TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION AFTER A FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTMENT OFTEN GAINS THE BEST RESULTS

We've looked at methods to stop the grand jury process, establishing there's been grand jury abuse and how to make direct challenges to a grand jury indictment. But unfortunately even when a grand jury indictment may be subject to a later challenge once a federal grand jury produces an indictment against a defendant who has not already been arrested for the allegations he will face immediate federal arrest. Within hours or a few days of the arrest the defendant will face a federal magistrate judge in a federal courtroom who will make important determinations as to whether the defendant should be released while awaiting trial and if so what restraints and limitations may be required such as giving up of passport, gps monitoring, drug monitoring or ankle bracelet.

 Eliminate Your Flight Risk

Unlike the way criminal cases move forward in Florida's state criminal court system it's unusual for a bail bondsman to be involved in the federal bond process as the magistrate is apt to either allow a property bond subject to forfeiture or to grant a signature bond if release before trial is deemed appropriate. The magistrate judge's primary objective is to secure attendance to future court hearings and trials by eliminating any flight risk from the defendant. Factors a judge takes into account for federal bond and detention include the nature of the offense, the prior record of the defendant, the violent nature of the offense and statutory requirements such as the necessity to view any drug trafficking offense as a presumptive threat to the public.

In the Middle District of Florida most federal prisoners await their first appearance at the Pinellas County Jail which is often overcrowded with unsafe conditions. After the initial hearing with the magistrate the Florida federal cases proceed quickly compared to Florida state cases and in a manner of months are usually resolved by plea or trial.

The most important decisions made by federal defendants are often made very early in the federal criminal process sometimes well before the grand jury even deliberates on the allegations of misconduct. In federal cases where smart decisions are made early the likelihood of future success are enhanced so it's important to work with your federal criminal defense lawyer to gain the best results.

HOW TO MAKE DIRECT CHALLENGES TO A GRAND JURY INDICTMENT IN THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

After a federal grand jury hears witnesses and views evidence it deliberates to determine whether to issue a federal indictment. A federal indictment is the actual accusation of specific federal criminal conduct that must include the inclusive dates of the alleged crime, alleged participants known or unknown listed as co-defendants and other particular allegations such as the locations of the misconduct. 

Juggling Federal Indictment Challenges
 Renoir

In earlier posts we examined legal challenges to a grand jury indictment or grand jury subpoena that included four ways establishing prosecutorial federal grand jury abuse in the Middle District of Florida and eight methods to stop a federal grand jury subpoena in the Middle District of Florida and what to do if a federal grand jury is looking into your conduct or the conduct of your business in the Middle District of Florida. 

Since federal defense counsel is never permitted to offer a defense at a grand jury hearing all of the evidence submitted to the grand jury comes directly from a United States prosecutor as well as government agents from the FBI, DEA or other federal law enforcement branch. Because the information received by the grand jury is so one sided grand juries are known for being malleable instruments of the federal prosecutors who control and direct American grand jury indictment deliberations. 

Once prosecutors have gotten their indictment the following challenges may be made to attack the charging document:


1. Showing that the federal indictment fails to allege an essential element of the offense. A deficient indictment fails to adequately allow a defendant to defend himself.

2. Showing that there is duplicity or multiplicity which occurs when more than one charge is brought in a single alleged count within the indictment.

3. Showing that the indictment fails to allege a sentencing element. Facts that increase the penalty at sentencing must be alleged. For example, having a firearm during a significant drug trafficking case increases the penalty by five additional years. The allegation must be in the indictment if prosecutors later expect to persuade the sentencing judge to increase the sentence that would have been given.

4. Showing that there was error during the grand jury instructions can be raised as an issue but the bar to prove this has been set very high by recent federal case law.

5. Showing substantial variance in the grand jury allegations as found in the indictment and the actual evidence introduced at trial.

All of these fundamental grand jury challenges should be examined in detail in every complex federal criminal case to determine if there are fundamental leverage points of weakness in the federal indictment.

SHOULD POLICE INDUCED HOMICIDES BE LEGAL SO COPS CAN CONTINUE TO KILL AMERICANS AT WILL?

Over the past few hours there have been two more police induced homicides caught on video. It's now more or less impossible to not view the videos as they're everywhere. The typical scenario goes something like this: minority man is stopped for little or no reason by an officer, the suspect is shot six times and dies. The police force regrets what happened yet happily explains that there's more evidence than just the video, there's also the reliable testimony of the officers who should never be found at fault.

Just One Bullet 

What is it about this day and age that is different? Why are people suddenly being shot and killed by officers? Is there something in the water at police stations? Are police officers now inadvertently taking some drug, vitamin or supplement that has laid waste to their capacity to make informed decisions in a manner that does not result in death? No, the police haven't changed nor have the suspects.

The only unusual quality about these killings is that they're now routinely recorded whereas before the killings were hidden in a mirage of statistics. Most people, even poor people, have access to cell phones with cameras. Rampant uncontrolled police killings have been going on unnoticed for years except by the friends and families - the mourning fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and fellow parishioners in minority neighborhoods.  The pictures of the missing dead lining the walls of their homes. But the new videos speak if American injustice louder than their families accumulated tears.

The time has come for change in police strategy and tactics. The goal should be to protect the safety of not only the officer, but the public and the suspect. Too many officer engage in conduct such as needless high speed chases that endanger lives or firing a gun for low level crime investigation that escalates the probabilities of violence endangering innocent people as well as themselves. Why should officers be armed when they're eating at a restaurant? When a violent crime is being investigated why not simply retrieve the firearms from the police cruiser? 

Most of the time the cop on the street has no need to be carrying a gun or taser. In fact a strong argument can be made that the intimidation caused by wearing a gun backfires by making people wary of dealing with officers and making them feel as though they're living in occupied territory. 

For many years local police departments have protected the worst officers who use violence. When any officer harms or kills someone that officer should be indicted, tried and if found guilty punished. The integrity of local police departments should be a federal prosecution priority for indictments in the Middle District of Florida and throughout America. When the FBI conducts federal criminal investigations these deaths will the tears of the families finally run dry?