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Raleigh Federal Criminal Defense Attorney Patrick Roberts Successfully Defends Child Porn Investigation

Sex crimes defense lawyer Patrick Roberts of Roberts Law Group, PLLC, convinces U.S. Attorney's Office that an inadvertent download of child pornography should not be criminally prosecuted.

RALEIGH, NC, June 17, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Early involvement of experienced Raleigh sex crimes defense attorney Patrick Roberts of Roberts Law Group, PLLC, in a federal investigation for alleged possession and distribution of child pornography ended with the case being dropped before charges were ever filed. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh investigated the client after tying his computer to illegally downloaded pornographic material depicting minors in a sexual manner. The individual insisted that he had not intentionally downloaded child porn onto his computer and that he was not actively searching for illegal pornographic material. Federal crimes defense attorney Patrick Roberts advised the client to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's investigation of the alleged possession and distribution of child pornography and continued to assert his innocence related to the sex crimes. In the end, the U.S. Attorney's office opted not to pursue a criminal prosecution, based at least in part on the man's willingness to assist and no charges were ever filed. Many may not understand the dangers of inadvertently downloading child porn while using the internet or a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing system. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suggests that anyone who accidentally downloads pornographic material depicting minors in a sex act report it immediately. The experienced defense attorneys at Roberts Law Group, PLLC, suggest you contact an attorney to advise you in making the report to the FBI. Sex crimes involving children are not taken lightly by federal investigators or prosecutors. A conviction will typically mean registering as a sex offender for a number of years or for life. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines provide enhancements (the addition of months or years) to the base recommended range for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of a minor when a computer is used and based on the age(s) of the child(ren) involved. In this case, through the skilled advocacy of federal crimes defense attorney Patrick Roberts, the individual accused was able to avoid the severe penalties of a conviction and, importantly, the stigma of a sex offense charge, when the case ended during the investigation. When experience counts, count on Roberts Law Group, PLLC. The North Carolina criminal defense attorneys of Roberts Law Group, PLLC, fight for the rights of the accused throughout the state. With offices in Raleigh, Wilmington and Charlotte, the experienced defense lawyers of Roberts Law Group, PLLC, offer a free initial consultation to anyone facing criminal charges, including drunk driving, sex offenses, drug crimes, white collar crimes or on other felony or misdemeanor crimes in the North Carolina state or federal criminal justice system. For more information or to contact the firm online to schedule a free consult at the location most convenient for you, please visit the firm's Raleigh criminal defense site, Wilmington criminal defense site or Charlotte criminal defense site. To contact criminal defense lawyer Patrick Roberts, please call 866-630-2389 for a free consultation.

Way Too Many Criminal Laws, Lawyers Tell Congress

A panel of four attorneys told members of Congress today that one way to fix the nation's bloated and convoluted criminal code is to require prosecutors to prove intent, especially when it comes to regulatory violations.

Congress could accomplish this by passing one overriding law that requires proof of intent for any federal crime in which mens rea is not currently a requirement, George Terwilliger, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, testified during a hearing on Capitol Hill.
"This could eliminate any question as to strict criminal liability offenses being actionable, and would reintroduce to federal criminal law the fundamental and venerated principle that a criminal offense must include proof of intent to do a bad act," said Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general under the George W. Bush administration.

This is something that Congress already appears to know. The House Judiciary Committee formed a task force to tackle this overcriminalization, and called on Terwilliger and the other lawyers to tell them how.
Some examples of obscure criminal laws that representatives brought up Friday: A child who saved a woodpecker from her family’s cat was fined $535 under the migratory bird law, and a 66-year-old retiree who went to prison because he didn't have proper paperwork for orchids.
"The recent growth of the federal code in all areas of life has brought with it an ever-increasing labyrinth of federal regulations, many of which also impose criminal penalties without a showing of mens rea, or criminal intent," judiciary committee chairman Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said Friday.
The code has been gaining criminal statutes "at a rapid rate, about 500 a decade," Goodlatte has said. The code is up to some 4,500 crimes.
The task force staff asked the Congressional Research Service to update the calculation of criminal offenses in the federal code, which was last undertaken in 2008, said task force chairman Representative John Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)
"CRS's initial response to our request was that they lack the manpower and resources to accomplish this task," Sensenbrenner said Friday. "I think this confirms the point that all of us have been making on this issue and demonstrates the breadth of overcriminalization."
John Malcolm, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, testified that the federal government should be required to identify every federal crime and post it in a manner that is easily accessible to the public at no cost.
"The criminal code today is so vast and complex that judges and lawyers have a lot of trouble discerning what's legal and what's illegal," Malcom testified. "What hope do ordinary citizens have?"
Steven Benjamin, president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, testified that when the average citizen cannot figure out what is illegal, "that is unfairness in its most basic form."
"We have become addicted to the use of criminal law as a blunt instrument to control social and economic behavior," Benjamin said.

