FAQ’s

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Bank Fraud

Can you go to jail for bank fraud?

Yes — bank fraud is typically a felony with potentially devastating punishments. You might already know that fraud involves deceiving a business or individual to gain something of value, but what is bank fraud? If you’re facing charges related to bank fraud, or if you are being investigated for bank fraud, call the lawyers at Birrell Law Firm and learn more about the law surrounding bank fraud before you try to “go it alone.”

What Is Bank Fraud?
Bank fraud is committed when a person deceives a financial institution with the intent to profit. The key consideration judges and juries examine is whether the person accused acted with “intent to defraud.” If investigators believe you attempted to defraud a bank, credit union, mortgage lender or any other institution where people can deposit money, you could face charges bank fraud and should talk to a lawyer at Birrell Law Firm quickly.

What Are Considered Types of Bank Fraud?

If you’re concerned that you or a loved one could be in violation of the complex state and federal banking regulations, it’s helpful to learn what kinds of acts are seen as “red flags.”
First, know that some types of federal bank fraud schemes include obtaining fraudulent appraisals, providing false information on applications for financial purposes and using fake documents. So, is bank fraud a federal offense? It can be if it falls into these types of fraud.

There are also some violations that are considered bank fraud by the State of Minnesota. Bank fraud violations fall into the forgery category. For example, a person commits forgery if they illegally change a financial document or the amount on a check, cash a forged check, or create a fake real estate deed.

Federal Target Letter

What is a Federal Target Letter?

A target letter is the means by which the federal government informs individuals that they are targets for criminal prosecution.  It is frequently used in white collar cases and is often the first indication that an individual is under investigation.  The United States Attorney’s Manual defines “target” as a putative defendant against whom there is substantial evidence.  The target letter notifies the recipient about a number of things, including:

• the recipient’s status as a target in a federal grand jury investigation;
• the crime or crimes that the recipient is suspected of committing;
• the recipient’s right to assert the Fifth Amendment; and
• information for obtaining court-appointed counsel.

Additionally, the target letter will caution the recipient against destroying any evidence, stating that such acts may constitute obstruction of justice, and sometimes encourage the recipient to reach out to the prosecutor to discuss the matter.

What should I do if I receive a Target Letter?

You should quickly reach out to a lawyer. Hiring a good attorney like those at Birrell Law Firm early will give you the best chance of reaching a favorable result.  In some cases, an attorney might be able to persuade the prosecutions to drop the investigation against you. Even if a criminal indictment is inevitable, we may be able to obtain early discovery, evaluate the evidence, and perhaps reach out to the prosecution to negotiate a favorable pre-indictment plea agreement.  Because the prosecutor may not have spent significant time and resources investigating the case at this stage, there may be more room to negotiate than in cases where the grand jury has already returned an indictment with particular charges.

Healthcare Fraud

What is Healthcare Fraud?

Health care fraud is a type of white-collar crime that involves the filing of dishonest health care claims in order to turn a profit. Fraudulent health care schemes come in many forms. It can be charged against practitioners or members.

Practitioner schemes include: obtaining subsidized or fully-covered prescription pills that are actually unneeded and then selling them on the black market for a profit; billing by practitioners for care that they never rendered; filing duplicate claims for the same service rendered; altering the dates, description of services, or identities of members or providers; billing for a non-covered service as a covered service; modifying medical records; intentional incorrect reporting of diagnoses or procedures to maximize payment; use of unlicensed staff; accepting or giving kickbacks for member referrals; waiving member co-pays; and prescribing additional or unnecessary treatment. Members can commit health care fraud by providing false information when applying for programs or services, forging or selling prescription drugs, using transportation benefits for non-medical related purposes, and loaning or using another’s insurance card.

What is Insurance Fraud?

Insurance fraud occurs when people deceive an insurance company in order to collect money to which they are not entitled. This particular fraud is a crime in all fifty states, and the majority of the states, including Minnesota, has established fraud bureaus to identify and investigate fraud incidents. In most states, fraudulent claims can be either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the nature and extent of the fraud committed. These are also frequently federal crimes .

Fraudulent insurance claims are prosecuted very aggressively. According to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an organization affiliated with the insurance companies that see themselves as victims, fraud schemes steal at least 80 billion dollars per year in the United States. The costs are ultimately borne by policyholders and consumers, because insurance companies charge higher premiums to cover their losses from fraud. Individual and business premium rates go up, and businesses often pass along the increased costs to their consumers.

