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Bribery Of Legislator

Bribery Of A Legislator Defense Lawyer - Penal Code 85 PC

When it comes to bribing somebody in the government – for example, someone who is in the legislature – this would be a very serious offense, and the person could be looking at multiple years in state prison.

Typically, the conduct that you're talking about in order to be charged with Penal Code Section 85 – bribery of someone in the legislature – is trying to get them to do something with corrupt intent by offering them something of value in order to get them to vote a certain way or do a certain thing that would obviously be illegal and would be inappropriate when looked at by a reasonable person in evaluating whether the person was doing something unlawful related to their job as a legislator.

Usually, where you see people getting caught for bribery of a legislature, it's where people are trying to improperly influence another person – either by giving them some sort of money – it could happen even before the person is elected – and then after the person who gave them the money is now trying to cash in the favor, and then they could be charged at the state or federal level. At the state level, the Penal Code Section is eight and that basically defines all the necessary elements in order to get somebody for this type of offense.

Defenses To Bribery Of A Legislator

A lot of times, the circumstances surrounding the alleged offense are taped. Sometimes, the conversations are not completely clear, and the government is trying to read between the lines.

Obviously, that's why we get you, go over everything and get your side of the story. A lot of times, a one-sided investigation is done, so your side of the story is really not conveyed to the police or the prosecutors, and that's the criminal defense attorney's job.

Another defense to a bribery case involving a legislator or otherwise is entrapment.

Basically, what that has to do with is somebody who is really not predisposed to commit this sort of a crime becoming involved in a conversation and either law enforcement, the legislator, or somebody else attempting to manipulate them into getting involved and goading them into some sort of offer or acceptance that they're going to pay some sort of money or get some sort of value in order to have the legislature do something that they're not allowed to do as part of their job description.

So, really, when it comes to defenses related to bribery cases, they're going to turn on the facts of the case, and that's why it's so crucial – even at the investigation phase – if you're potentially looking at a Penal Code Section 85 violation you want to make sure you get with your attorney and tell your attorney what's going on and let them advise you.

Let them deal with law enforcement or anybody who's trying to talk to you and get you involved in something unlawful where you're looking at multiple years in prison. What I have you do is have you come in to go over everything. Obviously, I want you to give me an accurate account of what happened, and then I can really advise you on your next move and assist you with it.

Penalties for a Violation Of Penal Code Section 85

If you get charged with this at the federal level, you could be looking at multiple years in prison and the loss of many of your rights.

Even at the state level, a bribery charge – depending on what the circumstances are surrounding what you're attempting to do, the amounts of money involved, your criminal record – all these things are going to be factored in when the prosecutor and judge are trying to figure out what they believe is an appropriate sentence for you.

But obviously, from your side, you want to get your criminal defense attorney involved. Let them get your side of the story across.

Get any defenses out there because, obviously, you don't want to go to prison for a significant period, lose the right to vote, or right to bear arms.

There are many other potential things that can be in jeopardy when it comes to the penalties related to a bribery case – especially of a legislator – and the reason they're so serious about this is that, obviously, legislators are entrusted with the fabric of our government. So, any type of manipulation related to that is going to be dealt with swiftly and harshly.

So, it's in your best interests to get in front of a great criminal defense attorney who knows how to handle these types of cases and can see you through it.

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