New Jersey Bribery Lawyer

If you find yourself charged with a serious crime such as bribery, you could be facing stiff penalties and even the loss of your freedom.

That is why you need the help of a New Jersey bribery attorney with the knowledge and experience to help you navigate this complex situation. An experienced New Jersey criminal lawyer can build a case to help minimize or dismiss any potential consequences you may be facing.

Defining the Charge

Bribery is the offer or acceptance of anything of value in exchange for influence on a government/public official or employee. In general, bribes can take the form of gifts or payments of money in exchange for favorable treatment, such as awards of government contracts. Other forms of bribes may include property, various goods, privileges, services, and favors.

Bribes are always intended to influence or alter the action of various individuals. Bribery is also typically linked to political corruption.

However, bribery can also happen in the private sector. Professional athletes might accept bribes from gamblers in exchange for “throwing” (deliberately losing) an important game. Executives of one company could bribe employees of a rival company to obtain crucial information.

No written agreement is necessary to prove the crime of bribery, but a prosecutor generally must show corrupt intent. In most situations, both the person offering the bribe and the person accepting can be charged with bribery. To defend against the prosecution’s allegations, an individual should not hesitate before contacting a New Jersey bribery lawyer.

State vs. Federal Bribery

Charges of bribery are usually handled at the state level, but sometimes the federal government gets involved.

In an effort to crack down on organized crime, the U.S. Congress passed a tough law in 1970 that is known as RICO, which stands for the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In recent years, prosecutors have turned this powerful weapon on individuals and small businesses who may have accidentally violated the law, or even those who committed no legal violation at all.

Defense Strategies

A knowledgeable bribery attorney in New Jersey can help an individual defend against such a charge. All Americans enjoy the presumption of innocence. Defendants do not have to prove they did not commit the crime; the burden is on the prosecution to show that they did commit the crime.

The government has to prove a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt, a higher standard than the one used in civil cases (preponderance of the evidence).

Often, the case boils down to one person’s word against another, especially if the alleged bribery was never formalized in any written agreement. Experienced bribery lawyers in New Jersey know how to impeach the credibility of opposing witnesses, and to bring out the inconsistencies in their testimony through skillful cross-examination.

In a bribery case, the prosecutor must show that there was an offer of value made by the defendant to an official.  The defendant must be proven to have actually intended to influence another person’s actions, vote, opinion, decision, or judgment in order to be found guilty.

Many of these crimes are charged as attempted bribery because an arrest can be made before the transaction takes place.

Contact an Attorney

A New Jersey bribery lawyer’s job is to serve as the client’s advocate at all times and in every way, without judging any mistakes that the client may have made.

A seasoned bribery attorney in New Jersey will listen carefully to every aspect of your story, clearly lay out what your options are, and then provide you with the most vigorous defense possible under the law. If you are facing possible bribery charges, contact an attorney today.