As a Federal Criminal Attorney in Dallas, I am often asked by clients and their families whether in a federal criminal proceeding it matters that the defendant was never convicted of a crime. The answer is that it matters. This article explains how.
Will the prosecutor dismiss the case if the defendant has no criminal record?
Many of the accused hope that their lawyer can convince a federal prosecutor to drop the case because the accused has no criminal record. Unfortunately, this almost never happens. The reason is simple: you cannot commit a single federal crime for free.
Federal crimes are so serious that federal prosecutors generally only take on cases that they believe have sufficient federal interest to justify devoting federal resources to them. A federal criminal defense attorney is more likely to persuade a prosecutor not to pursue a case when the evidence is weak or there is no real federal interest. The fact that this is the defendant’s first crime is almost never a reason for a prosecutor to drop a case.
Can a clean record mean a shorter sentence?
The fact that the prosecutor won’t dismiss your case doesn’t mean that a clean record isn’t important. It’s important because it usually means a shorter sentence than if the accused has a criminal record. There are two main reasons.
First, a clean record is something the Federal Sentencing Guidelines take into account when recommending a judge a number of months for your sentence. In federal court, only the judge can rule on your verdict. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines give the judge a recommendation for a number of months when the judge should sentence you. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that federal judges must consider but not follow sentencing guidelines. See US vs Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005). This means that the judge must always calculate the defendant’s recommended range, but the judge…