What kinds of penalties are imposed for Insurance Fraud?

Insurance fraud can generally be divided into two categories, known in the industry as “soft fraud” and “hard fraud.”

• Soft fraud occurs when a person exaggerates an existing claim, such as overstating the damages caused by a car accident. Acts like these are frequently prosecuted as misdemeanors, punishable by fines, jail time of up to one year, community service, and probation.
• Hard fraud, on the other hand, occurs when a person either causes or fabricates a loss for the deliberate purpose of obtaining insurance payments. These acts are frequently prosecuted as felonies, punishable by strict penalties including the possibility of incarceration in prison for years, huge fines, and crippling restitution orders.

The penalties for insurance fraud vary widely depending on the state where the prosecution occurred, the amount of money fraudulently sought or obtained, and the criminal history of the defendant. If you are charged with insurance fraud, especially if you are facing felony charges, consider consulting a lawyer at Birrell Law Firm as early as possible in your case. We can help you understand the laws in your area, counsel you on defenses you may raise, explain your options, and inform you of your rights.

Identity Theft

What Is Identity Theft?

Identity theft and identity fraud are often used interchangeably. However, while identity fraud refers to a broad category of crimes involving the use of false identification, identity theft is a form of identity fraud that specifically involves the use of someone else’s personal information.

Identity theft is defined under federal law as the knowing transfer, possession, or use of “a means of identification of another person” without any lawful authority and in connection with an activity that would violate federal law or would constitute a felony under state law.

There are a variety of methods that identity thieves use to acquire personal information. Some of the more common methods include:

• Stealing wallets or purses
• Dumpster diving for discarded mail or other records
• Stealing mail from the mail box or redirecting your mail to a different address
• Telephone scams
• Eavesdropping or surfing over your shoulder in public
• Data breaches of financial institutions or major retail companies
• Internet scams
• Hacking

The FBI also provides additional information about various identity theft and identity fraud schemes currently in use.

What Does an Identity Theft Charge Look Like?

Identity Theft charges, especially in federal court, are frequently tacked on to other charges, especially other fraud charges. Federal prosecutors, in particular, frequently try to seek a greater penalty against someone accused of fraud by alleging they committed “aggravated identity theft.” If that charge results in a conviction, the judge must impose a two-year prison sentence for that aggravated identity theft and must run that sentence consecutively with the other charges the person was convicted of. For that reason, an experienced criminal defense lawyer, such as those at Birrell Law Firm, can be crucial in fighting aggressive prosecutions.

Insider Trading

What Is Insider Trading and Is It Illegal?

An insider is a person who possesses either access to valuable non-public information about a corporation or ownership of stock equaling more than 10% of a firm’s equity. This makes a company’s directors and high-level executive insiders, as well as those who knwo the company’s inner workings.

To be accused of insider trading, you must usually be someone who has a fiduciary duty to another person, institution, corporation, partnership, firm, or entity. You can get in trouble of you make an investment decision based upon information related to that fiduciary duty that is not available to everyone else. This insider information allows a person to profit in some cases, and avoid loss in others.

Insider trading can also arise in cases where no fiduciary duty is present, but another crime has been committed, such as corporate espionage. For example, an organized crime ring that infiltrated certain financial or legal institutions to systematically gain access to and exploit non-public information (perhaps through the use of computer viruses or recording devices) might be found guilty of insider trading among other charges for the related crimes.

What is the Sentencing and Punishment for Insider Trading

Insider trading can be punished strictly by civil sanctions, or involve criminal prosecution, or both. Federal law authorizes what are known as “treble” damages if the SEC brings a civil action against you for violating insider trading rules. This means the amount you can be fined can be up to three times the amount of profits gained or losses avoided.

How you are fined is typically up to the court and determined by whether you played a direct or indirect role in the unlawful activity.

If you are convicted in a criminal insider trading prosecution, you are subject to a maximum of $5 million in fines as an individual (up to $25 million for a business entity), up to 20 years imprisonment, or both fine and imprisonment.

Additional prosecution may result from fraud-related charges that often accompany insider trading violations. Also, you may face other collateral consequences stemming from civil sanctions or a criminal conviction imposed if you are found to be in violation of U.S. securities laws.

What Are Other Consequences of Illegal Insider Trading?

