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Posts Tagged ‘Prison’

Federal Prison Expert, Geoffrey Mousseau, was asked during a radio interview this morning, whether he negotiated with the Bureau of Prisons on behalf of his clients.

Mr. Mousseau’s responded emphatically. 

No. 

Mr. Mousseau reminded the audience that the BOP is in control of inmates.  Inmates do not negotiate with the BOP.  Instead, an expert federal prison consultant teaches his clients how to navigate through the prison mine field. 

The goal is to get the client to the other side of the mine field.  The client needs to know where the mines are.  And the client must have the utmost respect for the mines, remembering that, while he traverses the field, the mines are in charge. 

Mr. Mousseau noted that his role is not political, nor is he providing legal advice.  The prison consultant does not deal with issues of guilt or innocence.  The prison consultant provides information to his client, their family and the defense team.  The primary objective is to inform and educate, to demystify this otherwise frightening experience.  

The prison consultant makes sure that his clients know what programs are available while in prison so the client is prepared to use those programs to return the client to his family, and to his life, as soon as possible.  The clients of an experienced prison consultant will know in advance about rules, socialization, what to expect, and how to avoid costly mistakes.

As a nation we are sending people to prison at an alarming rate.  Even as crime rates decline, prison populations continue to increase.  One consequence is the likelihood that the prison experience will touch more of our lives.  As this happens, more people will rely on prison consultants to help them navigate through this process.

This service was formerly available only to the wealthy.  Now, because of companies like White Collar Sentencing Consultants, Inc., this critical knowledge is attainable to almost everyone.  Learn what you need to know before it is too late.

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In a recent commentary in the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel a leading Federal Prison Consultant responded to an editorial titled, “Inmate deaths: Lengthy appeals process the real problem”. The author of the editorial, Assistant Chief of Police and head of the Operations Bureau, Al Ortenzo, also indicated that the level of healthcare in federal prison is far better than the inmates received in the outside world. The consultant’s response was a resounding “no”.

The consultant was in total agreement with Mr. Ortenzo’s opinion that the appeal process seems overly burdensome in our court system. He also agrees that Death Row should be a short term holding facility but only after all exhaustive attempts have been made to ensure that real justice has been afforded each prisoner. He went on to say, “I assume, after reading Mr. Ortenzo’s article that he is a proponent for the death penalty. I myself, am not against the death penalty, when it is clearly determined that the individual who is about to die really did the crime.”

In his article, Mr. Ortenzo states, “Each and every case, no matter how egregious the crime, certainly deserves several layers of careful and exhaustive reviews.”  Unfortunately, that is currently not happening. With the advent of DNA testing, many wrongfully incarcerated individuals are being proven innocent and being released from federal incarceration. The Innocence Project alone on April 23, 2007 exonerated its 200th inmate who was wrongfully convicted based on eyewitness identification through misidentification. Mr. Jerry Miller was exonerated through DNA testing and DNA evidence.  He had always maintained his innocence but to no avail. Fortunately, he was released after serving 24 years in federal prison. Jerry Miller lost nearly his entire adult life because of a wrongful conviction. He didn’t go to the death chamber, he didn’t lose his life.  Yet how many innocent individuals have gone to the death chamber before DNA testing could prove them innocent? We will never know, but even one is too many.

In cases where the accused admits guilt to the crime and there can be no possible mistake as evidenced by DNA testing, the death penalty may be warranted. But until that happens, we cannot say that several layers of careful and exhaustive reviews have taken place.

