And the CI must answer the question truthfully or else possibly face sanctions in court. The CI knows he/she is working as a snitch, but you do not. 3. Some informants have personalities that make them difficult to manage. The memo stated that those rules would be part of a new policy handbook. "Are you kidding me? The CI is searched before and after the deal by the police. Confidential Informants: Engage in violations of Federal and state laws while providing information to the FBI. By declaring a CI provided the intel, the police may try to get away with introducing the information to the case without explanation. There are legal defenses available to you. According to documents obtained by NPR, Lalo kept his ICE handlers informed of the murders piling up in Juarez. Learn more Highlight information that would indicate their dishonesty or bias. A responsive, knowledgeable and skilled attorney. Can a felon be a confidential informant? What evidence is needed to You may not have enough time to talk to a lawyer about what your options are before deciding whether you want to be a government snitch. He is the best !! These Guidelines apply to the use of a Confidential Informant in a foreign country only to the extent that the Confidential Informant is reasonably likely to be called to testify in a domestic case. If the CI does testify at your trial, your attorney will have the opportunity to cross examine the CI and ask questions about any deals the CI made with the state. It also shows how to gain maximum benefits from using informants while maintaining the integrity of the agencies and investigators who rely on informant information. This important decision can affect you the rest of your life and possibly even your loved ones or friends. Drug Informants: Motives, Methods, and Management The monograph is organized around the confidential informant's employment: recruitment, selection, orientation, and training; direction and control; interviewing and debriefing; evaluation; and termination. "It just made me sick," he says. Confidential Informants > JAG Reporter > Article View Post The act of sending an e-mail to the Firm or any attorney at the Firm, or submitting a form response or other materials through the website, will not create an attorney-client relationship. "We have threats against the lives of DEA agents, we have dead bodies, and you don't want to let us talk to this guy?" Mathew did an amazing job in court. Theres another reason police may want to keep the identity of their informant a secret: they dont have one. For more information on Martindale-Hubbell Client Review Ratings, please visit our Client Review Page. If the confidential informants identity is essential to the defendants case, your attorney can file a motion to compel disclosure of the CIs name. If you are wondering how to beat a drug trafficking charge in the state of Florida and have recently been arrested for the crime, contact the team at Weinstein Legal today. Confidential Informants can never be 100% protected by the Government or anyone else. Im still baffled how a medical professional (term used loosely) can influence so many, manipulate and down right lie. 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. Reviewers can be anyone who consults or hires a lawyer including in-house counsel, corporate executives, small business owners, and private individuals. He was also very reassuring to us, the distressed parents, and always provided an almost immediate response to our questions and concerns. But in Lalo's case, he says, rogue agents didn't properly follow them. trailer Eventually, a dozen bodies were unearthed at the site. For a free legal consultation, call 215.515.3360. In the end the police are working for the government and you are left holding the bag. The CI will likely be paying with marked money. Read More >>. To make a drug bust, the police should have probable cause (reason to believe) that you possessed, sold, bought or used drugs, or that you attempted or conspired (agreed) to do one of those things. By searching the informant, surveilling the buy, and taking other similar measures, the goal is to eliminate the possibility that the informant could plant the drugs on the suspect in order to fulfill the deal with the police. A few other articles found on the internet will give an expanded version of that list. . 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. Former agent Bencomo remembers listening to the tape. How Much Jail Time for Felony Grand Theft? A confidential informant (CI) is someone that is typically facing criminal charges and law enforcement convinces the CI to work off their criminal charges. Unlike with anonymous tipsters, law enforcement and prosecutors typically have evidence that their CI has lied or been forthright with them and others. And he didn't need the money he was already making plenty in Juarez's drug trade. A confidential informants information can possibly be used against you for your arrest and later in your trial if you request a jury trial. This is the point in time some potential clients reach out to a criminal defense lawyer for advice. Informants who fully cooperated and provided truthful information to law enforcement can cause significant damage to their co-conspirators but in order for them to do this we need to know what will motivate them to do so. Supplemental Terms. The team at Weinstein Legal will evaluate your case and can best advise you on the strategy we will use in regard to how to beat a drug trafficking charge, therefore preserving your freedoms and constitutional rights. A conviction can have far-reaching negative impacts on your life and you stand to lose quite a few freedoms. Because the officer