Insider trading is a complex area of federal law and can often result in related criminal charges being brought against you. For example, you may also face prosecution for any of the following:

• Bank fraud;
• Wire and mail fraud;
• Computer fraud;
• Securities fraud;
• Tax fraud;
• Making false statements;
• Obstruction of justice;
• Racketeering; and
• Money-laundering.

Non-punitive collateral consequences may impact you professionally as well. For example, in addition to civil and criminal penalties, you could be banned from serving as a director, CEO, CFO, or any other officer role responsible for preparing, auditing, or disclosing financial results of any public company.

A violation of insider trading laws also is likely to adversely affect any professional licensure you hold. You may be subject to disciplinary proceedings by a state licensing board, which could result in suspension or revocation of your license to practice in your professional field.

Money Laundering

What is money laundering?

Money laundering is the generic term used to describe the process by which criminals disguise the original ownership and control of the proceeds of criminal conduct by making such proceeds appear to have derived from a legitimate source.

The processes by which criminally derived property may be laundered are extensive. Though criminal money may be successfully laundered without the assistance of the financial sector, the reality is that hundreds of billions of dollars of criminally derived money are laundered through financial institutions, annually. This is especially true because the federal authorities take a very expansive view of what qualifies as money laundering.

What is Racketeering?

Racketeering refers to crimes committed through extortion or coercion. A racketeer attempts to obtain money or property from another person, usually through intimidation or force. The term is typically associated with organized crime. The law defines 35 different offenses that constitute racketeering in the U.S. The list includes gambling, kidnapping, murder, arson, drug dealing, and bribery. Convicted racketeers can serve up to 20 years in prison, in addition to paying a fine of up to $25,000.

What are examples of Racketeering?

Racketeering takes many forms. Recently, cyber extortion on a user’s computer has become more common. In this case, a hacker may illegally push malware onto a user’s computer, which blocks all the access to the computer and to the data stored on it. The hacker (or their partner), then demands money to restore the user’s access. This could violate multiple laws.

Racketeering may also take the form of a protection racket. In a protection racket, a criminal entity may threaten to cause harm to a business or an individual’s private property if the owner does not pay a fee for protection. In both examples, the criminal entity created a specific problem in order to offer a fix and earn money illegally.

Other common examples of racketeering include:

• Kidnapping: An individual is illegally detained and their captors agree to set the kidnapped individual free once a ransom is paid.
• Fencing racket: Individual(s) act as intermediaries to buy stolen goods from thieves at low rates and resell them for a profit to unsuspecting buyers.
• Numbers racket: A form of illegal gambling in which a corrupt dealer colludes with his associates disguised as gamblers to cheat other unsuspecting gamblers of their money.

What is considered embezzlement?

Embezzlement is defined as the act of theft or misappropriation of funds placed in the trust of someone, such as funds that belong to an employer. In essence, when a person entrusts their property to another person, but the person in possession of the property unlawfully converts the ownership rights with the intent to defraud the true owner, they are embezzling the person who trusted them with that property.

An example of this is an employee who is allowed access to a certain amount of the company’s money. Although such a person has lawful possession of the funds, if they were to move the funds to another account for their own personal use, it could be considered embezzlement.

When Does Embezzlement Become a Felony, and What are the Consequences?

Embezzlement can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony based on the value of what is being embezzled. The requirements for enhancing a misdemeanor embezzlement charge to a felony embezzlement charge varies by a state’s local jurisdictional rules; however, many state laws classify embezzlement crimes into tiers, with a varying degree of punishments.

For instance, the penalties for embezzlement of public funds, as outlined by Minn. Stat. Section 609.54, are:

• if the value of the funds so embezzled is $2,500, or less, to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both; or
• if such value is more than $2,500, to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both.

Embezzlement can also be penalized under the fraud statutes in Minnesota Statutes Section 609.52. Experienced lawyers can maneuver around these complex issues to position you better.

Do I Need an Attorney for Help with Felony Embezzlement Issues?

Although white collar crimes typically occur without any violence or physical harm involved in the crime, embezzlement is still a very serious offense that could result in a felony conviction. A qualified and knowledgeable criminal defense attorney like Birrell Law Firm will help you determine if you have any appropriate defenses to embezzlement.

We can help you understand federal laws and Minnesota laws regarding what qualifies as embezzlement and how it can be punished.

