Criminal Federal Lawyer

Archive for April, 2010

Any person or persons facing a criminal court case will be required to hire the services of a Maryland criminal lawyer to represent them.  Otherwise known as the defendant or suspect, they would become the lawyer’s client for the duration of the legal process.  Typically, a criminal lawyer will only deal with cases relating criminal law and are unlikely to be involved in any cases relating to civil law.

A criminal act is defined as a crime committed in which the public and wider society is endangered.  The crimes can be wide ranging and usually defined under government, federal and state law.  Within the United States every state will make their own laws under their jurisdictions.  Because of this it is important to hire a lawyer familiar with the laws relating to the state in which the crime was committed, i.e. for a crime committed in Maryland, a Maryland criminal lawyer would be hired.

The first consultation with a lawyer is often free and can take place at their office, your home or place of work.  In other circumstances they can meet with you within a state facility.  Their role as your lawyer is to advise you of the charges against you, the court process you face and how best to proceed with your defense, including the entering of a plea bargain in return for a more lenient sentence.

Before the court case, much of a Maryland criminal lawyers work is spent on researching the case, searching applicable laws, past cases and precedents so they can build a defense case.  Depending on the circumstances of the case and evidence against them, a lawyer will look to either absolve their client of all guilt or seek a more lenient sentence.

The prosecutions case will rest on the strength of the evidence against the defendant.  In some cases, there may never be a court hearing because of insufficient evidence, despite the wishes of the victim concerned.  The court process will involve many different personnel including witnesses, enforcement officers, judges and lawyers.  Through every stage of the legal process, from arrest to investigation and eventually the trial, certain procedures must be followed, if not they can undermine the strength of the prosecution’s case.

A successful defense can depend on the case presented by your Maryland criminal lawyer and their knowledge and experience of the law relating to your particular case.  An experienced criminal lawyer will be able to advise on the strength of your case and the likely penalty you could face if found guilty.  It is important that you tell them of any extenuating circumstances surrounding your actions as these could aid your defense and lead to a not guilty verdict or a lighter sentence.

Hiring a Maryland criminal lawyer to represent you in court is something that you should seek to do as soon as you are arrested or at least charged with an offence.  The penalties for being found guilty of a criminal offense can be life changing and have long term consequences, so you need to make sure you give yourself the best possible defense when your case comes to court.

Each state will set down its own laws and statutes in relation to criminal offences and these are often defined under state, federal and local government legislation.  Because each state is responsible for its own law and enforcement it is important that you hire a Maryland criminal lawyer for a crime committed within the Maryland jurisdiction.

Only a lawyer specializing in criminal cases will have the knowledge and expertise relating to that state’s laws and procedures.  Many lawyers will take on criminal cases, however hiring a lawyer who specializes only in criminal cases will give you a better chance of obtaining the outcome you want.

Your first consultation with a Maryland criminal lawyer is usually free and will give you the opportunity to find out how much experience and knowledge they have when it comes to criminal cases.  It is also an opportunity for them to advise you on the law as it relates to the charges you face, the penalties you may receive and the legal process that will ensue.  It is important that you understand the charges you are under and the potential outcome of a guilty verdict.

It will be down to the prosecution to prove that you are guilty of the charges levied against you and the job of your criminal defense lawyer to disprove the evidence and seek to have the case dismissed.  If the evidence against you is too strong, then they may advise you to enter into a plea bargain whereby in return for pleading guilty you may obtain a more lenient sentence.

You need to be sure that you are comfortable and confident in any the abilities of any lawyer you hire.  They should also be able to talk to you in terms that you understand, ensuring that you fully understand every step of the case along the way.  A good lawyer will not only prepare your defense for you, but will also manage the whole legal process and represent you in court.

Under your constitutional rights you are entitled to receive legal representation through a court-appointed lawyer.  However, you will be constrained to working with whomever the judge appoints to represent you, unless you can prove to the judge that they are not fit to take on your case.  A court-appointed lawyer is a good option if you have financial constraints, as a private lawyer can be expensive to hire.  It is worth noting that private lawyers have only slightly higher success rate compare to court-appointed lawyers.

The central purpose for the enactment of the United States Sentencing Guidelines was to obtain uniformity in sentencing on a national level. While the Guidelines were intended to eliminate Judge’s personalities and personal proclivities as well as eliminate disparities in regions or districts, the simple fact of the matter is that there are some districts in which downward departures are the rule and other districts where downward departures are either the exception or just never done. Even within districts, the guidelines have done nothing to address the disparity among different judges with regard to their views of downward departures in similar cases. In addition, federal prosecutors are including in written plea agreements a stipulation that no additional downward departure beyond those concessions or agreements contained in the written plea agreement can be sought by the Defendant in what is an obvious effort to eliminate what has certainly become a very fruitful area for creative lawyering in federal sentencing proceedings.

In an effort to put together a meaningful presentation for this seminar, I sought out success stories from my partners and colleagues (Miami criminal defense lawyers), both in the Southern District of Florida, my home court, and from around the country. While the grounds for downward departure are limited only by one’s imagination, here are some departure ideas that have worked successfully and which you might apply in your federal cases in which your client is facing sentencing pursuant to the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
I. Extraordinary post offense rehabilitation.
Unquestionably, the heartland criminal case in federal court is a case in which the arrest and prosecution of the defendant follows very shortly after the offense conduct. There are, however, many federal criminal prosecutions that are not initiated, often times, until the eve of the running of the statute of limitations. In those circumstances, pose the question: What has the defendant done with his or her life subsequent to the offense conduct but prior to the prosecution being initiated?

In United States of America vs. Alexander Chiong, United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa, Division, Judge Moody, the defendant was indicted in a significant cocaine distribution case. The Indictment was returned four years and eleven months after the last distribution. There was almost an additional full year before the Defendant came before the Court for resolution of those charges. The amount of cocaine exceeded 150 kilograms (in fact, the government alleges 1,500 kilograms) and the plea agreement provided for stipulations regarding the amount of cocaine, acceptance of responsibility, role in the offense and an agreement that no downward departures pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Sentencing Guidelines would be permitted. In the roughly five years that had transpired since the offense, there was no evidence that the defendant had continued in the drug trade; the defendant worked at extremely laborious jobs in order to provide modest support for his family including lawn maintenance (pushing a lawnmower), pressure cleaning of homes and businesses and auto detailing. In addition, the defendant coached soccer, football and baseball teams that his children were involved in at local parks resulting in the usual plaques and certificates of appreciation given out by the local optimist club, etc. The motion for downward departure was based upon the defendant’s claim that his post offense conduct took the case outside of the heartland of federal drug prosecutions and warranted a downward departure based upon this “extraordinary post offense conduct.” The pre-sentence investigation report accurately concluded that the adjusted offense level required a sentence between 135 and 157 months. The court was persuaded that the defendant was not all bad as the government had alleged and that his post offense conduct warranted a four level downward departure resulting in a 97 month sentence.