Dr. M Blatstein's Blog, Home Confinement, Preparation, Sentence Mitigation, White-Collar

FEAR AND THE INDICTMENT – SURREAL MOMENT

FEAR – ANGER – “THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING” 

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THESE ARE ALL NORMAL FEELINGS

  1. DID YOU GET A TARGET LETTER?
  2. A VISIT BY THE FBI AT YOUR HOME WHERE THEY JUST HAD A FEW QUESTIONS?
  3. YOU HEARD RUMORS THAT THE FBI HAD BEEN ASKING QUESTIONS.
  4. OR WAS IT THAT FINAL 6AM KNOCK AT YOUR HOME, LED BY A LITTNEY OF ALPHABET AGENCIES WITH YOUR SEARCH WARRANT?

 

Mine Was #3 and 4, and I still thought it was a mistake.

#3: I had several patients who I performed surgery on, say they were interviewed by the FBI, and they told the truth, that I had done the surgery. After a few I called my corporate law firm who connected me with their white-collar attorneys.

#4: The day came, and I didn’t believe it!

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PICKING YOUR ATTORNEY, IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN PICKING YOUR SPOUSE

ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS;

1) Practices federal criminal defense in a federal court and

2) Has experience in cases like yours. It sounds like common sense, right?

    • … at this moment, you may not be making the best decisions for yourself, so consider bringing along someone you trust to get their feedback as you meet and interview different attorneys.

3) A case in point is a client I had who, unfortunately, didn’t ask any questions, only to learn his attorney years later didn’t specialize in Federal Criminal defense and had a
disciplinary problem with his state bar.

Interviewing Attorneys is your opportunity to find someone with a proven track record of,

4) Handling cases like yours is essential.

5) They should be willing to provide several current or past clients for you to speak with to ease some of your concerns and

6) Provide several Sentencing memorandums (it should be about You – not just quoting legal stuff that the Judge already knows, like Booker) for cases like yours for you to read.

    • If they mention HIPPA, I agree, but Adobe allows for redacting all personal information and works better than a black marker. If you notice that the memorandums appear similar, keep interviewing other lawyers.
    • Feeling comfortable with your chosen attorney is just one more step in the right direction as you develop a successful defense team.
    • During the interview, try and

7) Ask why they wanted to practice law and what was their best federal case sentence result, as these are both excellent conversation ‘ice breaker’ questions and

8) Ask them when they recommend preparing for the Presentence Interview and Sentencing Hearing. [The best answer is Today]

9) Ask whether they charge hourly or flat fees and if they have a payment schedule option.

    • If you want to go to trial (just feeling your right is insufficient), I give you FTX Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes. Remember that the DOJ has a 90+% conviction rate.
    • Therefore, additional strategic questions would be:

10) How many trials and appeals (or what “%”) have they won, out of how many cases, over the past 3-7 years?

11) Don’t anger the court – before they ever meet you. That’s playing Russian Roulette with your life.

12) What is their current caseload, or how busy are they – too busy?

    • Consider that a single attorney with a small staff could support two or three yearly criminal trials while working full-time
    • A Federal Defender may be as good if not better than private counsel.

13) While not yet law, is your attorney familiar with the Fairness in Restitution (FIR) Act? If you anticipate owing Restitution, consider requesting that the Government:

    • Show actual loss sustained by a victim as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s actions,
    • Eliminate joint liability and ensure that defendants are only responsible for financial losses they caused,
    • Provide a right to an evidentiary hearing for proving or disproving the amounts included in a restitution order,
    • Change the statutory period of liability from 20 years to 10 years and prevent extensions;
    • Exempt any reduction in restitution amount owed from being counted as income for tax purposes.
    • Verify that the No Interest box is checked

14) What is their opinion of providing your Sentencing memo, which includes your Sentencing Length Explained under USSC Guidelines and your Placement Request, to your Probation Officer – before the PSR is final?

15) JUDGES COMMENT ON HOW YOU AND YOUR COUNSEL SHOULD PREPARE FOR SENTENCING.

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WHY IS PICKING THE RIGHT ATTORNEY FROM THE START – SO CRITICAL?

  • BECAUSE GETTING A DIVORCE FROM A SPOUSE – BY ITSELF CAN BE MESSY.

BUT TRYING TO GET A,

  • DIVORCE BEFORE SENTENCING CAN BE A NIGHTMARE, AND MAY LEAVE YOU WITH BUYERS’ REMORSE AND NO ATTORNEY.

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DEER IN HEADLIGHTS

I WAS THAT DEER IN HEADLIGHTS, AND NOT GREAT PARTICIPATING DEFENDANT OR CLIENT.