Mr. Ortenzo also states, “Studies show that all prisoners, including those on death row, typically receive a far better level of medical care from taxpayers than they would otherwise have provided for themselves outside the prison walls.”  Unfortunately, this also is not the case. I doubt that Mr. Ortenzo has ever been incarcerated in a federal prison. I have. http://jailtimeconsulting.com/index.php After nearly 36 months in both a Federal Prison Camp and Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, Florida, I can assure you that the medical care in the Bureau of Prisons is pathetic, appalling and inexcusable. There are many federal prisoners serving sentences far less than death row inmates. Many have been convicted of crimes much less severe than those of Death Row inmates. I had far better medical care before my imprisonment as did many of the other white-collar inmates who were there during my incarceration.  Studies can be made to say anything the author directs or distorts them to say. Although this is unfortunate, it is true.

The federal government recently spent billions and billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the banks, auto manufacturers, investment firms, and Wall Street companies in a matter of weeks if not days. The executives of these companies are not even in federal prison for their mismanagement and crimes. Yet, the federal government and the Bureau of Prisons cannot see to it that individuals incarcerated in federal prison, regardless if they are on death row or not, are provided even minimal standards of healthcare.

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A Federal Prison Consultant who advises white collar defendants on how to prepare for their prison terms predicts that many people in the financial sector will be indicted. 

Geoff Mousseau, owner of White Collar Sentencing Consultants, Inc. in Los Angeles, stated his opinion at a meeting last evening. 

Given the magnitude of this crisis and the need for government intervention to stabilize the financial markets, it is no surprise that criminal investigations have commenced.  It is also fair to assume, for these same reasons, that charges will be filed against many, many individuals from this industry. 

Unlike the fallout from the stock option back-dating scandal two years ago, where experts incorrectly predicted a wave of criminal prosecutions, the targets of the current investigations are of a lower profile and have much less political clout.

The targets of the new investigations should be concerned about the threat of substantial prison sentences.  Current federal sentencing law has evolved modestly during recent years as a result of Supreme Court cases.  These Supreme Court cases permit federal trial judges to have more latitude when issuing criminal sentences.  In practice, however, most judges issue sentences that are very close to the terms prescribed by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. 

The sentences prescribed by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for white collar offenders depend heavily on the amount of money involved in the case.  For example, if two defendants are both convicted of fraud, the person who obtained more money from his fraud will receive a longer sentence.

And the amount of money involved does not need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt for purposes of sentencing.  The evidentiary standard is lower than what is normally required for proof in a criminal case.

The current financial crisis involves amounts of money that are unimaginably large.  For this reason alone, the people charged with crimes arising out of this crisis will face the threat of prison terms measured in decades, rather than in years.

This threat has other ramifications as well.  One of the factors used by the Bureau of Prisons when it assigns inmates to prison is the length of the sentence.  Under the BOP rules, anyone who receives a sentence longer than 10 years will not qualify to go to a prison camp.  They will be assigned to a prison will cell-blocks, bars, and razor wire fences.

What do you do then if you are a subject of investigation as a result of the financial crisis?  Cooperate.  Assemble a competent legal defense team consisting of attorneys, economists and sentencing consultants.  Prepare for your negotiations with prosecutors like you were negotiating for your life, because you will be.

Mr. Mousseau and White Collar Sentencing Consultants, Inc. can be reached on the web at FederalPrisonInc.com. 

White Collar Sentencing Consultants, Inc. specializes in important federal criminal cases.  We complete your legal defense team.

White collar defendants and their families need answers.  You want to know about prison, how to reduce the length of the prison term, and how to ease your transition to and from prison.

 We know the answers. 

 We use our experience to give you and your client credible, clear, and candid information when it is needed most. 

  No other company provides our services because no other company has our dedicated staff.  The heart of our company is an experienced attorney who tried over 100 jury trials.  He also recently spent 15 months in Federal Prison where he worked as the Lompoc Camp “clerk” until early 2008.  His duties there included resolving the complaints and problems of over 600 prisoners, with staff contact at all levels of administration.  He can answer your client’s questions and provide counsel through this process with compassion and commitment because he has been there.  He has the unique and valuable perspective of a lawyer who was an inmate.