David R. Cohn, California Criminal Defense Attorney, Assisted Client to Avoid Federal Prison and Custody Time Following Charges of Conspiracy to Launder Drug Money

Wallin & Klarich defense attorney, David R. Cohn, helped his client to avoid decades in federal prison and custody time after being charged with conspiracy to launder drug money according to court documents. The client received probation and community service in lieu of jail and custody time (18 USC 1956(h), 18 USC 1957).

A Wallin & Klarich client recently avoided decades in federal prison and custody time after agreeing to probation and community service according to court record. After successfully presenting evidence of manipulation and duress by her boyfriend, the client was able to avoid this harsh punishment and eventually start her own business in San Francisco. The client was represented by experienced federal criminal defense attorney David R. Cohn of Wallin & Klarich.
“This is an amazing feat in lawyering”, claimed Mr. Cohn. “My client has moved on to bigger and better things, including her own business in San Francisco and furthered education, which would have been lost with any custody time.”
According to court record from Southern District of California – US District Court, attorney David R. Cohn used his expertise to prove that his client was a good person undeserving of such a harsh sentence. He introduced key evidence to show that the client was manipulated physically, mentally, and emotionally by her boyfriend at the time of the crime. Mr. Cohn persuaded the court that the client had attempted to remove herself from the marijuana distribution operation for some time, but was unable to as a result of the manipulation. He also arranged for his client to cooperate with the government by providing critical information about the boyfriend’s involvement in the marijuana ring. The client avoided decades of federal prison and custody time by agreeing to 3 years of probation and 500 hours of community service.
Mr. Cohn’s commitment to defending his client’s right allowed her to avoid a life-altering sentence and to move forward with her business and education according to court record.
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About Wallin & Klarich
As a premier criminal defense and family law firm based in California, Wallin and Klarich (http://www.WKLaw.com and http://www.WKFamilyLaw.com) has been assisting clients from across the country for over thirty years. The firm believes that every person is entitled to the highest quality legal assistance when it comes to facing difficult situations and has committed all of its resources to aggressively defending its clients. The firm has established itself as one of the most successful in the nation when it comes to defending against charges of DUI, criminal matters and sex crimes, and is acknowledged for successfully handling divorce and child custody cases. By making certain that our clients’ legal rights are always protected, we take the “fear” out of the legal fight.

Defendant in Terror Case Gets Lawyer of His Choice

A lawyer who is under federal indictment in Syracuse and under federal investigation in Manhattan will be able to represent a high-profile defendant in a terrorism case, a judge ruled on Tuesday.

The defendant, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, is Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, and when he was first arraigned in Manhattan in March, on a charge of conspiring to kill Americans, the federal public defender’s office was appointed to represent him.

But he later told the judge that he wanted to retain a private lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan recently wrote to the judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court, citing the potential ethical conflicts that such a decision could pose. They noted that Mr. Cohen is charged in Syracuse with obstructing the Internal Revenue Service and that their own office was conducting a “criminal tax investigation” of Mr. Cohen.

In court, the judge took Mr. Abu Ghaith through a series of questions to make sure he understood those potential conflicts and risks. For example, he noted, Mr. Cohen might conduct his defense in a way that might lead prosecutors in his own case to go easy on him. Mr. Abu Ghaith said that he understood the issues, and still wanted Mr. Cohen as his lawyer.

In his order, Judge Kaplan said he had found “that potential conflicts” of retaining Mr. Cohen “have been knowingly and voluntarily waived,” and he was relieving the public defenders. That office, as well as prosecutors, declined to comment.

