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Attorneys Help Get Executive a Reduced Sentence

(PENNSYLVANIA) - An appeals court recently agreed to limit the sentence for J.P. Nacchio, a former businessman at Qwest Communications. The court had convicted Nacchio on nineteen counts of insider trading four years ago, and he had been sentenced to six years behind bars for the white collar crime. But his lawyers filed an appeal recently, arguing the sentence was excessive. The United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit was convinced by the attorneys’ case, ruling that the judge who presided over Nacchio's original trial had overstated the value of Nacchio's financial gain from the crime.

In 2007, prosecutors alleged Nacchio had sold more than $52 million in Qwest stock upon discovering Qwest faced some financial problems. Nacchio hid the stock sale from the public, leading to the insider trading charges.

But under the appeal, a panel of three judges agreed with the attorneys for the defense that the $52 million figure was simply too high. Rather than use that figure, the attorneys stated the judge should have based his decision on the actual net profit resulting from the illegal insider trading – not the entire sale amount.

The appeals court did not indicate a new sentence or fine amount, leaving that decision up to a lower court ruling.

Save Years of Your Life

(NORTH CAROLINA) – Raleigh construction worker Mark Smith will be spending a few more years in his own home, rather than a jail cell, thanks to the diligence of his lawyer. Criminal defense attorney Pat Roberts used the facts he learned of his client's criminal arrest to negotiate an 80 month prison sentence down to only 10 months. The criminal attorney used information gleaned by truly getting to know his client to help get the sentence reduced. In discussions with the Wake County District Attorney's Office, Roberts determined key facts about the case that assisted in obtaining a more reasonable sentence.

The facts of the case: Smith faced two counts of drug trafficking after police recovered a large quantity of cocaine from a house where Smith stayed. Although there were witnesses willing to testify against Smith, Mr. Roberts negotiated a plea bargain with the Assistant District Attorney, allowing Smith to plead guilty to possession with intent to sell and deliver cocaine, rather than the more serious cocaine trafficking charges. Under the terms of the plea deal, Smith received a sentence of 10 to 12 months – a substantial reduction from the mandatory 70 to 80 month sentence for the more serious charge.

Mr. Roberts' success in the case was a direct result of the time he spent getting to know his client and understand the facts of the incident. "It is very important for a criminal lawyer to dig deep into the facts and spend a lot of time with the client, in order to understand exactly what happened; seemingly insignificant facts can end up having a huge impact on the final result of a case," Mr. Roberts said. "Even though my client's co-defendants were going to testify against him, we still managed to negotiate a plea deal for significantly less jail time."

“If you’re facing a serious criminal accusation, you really want a criminal attorney who’ll listen to your side of the story and use that information to fight for your rights,” said Smith. “I’m glad I had a lawyer like that.”

Montana woman acquitted of cocaine distribution

A federal jury has acquitted Paula Huebner, 39, of two felony counts of distribution and of using a cellular phone in drug distribution. The jury did convict her of misdemeanor possession. The jury needed only an hour of deliberation to come to their verdict.

More than 30 supporters of Huebner who had attended the two-day trial hugged one another and wiped away tears. Huebner hugged her attorneys, Jay Lansing and Sandy Selvey, who were instrumental in her acquittal.

Huebner spent about three days in jail after being arrested on the charges the previous August.

The jury was instructed that two or three people who jointly buy and simultaneously obtain drugs for personal use are not guilty of distribution, and that a person using a cell phone in such a way also was not guilty of using a communication facility for drug distribution.

Huebner admitted to using her cell phone to call or text her supplier to arrange to buy eight-balls of cocaine, which is one-eighth of an ounce (3.5 grams). She stated that the cocaine was not distributed to anyone else – it was just for her personal use and that of her husband and his boss. In total, Huebner said, she bought 23 grams (less than an ounce) of cocaine between the fall of 2008 and summer 2009.

Huebner’s trial centered on whether her actions constituted distribution, or whether she was just a user who pooled her own money and that of her friends to buy the drug.

The drug dealer’s girlfriend testified that she delivered gram quantities to Huebner’s house five or six times and that they used code words like “grape’’ for gram amounts and “apple’’ for larger, eight-ball amounts. Huebner said she later got cocaine directly from the dealer, who would deliver it to her house.