Our services include:

  *  Consulting with White Collar defendants, their family and defense counsel

  *  Analyzing issues relevant to mitigation of potential sentences

  *  Comparing your options such as placement and programs

  *  Describing strategic alternatives available to your client

Benefits include:

  *  Calmer and more informed clients

  *  Better utilization of attorney time

  *  Credible answers from a credible resource

Learn what you need to know.

And do it now, when it can still help you.

We can provide benefits to our clients as soon as the legal defense team is assembled.  One of the first crucial events that receive our attention is the preparation for the PSR/PSI report.  Defense counsel know how important this document is to the sentencing recommendation.  They may not know how many other ways this document is used that impact the client.  For example, for one client, medical information was proposed to be set forth in a PSR/PSI.  This information was proposed to be used because it had a nominal impact at sentencing, if any.  However, had the information been included in the final version of the report, the BOP would have applied their regulations and could have recommended placement of the client in a far-away medical facility.  We were able to avoid this result early and the client received placement at the federal prison location closest to his young family.

In another recent case, a former lawyer who was represented by a prominent attorney appeared at a sentencing hearing to get a pre-negotiated prison term.  He had not hired us.  During the hearing his experienced attorney successfully argued for a three month reduction in the agreed length of the sentence.  Although this sounds like a wonderful result, a result that would confirm the value of that defense attorney, it was not.  Neither the client, who had been a lawyer, nor his criminal defense attorney, realized the mistake.  As a result of a three-month reduction in the sentence, the client was no longer eligible for a reduction of 15 months!  Yes, due to the rules governing programs available to prisoners, the defendant was no longer eligible for a major reduction in his sentence.

 Had we been hired at the right time, this tragic mistake would have been avoided.  Still, we were able to arrange for an appropriate job assignment for the defendant.  We were also able to arrange for his wife and family to visit him within days of his arrival at prison.

 In another case, even though we were consulted late in the process, we were able to obtain placement for a defendant into a program resulting in an 18-month reduction in the length of his incarceration.  The 9th Circuit decided a case that had an effect on our client and we were able to take advantage of this development even though our client had been in prison for almost 2 years already.  We keep informed of developments that provide benefits to our clients. 

Our clients are armed with the information they need to obtain the best results.  They can be placed in the appropriate location for the shortest period of time.  They can take advantage of programs that are available, programs that may not be known to defense attorneys because they have not been in the system.  And once incarcerated, our clients will know how to avoid mistakes.  Significant attention is given to preparing our clients emotionally to deal with the adjustments required to assimilate into prison.  Mistakes in prison lead to harsh results.  By avoiding mistakes, by knowing what to expect, our clients will not have to experience the draconian punishments used by staff, such as solitary confinement, and transfers to other prisons that are either more dangerous or farther from home. 

 Don’t let this happen to you clients or their family.  Call or write us today.  We are there to help.

 WhiteCollarSentencingConsultants.com

 310-560-8000

Limited numbers of retainers are accepted at any time.

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            Yesterday your client had a life.  That may change as a result of today’s indictment. 

            Yesterday your client was a businessman, an owner.  He was a husband and a father.  Today he faces the possibility of losing everything, his family, his freedom, his future, his dreams, and his reputation.  His life may be changed forever.

            Yesterday your client told people what to do.  His demands were met.  Starting today your client is in the grips of the government and he will be told what to do.

Yesterday your client was known for his power, his prestige, and his philanthropy.  As of today his name will be preceded by the title “the defendant.”

Your client is going to be making certain critical decisions that will have an overwhelming impact on his future.  He will have to make these decisions at a time when he will be ill equipped to make them.  He will be suffering from massive stress and his family will be thrown into turmoil and fear.  His normal resources may be cut off and he is going to have to put his faith in others.  Even though he doesn’t want to trust anyone, he is going to have to trust you.

            He can trust you.  You are the criminal defense expert.  This is your business and this is what you do.  You are the lawyer.  You know the law.  All of your knowledge, training, experience, and resources are devoted to obtaining a successful outcome for your client.  So what’s the problem?

