Have you or someone you love been arrested in New Jersey? If you’ve been arrested for an indictable offense (sometimes referred to as a felony in other states), you’ll need to hire a criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible. You won’t want to fight against these charges alone, and you must start building a solid defense or mitigation immediately.

Those  arrested for an indictable crime may receive a notice that a pre-indictment conference has been scheduled and that they are legally required to attend.

What Happens In A Pre-Indictment Conference?

In a pre-indictment conference, cases are brought before the court to resolve a person’s criminal charges before New Jersey prosecutors present the case to a grand jury for an indictment. At your pre-indictment conference, you can expect that the prosecutor will offer you a plea deal to resolve the case at the early stages of the prosecution. As a condition of the plea deal, the prosecutor might offer to dismiss certain charges or reduce the charge to a less-severe offense, in exchange for the defendant’s guilty plea or their no-contest plea.

You Have A Constitutional Right For the Prosecutor to Secure and Indictment

Our team of former prosecutors at The Bianchi Law Group will advise You if it’s in your best interest to accept a plea deal at the early stage of the case. Usually, the defense and mitigation of our clients take time, and we prefer to request adjournments or demand the prosecutor present the case to a grand jury where 23 jurors will decide if there is prima facie evidence to return an indictment for the charges against You. The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires prosecutors to secure indictments if the case cannot be resolved at the pre-indictment conference. 

You Will Usually Have Limited Discovery at the Pre-Indictment Conference

Often, it is not optimal to hurry up and resolve your matter quickly. Prosecutors only provide limited discovery at the Pre-Indictment Conference. Because the pre-indictment conference is at the very early stages of the prosecution, the prosecutor’s file may not be complete with all the documentation of the investigation or subsequent investigation efforts by the police. Laboratory results such as drug laboratory results are usually unavailable at the pre-indictment conference. Finally, the New Jersey State Police and other police departments are notorious for not having reports, body cameras, and surveillance video available. 

Mitigation Packages Are Critical to Provide at the Early Stages of the Prosecution

Moreover, the early stage of the case may not allow our attorneys to present mitigation information for You fully.  Our Attorneys prepare mitigation packages for our clients to educate the prosecutor about our clients. As Former Prosecutors, we know that the prosecutor’s files are limited to incriminating discoveries. The prosecutor’s files include police reports, witness statements, 911 calls, surveillance videos, and other documentation supporting associations. The prosecutor’s file does not include mitigation information, including our client’s successes, education, licenses, certifications, employment, medical or psychological history, treatment history, or philanthropic endeavors. Accordingly, our former prosecutors at the Bianchi Law Group make it a point to provide prosecutors with mitigating information early when prosecutors are evaluating their cases and to determine what the plea offers will be. 

How the Bianchi Law Group Can Help

At the Bianchi Law Group, our firm primarily focuses on cases related to Criminal Defense, Municipal Court Matters, and Domestic Violence. Our team of former prosecutors has prosecuted many criminal and domestic violence cases. The Bianchi Law Group is equipped with experienced Criminal Defense attorneys in New Jersey to help individuals obtain their case’s best possible representation and legal outcome.

Former Prosecutors and Trusted by the Media

The Bianchi Law Group partners Robert (Bob) Bianchi and David Bruno are former prosecutors who are certified along with only 250 other attorneys as certified criminal trial attorneys by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Robert and David regularly appear as national legal analysts to comment and debate on major news networks such as Fox News, CNN, HLN, MSNBC, and Fox Business.

Contact us to schedule a consultation to discuss how we can potentially assist you with your upcoming case or investigation.