If you have learned that the government has been investigating you or your company and you have not yet been indicted or arrested, it is extremely important to immediately call an experienced Virginia criminal defense attorney that can advise you on your particular situation. It is also extremely important to not provide the police with any information unless they have a court order or a warrant. Do not have casual conversations with any investigating authorities. It is best to reach out to an attorney immediately even if you are not quite sure that you are being investigated but you have reason to believe that it might happen in the future.
When you are looking for a lawyer to help, you should definitely look for an attorney with experience with the criminal justice system, specifically with experience about your particular type of case. It is not going to help you to go out and hire an attorney that has never worked on a case like yours before or that does not have access to other individuals in their office who have experience in that particular type of case.
You should also look for attorneys that have experience in the specific county that you are arrested in. Every county in Virginia is different in how they handle criminal cases including the commonwealth attorney, the process of the court itself and what a jury will typically do in that specific county. Make sure that the attorney that is representing you has an accurate and up-to-date view of not only the law as it relates to your case and your charges but also as to the court system that you are going to be facing.
There are many topics that are important to discuss with your lawyer regarding how to deal with ongoing Virginia or federal investigation. The facts of your case, specifically the activities you think are being investigated, are extremely important and an attorney can tell you whether or not the activity might form a basis for charges. An attorney can also tell you whether or not continuing in that activity would likely lead to an investigation or an arrest and what the potential outcome would be should you be convicted of any crimes.
An attorney can also help by facilitating meetings with the investigators. For example, the prosecuting attorneys might want to interview you because they are interested in other members of your business or individuals with whom you have professional contact. In this case, it might be helpful to have your attorney facilitate a conversation where you are able to cooperate with the government in exchange for lesser or reduced charges in the future or in exchange for an agreement not to prosecute you.
Additionally, an attorney can make sure that you are providing the correct information and the amount of information that will be helpful to your specific case. If the attorney thinks that you should not be providing information at all, they will be able to tell you that as well. If you know that you will be arrested or if you have reason to suspect that you will be arrested, an attorney can help you facilitate the best and easiest way of turning yourself in and arranging for the bail process to go smoothly so that you have to spend the least amount of time possible with the law enforcement agency.