Federal Target Letter Attorney in Plano, TX

The First Thing To Do When You Receive a Target Letter First

You have received a target letter if a federal prosecutor notifies you in writing that you are the subject of a grand jury investigation. If the three sample target letters look anything like the ones you’ve received, go here.

Immediately Employ a Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer

Indeed, you are aware that you should retain legal counsel. If you’ve been finding a Federal Target Letter Attorney in Plano, TX, you might be expecting a callback from several appointments you have made. Perhaps you’re attempting to understand how to get a lawyer.

For whatever reasons, you may find the answers on how to choose and work with a Federal Target Letter Attorney in Plano, TX below.

Should I Follow the Letter’s Requests?

First of all, the letter nearly always requests that you do something, as you can see in the examples of target letters. Some invite you to a meeting with the assistant US attorney who is looking into the case. Some request that you appear before the grand jury and freely testify. Others ask you to get a lawyer and instruct the attorney to contact the prosecutor.

The best course of action, regardless of what the letter instructs you to do, is to retain legal counsel, especially a Federal Target Letter Attorney in Plano, TX who should then get in touch with the prosecutor. 

You could feel compelled to speak with the prosecutor and describe what took place. Seriously, don’t. They’ll use it against you. In general, you should give the decision of whether to speak with federal law enforcement, including the prosecutor who is seeking an indictment against you, some serious thought.

A “Target” is what?

Federal targets are divided into three groups during a federal criminal investigation: witnesses, subjects, and targets.

It signifies that the investigation is looking into you if you are a target. Both the prosecutor and the law enforcement officer believe you committed a crime, and they are looking into it.

Being a subject is distinct in that the government suspects that something criminal occurred, and a subject may have knowledge of it, but they aren’t necessarily aiming to bring that individual to justice.

In an inquiry, being a target is essentially the worst position to be in.

What Will Take Place?

There are several choices.

It’s possible that the government has you under surveillance and is sending you a target letter in an effort to negotiate a plea deal right away so they won’t have to bother filing charges against you. The AUSA will provide some information to your attorney, but not as much as if you are charged.

You and your Federal Target Letter Attorney in Plano, TX can discuss the evidence they have, the likelihood that you will be found guilty if the matter proceeds to trial, and the government’s offer. You might beg, or you might not. If you don’t, the government will probably file charges against you.

Or, if the government isn’t committed to bringing charges against you, your attorney has some leeway. He is able to meet with the agent and the prosecutor to learn what they are looking at.

Then he can meet with you and create a case against charging you that he can bring to the prosecutor. That is something that my law company has had success with, but every case is unique, so it truly depends.

Finally, luck can happen to you occasionally. A prosecutor gets sent to a different case. The case agent who genuinely wants to press charges resigns. It’s never easy to decide how much to stake on pure chance, and generally speaking, the more effort the government has put into the case, the less likely they are to give up, even if a crucial employee is transferred.

Additionally, how you react from this point forward could be used against you. Be careful not to exacerbate your situation. Please view this video about what to avoid doing.