Mr. Cohen said: “A large population in the world does not believe that in this day and age Abu Ghaith can ever receive justice in a courtroom in New York City. Granting his request to proceed to trial with counsel of his choice is the first step.”

Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer Karen L. Goldstein Featured in Forum of the ATSA

The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) has recently selected an article by California Sex Crimes Defense Lawyer Karen L. Goldstein to be published in its quarterly publication, the Forum. In her Los Angeles-based sex crimes defense firm, Goldstein defends clients accused of state and federal sex offenses throughout California with a focus on child pornography crimes in the federal arena. Her article "The Uncertain Future of Federal Child Pornography Sentencing" was published in the spring 2013 edition of the Forum.

ATSA is a multi-disciplinary organization dedicated to understanding the reasons that sexual abuse occurs and how sexual abuse and sex crimes can be prevented. It is made up of physicians, academic researchers, and other concerned professionals. They publish research, promote education and encourage dialogue between professionals and the general public. They also advocate a variety of causes and work on public policy and community strategies that lead to the effective assessment and treatment of individuals who have sexually abused or are at risk to abuse.
The organization was founded and is based in Oregon and has been organizing conferences and publishing research since 1984. It has members from around the world and is committed to reducing the number of sex crimes internationally with a particular focus on the United States. The ATSA Forum often features articles from people in relevant professions but also features writers, such as attorneys, who are from outside the treatment community, but work in an interrelated discipline. Part of the goal is to allow dialogue across disciplines and professional fields.
In her article, Goldstein discusses some of the new findings contained in the 2012 U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Report to Congress on Federal Child Pornography Offenses. Much of the article features her analysis of the potential implications of this report for federal judges, federal defendants and criminal defense attorneys representing clients accused of federal child pornography crimes. She discusses a few of the most problematic aspects of the federal sentencing guidelines with respect to child pornography offenses, including the routine application of enhancements to a defendant's sentence and the inability of the guidelines to account for a defendant’s true culpability. She concludes by expressing both skepticism and optimism for the future of child pornography sentencing and highlights the fact that more meaningful, modern, and nuanced reform is necessary in order to arrive at more just federal sentences in this arena.
In regard to enhancements, Goldstein writes that someone convicted of possessing child pornography on a computer faces a significant enhancement to their sentence. Instead of acting like an enhancement, however, the additional penalties become automatic since, as reported by the U.S, Sentencing Commission data "100% of all child pornography possession offenses involved the use of a computer. Despite this statistical fact—that the use of a computer has literally become synonymous with the commission of a child pornography offense—the use of a computer still increases a defendant’s potential sentence by 1.5 years or more depending on the initial base offense level." Making these sentence enhancements nearly automatic defeats the purpose of having enhancements, Goldstein contends.
Another problematic enhancement involves the downloading of more than 600 illegal images which leads to a nearly automatic and catastrophic sentence. Goldstein argues that "Thousands of images can be downloaded with the click of a button, in a matter of minutes, even if the user only intended to download a few specific images." Having more than 600 images of child pornography can lead to an extended sentence of up to four years. In such an instance, downloading so many images is almost automatic; this makes the enhancement almost automatic as well. These unjust sentences are just a few of the many problems that the Commission reports upon. Goldstein's article delves into many of the Commission's findings and commends aspects of their work and analysis even when she laments whether or not the sentencing guidelines will be amended.
A federal criminal defense lawyer's perspective on the Commission's report may have been particularly attractive to the editors of the ATSA Forum since Goldstein has defended innumerable clients who have faced what she sees as draconian and out-dated sentences. Instead of brutal penalties, the vast majority of ATSA members see understanding, empathy, treatment and dialogue as far more effective strategies for reducing the number of sex crimes. Many clinicians and defense attorneys argue that unreasonable and unjust sentences do nothing to enhance public safety or address the underlying issues that may lead a perpetrator to engage in sexual abuse. Furthermore, many of the sentencing guidelines make all people who possess child pornography equally culpable despite details of their individual circumstances.
Though they have differing foci and work in different fields, Goldstein and the medical and counseling professionals at ATSA seem to be in agreement with one another regarding the need for compassionate, nuanced, and more thoughtful work on federal criminal cases involving child pornography offenses.