DEA AGENT SENT TO PRISON AFTER DEMANDING $700,000 FROM THE FAMILY OF A DRUG TRAFFICKER

America's harsh federal drugs laws continue to destroy not only the lives, families and loved ones of those convicted and sentenced to long prison terms, but also those who carry out the drug war on behalf of the federal government. In fact it's never been truer than now that corrupt sentencing corrupts prosecutors as well as law enforcement officers. In the Middle District of Florida a federal judge recently sentenced a former federal DEA agent to a year of imprisonment because he'd demanded $700,000 from the family of an imprisoned man whom he'd helped convict many years before. 

As the convicted drug defendant wasted ten years of his life languishing in jail the DEA agent lived a full & happy life until eventually retiring Then the DEA agent agreed to help the defense for ready cash despite federal rules that prohibit this. The agent made it clear in an email to the family that "...if we can't come to some understanding then you guys get to keep your money and he stays in jail because good luck getting him out without my testimony."

This quote in essence damns the entire federal criminal justice system as it relates to drug investigations for trafficking amounts of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana. Clearly this statement establishes a motive for DEA and FBI agents to pump up charges and to convict defendants so that they can later come back and reap the full rewards of their investigations. The problem is that investigators even on a local level are not shielded from corruption as a recent internal affairs investigation of the Pinellas Sheriff's office led to resignations of drug Detectives without jail time. 

Because of this inherent bias of federal and state prosecutions based on testimony from law enforcement officers, DEA agents and FBI agents, federal judges especially in the Middle District of Florida and in state courts in Clearwater, Florida should allow all drug testimony from these agents to be cross-examined with what knowledge the agents have of the $700,000 demand made by the retired DEA agent. It clearly goes to their potential bias in favor of harsh prosecutions resulting in the most possible time in prison for defendants in high profile drug cases so that they can later benefit financially once they leave law enforcement.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE BEING INVESTIGATED OR PROSECUTED FOR FEDERAL CRIMINAL SECURITY FRAUD

Security Fraud as defined by Federal Statutes at 15 U.S.C., Section 78J(B) can surprisingly encompass a wide range of activities that one might not readily believe are criminal. In fact the statute is purposefully vague so as to be a catch-all clause that prevents fraudulent practices in general. Despite this under the harsh Federal Sentencing Guidelines a conviction for Security Fraud often results in many years of federal prison even when someone can prove that he did not know that his actions were unlawful as all that is required under the federal criminal code is that it be shown he acted willfully. 

Securities Fraud does not require
Knowledge it's Unlawful

The statute delineates that it's unlawful to "directly or indirectly ... use or employ in connection with the purchase or sale of any security ... any manipulative or deceptive device or contrivance of such rules and regulations as the SEC may prescribe." 

So we go to the SEC to find Rule 10b-5 that forbids the following:
1. Using any scheme or artifice to defraud.
2. Making any untrue statement of material fact or omitting a necessary statement of material fact that would make the statement not misleading.
3. Engaging in any act practice or course of business that operates as a fraud or deceit to a person.

As you can see this is a poor way to circumscribe what the bad behavior actually is using such a broad stroke so Federal Courts have come into play to fill the gaps. Anyone with a fiduciary duty who fails to disclose germane information before a trade is made is likely liable as would someone who self deals. 

Courts have found that the statute encompasses the following activities: churning stock accounts, directed orders, wash sales, matched orders, rigged pricing, artificial markets, market manipulation, wooden tickets, parking and boxing in the stock. All of these practices are unlawful and therefore indictable offenses even if there's no actual monetary loss for the victim. Brokers are often at risk of being falsely accused of securities fraud (or of grand theft and scheme to defraud with huge loss amounts in the state courts of Florida) just because the alleged victim lost money on a known transaction that happened to go wrong. 

