Ross Goodman
In the United States, malicious mischief is described as the depredation of United States property driven by ill intent—and it is not only exclusive to graffiti or damaging establishments or objects.
As the umbrella term for both the seemingly harmless case of vandalism and the much more severe situation of spiteful destruction of private or public property. It can cover a lot of related situations and has a high chance of leading to a wrongful conviction. To avoid such a situation, here are ways on how to defend against a Nevada malicious mischief charge as explained by Las Vegas defense attorneys.
The most common defense is to insist that the accused was only mistaken for the real offender. The defense may point out that witnesses only mistook the defendant for someone else who was in the same area during the time of the crime. The defendant can also insist that they only resemble the real culprit, but they'll have to back this up with compelling evidence.
The act was originally not meant to be a case of malicious mischief, but unforeseen circumstances got in the way and things escalated from there. The defendant must convince the court that the act started out innocently and there was no intent to damage or destroy the property. For example, it was originally a home improvement project that caused an accidental fire.
For situations where property damage or destruction was inflicted, the defendant can claim that the act was necessary to avoid any more fatal consequences. The defense must be able to prove that the property in particular actually posed a hidden safety hazard to the neighborhood but that either no one listened or that bureaucracy delayed the proper procedures for demolishing the property in question.
