Federal bribery is a serious offense that often can impact an individual’s personal and professional life. If you have been charged with a bribery offense, speak with a qualified bribery attorney. A lawyer that has experience coming up with defense strategies in DC federal bribery cases could help you achieve a positive outcome in your case. Work with an attorney that could fight diligently to build your case.
Building a Defense
The facts of every case are different and the defense strategies in DC federal bribery cases often depend upon the specific facts of the case. However, knowing what the government must prove in a bribery case enables an attorney to know what areas, in general, to focus upon. In other words, knowing that in a bribery case the government is going to have to prove that there was an offer, a solicitation, or an exchange of something of value that involves the public official and that was related to the public official’s duties, the attorney then knows what they are going to look for with regard to the critical elements of the case.
Challenging Intent
When deciding which defense strategies in DC federal bribery cases best suit a person’s case, an attorney is going to focus on the government’s evidence and the allegations that an offer or a solicitation was made that involved something of value. In other words, just because someone may have a conversation with a public official, that does not mean an offer was made. Just because someone may have transmitted something of value to a public official, that does not necessarily mean it was in any way related to their role as a public official.
For example, a person can buy a lawn mower from a senator at a yard sale and if the individual pays them cash that does not mean giving that senator some cash is in any way illegal. This illustrates the point that just engaging in some form of transaction as a public official in and of itself is not criminal. It has to do with the intent of the transaction and what was done as a result of the transaction. To build a strong defense in a bribery case is to challenge those areas involving whether or not an offer or solicitation was made, whether or not a transaction occurred, and whether it dealt with a public official and their public duties. Anywhere that there is a lack of evidence or a credibility issue with the evidence, those are going to be the areas that are going to be attacked. Now, that will vary from case to case depending upon the facts. The areas of concern in a bribery case are in general the same with regard to what the defense knows the government needs to prove, but what facts are in any case will definitely vary from case to case, and so what the defense specifically will be in a case will change based upon the facts.
Constitutional Issues in DC Federal Bribery Cases
The Constitution, particularly under the Bill of Rights, guarantees that an individual has due process, guarantees an individual cannot be compelled to incriminate themselves, and guards against illegal searches and seizures by the government. In any criminal case, the defense will be looking to see how the government gathered their evidence and whether that evidence involves any statements or communications from the defendant, or not. Does that involve the seizure of any property from the defendant, the defendant’s home, car, place of work, or other areas that the defendant has control over.
The government has to justify their seizure of evidence as it regards to the defendant. Those issues will often come up when an attorney is looking for defense strategies in DC federal bribery cases. If the government was able to secure a warrant for a wiretap, the defense is going to want to examine that warrant and the alleged basis for securing that warrant. If they have a search warrant, the defense is going to examine the alleged basis for the search warrants. If they arrested the defendant and questioned the defendant, the attorney may wonder whether law enforcement read the defendant their Miranda Rights before doing so and whether the waiver properly made by the defendant. All of these are important constitutional issues that will arise in any criminal case, and so, therefore, they would arise in a federal bribery case as well.
How a DC Federal Bribery Attorney Can Help
It is critical for individuals to be given proper legal advice throughout the process. A federal case can be extremely stressful. There is much at stake and it is critical that a defense attorney is there to guide you through every step of the process. The attorney could help you understand what your rights are, to make sure that your rights are protected, and help you make decisions going forward. Your lawyer could help you gather evidence and identify strengths and weaknesses in the government’s case while identifying and evaluating defense evidence.
It is critical for anyone who is being investigated or charged for a federal crime, particularly one like bribery that is prosecuted so vigorously, to have an experienced and qualified defense attorney to guide them through it. In a federal case, a person is up against the federal United States government, which has nearly limitless resources. If you want to bring those resources to bear against the defendant in a federal case, you have those resources to do so. Particularly in a federal bribery case, it is expected that you will bring all the resources that you need to fully investigate and prosecute the crime because bribery is viewed as such a heinous crime against society and is prosecuted very vigorously. If you want to know more about defense strategies in DC federal bribery cases, speak with a skilled bribery lawyer today.
