how to beat a confidential informant

But in Lalo's case, he says, rogue agents didn't properly follow them. This rating signifies that a large number of the lawyers peers rank him or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards. The monograph is organized around the confidential informant's employment . Your attorney could fight for you during any pretrial motions on whether the identity of the CI will be revealed or called as a witness. A responsive, knowledgeable and skilled attorney. Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. But this is nearly non-existent in state cases and rare, at best, in federal cases. The prosecutors office is not generally required to reveal a confidential informants true identity, as many fear that it may put that source in danger. Timeline: An ICE Informant Run Amok Or Mishandled? There are many other illegal narcotics to which the charges may apply, including MDMA, MDA, prescription pills, and more. This important decision can affect you the rest of your life and possibly even your loved ones or friends. Some people have heard of the witness protection program in movies or TV shows. Working As A Confidential Informant Criminal or confidential informants assist law enforcement in setting up and busting others accused of violating the law somehow. Guadalupe Juarez/AFP/Getty Images **This website is meant to provide meaningful information, but does not create an attorney-client relationship. We called after our son was arrested for a crime he committed nearly 9 months earlier. Courtesy Texas DMV, U.S. D.O.J. No, the identity of informants are not public record. trailer The memo stated that those rules would be part of a new policy handbook. Call 954-845-0505 today. Before analyzing the informant's employment cycle, the monograph considers several preliminary matters: additional information about unofficial sources, notes on who confidential informants are and what motivates them, and pitfalls that can create problems for the agency or the investigator who recruits an informant. The government can get so preoccupied with making a case that the safety and welfare of a CI is not a priority. The information may prove to relate to exculpatory evidence. Yes, in some circumstances the police will pay a person to be a CI. Courtesy Texas DMV, U.S. D.O.J. Jordan was an expert witness in a civil suit filed against ICE by relatives of people killed by the Mexican drug cartel. Generally, informants may enjoy more protection from being identified or forced to testify in court than other laypeople. Because of this, the Government often doesnt give CIs a break in their case or dismiss the case until the CI has testified truthfully at trial. The informant is given money from the police department, with the serial numbers recorded, to ensure that the money is actually given to the suspect. In other words, the police claim that your charge will be lessened or maybe even go away if you work as a snitch for the police. At Weinstein Legal, we work diligently to uncover all of the facts surrounding your case and believe that this is essential when considering how to beat a drug trafficking charge. Those are . During several phone conversations with NPR last fall, Lalo insisted on speaking only Spanish. Choosing the right attorney can be the most important step youll ever take. Reviewers can be anyone who consults or hires a lawyer including in-house counsel, corporate executives, small business owners, and private individuals. An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice. Criminal defense attorney Matt Shafran at Weinstein Legal is precisely the representation you need. The faces of Guillermo Eduardo Ramirez Peyro through the ages, from various drivers licenses, a passport and a video of him in jail. Police and prosecutors generally want to keep the identity of their CI a secret. If you agree to work with the FBI, you will be . This is something that can be used to impeach him when he testifies. North Little Rock, AR Criminal Law Lawyers, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The recording devices used have become very sophisticated and are virtually undetectable. It just made me sick. Revealing the CIs identity puts the informant and sometimes their family in great danger due totheir role. He is already one step ahead of the prosecutor and is well familiar with the techniques they will likely employ in an attempt to convict you. Being a CI is a very dangerous, risky endeavor. Understanding an informants motives for providing information is fundamental to managing them effectively. The agency began deportation proceedings with the intention of sending him back to Mexico. You may feel trapped by serving as a Government informant. If the FBI has identified you as a person who has a connection to a criminal enterprise, activity or target, the Bureau may approach you to provide it with information. From a defense perspective, there are many different strategies that can be used to defend against drug charges based on evidence from a confidential informant. Only attorneys practicing at least three years and receiving a sufficient number of reviews from