However, where there is a monetary loss that loss amount will be used in federal guideline calculations at sentencing and presented to the Court by the federal probation officer who writes the Presentencing Report. The relevant Sentencing Guidelines for Security Fraud are found at Section 2B1.1 (fraud) and 2B1.4 (insider trading). These provisions provide that the dollar amount of the alleged fraud will be the chief driver for sentencing. To find the best possible results in these complicated fraud cases it's important to contact as early as possible a Federal criminal defense lawyer who is well versed in the federal courtrooms of the Middle District of Florida.

THE NEW FEDERAL CRIMINAL PRACTICE BOOK FOR LAWYERS, DEFENDING A FEDERAL CRIMINAL CASE

I've gotten my greedy hands on the latest 2016 edition of Defending A Federal Criminal Case by the Federal Public Defenders of San Diego priced at $399.00 for three volumes. It is - as were the previous editions of this book - a definitive legal guide for federal defense lawyers and something every defense lawyer should have in that arsenal of last resort, the firm's legal library where the Jack Daniels whiskey is stored. 

It also makes for for some heavy lifting in lieu of your gym membership that lapsed some time ago should you heft them all together and throw them in your briefcase to say, fight some battle in federal court. I suggest carrying large helium balloons to help carry the load. Though I suppose the makers of this fine edition have solved that potential problem by also providing the book as a searchable PDF download. For a limited time certified CJA defense lawyers may get the books free of charge, after that you'll need to burglarize the Middle District of Florida Federal Defenders Office or try to buy mine page by page if it comes to that.

So why is this set of books so useful for Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers? It covers everything from that federal arrest, to federal indictment, to federal bond hearing arguments, to an analysis of every major federal criminal violation, to federal trial and finally to that federal appeal you were hoping you'd avoid before that fatal federal verdict. Although these books were created in California they cite the latest law from a variety of Federal Jurisdictions especially where there are inconsistencies. This allows the user to not only have some ground level working knowledge of the relevant legal arguments from his or her jurisdiction, but some ideas as to the best standard arguments from more progressive parts of the country, which as we all well know is any place not part of the Eleventh Circuit.

The books are clearly a labor of love for the Public Defenders of San Diego, Inc who offer their cumulative years on how the federal criminal law is changing for a better idea of how federal criminal law is in actual practice now. In the best way these books are what you'd hope they'd be, a definitive voice giving unbiased advice for every step in a criminal case with the goal of always finding the best possible result for every issue.

WHY DO FLORIDA DOMESTIC BATTERY ALLEGATIONS ALMOST ALWAYS RESULT IN ARREST & PROSECUTION?

In Florida domestic battery allegations almost always result in one of the spouses being arrested. It isn't always the one who started the fight, nor the one who called 911, nor even the one who seems to be hurt the most who is arrested. In Pinellas County as in the rest of Florida domestic battery, assault, aggravated battery, aggravated assault and spouse battery are criminal acts that are believed to be threshold crimes. 

Not only are the crimes viewed as significant in and of themselves but judges and prosecutors pursue sentences with added heft because studies have shown that some unaddressed small violent acts if not corrected may lead to the commission of more extreme violent acts. Because even small violent acts are taken seriously an arrest is likely as is a thorough prosecution of each case even when the victim does not wish to prosecute as the State of Florida is also viewed as a victim in these cases.

At a minimum for misdemeanor arrests and convictions such as for simple battery, assault or simple domestic battery punishment may include anger management classes as a condition of six months probation in lieu of jail. Also, if guilt is admitted it may be possible to enter a Pretrial Intervention Program within the Pinellas County Domestic Violence Court with the charge being dismissed after a period of six months in some situations.

However, felony arrests are much more complicated because Florida guidelines and scoresheets may indicate that the judge should give jail or Florida prison time. If you or someone you care about has been arrested for a felony it's important to remember the the five best ways to avoid felony charges and not let a felony ruin your life. In domestic violence felony cases such as aggravated battery, aggravated assault, arson on a home or conveyance or assault with a deadly weapon the Florida sentencing guidelines and scoresheets will come into play driving up the possible sentencing ranges within which a judge must sentence unless your Clearwater criminal defense lawyer persuades the judge to accept and articulate for the record enumerated justifiable statutory reasons for going under the Florida sentencing guidelines.

