Miami Federal Crime Attorney
Miami is ground zero for the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. The Chief of the Criminal Division is based in the District’s main office in Miami, and the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division also oversees activities of the Criminal Division in Miami. The Miami office has about 100 Assistant United States Attorneys working in its Criminal Division sections, including Economic (white collar) Crimes and Narcotics. This army of highly-qualified and well-trained lawyers is backed by an enormous array of law enforcement officers and investigators from a myriad of federal agencies, each with vast resources to funnel into investigation and prosecution of federal crimes in Miami.
Miami federal crime attorney Bruce L. Udolf has over 40 years of experience in criminal trial law, including working for over a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. At the Law Office of Bruce L. Udolf, P.A., we are well acquainted with the inner workings of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and how they prosecute federal crimes in Miami. We use this knowledge and experience to your advantage to help you get the best result when you’ve been charged with federal offenses in Miami, including all types of white collar criminal offenses or drug charges. Call our office for immediate assistance if you’ve been arrested or if you are under investigation in Miami for a federal criminal law violation.
When Should I Call a Miami Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer?
You already know that if you’ve been arrested for a federal crime, your first call needs to be to an experienced Miami federal criminal defense attorney. Even if you haven’t been arrested, there are other circumstances when contacting a lawyer is critically important. These include:
- You’ve been served with a subpoena
- You’ve been served with a search warrant
- You’ve been approached by federal agents for questioning
If you have been served with a subpoena, you may be required to produce documents or be called to testify to a grand jury. You may think you have the constitutional right to refuse to testify or hand over any documents that may tend to incriminate you, but the laws and procedures surrounding the federal grand jury process are complex. Once you are in the grand jury room, it’s just you, the jurors, and the prosecutor who is running the show. Your lawyer can’t accompany you. It’s absolutely essential to talk to an experienced Miami federal criminal defense lawyer before you go into the grand jury. Call Bruce L. Udolf, P.A., to discuss the implications of your testimony and to understand your rights in a grand jury.
If you have been served with a search warrant, it is important to comply with the warrant to avoid an additional charge of obstruction of justice. Nevertheless, you should call an attorney right away, preferably before the warrant is executed, if possible. You have constitutional rights that protect you from an unreasonable search and seizure. Warrants may be defective on their face, or federal agents may carry out the warrant in a way that exceeds their permissible scope. Your lawyer can work to make sure that any evidence illegally seized cannot be used against you in any federal criminal proceeding.
If you have been approached by federal agents for questioning, it is important to tread very carefully. You may not know or be told whether you are a person of interest, a potential witness or a potential suspect, but anything you say can eventually be used against you in a federal criminal investigation or prosecution. Federal agents are expertly trained to get you to make incriminating or inconsistent statements. Even innocent statements, if inconsistent, can lead to a charge of lying to a federal officer, which is itself a crime punishable by up to five years in prison, plus substantial fines. This offense can be charged for knowingly and willfully making a materially false statement to a federal agent, regardless of whether there was any criminal intent behind the statement. With this charge over your head, federal agents may convince you to make further statements or confess to a crime that you may not even be guilty of. The best thing to do when approached for questioning by federal officers is to take their card and let them know your attorney will be in touch.
Contact An Experienced Miami Federal Crimes Attorney
If you have been arrested for a Miami federal crime or believe you may be under investigation, call Bruce L. Udolf, P.A., for a confidential consultation to discuss your situation and best options.