RICO

What is considered a RICO case?

RICO stands for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. § 1961), a law that increases the severity of penalties for crimes performed in conjunction with organized crime. The law states that any person or group who commits any two out of a list of 35 crimes (known as racketeering activity in the U.S. Code) within a decade and can be determined to have committed them with similar results or similar intentions can be charged with racketeering.

The maximum penalties for racketeering include a fine of up to $25,000 and up to 20 years in prison in addition to the forfeiture of all business interests and gains gleaned from the criminal activity. In addition, the case can be re-tried in civil court; plaintiffs are allowed to sue for triple damages. The law covers crimes such as bribery, extortion, money laundering, counterfeiting, gambling, murder, arson, robbery, kidnapping, harboring certain illegal aliens, obstruction of justice, slavery and others.

What is the difference between Criminal RICO and Civil RICO cases?

After being accused of either a civil or criminal racketeering allegation, it is crucial to immediately hire a federal racketeering attorney like Birrell Law Firm. RICO is an extremely complex law, which can be difficult for many amateur lawyers to properly utilize. Only an experienced RICO lawyer will be able to work with the strength and determination your specific case requires. We can help to ensure that any and all possible penalties that are being brought against you are minimized and that there are no longstanding effects incurred from such a charge.

A civil plaintiff will still have to prove the basic elements required in the RICO statute to prove a claim, including a person, an enterprise engaged in or affecting interstate commerce, pattern of racketeering activity, the operation and management test, and the through requirement. Although the standard of proof in a civil action is based upon a preponderance of the evidence, the civil RICO plaintiff must additionally prove “causation,” injury to business or property, and that he or she is subject to a more complicated statute of limitations. Also, in a civil racketeering action alleging fraud, the claim must be pleaded with particularity.

Securities Fraud

What Is Securities Fraud?

Securities fraud, sometimes referred to as investment fraud, is a type of serious white-collar crime that can be committed in a variety of forms but primarily involves misrepresenting information investors use to make decisions.

The perpetrator of the fraud can be an individual, such as a stockbroker. Insider trading is one type of way an individual could commit insurance fraud. Or it can be an organization, such as a brokerage firm, corporation, or investment bank.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) gives some examples of securities fraud: high yield investment fraud, Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, advanced fee schemes, foreign currency fraud, broker embezzlement, hedge fund related fraud, and late-day trading. The FBI’s thoughts are telling because FBI special agents typically work with Assistant United States Attorneys to prosecute people in federal court. These allegations typically involve manipulating financial markets in some ways, and almost always involve misrepresentations.

What Are the Types of Securities Fraud ?

Prosecutors lump various types of allegations involving deception in the capital markets into one category, called securities fraud. One common example, high-yield investment fraud, is where a person falsely gives an investor a guarantee of a high rate of return while claiming there is little to no risk. The investments themselves may be in commodities, securities, real estate, or other categories.

Advance fee schemes have similar elements — the government accuses someone of convincing an investor to advance them money, with a false guarantee of greater returns. Frequently, prosecutors allege that the defendant lied to the investors, telling them the money is needed to cover processing fees or taxes for the funds that allegedly await to be disbursed.

Similarly, Ponzi and pyramid schemes promise massive returns to early investors and deliver that by taking later investors’ money and (without telling these investors they are doing this) using the money to pay the earlier investors. These schemes require the recruitment of more and more investors to maintain the sham for as long as possible. These can grow very large: Bernie Madoff and Tom Petters are examples of relatively recent major Ponzi schemes.

One of the more complex types of securities fraud is a “pump-and-dump” scheme, in which a person or group spreads false or fraudulent information concerning stocks they own. The intention is to force an artificial price increase in those stocks (the “pump”), and then once the price rises, they sell the stocks off before others realize the price is too high (the “dump”).

What Are The Penalties of Securities Fraud?

Securities fraud is governed by both federal and state laws. In federal court, criminal prosecutions can be brought by the Department of Justice, and civil actions can also be brought by private investors or by a government agency, such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. As such it can be prosecuted in a myriad of ways. Many are severe. For example, the federal statute criminalizing securities and commodities fraud, 18 U.S.C. 1348, allows for a sentence of 25 years in prison for a single count, as well as potentially massive fines and restitution. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) may impose civil fines and debarment against corporations or individuals convicted of securities fraud.