The problem can be summarized in a simple number, a statistic – 93%.  Approximately 93% of all people indicted by the US Attorney’s Office are convicted.  And most of those spend time in federal prison. 

            Your numbers are better than that.  That is one of the reasons why you have the reputation and stature that you do.  Despite these well known and overwhelming odds, you are still able to win.  That is all your client wants.  Boy does he want you to win.

            So your job, your focus, is to navigate the time period between your client’s indictment and when he is sentenced.  Even in those rare instances where there is a trial, you’re essentially done when he is sentenced.  Great.  On to the next case.

But not so fast.  A few things have happened to your client in the meantime.  Chances are he is now a felon.  Chances are he is facing a prison sentence.  Chances are he is scared to death.  And chances are things happened between the indictment and sentencing that will affect how much of his sentence he has to serve, where he has to go, and what he will do when he gets there. 

Your white-collar client expects, as he always has, to have expert advice available to him to answer the questions that are consuming him and his family: 

“Where am I going to go?”  We don’t know.  The judge made a recommendation but we don’t think the BOP is required to follow it.  “What?!”

“What is it like in prison?”  We don’t know because we’ve never been.  “What!?”

“What can I bring?”  Check the BOP web site.  “I did and it didn’t help.”

“What kind of people are there?”  “What will I do all day?”  “Is it violent?”  “Is there any way to get out early?”  “Can I bring my medicine?”  “Can I see my wife?”  “Can I see my doctor?”  We don’t know.  Check the internet.  Maybe there are some books. 

I was indicted.  I was represented by fantastic lawyers and they did an amazing job.  And, as most are, I was also convicted.  Fortunately my lawyers really shined when it came to sentencing.  But, and this is a big “but” for someone in my position, my lawyers could only help up to a point.  I had all of the questions your clients ask, and so many others.  But no matter where I looked I couldn’t get answers.  Consequently, I walked into federal prison apprehensive and anxious.

Truthfully, even if your client and his family are relentless with their questions, you can’t be expected to know everything.  And unless, heaven forbid, you actually go through this experience yourself, you can’t really know how to answer certain types of questions.  You can’t be expected to provide answers for things you don’t know, but your client doesn’t know who else to ask.  And your client doesn’t even know what to ask.

However, you didn’t get to where you are in your profession by being satisfied with what you don’t know.  If you don’t know something, you want to at least know where to go for answers.  You go to the experts for the advice you need.  But what are you supposed to do here? 

Let me tell you from my experience that your client will want to talk with someone who has been there, someone like him, a white collar professional who had been put in an untenable situation with no knowledge of how to navigate the ordeal.  And I know that he should talk to that person early enough in the process to make a difference. 

For example, the first serious thing that will happen to your client happens early, and it is a major event.  It won’t seem like much.  It didn’t seem like much to me.  And given the casual way this event was handled by my lawyers and everyone else, I had no clue of the significance of this brief meeting.  I’m talking about the meeting with the probation officer that leads to the PSR/PSI.  You may know how important that document is during the sentencing process.  I now know, because I’ve been through the system, that the report is very important for other reasons too.  The PSI report turns out to be the first thing read by each member of the BOP staff each time they come in contact with a new inmate.  They rely on the content of that report, to one extent or another, for every decision they make while someone is in prison.  The content of that report is used to make decisions as wide ranging as bunk assignments, medical care, and qualification for sentence reduction programs.  Yes, having the right advice at the commencement of the sentencing process can help your client ease his stay and, most importantly, help him to reduce his time in prison.  Not having that advice early enough is like leaving the handcuffs on.

