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How a Virginia Federal Criminal Lawyer Can Help

When hiring a lawyer to represent you, it is important to remember that they are representing you only, not your family or friends. There are very few cases where an attorney can represent multiple defendants involved in a criminal scheme. A Virginia federal criminal attorney can certainly make referrals to friends or family who feel as though they need representation, however, if a lawyer is representing a client who is in jail and his family is being investigated, the lawyer cannot offer legal advice to them because it could ultimately prove to be a conflict of interest. Lawyers are normally very diligent to try and avoid even the appearance of impropriety, especially conflicts of interest. Though inconvenient, it will ultimately protect a client and their case in court.

Hiring a Virginia Federal Criminal Lawyer Can Help

Role of a Virginia Federal Criminal Lawyer

The number one thing a Virginia federal criminal defense attorney can do in dealing with the government’s investigation is to help an individual understand that there is no benefit to them cooperating with the investigation any further. If law enforcement has already arrested the individual, and charged them with a crime, the individual is unlikely to help themselves by giving law enforcement any more information about the situation with which they are involved.

In some cases, there could be critical pieces of evidence that the government has missed that can help an individual in winning their claim. It is the attorney’s job to bring that information to the attention of the authorities in some cases. However, in other cases, if the attorney formulates the opinion that the government is not going to be dissuaded from their efforts to prosecute an individual by evidence of which they were not previously aware, the attorney might elect to hold on to that information as a strategic tactic. The attorney may then bring that information out for the first time during trial. Every case is different, and every attorney has a different way of going about things. However, the principal factor in deciding whether to bring new information to the attention of the authorities is the attorney’s feel for whether or not that information is going to be so powerful as to ultimately cause the government to dismiss the charges.

Every case is different, and every attorney has a different way of going about things. However, the principal factor in deciding whether to bring new information to the attention of the authorities is the attorney’s feel for whether or not that information is going to be so powerful as to ultimately cause the government to dismiss the charges.

Protecting Assets, Homes, and Vehicles

There is very little an individual can do to stop something from being searched, assuming the government agents have a valid warrant to do so. Assets being frozen or seized for potential forfeiture proceedings can be challenged in court. A federal criminal defense lawyer in Virginia would have to take a close look at whether the government has enough evidence to substantiate those elements. Each element being considered, the freezing of assets, and the seizing of assets for the purpose of forfeiture has a specific procedure the government needs to follow to validate the freezing or seizure of those assets. An experienced attorney can certainly undertake that representation whether or not the individual being represented is in jail.

Refuting Prosecution’s Evidence

The principal way an attorney can challenge the government’s version of the events is by cross-examination. In doing so, a Virginia federal attorney can point out deficiencies in the government’s investigation, flaws in the way they analyzed or presented the evidence, or things that appear to have been misunderstood or misinterpreted.

Every case is different. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly which factors to look for when reviewing the government’s case. The principal thing to do in every criminal trial is look at the specific elements the government must prove, look at the facts that they intend to introduce as evidence to support the proof of those elements, and then look for holes. The defense attorney tries to determine what evidence might be shaky, what evidence might tend to prove something other than that which the government alleges, and that process often involves a number of different investigative techniques.

Actions Outside the United States

United States officials can arrest someone for actions conducted outside of the United States. The FBI or any other investigative agency can send agents to investigate outside the country. It is entirely dependent upon the nature of the case, but it is well known that law enforcement agencies across the world will cooperate with the United States. Most of the time, these agencies will allow agents into their country to conduct investigations.

Preparations of a Virginia Federal Lawyer

One of the main jobs of a person’s federal criminal lawyer is to prepare him or her for their criminal trial. The most common thing to explore when preparing for a criminal trial is whether or not a client is going to testify in their defense. There are certain cases where that is absolutely necessary, and there are others where it might not be necessary. Regardless, that call is not usually made until the trial has already started. In fact, it is a decision that might not be made until after the government has completely rested their case.

There is the possibility that a Virginia federal criminal attorney will prepare their client to testify in court, only to ultimately decide against having the client testify. This can happen in a variety of ways. One of which, is that the defense side believes that the prosecution hasn’t proven guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and does not want to put their client in a position to potentially give the prosecution ammunition for their case.

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