San Diego Criminal Lawyers Blog
If you are familiar with the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, you know that it provides protection against self-incrimination. That means you cannot be forced to disclose information that is directly incriminating or that could lead police or prosecutors to discover incriminating evidence against you in the future. It is pretty important for anyone who has been arrested. There is a reason that you are believed to have been involved in criminal activity, being that you have been placed under arrest. But sometimes prosecutors are looking to catch a bigger fish, and really are not too concerned with you, even if they suspect or have strong evidence that you are responsible for a crime. That could mean an opportunity for you to trade information and testimony for your own immunity. But this can be tricky; you always want an experienced criminal lawyer by your side as you make decisions related to immunity.
Transactional Immunity
Transactional immunity, sometimes called Total immunity, protects you from all future charges related to your testimony. While total immunity is not offered in federal cases, many states, including California, do allow it at the state level.
Use and Derivative Immunity
This type of immunity protects you from having what you say, or any evidence discovered as a result of your testimony, from being used against you. It is basically the protection provided by the Fifth Amendment. Although you could eventually be tried for crimes that you testify about, any charges must rely on evidence that is completely independent of your testimony or evidence related to your testimony. In other words, the more details you testify to, the wider the protections against future prosecution.
Why Offer Immunity?
As mentioned earlier, prosecutors tend to offer immunity to people whom they believe are responsible for minor crimes in the hopes that their testimony will lead to enough evidence to convict someone guilty of more serious crimes. It is not uncommon for these deals to be made in cases related to gang or organized crime activity. The low man on the totem pole is offered a deal to get immunity if they agree to testify against a ringleader. If you change your mind and back out of testifying, you will likely wind up in jail.
If Prosecutors Try to Prosecute You Anyway
What if you do your part and testify as requested by the prosecutor, and later the prosecutor comes after you despite your promised immunity? You can use your immunity deal as your defense. The prosecution will have to provide specific evidence that is in no way linked to your testimony in order to proceed. Anything they have that is related to the immunized testimony will be excluded from consideration. If they cannot prove they obtained new evidence from another source, it will be the end of their case.
Fighting for You
The experienced criminal defense attorneys at Boertje & Associates always fight for the best possible outcomes for you. To discuss your situation, schedule a confidential consultation in our San Diego office today.