The most common forms of securities fraud include:

• Misrepresentation (presenting misleading or false information to investors about a company, or its securities)
• Accounting fraud (manipulating or falsifying books or records to misrepresent a public company’s assets and liabilities)
• Insider trading (buying, selling or trading securities based on information that is not readily available to the general public)

 

Tax Evasion

What is considered tax evasion?

Tax evasion is an illegal activity in which a person or entity deliberately avoids paying a true tax liability. Those caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges and substantial penalties. To willfully fail to pay taxes is a federal offense under the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax code.

Tax evasion charges are generally not brought against taxpayers who just make an innocent mistake on part of their taxes — they can, however, apply to both intentional nonpayment as well as the intentional underpayment of taxes.

One way to commit tax evasion is to either fail to submit or to falsify tax forms. This is problematic because the IRS has the ability to determine which taxes were owed based on the information required to be sent in by third parties, such as W-2s submitted from a person’s employer or 1099s.

When determining if the act of failure to pay was intentional, a variety of factors are considered. Most commonly, a taxpayer’s financial situation will be examined in an effort to confirm if the nonpayment was the result of committing fraud or of the concealment of reportable income.

Tax evasion is a subset of tax fraud.  “Tax evasion” is typically used in the criminal context, as in someone who is charged with the crime of tax evasion in violation of 26 USC § 7201.  Tax evasion usually entails a deliberate act of misrepresentation of taxable income to the IRS.  Common examples of acts which could result in a charge of tax evasion are: not declaring all your income, deliberately overstating expenses or deductions, or failing to file tax returns when you have taxable income in an attempt to avoid detection.

How is Tax Fraud Defined?

Tax fraud involves the deliberate misrepresentation or omission of data on a tax return. In the United States, taxpayers are bound by a legal duty to file a tax return voluntarily and to pay the correct amount of income, employment, sales, and excise taxes. Failure to do so by falsifying or withholding information is against the law and constitutes tax fraud. Federal tax fraud investigations are conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (CI) unit, and Minnesota state tax fraud investigations are conducted by a branch of the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

Minnesota tax fraud laws can be penalized under multiple statutes, including Minnesota Statute Section 168.35, and Minnesota Statue Section 289A.63, which says it is a felony to: knowingly fail to file or pay your taxes or to file false or fraudulent returns. People who are charged with committing these offenses can face both substantial jail sentences and massive civil fines.

What is The Difference between criminal tax evasion and civil tax fraud

In tax fraud prosecutions, the government prosecutors have the burden to prove that the taxpayer charged with a crime has intentionally defrauded the government out of tax revenue. Proving that a taxpayer knowingly violated the highly complicated Internal Revenue Code is a very difficult task, so the government often chooses to pursue the taxpayer civilly for simply underpaying tax. Government prosecutors are especially careful when they face an experienced criminal tax attorney — when they do they often pursue civil fines rather than criminal jail time, less aggressive prosecutions, and even pre-charge negotiations to resolve the dispute.

Wire Fraud

What Is Wire Fraud?

Wire fraud is a crime in which a person concocts a scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises. This criminal act is done using electronic communications or an interstate communications facility. Electronics do not need to be a central part of the act — something as simple as a single phone call, a fax, an email, a text, or social media messaging can be enough for the United States government to charge what seems like an ordinary case as a federal wire fraud prosecution.

Wire fraud is a serious federal crime. Conviction on a single count carries a sentence of not more than 20 years’ imprisonment and fines of up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations, along with restitution — and the government frequently brings many counts at once against a targeted defendant. Worse, special circumstances can aggravate these potential punishments, for example fraud during a presidentially declared state of emergency or fraud targeting a financial institution can carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine of up to $1 million. If a person pleads guilty or is convicted, though, the judge has a great deal of discretion as to what the actual sentence is, and a savvy wire fraud attorney has a tremendous ability to soften the blow.

The federal statute of limitations to bring a charge is 5 years unless the wire fraud targeted a financial institution, in which case the statute of limitations is 10 years. This time period typically extends from the end of the “scheme” alleged, so this time period can be longer than it would first seem. For example, if the government says a person ran a wire fraud scheme from 2012 to 2017, and brings an indictment against that person in 2020, a federal judge could rule that the entire time period is within the 5 year statute of limitations.

