Receiving a federal grand jury subpoena is very frightening. You must take action as soon as possible, as the consequences of doing nothing are great. You may not know whether you are the suspect in a criminal case, or if the federal prosecutor wants to speak to you as a witness. Taking action can help clear this up, and make sure you protect yourself. Below are a few tips that will help you do just that.

Contact the United States Attorney’s Office

After you receive your subpoena, there’s a very good chance that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will know much more about the case than you will. You will need to contact them, but it is likely that they will be very reluctant to discuss the case with you, particularly if you are a suspect in a criminal case. This task should be left to a federal criminal defense attorney that will understand how to handle the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

If you answer a knock at the door of your home, and a police officer or other law enforcement agent is on your front steps, do you know your rights? Over the years, we have seen many people expose themselves to criminal liability by not requiring law enforcement to present a warrant before allowing entry.

The Fourth Amendment Protects Citizens from Police Searches

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been interpreted to mean that searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. This means that a court will likely throw out any search of a home without a warrant as it violates the Fourth Amendment.

Civil asset forfeiture is a mechanism federal law enforcement officials use to seize the property and possessions of people they come into contact with if they believe that the property is involved in criminal activity.

Authorities justify using this mechanism because they argue that a person is not entitled to profits from criminal activity. In reality, this process is used in a much broader manner. In fact, civil asset forfeiture can be utilized even when no one is charged or convicted of a federal crime.

How Common Is Civil Asset Forfeiture?

One of the fundamental rights guaranteed under both the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois State Constitution is the right not to be tried twice for the same crime. This is called double jeopardy. While the underlying principle is clear, in practice it can be confusing.

When Have You Been Tried For a Crime?

The question of what it means to be tried for a crime is at the heart of double jeopardy laws. Many assume that if someone is charged with a crime, appears in court and the charges are dropped, they have been tried for the crime. However, under both federal law and Illinois state law, simply making an appearance in a criminal case does not mean you have been tried.

One of the cornerstones of American criminal law and jurisprudence is the assumption that all citizens are innocent until proven guilty. This most basic principle is designed to guide the actions of law enforcement, prosecutors, defenders, and the rules of courtroom procedure to ensure that an accused individual is not treated as guilty until the facts clearly demonstrate such to be true.

Presumption of Innocence

The concept of innocent until proven guilty, to the surprise of many, is not explicitly addressed in the United States Constitution or the Bill of Rights. However, the Fifth Amendment states that no person can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. For centuries “due process of law” in western culture, has included the basic tenet that an accused individual must be proven guilty.