Federal Indictments Criminal Defense

In Connecticut, a citizen’s grand jury governs whether an individual is indicted.  Under the federal system, up to twenty-three persons sit on a grand jury and at least twelve jurors must vote to indict.  Under the federal rules there are sentencing guidelines which govern an offense.  The guidelines are not mandatory and under specific circumstances a federal Judge can deviate from the guidelines to allow for a more lenient sentence. In the federal system, there is a separate code of evidence that differs, in part, from the state code of evidence.    There are important cases such as Giglio vs. United States and Brady vs. Maryland which play a role in a federal prosecution.  If a wire tap is involved there are specific federal statutes which control the use of the tap, what can be overheard, the length of any monitoring, and the proper sealing of the tap.  Our firm has experience defending federal cases including trial, if necessary.