Area of defence · Navarra & all of Spain
Defence in homicide and murder cases
The gravest offences in the Criminal Code demand the most rigorous defence. I take these cases on with total dedication: expert evidence, reconstruction of the facts and meticulous strategy at every stage.
Homicide and murder are not the same thing
Homicide (article 138 of the Spanish Criminal Code) carries 10 to 15 years in prison. Murder (article 139) applies where death is caused with alevosía (leaving the victim defenceless), with particular cruelty, for payment, or to facilitate or conceal another offence — raising the penalty to 15–25 years. Classifying the facts — homicide or murder, completed or attempted, intentional or negligent — is the defence's first great battle: years of difference ride on it.
The jury trial
Completed homicides in Spain are tried before a jury: nine citizens decide the facts. Defending before a jury is unlike defending before a professional bench — the evidence must be explained clearly, examinations weigh more, and the strategy must be built around how laypeople will perceive it. I have direct experience of this procedure and of its investigation phase, which follows rules of its own.
How the defence is built
- Immediate intervention from the arrest: what is said in the first hours conditions the whole case.
- Analysis of the forensic evidence (autopsy, DNA, ballistics, traces) and counter-expert reports.
- Reconstruction of the facts and critical review of the police investigation.
- Study of defences and mitigation: self-defence, mental disturbance, intoxication, confession, reparation.
- Defence at the jury trial and the appeals: appeal and cassation.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions in homicide cases
What is the difference between homicide and murder in Spain?
Murder is a homicide committed with a circumstance the law deems especially grave: the victim's defencelessness (alevosía), particular cruelty, payment, or facilitating/concealing another offence. The penalty climbs from 10–15 years (homicide) to 15–25 (murder). Contesting those circumstances is an essential part of the defence.
What is the jury trial and how does it work?
A panel of nine citizens, presided over by a judge, decides the facts in offences such as homicide. The procedure has phases of its own and the defence must speak to a lay audience. Trial preparation — what evidence to propose and how to explain it — shapes the outcome.
Can self-defence be argued?
Yes, where its requirements are met: an unlawful attack, the rational necessity of the means used, and no sufficient provocation. It can operate as a full or partial defence. Its viability depends entirely on the evidence — which is why it must be worked from the first moment of the investigation.
The case is still under investigation — is it too early for my own lawyer?
Quite the opposite: the investigation is where a defence is built — or lost. The expert evidence, the statements and the framing of the facts are decided there. You can appoint your own lawyer at any point in the proceedings, even if one is already acting.
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