It's always important to contact your Clearwater criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible if you've been arrested in Pinellas County, Florida so that the damage to your life and to your family and your employment opportunities from your arrest can be minimized and the best efforts made to get the best possible results possibly finding a way to dismiss or reduce the charges against you. 

HARD RIGHT SHIFT TO LAW & ORDER ALLOWS SPINELESS FLORIDA JUDGES TO GIVE HARSH SENTENCES

Even the toughest sentencing judges in Florida's vast array of federal and state courts seemed to mellow over the past few years as they accepted the fact that harsh sentencing especially for nonviolent offenses such as drugs, fraud or grand theft was abhorrent. As defense lawyers focused media attention to the devastated families and loved ones of defendants ruined by the criminal justice system it slowly became clear to society at large and even to law enforcement, prosecutors and judges that in daily use the harsh sentencing based on absurd sentencing guidelines and unfair minimum mandatory sentencing that often subverted justice and that they had gone too far in criminalizing nonviolent behavior with significant jail time. 

Judges could no longer effectively convince us that when they gave inhumane sentences that it was only because they lacked discretion under the sentencing guidelines. The most politically sensitive judges were the first to see that times had changed and were happy to receive more praise for more reasonable sentences. Soon others followed till a consensus developed for nuanced sentencing based on fairness, reasonableness and rehabilitation and giving a second chance thru the pretrial intervention program rather than retribution.

Those days of aspirations toward a Florida system of fair sentencing are about to end. The political climate for greater law and order will quickly turn the most spineless judges into mere adding machines pleasantly spitting math scores and spilling blood at sentencing. Eventually the zeal of long sentencing will sweep away any of the remaining reluctant judges until they're all giving minimum mandatory sentences that corrupt the very prosecutors and judges who pursue them with no apparent shame just as they were only a few years ago. Close your eyes as they waste another generation of lives thrown away for no purpose other than the fact that judges enjoy being judges. 

WILL FEDERAL MARIJUANA INVESTIGATIONS & ARRESTS NOW BECOME MORE OF A PRIORITY WITH TRUMP?

The federal government should no longer prioritize marijuana investigations and arrests in Florida now that voters have passed the Florida constitutional amendment allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana. In other parts of the country where the legality of marijuana within a state has been called into question either by complete legalization or by allowances for medical marijuana the federal government has faced a dilemma on how to proceed because cannabis is still technically outlawed federally. In other states the DEA, FBI and the United States Attorney's offices have deescalated investigations and arrests in marijuana cases in states that have taken direct action undermining marijuana legality.

Will this be true in Florida as well? Will possession of marijuana continue to be draw federal interest? It should be, because otherwise even state sanctioned marijuana growers would be subject to conspiracy to traffic in marijuana laws that draw minimum mandatory drug sentences with very limited discretion for judges to go under the harsh sentencing laws. One thing we do know with certainty is that the majority vote for a failed marijuana amendment a few years ago had no effect on federal prosecutor's zeal to prosecute Florida marijuana cases. Yet presidential politics may undermine the people's movement to make marijuana legal and readily available for those who need it.

Under the Obama administration the U.S. Attorney's offices were directed to give states some leeway on legalization of medical marijuana as well as recreational marijuana use. The new Trump "law and order" administration may seek to enforce federal marijuana laws even in states or perhaps especially in states that have softened on drugs. Many of these states happen to be in those sane parts of the country that voted heaviest against Trump perhaps making enthusiasm for harsh federal drug enforcement within the new administration more likely as political payback.

In Florida it's often difficult to avoid harsh penalties for possession of even small amounts of marijuana. Within six months we'll know if criminalizing those who use marijuana will become a federal goal with the sad result of ruining countless lives needlessly for a nonviolent crime. Federal marijuana indictments may increase rather than decrease despite the Florida vote for medical marijuana. If so, the fact that a supermajority of Florida voters passed medical marijuana will be as insignificant as the fact that over a million more people voted for Clinton to be president than voted for Trump. A madman's whims will dictate our course.