Grand Jury Indictment – What Are My Options?

About Grand Jury Indictment Attorney Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Attorney Dr. Nick Oberheiden focuses his practice exclusively on federal litigation matters, predominantly federal criminal defense cases. Nick has represented elected officials, politicians, lawyers, prosecutors, federal agents, physicians, nurses, accountants, executives from the entertainment and sports industries, pilots, and business owners from all walks of life.

In many federal criminal cases, Nick has avoided charges in 94% of all cases. In indicted cases, Nick has avoided jail time for his clients in serious computer offense cases, probation in healthcare fraud cases despite damage amounts in the hundreds of thousands and more, as well as other unique sentencing outcomes significantly below the recommended range. Those clients of Nick whose best (or only) option was to plead guilty, routinely ended up with the best outcome of all defendants in the case. In terms of dismissals and trial outcomes, you should inquire for your specific offense and situation at 888-680-1745. Just in the past few months, Nick and his team dismissed several fraud cases, including a healthcare fraud indictment.

After Indictment Options Attorney

The Post Grand Jury Indictment Options

If you or your business is under investigation or even indicted, you must realize that every step you take or fail to take can, and likely will, have a substantial impact on your future. Don’t experiment with lawyers that lack the specific federal experience needed to protect and advise you based on proven results obtained in federal cases in the past. Call Nick directly at 888-680-1745 for a complimentary assessment, including on weekends. Once you are indicted, there are three main options. First, your lawyer can petition the court to dismiss the indictment. Second, you can ––upon the advice of your attorney–– plead guilty. Third, you can contest the allegations and invoke your constitutional right to a jury trial. Let’s look at each of these options.

(1) Dismissing a Federal Grand Jury Indictment Case

Dismissal. Most clients ask their lawyers to “get rid of the indictment.” This means that they want their lawyers to dismiss the case. This practice of asking the court to dismiss the case is a routine approach for any defendant in a civil, federal court case with decent success chances, in which, for example, the plaintiff failed to state a claim or failed to assert proper jurisdiction. However, dismissing a federal grand jury indictment is an anomaly.

Procedurally, the defendant must file a motion with the court pursuant to Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rules 12, 47 to raise a defect in the prosecution or indictment including improper venue (case is pending in the wrong division or district), unnecessary and unconstitutional delay, a violation of the right to a speedy trial, vindictive prosecution, errors in the grand jury proceeding, combining two or more offenses in the same count, charging the same offense in more than one count, lack of specificity, improper joinder of defendants, failure to state an offense, or reasons of suppression of evidence. Basically, the defendant must show that they should not have been charged–– either for those offenses or based on a violation of constitutional rights. The request for a dismissal and other pretrial motions must be made timely and in accordance with the court’s case schedule.

Despite the wealth of potential reasons, dismissals in federal criminal cases are rare for two reasons. First, the system is built on its trust in the grand jury process. This means that a judge cannot simply overturn the decision of the grand jurors who authorized the indictment. It is the constitutional task of the grand jurors to deliberate and decide on whom to charge. Second, almost all requests for dismissals are based on the defendant’s claim that the government’s allegations are wrong. In other words, the defendant will say that he did not commit the offense, the offense is unjust, and that he is not guilty. The problem with this position is that in the federal justice system, the questions of innocence and guilt are exclusively assigned to 12 jurors. In other words, a federal judge is not authorized to decide whether the government’s factual accusations or the defendant’s denial of facts ought to be believed. Deciding facts is the jury’s job.

Nonetheless, every defendant is entitled to a careful review of all options by their trusted attorney. Doing so helps to hone the strategy and demonstrate to the prosecutor that the best defense team is ready to stand up and fight the charges in every way. Furthermore, there are instances in which a request for dismissal is most promising, such as in instances of prosecutorial misconduct and the statute of limitations. Both of these scenarios are extremely convoluted and thus often good opportunities for a defense counsel to argue valid legal objections. When you call 888-680-1745, you will learn how our team has obtained dismissals in past cases.

(2) Guilty Plea

Plea Deal. Statistically, most indicted federal cases result in the defendant pleading guilty to one or all of the offenses charged pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. This is extremely unfortunate because each plea taken waives the defendant’s rights to a jury trial and appeal, among other important constitutional privileges. Although for many lawyers taking a plea is their first option or even the logical resort, it should actually be the last of all available options to be considered. Call 888-680-1745 if you feel like you are being pressured into a plea by your attorney without him or her listening enough to your side of the story and without being properly convinced that a plea really is the best and only realistic option for you. Attorney Dr. Nick Oberheiden has avoided grand jury indictments and has obtained a significantly better deal for his clients who came to him for a second opinion and who were previously told that a plea was their only option.

The most important thing to consider about a plea is this: make sure your lawyer does not merely recommend a plea because he is uncomfortable preparing for trial. The only justification to accept a plea is that the lawyer is absolutely convinced that, after most careful deliberation and after a diligent review of all available evidence and information, a plea is the best option for you. Never rush to plead guilty, especially if you are a professional like a physician or an accountant. A plea will mean that you will lose your professional license and credentials and with it your ability to practice medicine, law, accounting, real estate, etc.

A plea ought to be a negotiation, not a surrender. The government and the defense lawyer may discuss (and then specify in the plea agreement) whether the government will remove other charges, the sentencing range (e.g. concrete provisions of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines or simply a “cap” of “no more than X years”), or that certain sentencing factors do or do not apply (e.g. enhancements, upward or downward departures, etc.). In all instances, the court may or may not approve the plea agreement, see Rule 11(c)(4)(5) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

(3) Going to Trial

Trial. The third option should always be the best federal lawyer’s first option because it signals to the government that you are ready and willing to take the case to trial. Because preparing for trial is a lot of work, requires undivided attention, and calls for strategic legal skillset, few attorneys are able or willing to lead the federal trial defense team. If you have doubts about your lawyer’s ability or skillset, you should immediately consider a second opinion.

To be clear, going to trial always has to be the logical choice in each case. Why? Just like few defense lawyers have a desire to prepare for a lengthy and complex federal criminal jury trial, prosecutors, too, suffer time constraints and can hardly afford the time to abandon all other cases for several months to prepare for a single trial. Further, most Assistant United States Attorneys are relatively young and have joined the Justice Department after less than five years in private practice following law school. No matter how strong a case might look, every prosecutor is aware of the big elephant in the room: the jury. Jurors have consistently shocked and appalled even the best federal defense lawyers since the first jury trial in the American Colonies in 1630. With a mathematical chance of 50% winning and 50% losing, the odds of a slam dunk for the government are never near as high as a prosecutor may suggest.

Even if the evidence against a client is overwhelmingly negative, your lawyer cannot signal to the prosecutor that he or she is afraid or unwilling to consider a trial. Doing so simply eliminates your bargaining power. In other words, even if it is already determined that your lawyer will ultimately ask for a plea, your lawyer should not arrive at the plea table by signaling surrender. Each plea discussion begins with the idea that your lawyer is ready for trial.

Put our highly experienced team on your side

Dr. Nick Oberheiden

Founder

Attorney-at-Law

John W. Sellers

Former Senior Trial Attorney
U.S. Department of Justice

Local Counsel

Joanne Fine DeLena

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney

Local Counsel

Joe Brown

Former U.S. Attorney & Former District Attorney

Local Trial & Defense Counsel

Amanda Marshall

Former U.S. Attorney

Local Counsel

Aaron L. Wiley

Former Federal Prosecutor

Local Counsel

Roger Bach

Former Special Agent (OIG)

Michael Koslow

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Chris Quick

Former Special Agent (FBI & IRS-CI)

Kevin M. Sheridan

Former Special Agent (FBI)

Ray Yuen

Former Supervisory Special Agent (FBI)

Dennis A. Wichern

Former Special Agent-in-Charge (DEA)

What Is Your Best Option with a Grand Jury Indictment? Get a (Real) Case Assessment

If you call 888-680-1745 you will be instantly in touch with Nick Oberheiden. No junior lawyer or paralegal will hold you off or waste your time by taking notes for someone else. A federal grand jury indictment is an extremely serious matter. Don’t make it even more serious by pursuing the wrong legal strategy or employing lawyers that are not 100% familiar with the federal criminal justice system and the way cases are being resolved in federal court. Call or contact Nick online today.