Attorney Paul D. Cramm - Federal Grand Jury Investigation Defense
As soon as you find out that you're a person of interest in any federal investigation concerning drug charges, weapons offenses, or white collar crimes involving fraud, you must contact a knowledgeable Kansas City criminal defense lawyer immediately. Contact my office in Olathe for dependable advice about the defense of Internet solicitation charges or any other federal offense.
Unlike state criminal prosecutions that usually begin with an "on the spot" arrest by local law enforcement, federal crimes - especially the major ones involving drug trafficking conspiracies or large-scale fraud - are normally charged by indictment. That means that over a period of weeks, months, or even years Federal agents have been investigating an alleged criminal conspiracy and collecting volumes of evidence against those involved. Only when the case appears to be "air-tight" will an assistant U.S. Attorney working out of the United States Attorney's Office presents evidence to a group of people who are gathered to decide whether you should be charged with a crime. If they decide you should be charged - based entirely on evidence submitted by the government - their decision is drafted into a formal indictment.
You do not have the right to be directly represented before a federal grand jury or to refuse to provide grand jury testimony except on Fifth Amendment grounds. You do have the right to hire an attorney, even before you are called to appear before the grand jury, and ask that attorney to do one or more of the following things for you, depending on the situation:
- Clarify your status as a target, subject, witness, or person of interest in the federal investigation
- Decide whether and how much to cooperate - and determine what you will receive in exchange for that cooperation
- Perform your own independent investigation to substantiate or possibly discredit the Governments allegations against you, to determine your own criminal exposure, or to deflect investigative attention away from you
- Negotiate the discovery and production of documents and other evidence to the federal agents, thereby saving yourself a raid of your home or office
- Advise you about your grand jury testimony prior to your appearance
- Work with the U.S. Attorney's Office to determine if there is any way that the most serious potential charges in your case are not filed
The easiest criminal charges to beat are the ones that are never returned in the indictment. In any federal criminal case, the defendant achieves his best results and provides himself the greatest protection before the Grand Jury sees the evidence against him. To the extent that your lawyer can steer the prosecution away from you, you are less likely to be featured in the evidence presented to the grand jury.
For additional information and a free consultation with a resourceful federal criminal defense attorney in Kansas City, contact my office today.