A person need not have actually defrauded someone or personally sent a fraudulent communication to be convicted of wire fraud. The key element the government must prove is that the accused person had the intent to defraud or that they acted with knowledge of fraudulent communications being sent.

What is the difference between Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud?

Mail fraud, unsurprisingly, requires use of the U.S. postal service to commit fraud. Wire fraud, on the other hand, involves wire-based communications including telephone, fax, television, text message, and internet.

Mail fraud and wire fraud are each specifically defined as crimes under federal statute. The definition of mail fraud is a bit simpler – in a nutshell, it is devising or carrying out a scheme to commit fraudulent acts using the mail. Wire fraud sounds more complicated – it requires an intentional scheme to defraud another out of money, with a reasonable expectation that interstate wire communications would be used and in the end are in fact used. However, federal courts have made clear that the wire fraud statute is a parallel to the mail fraud statute and the only difference is the type of communication used.

Experienced federal mail fraud attorneys and experienced federal wire fraud attorneys know that the use of the mail or electronic communications can be a minor part of the scheme and a person can still be convicted. For example, if the government proved a person ran a fraud ring mostly through face-to-face discussions, but sent a few letters in the mail, this could be sufficient for a federal mail fraud conviction.

What Are The Elements of Wire Fraud?

Wire fraud is similar to regular fraud, except that it takes place over phone lines or involves electronic communications. The legal definition of wire fraud typically has three elements:

• The defendant created or participated in a scheme to defraud another out of money or property;
• The defendant did so with intent to defraud; and
• The defendant used interstate wire communications or caused someone else to use interstate wire communications to further that “scheme.”

If there are special circumstances present, such as if the accusation relates to telemarketing, the government can have to prove additional elements. A tough federal wire fraud lawyer can typically have the most success on the first two elements — arguing their client did not participate in a “scheme to defraud” and arguing their client had no “intent to defraud.”

One common mistake people make is they think wire fraud must be associated with bank wires. In fact, almost any electronic communication qualifies as a “wiring.” For the purposes of wire fraud, “interstate wire communications” could mean telephone calls, text messages, faxes, internet communications, or even television transmissions.

As with mail fraud, people who are found guilty of wire fraud under federal law face the following penalties for a single count of conviction:

• Fines up to $250,000 for individuals
• Fines up to $500,000 for organizations
• Imprisonment of not more than 20 years

Also as with mail fraud, there can be special circumstances that enhance the possible penalties to 30 years’ imprisonment and a million dollar fine, specifically if the wire fraud is related to a presidentially declared major disaster or if it involves a financial institution.

Criminal Defense Attorneys

Are Private Attorneys Better Than Public Defenders?

When it comes to choosing your defense team, you know that your freedom is at stake. When faced with criminal charges, the most important decision one can make is who to hire as their lawyer.

What Does a Defense Attorney Do?

Criminal defense attorneys help people who are accused of crimes to ensure that they get a fair hearing and that the law enforcement officers followed the correct processes during the court proceedings.

How Do I Choose A Criminal Defense Attorney?

There are countless lawyers that handle criminal cases in the Minneapolis, MN area, but they are not all one and the same. The first step is to realize the gravity of your situation. In any criminal case the representation that you have will determine the final outcome.

What Are Good Questions To Ask A Criminal Defense Lawyer?

If you find yourself in the unfortunate circumstance where you have to hire a criminal defense lawyer, you want to take the necessary steps to ensure you are able to identify the best attorney for your situation.  1. Do You Have Direct Experience With This Type Of Case?  2. Do You Have Experience With Trials?  3. Will You Be Working Directly On My Case?  4. Will You Be Communicating With Me Consistently?

What Questions Should You Ask Before Hiring a Criminal Lawyer?

If you require a criminal defense lawyer, then time is of the essence. Based on your case, your attorney will take some time to gather information and also prepare court proceedings. Although you need legal assistance immediately, you should ensure that you thoroughly vet your attorney before hiring them.

Criminal Sexual Conduct

What Are The Degrees of Criminal Sexual Conduct?

Criminal sexual conduct charges in Minneapolis bring about some of the roughest penalties after a conviction. The authorities and prosecutors take such charges very seriously.

What is Criminal Sexual Conduct?

The Minneapolis law classifies criminal sexual conduct into five levels, 1st degree to the 5th. Generally, the first and third-degree charges involve sexual penetration, while the second, fourth, and fifth entail sexual contact without penetration.

 

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