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How Obstruction Charges Arise The federal obstruction of justice charge is, in most cases, the charge the defendant manufactured after the investigation began. Not before. The original conduct, the fraud or the false filing…

The SEC investigation you are responding to is, in all likelihood, already a criminal matter. The distinction between a civil inquiry and a federal prosecution is not a wall. It is a membrane, and…

The Statute and Its Reach Section 1341 was written in 1872, amended without meaningful revision for over a century, and remains the statute federal prosecutors reach for first when the underlying conduct could be…

The phrase "first-time offender" does more work in federal court than it has any right to. Clients arrive with the assumption that the absence of a criminal record functions as a defense, or at…

The Document That Sentences You Twice The presentence report determines more than the length of a federal sentence. It determines where that sentence is served, under what conditions, and with what access to programming…

The Quiet Mechanics of Cooperation Substantial assistance is the federal system's most consequential bargain, and most defendants misunderstand its terms before they have finished signing the cooperation agreement. The phrase appears in §5K1.1 of…

The proffer is the most dangerous meeting in federal criminal practice, and most defendants walk into the room believing it protects them. The nickname does not help. "Queen for a Day" suggests generosity, a…

The Letter Before the Conversation The proffer agreement is the most consequential document in a federal criminal case that no jury will ever read. Before the defendant speaks a single word in the conference…

Cooperation with federal prosecutors is the single most consequential decision a defendant will make, and it is almost always made too early. Before the weight of the choice is understood, before counsel has examined…

The proffer agreement is the most misunderstood document in federal criminal practice. Defendants sign it believing their words cannot follow them into a courtroom. Prosecutors draft it knowing how those words will travel. Between…