Who Is Investigating And Prosecuting My Federal Criminal Case?
The federal government has several branches that investigate further cases. Examples are the FBI, the Secret Service, homeland security, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency), and ICE. Depending on your area, there are a whole host of agencies.
Healthcare fraud has its own investigation team, and insurance fraud has its own investigation team, so there's a whole bureaucracy of people who investigate federal crimes. As far as the prosecutors go, they're called Assistant United States Attorneys, and they prosecute federal crimes across the nation.
Should I Respond To Police After Discovering That I Am Being Investigated For Federal Crimes?
It would be best if you always remained silent whenever you're being investigated in any way for a federal crime. The type of terms that the Fed uses when they think that somebody is a person of interest to them is that they identify that person as a target of a federal investigation.
If you're identified as a target, they want to charge you. They think you've done something wrong, and they probably already have evidence that shows you're involved with a crime.
By talking to you, they're trying to get you to say something that will further incriminate you. I've seen cases where they identify somebody as a subject or a person of interest, which means they're deciding what involvement that person has and maybe believe that person could be a witness. I've seen people change from subject to target quickly once they ask them questions.
When it comes to investigating criminal federal cases, the government and their agents are not your friends. They're in a competitive business of ferreting out crimes. It would be best to immediately get a seasoned, savvy federal criminal defense attorney to protect your rights, freedom, reputation, and everything else.
What Should I Do If Federal Agents Request To Meet With Me In My Home?
If federal agents request to meet with you in your home, you should hire an attorney and allow the attorney to contact them. In this situation, I typically get all the information from the client about what they know as to why the federal agents may be knocking at their door and want to ask them questions.
I then contact them and tell them that I represent you. I then find out what they want to talk to you about. Obviously, I ask appropriate questions to try and really understand their angle and what information they have. I will tell them, “Let me speak to my client about it, and I'll get back to you,” and then you and I will discuss it.
Then we will decide what, if anything, we tell them. If we decide not to tell them anything, I will call them back and say, “Based on my advice, the client will not answer any questions. If you decide to arrest him, you can contact me, and I'll have them surrender themselves.”
If a prosecutor is involved, even better, as I will then contact the prosecutor, who is basically on a level with me, and I could find out exactly what's going on. To make a long story short, if they want to talk to you, you assert your right to remain silent and tell them you will have your attorney contact them.
What Happens After I Am Arrested And Charged With A Federal Crime?
Typically, once you get arrested, you are brought before a magistrate within a day or two in the jurisdiction where your case is pending. You are entitled to a hearing as to whether or not you are detained by the federal government.
The bail in a federal case is not like in a state case. The magistrate can detain you, which means you basically can't get out until your case is over, or they can let you out on some condition, for example, a signature bond where you're promising to pay a certain amount of money if you don't show up or you could get friends or family to do that. There are also property bonds where you put up some property in order to secure your appearance. There are several different ways you can get out.
Once it's determined whether or not you get out, you will be assigned to a judge. That judge will be on your case for the balance of your case. Your attorney will then be given that judge's rules. A status conference will probably be set, a jury trial date will be set, and your attorney will be given the indictment, which is the charges against you.
You'll be given a copy to review and discuss with your attorney. At some point, the government is going to be responsible for providing your attorney with all the information and what they call discovery related to your case. Once your attorney gets all that, they will come and see you, talk to you, and go over everything with you so you can be prepared to defend yourself.
Obviously, along the way, your attorney and you are going to talk about what your best move is going forward, and there are several different things that you can do to defend yourself in a federal case, whether it be going to trial or trying to negotiate with the federal government.
