as in the case of drunk driving. However, it is becoming increasingly more common to have a DUI based on drug use instead of alcohol. These drug related DUIs also could involved prescription drugs that are lawfully prescribed and taken under the direction of a doctor, such as ambien.

Drug charges

The most common crimes charged in any court have to do with drug use and drug abuse. There are a number of ways that drugs can be a factor of a criminal case. But the most common forms of drug charges are possession, paraphernalia, and distribution. The severity of any drug offense depends on the actual drug. Drug crime defense is one of our most common criminal defense services.

Expungement

Expungement is the legal process to clean up your criminal history. If you have been charged and subsequently convicted of a crime then that crime shows up on your background like a dark blemish. Convictions can sometimes cause negative consequences in job prospects or even attempts at finding housing. If you’ve waited the necessary amount of time you could be eligible to have your old conviction erased from your criminal history record.