Texas Criminal Lawyer Blog

According to the U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines, federal crimes can be classified in terms of 43 offense categories. The offense level is matched up with the Criminal History Category (there are six different history categories) to determine sentencing. To find a recommended prison sentence, a judge simply cross-references the offense level with the Criminal History. For instance, an offender who commits a level 16 offense and who has a Criminal History of IV, according to the table, should get 33 to 41 months behind bars, all things being equal.

Of course, sentencing is much more complicated than that. Sentences can be adjusted based on numerous factors, such as:

• Whether a vulnerable victim was harmed during the commission of the crime.
• Whether the defendant played a major or minor role. Ringleaders can face elevated offense levels; minor contributors can get lower offense levels.
• Whether the defendant cooperated with prosecutors or obstructed justice. Obstructing can get your offense level bumped up; cooperating can knock it down.
• Whether the offender committed other crimes concurrent with the offense alleged.
• Whether the defendant accepts some responsibility.

The US Federal Sentencing Guidelines have undergone multiple reformations since they were first cast in 1984. Congress created the guidelines to prevent different judges from imposing widely different sentences for similar crimes. In the mid 2000s, two cases challenged the constitutionality of the guidelines. These two cases – Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker – modified how judges can use the guidelines to impose sentences.

How Offense Categorization Works

1. The judge examines the base offense level for a particular charge.

For instance, first degree murder has a base offense level 43 – the highest you can get. Kidnapping and unlawful restraint has a base offense level of 32. Trespass has a base offense level of 4. And so forth.

2. The judge considers whether to adjust the base level.

For instance, if, in the commission of a robbery, an offender harmed a vulnerable victim, his offense level may be bumped up. The guidelines are incredibly complicated regarding what merits changes in offense levels. Even experienced federal criminal defense attorneys must stay on top of their game to provide best defenses for their clients.

3. The Criminal History Category is also accounted for.

4. The sentencing table recommends a prison sentence and zone category.
Zones have to do with probation. If your offense falls into Zone A, for instance, you can get straight probation. If your offense falls into Zone C, on the other hand, you may be eligible for probation, but you at minimum have to serve half of your sentence in prison.

5. The judge uses discretion to depart from the guidelines – upwards or downwards.

Judges cannot depart arbitrarily – they must justify their decisions. Thanks to Blakely and Booker, they must rely only on the defendant’s admissions and the jury’s verdicts to calculate recommended sentences. For instance, if the judge believes an offender obstructed justice but the jury did not find that the defendant obstructed justice – the judge cannot use this charge to ratchet up the offense level (and thus impose longer sentences).

As you can see, even from this pared down discussion, the US Federal Sentencing Guidelines and 43 offense categories can get extremely complicated. To prepare your best defense, it behooves you to get in touch with a veteran and battle-proven federal criminal defense lawyer.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In:

Bookmark:

Searching for the perfect federal criminal defense attorney to represent you (or a family member) at trial can be an exercise in frustration. There may seem to be many apparently qualified lawyers are out there. But without deep knowledge about the background of prospective attorneys, how can you make a good decision about who should represent you?

Here is some advice to ground you: Choose an attorney with jury trial experience.

Here’s why.

1. More plea bargaining power.

Prosecutors have long memories. They personally know many of the federal criminal defense attorneys they will be squaring off against. Prosecutors fear going against experienced Federal trial lawyers because these attorneys can use their skills to make trials long, expensive, and complicated for them. Conversely, if prosecutors face defense attorneys with little to no Federal trial experience, they might be far more willing to take the battle to court.

In other words, working with an experienced trial attorney will -- ironically -- lead to smaller chance that you will actually go to trial! Rather than face off against experienced foes, prosecutors may be willing to “plea bargain” down your charges, for instance.

2. Experienced jury trial attorneys have skills communicating with judges and juries.

An experienced trial attorney knows what to say to juries and judges -- and, perhaps even more importantly, knows what NOT to say to them! If your lawyer had never gone to trial -- or has only rarely been in court -- there’s no way he’ll have enough experience with this kind of fragile and nuanced communication to get good results.

3. An experienced defense attorney knows the rules and procedures.

A jury trial is like a dance. There is a rhythm to it. Both unstated and stated rules of protocol apply. At the risk of being redundant… you can spend decades studying the formalities of jury trial defense, but until you’ve put theory into practice, you can’t provide best service.

For example, consider the art of cooking. Would you rather have a meal prepared for you by a chef who memorized a cookbook or a chef who spent five years in charge of a kitchen at a three-star Michelin restaurant?

4. An experienced attorney understands both the art and science of trial defense.

To master the game of jury persuasion, you need skills in a variety of arenas, including cross examination, jury selection, evidence presentation, redirects, opening and closing arguments, rebuttals, rules and procedures, and so forth. In some ways, a federal criminal defense attorney is only as good as the weakest link in his skill set. The only way for an attorney to find out where his true strengths and weaknesses lie is for him to go through the process many times. So, the question is, do you want to be a test case for a relatively green lawyer, or do you want an experienced old hand to guide you to your best possible defense?

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In:

Bookmark:

All about Federal Income Tax Crimes

The Internal Revenue Service Code 7201 defines income tax fraud as a felony punishable by fines, prison time, and other penalties. Tax fraud is just one of a diverse list of potential income tax crimes pursued by the IRS’s Criminal Investigations division.

Basic types of income tax crimes include:

• Failure to file a tax return
• Intentionally submitting false information on a tax return
• Taking more deductions than you are allowed
• Falsifying financial statements or other documents
• “Laundering” money so as not to have to report it to the federal government
• Claiming personal expenses as business deductions
• Storing money that should be taxed in accounts overseas and not reporting that money
• Collecting income taxes from employees and then not giving this money to the IRS

How and why the government fights back so hard against income tax crimes

According to an independent Cornell University-sponsored inquiry, income tax crimes cost the federal government close to $350 billion a year, annually. Thus, the government obviously has a huge motivation to go after individuals whom the government thinks are shirking their tax responsibilities.

To this end, the IRS runs a dedicated branch called Criminal Investigations (CI), which tracks down delinquent taxpayers. The biggest CI program is the General Tax Fraud Program, which investigates instances of money laundering, evasion, and similar crimes. Criminal Investigations also looks into allegations of financing narcotics or terrorism.

Criminal and civil penalties possible:

Taxpayers can be hit with both criminal and civil charges.

Criminal charges can lead to prison time, if a suspect is convicted. In addition, someone who fails to file an income tax can be subjected to fines of $25,000 for every year that he or she failed to file -- going back a full six years from the time that a tax return should have been submitted. For instance, if someone failed to file for tax year 2007, the government can look all the way back to 2001 in his or her records. Further, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines are based primarily upon the amount of income not claimed.

Civil charges can be similarly severe. The penalties for failing to pay can accumulate indefinitely -- as opposed to getting cut off after six years -- and perpetrators also have to pay interest on the taxes owed, which can really add up. If convicted of a federal income tax crime, you may also have to pay fines and other penalties.

Famous tax evaders

The most famous tax evader of all time is the Chicago gangster Al Capone, who was busted after investigators spent years trying to arraign him for more serious charges pertaining to his criminal enterprises. Famous modern tax evaders have included entrepreneur Martha Stewart, country musician Willie Nelson, and President Obama’s Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a federal income tax crime, it behooves you to speak at once with a competent and trial-proven federal criminal defense attorney.

Posted by Michael J. Brown | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Federal Crimes

Bookmark: