Criminal Defense Law Blog

What is a Proffer Agreement?

Thanks to television and movies, most people are aware that prosecutors often make deals or agreements with individuals under investigation, wherein the person being investigated is granted immunity from prosecution or a reduction of charges in exchange for providing information to the government. Of course, the details of these negotiations are dramatized for the sake of the narrative; the reality of the situation is far more complex, particularly in white-collar criminal investigations. Almost any immunity or plea arrangement begins with a proffer agreement.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-07T17:28:18-04:00December 1st, 2016|Categories: Criminal Investigation, Proffer|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

Felony Conviction: Loss of Civil Rights

A felony conviction has a serious impact on a defendant’s life, even beyond the obvious immediate consequences of sentencing. A person who has a felony conviction on their record forfeits certain rights that other members of the community enjoy. In some jurisdictions there exists a process by which an individual can seek to have a felony conviction expunged from their record, but even this process may not fully restore every right and privilege that the person held prior to their conviction.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-09-03T15:55:17-04:00December 1st, 2016|Categories: Federal Courts, Felony, Penalties, Prison|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

What to Do When FBI Agents Come Knocking

It’s 6 a.m. or 8 p.m., your doorbell rings and two people are standing outside holding up their badges and credentials. They say they are Special Agents with the FBI and would like to talk with you for just a few minutes about something important. They ask if they could come in to speak with you privately. Caught off-guard, and not wanting them to think that you have anything to hide, you invite them in (and, of course, you don’t want your neighbors to see them talking to you on your front steps). The agents are “friendly” and just have a few questions to get your input, your side of things. You decide to talk to them, only for a few minutes, in the comfort of your own home or office. At the end, they thank you for your time and hand you either a grand jury subpoena or a “target letter.” They say that you should get an attorney, or if you can’t afford one, the court will arrange for an attorney for you.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-15T14:02:22-04:00November 16th, 2016|Categories: Criminal Investigation|Tags: Criminal Defense, Investigation|0 Comments

The Financial Realities of the Criminal Justice System

Your client comes to you and says that he “wants his day in court,” he wants to fight the charges all the way and that he will never plead. You sit down and carefully review the facts of the case, the evidence known to date, the potential defenses, and eventually the potential penalties he faces. You then discuss what it will cost to defend the case, the amount of time and money it will take to thoroughly review the discovery, conduct your own investigation, research the issues involved, draft the motions, argue the motions, trial preparation and trial. The client sits there stunned. Having never before had to pay for anything more than a simple will, real estate closing or speeding ticket, the idea that the aggressive, full on defense that he wants and needs will cost tens of thousands of dollars for a typical state case, and perhaps hundreds of thousands for a federal case, is sobering.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-15T22:21:46-04:00November 11th, 2016|Categories: Plea Bargaining|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

How the NFL Can Cure its Image Problem in Domestic Violence Prosecutions

In the wake of the Josh Brown domestic violence incident, the National Football League has, in the public’s eyes, badly mishandled the imposition of discipline over a player accused of domestic violence for the third time in three years. While the headlines have portrayed the NFL as soft on domestic violence following the Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, and, now, Josh Brown cases, it appears to me, as someone who has supervised domestic violence prosecutions for the State of New Jersey, that the NFL’s problem is not that it is soft on domestic violence. I think the league wants to be able to investigate and punish domestic violence appropriately, but it is finding that it is not an easy task. The NFL is simply making mistakes that are fairly typical of a rookie prosecutor that is unfamiliar with domestic violence prosecutions.

By Andrew Olesnycky, Esq.|2024-08-12T11:20:38-04:00November 1st, 2016|Categories: Domestic Violence|0 Comments

How Authorities Are Alerted to Child Pornography

Electronic service providers like AOL voluntarily and automatically scan customers’ email transmissions and electronic storage spaces using sophisticated image detection and filtering programs to detect viruses, malware, and illegal images like child pornography. When such scanning reveals that a customer has accessed, transmitted or stored child pornography, the service provider is statutorily required to notify the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The NCMEC is obligated by law to then alert federal law enforcement, which can then lead to government investigation and serious criminal charges in state and federal court. Courts have almost uniformly rejected challenges to the search and seizure of child porn discovered in such instances, relying on the private actor doctrine, which excludes searches or seizures conducted by private actors from Fourth Amendment scrutiny.

By Laura K. Gasiorowski, Esq.|2024-08-16T11:01:00-04:00November 1st, 2016|Categories: Pornography|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

How to Choose a Criminal Defense Lawyer

Choosing the right attorney to represent you in a serious criminal investigation, arrest or Indictment, is critical to the outcome and potentially the client’s freedom. While many lawyers advertise that they “handle all types of criminal matters,” upon closer examination you may likely find that these firms are generalists that handle motor vehicle tickets, minor drug charges, divorces, personal injury and the like. That may not be the firm that you would entrust your freedom to.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-12T11:28:10-04:00October 25th, 2016|Categories: NJ Superior Courts|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

The War On Doctors

There is an alarming trend towards aggressive investigations by state and federal authorities on physicians. Whether it is by the state medical boards, DEA or federal or state prosecutors, doctors’ practices are subjected to heightened scrutiny. While this may be traced to the war on drugs, recent deaths related to the abuse of prescription opioids, and the criticism the DEA has faced for its failure to develop measureable results in its enforcement efforts; the genesis is less important than the trend itself for those subjected to the harsh spotlight of scrutiny.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-12T11:49:48-04:00October 24th, 2016|Categories: Drug Crimes/Trafficking, Medicare and Medicaid Fraud, Parallel Investigations|Tags: Criminal Defense, Drug Crimes, Federal Crimes, Parallel Investigation|0 Comments

Wrongful Convictions Do Happen

Police investigations and criminal trials are, in an ideal world, intended to discover the truth, identify the guilty, and exonerate the innocent. Unfortunately, the world we live in is far from ideal, and investigations and trials are conducted by human beings who are vulnerable to error, prejudice and, at times, outright corruption. Sometimes, despite the sincere best efforts of everyone involved, mistakes are made and a wrongful conviction occurs. Other times, as in the case of Barry Gibbs of New York, something more sinister is at work. Mr. Gibbs served 17 years of a second-degree murder sentence before it was discovered that the investigating detective had framed him to cover up a Mafia-related killing.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-09T20:05:32-04:00October 11th, 2016|Categories: Convictions|Tags: Criminal Defense|0 Comments

Dias Kadyrbayev – August 2014 Plea

Accepting responsibility for his actions, which criminal defense attorney Robert G. Stahl told the media represented, "a terrible error in judgment," Dias Kadyrbayev pleaded guilty to obstruction and conspiracy to obstruct justice in connection with the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing.

By Robert G. Stahl, Esq.|2024-08-22T10:52:26-04:00September 14th, 2016|Categories: Significant Criminal Defense Cases|0 Comments