The dealer, who is serving a six-year sentence, testified that he sold eight-balls to Huebner but called her a user, not a distributor. “She was just at the bottom,” he said.

Thanks to the work of her competent attorneys, Huebner avoided a steep penalty for a crime she did not commit (distribution), and her lesser crime of possession was sentenced as “time served.”

VINDICATED!

New York woman prevails in federal false arrest lawsuit

It was a night just like any other night for Deana Perillo – until she stopped at the same traffic light she’d stopped at a hundred times before – and was slammed into from behind!

If that wasn’t enough, things got worse.

Usually when you’re rear-ended, you can feel confident that at least you weren’t at fault, and things will work out in your favor.

Not so for Ms. Perillo, a former East Fishkill police officer.

Here’s the scoop on what happened: in 2007, Perillo was hit at the intersection. The responding officer – who knew Perillo from previous work together – told a rookie trooper to perform sobriety tests on Perillo. After three of these tests, the trooper initiated arrest. Later, at trial, Perillo insisted she was not driving impaired.

What a mess! Nailed at the intersection, then nailed in court! But Perillo made one very wise move – she hired herself a quality criminal defense attorney, who was able to make sure the bogus charges didn’t stick. If she hadn’t had good legal representation, she may have been in for a world of trouble – even though she was innocent!

Taking it one step further, Perillo then sued the state trooper for false arrest and malicious prosecution. The good news? She won!

Her attorney said, “There are many, many incidents in the Hudson Valley of people being stopped, there’s no reason for the stop, inquiries are made, which under case law, constitutional principle, are inappropriate. . . police agencies continue to do this, and I thought it was important that Ms. Perillo was willing to stand for herself and literally go all the way to federal court after winning her criminal case to prove the point that this is inappropriate, unconstitutional an shouldn’t happen.”

And the best part? Not only did Perillo get her name cleared and send a message about appropriate police action, but she also received a $60,000 settlement in the lawsuit – greatly helping her offset any losses she may have suffered as a result of the whole ordeal.

A clean name, sixty grand in the bank, and a clear message that can eventually help others. Not a bad outcome.

If you don’t have a great attorney – someone great for dealing with a situation like the one described above – eLegalSite is the right place to be! Learn more . . .

Not Guilty – AND May Get Compensated For the Trouble!

It could’ve been YOU.

Imagine – you’re minding your own business, enjoying an evening out with some friends. You see a fight break out. What’s the right thing to do? You jump in and try to help – try to break it up. You take a personal risk, in an effort to stop people from getting hurt.

And then what do you get for your trouble? What’s the payoff for your heroism?

You get arrested and charged, and thrown in jail.

Sound crazy? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Richard Matthews in Pennsylvania.

Of course, he was innocent, and he got a decent lawyer, and he was acquitted of assaulting an off-duty Dickson City police officer.

Now he’s using his great legal representation to take it one step further: he’s suing the officer for malicious prosecution, intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery. Mr. Matthews filed the million-dollar plus lawsuit in Pennsylvania's middle district. A number of other individuals and entities are also named in the suit.

It all goes back to 2009, when a Lackawanna County jury acquitted Matthews and another man of charges stemming from an incident in February.

An off-duty Dickson City police officer, Tom Logan, said he had been "jumped," restrained and beaten by a group of people. Matthews explained that he was just trying to stop the fight and defending himself from Logan, who had taken a swing at him.

Matthews’ attorney made the case that Matthews’ arrest, charges, detention and trial were not justified. The suit claims that the officers involved took sides with Logan because of a prior relationship.

For his part, Logan says the officers are not his friends. He says he is not guilty, and that the suit gets the story wrong.

All defendants also are being sued for selective prosecution, civil-rights violations and false arrest/imprisonment. The results of the lawsuit are pending.

It’s hard to say how this will all turn out – but it’s good to know that if you’re acquitted of a criminal charge, you also have additional options to set things right, such as suing for damages.

And that’s where eLegalSite comes in. Check out the Criminal Defense Attorney listing . . .

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