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Sentencing Representation

Collora LLP has represented many clients in state and federal sentencing proceedings. Our lawyers are particularly familiar with the complex sentencing issues that often arise under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and are practiced in developing effective mitigating evidence for use in state and federal court.

Sentencing advocacy is an art in itself, especially in federal court where the overly harsh and complex U.S. Sentencing Guidelines too often continue to drive the sentence. It demands a keen understanding of the purposes of sentencing, a strong sense of the types of facts and legal arguments that are more likely to incline prosecutors and judges toward leniency, and familiarity with current developments in sentencing laws and decisions.

We understand both criminal sentencing law and the policies behind it.  Our lawyers include a former member of the Federal Public and Community Defenders' National Sentencing Resource Project who has represented the interest of indigent criminal defendants before the U.S. Sentencing Commission, assisted with sentencing cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and provided nationwide training in sentencing advocacy.  We are also familiar with the correctional rules and regulations of detention facilities, houses of correction and prisons in Massachusetts and in the Northeast Region of the federal Bureau of Prisons.

The following shows the kinds of clients we have representatd, their industries, the legal issues we have handled, and some of the results we have obtained. (For information about our experience with other government enforcement matters, see the links at the bottom of this page.)

Case Matters

Our firm has represented clients facing sentencing for a variety of criminal charges, including cases involving charges of:

  • Bank Fraud
  • Bribery
  • Contempt
  • Embezzlement
  • Environmental Crimes
  • ERISA Violations
  • Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act Violations
  • Honest Services Fraud
  • Immigration and Naturalization Offenses
  • Intellectual Property
  • Mail and Wire Fraud
  • Money Laundering
  • Obstruction of Justice
  • Perjury
  • Securities Fraud
  • Tax Crimes
  • Theft

Issues

Collora LLP has experience with developing evidence necessary to address the many issues involved in sentencing, including:

  • Avoding or minimizing a sentence of incarceration
  • Minimizing the amount of harm or loss attributable to our clients
  • Minimizing the gain obtained by our clients
  • Investigating and addressing mental, physical and/or emotional issues that could help explain a client's conduct
  • Demonstrating that our client is not a risk to society
  • Receiving sentencing credit for any substantial assistance provided to the government
  • Establishing legally-supportable reasons for a court to depart from or reject the applicable sentencing guideline or prosecutor recommendation
  • Presenting a creative sentence package that is no greater than necessary to satisfy the purposes of punishment

Results

Our lawyers understand the difficulties and personal upheavals created by criminal convictions, and we work hard to secure the most favorable setnencing results possible for those clients who the government has successfully prosecuted.  We have received the following results at sentencing:

  • Straight probation
  • Home detention or community confinement
  • Suspended sentences
  • Sentences under which no professional licenses or privileges are suspended or lost
  • Judicial recommendations for the client's preferred state or federal facility
  • Judicial recommendation to maximize the use of less restrictive alternatives to incarceration, such as halfway houses or community corrections centers, to satisfy a prison sentence

For more information about our experience with other kinds of government enforcement matters, click on any of the pertinent links below.