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13May 2020

What Is A "Proffer" Session?

If you are ever charged with a federal felony, you will most likely have 
the opportunity to attend what is known as a "Proffer" session. This is 
basically a meeting between federal prosecutors and a defendant and their 
attorneys. What happens in these sessions is that the defense tries to 
argue that the charges that have either been brought by the prosecution 
or are about to be brought by the prosecution should either be dismissed 
or greatly reduced.

Asking for a dismissal of charges during a Proffer session is usually 
done. However, a federal prosecutor will almost never simply dismiss 
federal charges after a Proffer session.

Perhaps the most dangerous aspect of a Proffer session is that although 
the prosecution will have you sign a statement at the beginning that 
what you say will not be used against you, it does allow them to pursue 
third party objects that are mentioned. For instance, if you are facing 
federal fraud charges and you mention that you have such and such a bank 
account at a certain bank and you mention the bank by name, they will 
almost certainly file a motion to obtain the records of that bank account.

If you have been charged with a crime, make sure you get the most 
aggressive representation possible. If you live in Burlington, Essex, 
Colchester, Winooski, Williston, Shelburne or anywhere in the state of 
Vermont, and have been arrested or charged with DUI or any crime, call 
Handy Law for aggressive and experienced legal defense.