Federal bribery and public corruption cases can be very tricky and complicated. A lot of investigating, interviewing witnesses, and looking through documents is required to both prosecute and defend these types of cases. Our federal bribery and public corruptions attorneys in DC are dedicated in helping their clients achieve favorable outcomes in their cases. For more information about how our defense attorneys approach their cases, call today and schedule a consultation.
First Things to Look For in a Bribery Case
The first thing a DC federal bribery lawyer does is talk to their client to get more information. They will try to get documentary evidence as well as financial transactions and/or records of communication as soon as possible. If there are wiretaps, it would be valuable to evaluate those as well. For these types of cases, it is imperative that an attorney looks at as much information as possible, as early as possible, to determine what kinds of defenses might be available. Until the information is examined, it’s difficult to identify possible defenses.
One of the major things to always look for is any indication of what could possibly give rise to reasonable doubt. Even before that a DC federal bribery lawyer should try to understand and put together the version of events to determine what actually happened as opposed to what the government thinks happened. Once there’s a general outline for the situation, it’ll be easier for a defense attorney to alter their view of the situation when new information comes in.
Challenges of DC Federal Bribery & Public Corruption Cases
The players and the people involved are very interesting. However, sometimes in these cases, there is no dispute about what actually occurred. There can be a dispute about whether or not the events actually violate the law and that’s what is very interesting about these cases. Sometimes cooperating government witnesses are essentially paid to say what they are saying, usually in the form of less potential time or less actual time in jail.
There is a huge incentive for cooperating witnesses to testify untruthfully. As mentioned above, cooperating witnesses get the benefit of potentially facing lesser jail time or penalties. There are interesting and challenging investigations that can demonstrate that witnesses are bought and paid for, and can show they are not telling the truth.
There are many interesting challenges when talking to witnesses, especially when there is media coverage. Most witnesses don’t want to be involved when there is media coverage. They don’t want their name in the paper, so that can be a problem. Also, the government brings pressure to bear on witnesses that makes them hesitant to talk to anybody. That presents a challenge to DC defense lawyers when they attempt to seek out witnesses for their client’s defense.
How These Challenges Can Impact a Case
Media coverage can change the way a DC federal bribery and public corruption lawyer builds a defense, because they are always mindful of media coverage’s effect on potential jurors. An attorney needs to be cognizant of this at all times and seeks to limit what the government says in the media that could potentially prejudice their client. Sometimes an attorney can get information from the media, from the police, even from articles of online news reports or online postings. But, media coverage is not usually something that affects how a DC defense lawyer initially builds their case.
Consultations
During a consultation, an attorney will want to learn as much they can about the defendant, including their personal life, their background, and their business background because usually these issues are related.
Additionally, an attorney will want to learn details about their business, and the people who work with them who are likely to be witnesses in the case, as well as what contacts they’ve had with law enforcement, if they have potentially made any statements, and if there was an attempt to interview clients by law enforcement.
People can expect that they will have a very detailed conversation about the information they have. When an attorney meets with a person for the first time, they will ask the person to give as much information as possible, meanwhile, the attorney will be processing how the case may play out in court, whether it is positive, negative, or neutral.
The attorney can then provide the person with as much realistic advice or information as possible, and can try to educate them about the process that they may go through, in as much detail as possible.
Trust Between Clients and Their Attorney
Anytime someone speaks with a lawyer, anything they say about their situation is confidential; an attorney can hold that principle in the highest regard.
The various conversations a person has with the attorney helps to build a relationship of trust, which is immensely important in being able to get a positive result for a person in their case.
“I work extremely hard and make myself available to my clients nearly twenty four hours a day. Also, I have a great deal of experience working with these types of cases, in particular, cases where there is a lot of media scrutiny.
With the media involved, it may seem that forces are aligned against the client. An attorney needs to be a consistent stabilizing force; acting as a shield for a client against the people who are trying to bring that person down.”
– Federal Attorney David Benowitz