  • THERE ARE ONLINE GROUPS, ONE IS THE White Collar Support Group,™ The World’s First Support Group Devoted to Those Navigating the White Collar Criminal Justice System.
    • I found it 20 years after my charges, but follow it to this day. It is a great resource, led by a great guy, Jeff Grant.

Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div., Co-Founder
White Collar Support Group™
516 S. Dixie Hwy., #222
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
info@prisonist.org
jgrant@prisonist.org
212-859-3512

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As the PSI will be the most important meeting in your life – I Do Not Even Remember It, Or Even If There Was One.

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BUT I DO REMEMBER A SIT DOWN WITH THE FEDERAL PROSECUTOR

  • THEY WANTED ME TO GIVE THEM INFORMATION ON SOMEONE, OR ANYONE ELSE?
  • I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHERE THAT QUESTION CAME FROM – OR, WHY THEY ASKED IT
  • THAT JUST MADE ME MORE NERVOUS.

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I HAD TO CLOSE THE PRACTICE, SELL THE HOUSE,

  • PREPARING FOR THE PSI – NEVER CROSSED MY MIND, I WAS IN SPACE.

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WENT TO COURT – PLEAD GUILTY

  • JUDGE ASKED ME IF I HAD ANYTHING TO SAY?? I TURNED TO MY LAWYER??
  • THEN I APOLOGIZED

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THE JUDGE THEN SAID THAT HE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE ME BACK IN HIS COURTROOM

THEN MY ATTORNEY AND I ASKED IF WE COULD APPEAL THE INDICTMENT. HE SAID YES

  • SENTENCE: 1YR, 1DAY PENSACOLA  FPC.

    • EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS NO RAZOR WIRE, IT’S STILL PRISON AND I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT
    • WHILE EVERYTHING TURNED OUT OK, I WAS COMPLETELY UNPREPARED – AND DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT.
    • HAD I KNOWN WHAT TO EXPECT, THAT MAY HAVE HELPED – THE FACT WAS THAT I WASN’T LISTENING – MY MIND WAS FOR MONTHS (YEARS) IN SPACE…

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THEN I WENT BACK FOR THE APPEAL – DENIED

I ASSUMED TWO CHOICES, LIKE DOOR # 1 OR DOOR #2.

 YES

 NO

 THE JUDGE FOUND DOOR #3, SENT ME BACK TO PRISON!

  • 1 YR, 1 DAY CUMBERLAND [I ASSUMED WE’D: WIN OR LOSE, BUT NOT GOT HAVE TO GO BACK!]

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THIS WAS A SATELLITE CAMP, NEXT TO A MEDIUM, AND A BIG DIFFERENCE – LOTS OF LESSONS,

  • THE APPEAL, LIKELY NOT A GREAT IDEA
  • LOTS OF SECURITY, COMPARED TO ALMOST NONE AT THE FPC
  • RECORDS NOT THERE, SO THEY TRIED (AND DID FOR A TIME) TO PUT ME IN SOLITARY

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…IT’S NOW ALMOST 20 YEARS LATER , THAT I CAN REFLECT ON BAD DECISIONS ALL ALONG THE WAY

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MAKING BETTER CHOICES (IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – BUT DONE BEFORE THE PSI IS BEST)

  • ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY
  • REMORSE FOR VICTIMS HARMED
  • NO ONE SUGGESTED THAT I GET CHARACTER LETTERS, YET SEVERAL PHYSICIANS AND A DEAN ON THEIR OWN, SHOWED UP FOR ME.

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MY FIRST EXPERIENCE, PENSACOLA

  • BROTHER WENT WITH ME, THE SECRETARY CAME OUT TO GREET ME, ALL”WILL BE OK”
  • STAYED BY MYSELF
  • WALKED A LOT
  • WAS ADVISED BY OTHERS NOT TO APPEAL
  • OFFERED CIGARS
  • CAMP DISNEYLAND

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MY SECOND EXPERIENCE, CUMBERLAND SATELLITE

  • THAT WAS AN EYE OPENER
  • GUNS-GUARD TOWERS- SHACKLES
  • THE SHU
  • EVENTUALLY TO CAMP
  • RAZRWIRE, MORE SECURITY
  • MORE LOCKDOWNS
  • DOG WING [A GREAT THING]

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PRISONS FEARS

IN THE END, EVERYONE BEHAVES, OR THEY GET SENT TO A HIGHER FACILITY

  • OF COURSE, THAT DIDN’T HELP ME UNTIL I WAS HALFWAY DONE

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NEXT: FEAR OF GOING TO PRISON, PREPARATION AND EXPECTATIONS.