New Hampshire Defense Lawyer Handling Investigations

People often only think of hiring an attorney after they have been formally charged with a crime. However, having an experienced defense lawyer to guide you through a criminal investigation could be crucial to securing a beneficial outcome for your case.

Our criminal defense attorneys are frequently hired by clients who find themselves under investigation but have not yet been charged. These include:

• Clients who have been contacted by the local, state, or federal law enforcement and asked to answer questions or provide documents about a criminal investigation. Most of the time, law enforcement only discloses limited information about the investigation, leaving the client wondering whether they are a suspect or just a witness, whether they are in danger or not. In certain circumstances, the law may even allow law enforcement to withhold information from or deceive a suspect.
• Clients who have received a letter from a prosecutor saying that the client is a “target,” “subject,” or “witness.”
• Clients who have received a subpoena from a grand jury, a court, an attorney, or some government agency looking into a matter which may be criminal in nature.
• Clients who have been notified of alleged misconduct by their college or school, such as an allegation of a Title IX violation or a violation of a student code of conduct, including commission of an offense on campus.
• Clients who have been notified of alleged misconduct by a government regulatory agency, or some other official body, where the alleged conduct might be viewed as criminal, but charges have not yet been filed against the client. This includes notices from professional licensing boards, the Division of Children, Youth and Families, the Division of Motor Vehicles, the New Hampshire Banking Department, the FBI, Homeland Security, the IRS, FinCEN, the SEC, the FTC, and other state or federal agencies.
• Clients who have had their house, business, or vehicle searched pursuant to a search warrant, but no charges have been filed in court yet.
• Clients who have been in an accident such as an automobile accident and are concerned that they may be charged with crimes or motor vehicle violations.
• Clients who face a workplace investigation for sexual misconduct, theft, fraud, embezzlement, or some other misconduct.

In all of these scenarios, with few if any exceptions, there is no right to a court appointed lawyer. The person being investigated either has to retain their own lawyer, or go it alone.

How Can A Defense Lawyer Help During an Investigation?

Investigations in any of these categories inflict stress, anxiety and fear. The outcome of the investigation may adversely impact the person’s job, their professional license, their public reputation, even their liberty. All of these worries are made worse by laws that allow law enforcement to employ deceptive investigation methods. For example, the police may have an undercover officer pretending to be a civilian approach and talk to the suspect. Or the police may withhold information when talking to the suspect or, in some cases, make untrue statements, in an effort to gain more information.

We have seen countless examples where the involvement of a Lothstein Guerriero defense lawyer helped achieve a favorable outcome.

Criminal Investigation Cases Our Defense Attorneys Have Handled

Here are just a few actual examples of investigations our lawyers have handled:

• The police, pursuant to a search warrant or other means, have seized a phone, tablet, computer, hard drive, other memory storage device, believing they will find evidence of financial crimes, drug dealing, accessing and/or sharing of illegal pornography or other criminal activity.
• The client received a grand jury subpoena followed by a request to provide an interview to the detectives instead of testifying at the grand jury.
• A local business, owned by several different people, has been searched by the police pursuant to search warrant but no charges have been filed yet.
• A physician, chiropractor, nurse, other health care worker, or massage therapist has been contacted by the police after a client or coworker or bystander accuses them of inappropriate physical contact.
• An employee in a health care setting works long hours with difficult patients in a challenging setting such as a nursing home, group home for the disabled, mental health care facility, juvenile placement or detention facility. A patient/client, fellow employee, or as often is the case, relative of a client who has no personal knowledge of what happened, is now accusing our client of physical or other abuse, theft, or other wrongdoing.
• A person has been in a terrible car accident. The other driver, passenger or pedestrian has died or been seriously injured. The police file no charges at the scene but begin their investigation….
• A local business or nonprofit institution has found evidence of wrongdoing and has opened an investigation to try to determine who is responsible.
• A business or other organization accuses an employee or volunteer of embezzlement - wrongful use of corporate or institutional funds. Did it happen? Was the expenditure actually authorized by a manager who now regrets her decision and seeks to cover up her involvement? If money or property was wrongfully taken, who did it?
• Following a car accident, our injured client received medical treatment and/or had blood drawn at the hospital for medical purposes. The police have filed a search warrant or grand jury subpoena that has resulted, as required by NH law, in an official legal process. A court order sent to the client and providing them a very limited opportunity to challenge the warrant or subpoena in court. But the court order refers to no pending court case, because there is none… yet.

Why Work with a Defense Attorney?

The moment that you learn about an investigation that can impact your future, you should seek out and retain legal counsel who has extensive experience handling criminal investigations. Once public charges are filed or a public announcement is made, the information makes its way out to the internet and/or social media and immense reputational harm begins.

The cost of defending an investigation may be less than the cost of defending an actual court case. Money spent on an experienced and dedicated defense lawyer might be the best money you ever spent.