Submitting a contact form, sending a text message, making a phone call, or leaving a voicemail does not create an attorney-client relationship. Resources About Federal Criminal Defense. How Federal Criminal Cases Work. Whether you've been charged with a federal crime can be a surprisingly tricky question. Sometimes it is obvious. If you were physically arrested by an FBI agent - or other federal law enforcement officer - and brought to a federal district court and presented to a magistrate, then you have definitely been charged.
Though you probably already knew that. Similarly, sometimes you, or your lawyer, will get a letter from a federal prosecutor saying that you've been charged and that you need to come into a federal courthouse for an initial appearance.
Ultimately, the answer to this question depends on the unique facts of your particular case. While the conviction rate in federal criminal cases is high, the defenses and defense strategies discussed above will prove effective in many cases.
In order to understand the risks you are facing, you will need to engage an experienced federal criminal defense attorney; and, in order to give yourself the best chance of avoiding a conviction, you should start working on your defense as soon as possible. See more ». This website uses cookies to improve user experience, track anonymous site usage, store authorization tokens and permit sharing on social media networks. By continuing to browse this website you accept the use of cookies. Click here to read more about how we use cookies.
Federal Indictment? Nick Oberheiden. To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:. Pre-Trial Dismissal — Pre-trial dismissals following federal grand jury indictments are rare. Federal judges tend not to second-guess the grand jury process at this stage; and, as a result, successful challenges to indictments are typically based on procedural issues rather than the substance of the charges at hand.
For example, an indictment secured through prosecutorial misconduct may be ripe for pre-trial dismissal, as would an indictment secured for a charge that is barred by the applicable statute of limitations.
Plea Agreement — Negotiating a plea agreement allows a federal defendant to have a say in the final outcome of his or her case. Of course, the U. Leveraging potential defenses can help to facilitate a more-favorable deal, and there are various ways that defendants can make deals appear more palatable to prosecutors as well.
This is true regardless of the truth, and regardless of how well the evidence stacks in your favor. Many federal prosecutors are very good at what they do, and jurors can be easily persuaded—especially once an indictment has already been returned. Mistrial — If your case goes to trial, there is also a possibility that the judge will be forced to declare a mistrial. This occurs when the members of the jury cannot reach a unanimous decision after their deliberations.
If the judge declares a mistrial, the DOJ can choose to either pursue your case again or drop the charges against you. A plea agreement is a possibility at this stage as well. While the potential defense strategies are far too many to list, it is possible to break these defenses down into a handful of broad categories: 1. Constitutional Defenses As a defendant in the federal criminal justice system, you are entitled to the protections afforded by the U. Procedural Defenses Procedural defenses include grounds for dismissal such as withholding incriminating evidence and surpassing the statute of limitations.
Affirmative Defenses Affirmative defenses involve acknowledging the commission of a criminal act while simultaneously establishing a justification that defies a finding of criminal intent. Innocence Defense If you are innocent — and if you can prove it — then this could be the best defense when you get federally indicted.
The grand jury hears evidence and testimony from witnesses presented by the prosecution. It has the power to ask questions, and subpoena witnesses and documents on its own. A minimum of 16 grand jurors must be present to vote a quorum , and at least 12 must vote in favor of an indictment before charges can be brought. However, it is also true that prosecutors do frequently alter the crimes charged, or even add new charges, during the course of a criminal proceeding.
A superseding indictment is just like any other indictment, and it must be obtained the same way as the original indictment—through a grand jury. The superseding indictment can include different charges, new charges, or add new defendants. Once the grand jury returns a superseding indictment, the superseding indictment replaces supersedes the original indictment.
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure are another source of law governing indictments. For example, if an indictment alleged that John stole merchandise from a department store, and if stealing from a department store is only a state, but not federal, crime, then the indictment in this case would be invalid because it did not allege a federal crime. Finally, case law developed from court decisions also shape what must be in an indictment. New Jersey , U. Under Apprendi and its progeny, any factor other than a prior conviction, which has the effect of increasing a statutory maximum sentence or setting a mandatory minimum sentence, must be pleaded in the indictment.
Prosecutors have discretion in selecting how much information to include in an indictment. Speaking indictments can have both negative and positive implications for the defense.
On the one hand, they can provide defense lawyers with a roadmap of the way the prosecution views the case and is thus beneficial from that perspective. A skilled federal defense lawyer who has experience with speaking indictments will develop a strategy that is most advantageous to the client when faced with such an indictment.
As mentioned earlier, an indictment is only one way for federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges. A criminal information is similar to an indictment in that it serves as the document formally accusing the defendant of committing one or more crimes.
The main difference between the two is that a criminal information does not require a grand jury proceeding. This allows federal prosecutors to conserve resources. In federal misdemeanor cases, there is no Fifth Amendment right to indictment by grand jury, and prosecutors therefore prefer to use criminal information instead of indictment.
This happens most frequently where the defendant and the prosecutor have reached an agreement as to a guilty plea to a particular offense before an indictment was returned, or where the final plea is to an offense different than that originally charged in an indictment.
A criminal complaint, by contrast, is frequently used when prosecutors need to make an arrest quickly. This may happen, for example, when federal agents learn that a crime is about to occur, or has just occurred, and must act immediately. In this situation, prosecutors do not have the time to go through the grand jury process. Instead, prosecutors file a written document called a criminal complaint, together with an affidavit signed by an agent familiar with the case.
A judge or magistrate judge will review the complaint and affidavit, and issue an arrest warrant if he or she finds probable cause. An indictment legally is not evidence.
This means that jurors are not permitted to rely on the indictment to conclude that a defendant is guilty. Nevertheless, it is common for lay persons to be swayed by the allegations in an indictment.
Some federal judges have a practice of allowing the jury to read the indictment during deliberations, on the theory that this will help the jury understand the charges.
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