The federal sentencing laws in the United States, pursuant to the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, now allow for a federally sentenced defendant to “flip” on or cooperate against others well beyond a year after his or her original sentence. Check out this latest amendment to the Federal Rules of Criminal procedure, specifically Rule 35:

The court may reduce sentence on motion of the prosecutor based on substantial assistance *even AFTER one year from the date of sentencing, under these less often used subsections of Rule 35:

“Rule 35 (b) (2) (A) …
” … information NOT known to the defendant until one year of more after sentencing;

(B) “… Information provided by the defendant to the government within one year of sentencing, but which did not become useful to the government until more than one year after sentencing”

I will just briefly and generally state the legal defense of “mere presence,” a defense that is available to you or your loved ones (along with the doctrine of “corpus delicti”) any time you or your family members are wrongfully accused of being involved in a crime — accused simply because you are right there next to all the contraband or evidence of the crime:

You cannot be convicted of a crime, unless the State first establishes the fact that a crime has, in fact, been committed, and that someone is responsible for the commission of that crime. Burks v. State, 613 So.2d 441 (Fla.1993), citing Ballentine’s Law Dictionary 276 (3rd Edition 1969); See also, Hodges v. State, 176 So.2d 91 (Fla.1965). See also, Jordan v. State, 560 So.2d 315, 318 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); (The State could not establish the “corpus delicti” without reliance on the defendant’s statements; when the only evidence comes from extrajudicial statements, the evidence is legally insufficient to establish all of the elements necessary to establish the charged offense.); See also, J.B. v. State, 689 So.2d 360 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997); (Corpus Delicti of offense must ordinarily be established independent of Defendant’s admissions).

This invokes the “mere presence” defense of being “merely present” along with culpable individuals “acting in an independent fashion,” evidence establishing, e.g., that the Defendant was merely present at the scene when the co-defendant trafficked in drugs, e.g., even with statements implicating the Defendant, etc. This is not sufficient to establish a conspiracy and may not be sufficient to establish that the Defendant was a principal in the crime. See Sheriff v. State, 780 So.2d 920, 921 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001).

Almost everything that once was considered a “misdemeanor,” is now a “felony” and enforceable as such, and were that not bad enough just in terms of lengthy prison exposure (as opposed to only sitting for a short period of time in the local county jail), the fact of a “felony” arrest in and of itself now will preclude you from obtaining employment almost anywhere; and when that happens, our unemployment rates dramaticlly increase, homes are lost to foreclosure, child support does not get paid, welfare and food stamp rolls (and consequent tax burdens on society) are increased proportionately, and this says nothing of today’s increasingly alarming rate of depression and suicide among our nation’s population. We are not building anything within the construction industry these days aside from new prisons to warehouse our own people, our own dads and moms and brothers and sisters and friends. The attached decision/opinion of the United States Supreme Court in Lopez v. Gonzalez, shows you exactly what happens to you or your loved ones in an immigration concern, once the Government enhances the way they look at some of our transgressions in life. Check out this opinion: U.S. Supreme Court Opinion

Do not speak with an investigator, adjuster or any representative from an insurance carrier – even your own, before consulting with your lawyer.

Under no circumstances should you provide any representative of an insurance company – even your own, with a “statement” over the phone or in person – taped or otherwise, without your lawyer present.

Click here for more tips and information.

Better answer: Tell the head V.P. of the “Human Resources” dept., if the company is big enough to have one, and if not, see a lawyer about filing suit for sexual harassment.

Legal answer: Suppose you and your wife get in a heated argument and one of you slightly pushes the other, resulting in perhaps a return push or even a grab, even without the nasty slapping, hair-pulling or punching? The pushing or grabbing is still considered “Domestic Violence,” and when the 911 call is made in Florida, this means both of you will be going to jail.

Right answer: Dear self-declared Jerk, absolutely not! Sending a letter or a greeting card, even a nice one (or even flowers with an apology note) violates your restraining order and is illegal; or having a friend call and apologize for you (as you may erroneously think that it’s only you who cannot call her), is yet another violation of the “civil” restraining order, which disallows “any” contact, “direct or indirect.” When you’re arrested for the “new, separate crime” of “violation of restraining order,” you will be taken to jail, booked, fingerprinted and photographed, and you cannot make bail until a $3,500 bond is posted on your behalf; and if you live with the “victim” or person who petitioned the court for the restraining order, you cannot go to your home to even get your clothes to go to work! You will need a separate hearing before the Judge to “modify the terms and conditions of the restraining order,” to allow you to get your belongings.

Better answer: Call the police immediately, and then your parents, who may want to file a lawsuit against the dirt bag who punched you, depending on whether the idiot has any assets.

Better answer: If you are in a “road rage” situation and you so much as put your hand inside the other person’s car, it is a felony called “Burglary of a Conveyance.” Putting you hand on the outside of their car is not a crime, but if your hand “breaks and enters” the imaginary plane or airspace within their car, that is considered under the law to be “breaking and entering,” otherwise known in Florida as a “burglary.” And, if you touch the driver (or anyone in that car) against their will, the felony is then upgraded to “Burglary of a Conveyance with a Battery,” punishable by 30 years!