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Are People Surprised When They Are Arrested on a Federal Charge?

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: Do you have people telling you, "Oh, why would they waste this money on me? I'm a good person"? Do people have that opinion or no?

Acacia Law: The emotions kind of runs the gamut on that. I've had cases where I'm looking at my client and looking at the case and calling the US Attorney and saying, "You've got to be kidding me. What are we doing here? This is ridiculous."

I've had other cases where they were pretty serious offenses, where the client understands that they're looking at a very lengthy prison sentence and they're saying, "Please do something to help me."

Acceptance of Responsibility: Is There Any Advantage in Not Going to Trial in a Federal Case?

Interviewer: Do you feel like the federal system punishes people for taking their cases to trial?

Acacia Law: It does for a fact and that is built into the guidelines. There is a part in the guidelines called "acceptance of responsibility", where if you plead guilty, you get a two-point reduction on the guideline calculation.

If you go to trial and maintain your innocence, you do not get acceptance of responsibility. There is a built-in penalty in the guidelines for taking your case to trial.

Interviewer: But doesn't that run counter to the whole justice system itself?

Acacia Law: I couldn't agree more. You shouldn't be punished for exercising your constitutional rights but in the federal sentencing scheme, you are.

Your Attorney Will Explain the Acceptance of Responsibility Reduction

Interviewer: I imagine that's something you lay out for the client, "We can take this to trial," for instance, "But if we do, not only might you lose, might you win, but the stakes are higher because you're going to be sentenced more than you otherwise would have been."

An Experienced Defense Attorney Will Ensure That the Government Knows the Case Goes to Trial if the Plea Bargains Are Unacceptable

Acacia Law: Yes, that is correct. So it's a real tightrope to walk because if you send the message to the US Attorney's Office that you're going to plead every single one of your clients out, that you're never willing to fight, that you're never willing to make them work for it, then they're just going to be giving you less than satisfactory pleas.

So it's a real tightrope. You have to, as an attorney, make sure the US Attorney's Office understands that you personally, as an attorney, absolutely are not afraid to go to trial.