Dealing with the BOP is not always intuitive.  In one case, a former lawyer who was represented by a prominent attorney appeared at a sentencing hearing with a negotiated prison term.  During the hearing, this highly respected criminal defense lawyer successfully argued for a three month reduction in the pre-agreed length of the sentence.  Although this sounds like a wonderful result, a result that would confirm the value of that defense lawyer, it was not.  Neither the client, who had been a lawyer, nor his criminal defense attorney, realized their mistake.  As a result of the three-month reduction in the sentence, the client was no longer eligible for a BOP program that would have reduced the defendant’s sentence by 15 more months!  Yes, due to the rules governing programs available to prisoners, the 3-month reduction in the sentence meant the defendant was no longer eligible for a much larger reduction in his sentence. 

 Are you responsible to know all about the mechanics of BOP operations and   prison life?  The answer is no.  These are not legal questions and this is not legal advice.  But how much of your time has been consumed away from the “legal” side of your cases over the years by these same questions?  If an expert had been available to your client, someone who could answer these questions, then you could have spent more of your time on his case.  After all, you have someone prepare trial graphics, you use jury consultants, economists, and other experts.  This is another way to provide your client with better service and free up your time to do what you do best.

You know that there is critical information that can provide valuable advantages to your client. Given the likelihood that someone who is indicted will be incarcerated, your client should be referred to an expert on these matters from the very beginning of the case.  Once in the system, everything you know about getting what you want or need, and how to get it will have changed.  Sometimes doing the right thing can be wrong.  This is a bureaucratic system and the people and their tactics must be understood by anyone who wants to safely navigate through the prison experience.

White collar defendants are best served by an expert who was also a white collar defendant.  I am one of these experts.  I am a former attorney who was indicted and became a federal prisoner.   I vividly recall all of the questions I had.  I vividly recall my own concerns and fears and those of my family.  But most importantly, I was the clerk at Lompoc, where I was responsible for resolving the day-to-day problems of 600 prisoners.  It was my job to introduce all of these men to prison and to act as their unofficial ombudsman with the staff and administration.  I use all of those experiences when I consult with those who are indicted and who are going through this process.  I know that my time spent with these people and their families is going to make their experience more bearable – the time before prison, the transition to prison, and their stay as a “guest of the government.” 

I pay particular attention to those things that can make sentences as bearable and as brief as possible.  I also know that, because clients are not distracting their lawyers with questions that I can answer, their entire legal team functions more smoothly.

WhiteCollarSentencingConsultants.com

310-560-8000

One measure on the ballot in California this year would reform the way non-violent drug offenders are treated by the criminal justice system.  In a state that has routinely increased criminal penalties, this measure is seen as a major departure.

This measure is not endorsed by members of the criminal justice system.  For example, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan said the measure would be like throwing money down a rat hole.

California’s nonpartisan legislative analyst reports that costs over time associated with the measure, estimated at up to $1 billion, would be balanced by an equivalent amount of savings by reducing incarceration.

The measure would direct most non-violent drug-related offenders to treatment, rather than prison.  The measure would also require increased levels of treatment for those already incarcerated.  And the measure would revamp the parole system, reducing parole lengths and making it more difficult to return parole violators to the prison population.

This measure should be followed closely by the feds.  A substantial amount of federal criminal resources go to fight drug-related crime.  If non-violent drug-related offenders were provided treatment in the federal system, rather than incarceration, inmate populations would decrease.  More importantly, society would benefit if drug addiction was treated rather than criminalized.

Geoff Mousseau normally writes about white collar issues.  However, many criminal acts are either fueled by drugs or motivated by the need to buy drugs, even when the person is a stock broker, lawyer, or politician. 

Sometimes we need to take a critical look at whether policy choices are working.  Has the criminalization of non-violent behavior resulting from drug addiction lead to a reduction in drug addiction?  Has this policy really provided a benefit?  Unless the answer to this question is a resounding yes, then we should be open to alternatives.

The measure currently on the California ballot is an alternative worthy of consideration.

Geoff Mousseau can be found on the web at FederalPrisonInc.com.

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