DC federal conspiracy investigations should be taken seriously for anyone involved. To properly prepare yourself for the court case, contact a skilled federal conspiracy attorney right away. A seasoned lawyer could protect your rights and stand by your side throughout the case.
Federal Investigation Case Process
Federal conspiracy cases usually involve grand jury investigations that can vary in depth and scope. The investigation can involve many subpoenas to get information like bank or financial records, emails to get communications, and phone records to identify the parties communicating about the conspiracy.
The grand jury can also bring in people to give live testimony in front of the grand jury. The prosecutor uses all of the information to put their case together. The defense is not allowed to be present in a grand jury investigation when information is presented.
What is Everyone’s Role in DC Federal Conspiracy Investigations?
Sometimes, defense lawyers ask for witnesses to be presented to the grand jury; but the prosecutors are not obligated to do that. Many times, the defense does not even know a grand jury investigation is taking place. That is called an ex parte.
The authorities may reach out to a person before that, but they do not have to. When they do reach out in advance, usually it is because they want the person to plead guilty to something or come in to testify. They do not show their hand until they feel is in their interest to do so. It is a tremendous advantage for prosecutors and can be extremely dangerous for people to be subject to a grand jury investigation as a target or even as a witness.
What is Ex Parte?
In DC federal conspiracy investigations, ex parte means for one side only. The one side is the prosecutor. In regular court, the defense is present and has an opportunity to cross-examine, present their own witnesses, and present their own evidence. The grand jury does not allow the defense to attend the proceedings or present witnesses. There is no judge present. The grand jury is completely under the control of the prosecutor.
Every now and then a defense attorney can get a judge to go back and take a look at some of the grand jury proceedings, but that is extremely rare. The grand jury returns an indictment, most of the grand jury proceedings remain secret and the defense never really knows exactly the deliberations of the grand jury. A defense attorney might get the testimony of witnesses who are presented to the grand jury if they become trial witnesses. Prosecutors have a real advantage when they use the grand jury.
Law Enforcement Agencies Involved in Federal Conspiracy Investigations?
Any and all federal agencies can be involved in DC federal conspiracy investigations and frequently they are. The FBI and the DEA do drug investigations working with the Department of Justice and the federal prosecutors. They might be from the local US Attorneys’ Offices and they work with the Secret Service, ATF, or any federal entity that has investigators.
When there is an investigation related to the post office, the postal inspectors become involved. If there is an investigation related to financial institutions, the bank regulator investigators become involved in the grand jury aspect. Sometimes, teams have formed that blend the FBI with other agencies. For tax investigations, someone from the IRS can be involved; with mortgage fraud, someone from HUD is involved. The investigation always involves a Department of Justice lawyer and a federal prosecutor.
