Legal Guide

Charged with an Offense by a Government Agency?

Mobilize Your Defense Team Early

Most defendants, both individual and corporate, make the mistake of waiting to develop a defense strategy or investigation until a formal charge is filed. At the first hint of an investigation by the FBI or any other government agency, it is absolutely essential to assemble a defense team and develop a defense strategy.

In any investigation, the first goal is to gather information. This could be in the form of documents, audio and video recordings, photographs or other exhibits necessary for a defense. It's amazing how often a document disappears or finds its way into the hands of an unfriendly government agent, never to resurface. You do not want to give the government a head start in gathering information.

Being proactive, from the very start, enables your defense team to take control of all of the information. This forces the government to make a formal request to your attorney, not to you, for the documents it wants. It is more difficult to execute a search warrant upon an attorney's office.

Therefore, your defense team should take immediate custody of all important documents and other tangible evidence. It should be physically removed from your premises and stored at some location, which is in the exclusive control of your attorney. The government cannot take what you don't have and they are more likely to negotiate with your attorney, than with you, before demanding surrender of the documents.

The same "take charge" attitude applies to any witnesses. Your defense team should get there first. There is nothing more frustrating to the FBI, for example, than to have a witness exclaim, "Oh, I just gave a complete statement, on tape, to my attorney's investigator. He was such a nice young man!"

By presenting the witnesses with competent, professional investigators and attorneys on your behalf, the witnesses gain confidence in your innocence as well as your ability and determination to defend yourself. The effect of this aura of innocence cannot be underestimated. They will also feel less intimidated by the government representatives when they are questioned by them.

When all is said and done, the most important thing to remember is to take action. Choose a defense team that is not intimidated by the government and has a staff that will promptly initiate a proactive and aggressive defense.

The worst thing anyone charged with an offense can do is to listen to an attorney who advises, "Let's wait and see what happens." That's a big risk to take. What may very well happen is that you'll be indicted, arrested and jailed.

Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein, & Blader, P.C.
Committed to Excellence