involved does not understand or cannot see what is really motivating the informant, the informant ends up sabotaging the investigation or leads the officer into a corrupt . The team at Weinstein Legal will use all of the resources available to them to help prove your innocence, including private investigators and more. The statute that outlines drug trafficking laws specifically in the state of Florida is Chapter 893.135. The CI meets you at a certain place and unknown to you, the police are watching the whole deal. The most common way to become an FBI informant is to be approached by the FBI. To get started working on your case and to learn how to beat drug charges in the state of Florida, contact Weinstein Legal today. Informants. For example, if law enforcement arrests you with a larger quantity of a specific substance you may face a longer prison sentence. Motives and Motivations of Confidential Informants Fines begin at $50,000 and may exceed $250,000, not including lawyer fees and court costs. It should be noted as well that it is very risky and dangerous to put out on social media or in the rumor mill that someone is working as a CI. As each legal issue is unique, please consult with our firm prior to relying on any information found on this site.**. Whether you are a first-time offender or you have received charges in the past relating to drugs or other criminal activity, the team at Weinstein Legal is here to help. The CI may do controlled buys. This means that the CI will have an agreement with the police. Those are . Members of Mexico's Federal Agency of Investigations excavate the yard at the House of Death after two bodies were found there. We came back night after night to see how many they dug up.". Confidential Informants, a.k.a. "Police Snitches - Susan Williams Law A common myth that is absolutely not true is that confidential informants do not testify in trials. Confidential Informants: Protecting Their Identity Once an informant is known, the drug traffickers are quick to retaliate. If an individual is giving information to the police that could land you in jail, you deserve the right to face that person in a court of law in an attempt to clear your name. Today, Lalo insists he never killed anyone, though court documents show he admitted being present during several murders; he even acknowledged driving two victims to a Juarez house where he knew they'd be killed. There are several ways to become an FBI informant. He was well dressed and always respectful and anxious to talk about the Mexican drug lords he worked for. Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings are the gold standard in attorney ratings, and have been for more than a century. People who submit reviews are either individuals who consulted with the lawyer/law firm or who hired the lawyer/law firm and want to share their experience of that lawyer or law firm with other potential clients. How Do You Beat a Drug Trafficking Charge in Florida? Matthew and his team made calls and were very persistent. However, very few CIs have a clean criminal record, and many of them are "flipped" by law enforcement to avoid harsher punishment for their own crimes. Your access of/to and use Active listening for police - a skill for conflict avoidance. It is not like the old school movies where you can see a wire taped under someones shirt. 0000001540 00000 n When you have been arrested for a criminal offense, you want an attorney who understands the charges against you, the penalties you face and the options you have for defending yourself. Drug Use and The Use of a Confidential Informant | Ketcham Law 913, though most called him by the nickname Lalo. What I will say is that if I was in so much abdominal pain, had heart issues and was going to be strapped down, my rights taken away, held hostage for 10 days, I and no one I know could have maintained a even a small sense of sanity. He's clean-cut and clearly educated. His performance in court was outstanding and gave me a big victory. 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. Courtesy Raul Loya Possess equipment or chemicals, or both, for the purpose of manufacturing a dangerous drug. Confidential informants ("CIs") often provide law enforcement and prosecutors with valuable evidence that can lead to arrests and even convictions of criminal suspects. The guidelines can be used to develop or revise written directives for using and managing informants. Yes, a felon can be an informant. The purpose of the ruling is to establish an informant . Law enforcement monitors the controlled buy through audio and/or video surveillance, which is usually recorded. **This website is meant to provide meaningful information, but does not create an attorney-client relationship. Additionally, the severity of the penalties associated with each charge worsen as the amount of drugs found in your control increases. Disclose the CI and risk the safety of their informant, lose their access to information, and discourage others from helping police in the future, or. xref In all, there were 12 victims. Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. hide caption. "This is an isolated incident, where in fact the person was held accountable when they didn't follow our procedures.". CONFIDENTIAL INFORMANT | Office of Justice Programs There should be an audit trail detail who has seen the true identity and when they saw it. Revealing the CIs identity puts the informant and sometimes their family in great danger due totheir role. If you receive drug trafficking charges in the state of Florida and the prosecution notes that they had the help of a confidential informant, it is important to know that you may never find out who this person is.