What Is The Federal Pre Trial Interview

What Is The Federal Pre Trial Interview

The federal pre-trial interview is an important part of the process after someone gets arrested on federal charges. It helps the judge decide whether to let you out of jail before your trial or not. This article will explain everything you need to know about the federal pre-trial interview.

What is a Federal Pre-Trial Interview?

A federal pre-trial interview is when someone from pre-trial services at the courthouse asks you questions after you get arrested on federal charges. They want to find out information about your background, like your family, job, health issues, and criminal record. This helps them recommend to the judge whether or not you should be let out of jail before your trial.

The interview is usually done over the phone if your arrest was planned ahead of time. Your lawyer can be on the call too. If you got arrested without warning, they’ll probably talk to you in person in a holding cell at the courthouse.

Because of COVID, a lot of pre-trial interviews happen over the phone now, even if you just got arrested. The pre-trial services officer will ask you questions like:

• Who is in your family
• Where you work and live
• Your education background
• If you use drugs or alcohol
• Your medical conditions

They’ll also ask to get access to your medical records and a copy of your credit report. And they’ll want contact info for 1-2 people close to you who can confirm what you tell them.

How to Prepare for a Federal Pre-Trial Interview

You don’t really need to prepare anything special for the interview. Just talk to your lawyer for a few minutes beforehand about what kinds of questions you can expect. Give your lawyer the names and numbers of people the officer can call to confirm your info.

Importantly, the pre-trial officer won’t ask about your case or guilt. They also won’t give you legal advice. They only want to find out information to recommend if you should be let out of jail or not.

What Information is Used for the Pretrial Report?

The pre-trial officer gets information from:

• The interview with you
• The prosecutor’s office about the charges and your criminal record
• Your medical records and credit report (if they have time to get them)
• The people you provide who can confirm your background

If you just got arrested without warning, the report will be more limited because they won’t have time to get your records.

Purpose of the Federal Pre-Trial Interview

The interview is so the pre-trial officer can recommend whether or not to let you out of jail before your trial. They look at factors like:

• Criminal record
• History of drug abuse
• Ties to the community
• Prior violence

This helps them decide if you’re likely to show up for court dates, and if you’re a danger to the community if let out. The judge uses their recommendation, but doesn’t have to follow it.

Possible Pretrial Release Recommendations

The pre-trial officer can recommend:

• Release – Let you out of jail before your trial
• Detention – Keep you in jail until your trial
• Release with conditions – Let you out, but you have to follow rules like checking in regularly, drug testing, electronic monitoring, etc.

Breaking any conditions could get your pre-trial release revoked so you have to go back to jail.

How an Attorney Can Help With Pretrial Release

An experienced defense attorney can help build a case for letting you out before your trial. They can:

• Get letters of support from family, friends, employers about your character and ties to the community.
• Contact witnesses who can testify about your background and compliance with conditions if released.
• Review the charges and evidence to argue why you’re not a flight risk or danger.
• Guide you on how to present yourself positively during the interview.

Having a lawyer help with the pre-trial process can really improve your chances of getting out of jail before your federal trial.

Conclusion

The federal pre-trial interview is important because it helps the judge decide if you should be released from jail before your trial. Be open and honest when answering the pre-trial officer’s questions. Having an experienced attorney help prepare and guide you through the process can really increase your chances of getting pre-trial release.