Crime Of Treason
When it comes to the crime of treason, having practiced criminal defense for twenty-five years, I rarely have ever seen this case filed against anyone. Number one, to even get yourself in a position to commit treason, you would have to have some sort of state secrets or be in a position where you could do something against the government or be an enemy of the government.
Therefore, to see this occur, it's usually going to occur by somebody who is not a citizen of the United States and attempting to do something against our government—possibly some sort of spying or other related activity.
Treason Against The United States
When it comes to treason, if you're charged with this offense, it's very serious because if you're convicted of treason in the United States – and this could be charged at the state level or the federal level – you're looking at either the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.
So, as you can see, you have to commit a very serious offense. Again, it's usually something that's going to be done against the interests of the United States government.
That's why the feds are typically going to get involved in a prosecution like this, but there is a Penal Code Section in Los Angeles—Penal Code Section 37—which actually covers treason.
It's just unlikely that someone is even going to be able to get themselves in a position of being charged with this crime. If you are charged with the crime of treason, you're obviously going to want to get an attorney who is sophisticated and knows how to deal with a case like this, and the potential defenses are going to run as far as what the facts of the case are.
In other words, you can't just say there's the same defense every time to the crime of treason. You're going to have to look at the facts and circumstances surrounding the offense, and then you figure out exactly what the defense is based on what happened, and obviously your side of the story as far as your version of events.
What are The Defenses Related To Treason?
Typically, suppose you're going to be convicted of treason. In that case, you're going to need at least two witnesses to be able to confirm that the person who is charged with the crime of treason actually committed that offense.
The reason it is so stringent as far as what has to be proved is because of the potential penalty being death or LWAP, which is life without the possibility of parole, so these are going to have to be two solid witnesses that can stand up to cross-examination by a good defense attorney, and again, even though treason can be prosecuted at the state or federal level if you're going to see this crime prosecuted it's usually going to be at the federal level.
The feds are much more sophisticated in dealing with these types of cases. They have the funds and resources to pursue witnesses who might be outside the United States and the technology to investigate and prove a crime such as treason.
So, when you talk about a defense to treason, you're going to look at exactly what happened. That's why I have people come in.
Call our Criminal Lawyers for a Case Review
We go over everything, and once I have all the facts and circumstances, then we can make a real determination as to whether or not there actually is a defense and, if so, what it is. Then we're looking at what you can do to assist in the defense and what I'm going to be doing moving forward so you have an idea of exactly what your defense is going to be and the things that can be done to help you when you're charged with such a serious crime like treason.
So, at this point, if you or a family member is charged with this type of offense, you're obviously going to want to sit down with an attorney under the cloak of the attorney-client privilege. Let them gather all the information and determine the best course of action to help you through this situation.