non-affiliated attorneys are eligible to receive a Rating. Copyright 2023 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. You must have an associate's degree and a bachelor's degree in the relevant areas. To the U.S. government, he was officially informant No. Since a CI won't be called to testify, the basis of his or her knowledge may not be directly tested in court. Beating a Confidential Informant Before a Trial Generally, informants may enjoy more protection from being identified or forced to testify in court than other laypeople. Courtesy Texas DMV, U.S. D.O.J. You may have signed up to be a CI under duress or felt forced into it after the police threatened to lock you up for the rest of your life or arrest other family members involved with drug activity. This video explains the risks and benefits of working as a police confidential informant. Login. Territories Financial Support Center (TFSC), Tribal Financial Management Center (TFMC). There may be cameras in the location that the deal takes place. Having gained this knowledge all that remains to be done is to transpose it into the environment of managing confidential informants. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century. All these only go to reinforce stereotypes. The best way to beat the system and stay out of prison is don't break the law. Similarly, if you borrow a friend or family members car to run errands around town and law enforcement pulls you over, searches the vehicle, and finds illegal drugs hidden inside yet you did not know they were there, it may also be challenging to convict you. In fact, Lalo secretly recorded the first murder and admitted that he held the victim's legs while the man was being brutally strangled, suffocated and beaten with a shovel. I couldn't believe it," says the DEA's Sandalio Gonzalez. If law enforcement learns otherwise, all deals or hopes of deals could be off between the Government and the CI. Even repeat offenders have the chance to beat their charges and avoid a conviction with the right legal help. Ask a Question About Investigations, Arrests, and Trials in Our Community Forum, Anonymous 'Reliable' Tip Can Justify Traffic Stop. Until now, ICE has always refused to talk on the record about what happened there and why Lalo was kept on the U.S. government's payroll while he was involved in torture and murder. He says that the agency's guidelines for using confidential informants are sound. As with most things in the legal world, knowing how to beat a CI depends on your case. Here are five common factors courts will consider in judging the credibility of a confidential informant: 1. Matt provided knowledgeable advice regarding bond arrangements suggesting he get back into his routine immediately since he had been doing so well. Appended material on confidential funds, a roles and responsibilities matrix, a confidential informant written directive, and an informant working agreement. Possibly, yes. You cant enforce these agreements or conversations. Other times that it may be more difficult to secure a conviction include drug trafficking charges that result in another persons overdose. ICE kept Lalo on its payroll, and even worked with a federal prosecutor to get his drug charges dropped. CIs are regular folks that provide law enforcement with confidential, possibly damning, information against you. But in either language, his story is the same. Mr. Shafran has years of experience defending the rights of clients in a court of law and has secured a successful outcome for many individuals. FindLaw.com Free, trusted legal information for consumers and legal professionals, SuperLawyers.com Directory of U.S. attorneys with the exclusive Super Lawyers rating, Abogado.com The #1 Spanish-language legal website for consumers, LawInfo.com Nationwide attorney directory and legal consumer resources. Confidential Informants: Engage in violations of Federal and state laws while providing information to the FBI. The report by the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General (IG) found serious deficiencies with the DEA's confidential-source program, including poor oversight that "exposes the DEA to an. At a Border Patrol checkpoint, Lalo got caught smuggling more than 100 pounds of marijuana stuffed into the wheels of his pickup. If the said information was procured outside of standard procedure (illegal or questionable means), they might use the CI excuse. When the El Paso DEA office got wind of what was happening, the agent in charge was stunned. Keep in mind that courts often determine whether to accept a confidential informant's evidence as credible based on the totality of the circumstances in that case -- which may include other factors not listed here. In fact, it is possible for a defense team to call a confidential informant as a witness during the court case, and oftentimes that person is able to provide valuable information that sheds light on the tactics of the prosecution. We contacted our attorney in the state where we live and he recommended Matt to us. Identities should be stored in a system with the highest level of security and with Role Based Access Control. He responded the same day, always kept us abreast of the process, and although my son lives in a different city, he drove a few hours to attend court with my son, and was able to negotiate a pre-trial diversion program and drop the felony charges to misdemeanor charges. He got involved after two DEA operatives in Mexico were targeted by the Juarez drug gang that Lalo worked for. By declaring a CI provided the intel, the police may try to get away with introducing the information to the case without explanation. In the 1960s, a trio of Supreme Court decisions Hoffa v. United States, Lewis v. United States, and Osborn v. United States made clear that police have a relatively free hand to use informants. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS It is ugly. xref Two ICE employees were forced to take early retirement, but others received light reprimands and are still on the job. For example, if another person is riding in your car as a passenger when police stop your vehicle and they are arrested for having a large amount of drugs on their body or in their belongings, if you had no knowledge of the drugs being present it is unlikely that a court can convict you. Other elements of your case that may affect the severity of your penalties will include whether you are a first-time offender or if this is a repeat offense, whether any minors were involved or harmed in the process of the alleged crime, whether any person sustained an injury as a result of your alleged actions, and your past criminal history. Answer (1 of 5): The first thing you need to do is know your enemy. there are basically two types of police investigation, reactive and proactive. Copyright 2022, Thomson Reuters. how do i become a confidential informant, can a confidential informant be revealed, how to beat a confidential informant case, how do confidential informants get paid, what are the rules for a confidential informant. Acting under orders of the police, an informant may purchase drugs, place calls, or try to get the suspect to make an incriminating statement so the police can arrest . Official websites use .gov A confidential informant (CI) is someone that is typically facing criminal charges and law enforcement convinces the CI to work off their criminal charges. Lalo wasn't looking to make a deal. "I was shocked. There are legal defenses available to you. If you are interested in training in relation to motivation or details of our comprehensive human source training programs please get in touch: info@hsmtraining.com We provide the best confidential informant training available. For now, he said, jail is better than the fate he faces in Mexico. Demonstrate any past instances of false or invalidated evidence or information they have provided. Additionally, the severity of the penalties associated with each charge worsen as the amount of drugs found in your control increases. Confidentiality is what makes the informant valuable. Mathew is really eloquent and smart. Once the government uses you as a CI, they can be done with you. Do not wait to start working on your defense. In an interview with NPR, Kumar Kibble, a top ICE official and a former director of criminal investigations for the agency, says, "I want to emphasize that our primary obligation is to protect life and limb." vPxK s&K0!6XYY'`aIbce9"\*z816&V:::Z. If youre worried about how to beat a confidential informant, let the Law Offices of MJ Snyder represent you. xb```Il@r/ 0! Now, with Lalo on board, agents set their sights on a Juarez kingpin known as the Engineer: Heriberto Santillan Tabares. 6. Mexican law enforcement officials load a corpse found at the Juarez drug cartel's House of Death into a truck in January 2004. For a free legal consultation, call 215.515.3360. Jeralyn Elise Merritt (Unclaimed Profile). He's in jail not for any of the crimes he allegedly committed in Mexico, but because ICE says he no longer has a legal right to be in the U.S. "Right now, I'm just fighting for my life," Lalo said. My guess is that the police have more - - calls between you and the CI, surveillance of you going to the garage, etc. Even repeat offenders have the chance to beat their charges and avoid a conviction with the right legal help. What are the different Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings?*. Lalo said his actions were necessary to maintain his cover. Some training courses, available for law enforcement officers, will claim to be able to provide officers with everything they need to know about managing confidential informants, including motivation, in one or two days. Confidential informants, will have always have their own agendas and will sometimes be motivated to lie and obstruct justice while claiming to be help. Here are five common factors courts will consider in judging the credibility of a confidential informant: This factor is formally called "veracity," and is used by courts to determine if a CI has a reputation for telling the truth. If the CI works enough drug deals and/or provides enough information to the police that leads to a conviction or arrest, the prosecutor decides whether the charges will be dropped or lessened to a plea agreement for the CI.