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.This is probably the most substantial misunderstanding of the present criminal justice system.The subject Iam talking about is referred to in legal circles as "relevant conduct." It's a bit complex and I will get into this.However, I have to make his crystal clear so that it will stick in your heads.It boils down to two concepts:I.ONCE YOU ARE FOUND GUILTY OF EVEN ONE COUNT, EVERY COUNT WILL BE USEDTO CALCULATE YOUR SENTENCERegardless of whether you plea bargain to one count or 100, your sentence will be the same.This isassuming we are talking about hacking, code abuse, carding, computer trespass, property theft, etc.All ofthese are treated the same.Other crimes you committed (but were not charged with) will also be used tocalculate your sentence.You do not have to be proven guilty of every act.As long as it appears that youwere responsible, or someone says you were, then it can be used against you.I know this sounds insane ,but it's true; it's the preponderance of evidence standard for relevant conduct.This practice includes usingillegally seized evidence and acquittals as information in increasing the length of your sentence.II.YOUR SENTENCE WILL BE BASED ON THE TOTAL MONETARY LOSSThe Feds use a sentencing table to calculate your sentence.It's simple; More Money = More Time.Itdoesn't matter if you tried to break in 10 times or 10,000 times.Each one could be a count but it's the lossthat matters.And an unsuccessful attempt is treated the same as a completed crime.It also doesn't matter ifyou tried to break into one company's computer or 10.The government will quite simply add all of theestimated loss figures up, and then refer to the sentencing table.B.PREPARING FOR TRIALI've been trying to be overly simplistic with my explanation.The United States Sentencing Guidelines(U.S.S.G.), are in fact quite complex.So much so that special law firms are forming that deal only withsentencing.If you get busted, I would highly recommend hiring one.In some cases it might be wise to avoidhiring a trial attorney and go straight to one of these "Post Conviction Specialists." Save your money, pleadout, do your time.This may sound a little harsh, but considering the fact that the U.S.Attorney's Office hasa 95% conviction rate, it may be sage advice.However, I don't want to gloss over the importance of a readyfor trial posturing.If you have a strong trial attorney, and have a strong case, it will go a long way towardsgood plea bargain negotiations.C.PLEA AGREEMENTS AND ATTORNEYSYour attorney can be your worst foe or your finest advocate.Finding the proper one can be a difficult task.Costs will vary and typically the attorney asks you how much cash you can raise and then says, "thatamount will be fine".In actuality a simple plea and sentencing should run you around $15,000.Trial fees caneasily soar into the 6 figure category.And finally, a post conviction specialist will charge $5000 to $15,000 tohandle your sentencing presentation with final arguments. You may however, find yourself at the mercy of The Public Defenders Office.Usually they are worthless,occasionally you'll find one that will fight for you.Essentially it's a crap shoot.All I can say is if you don'tlike the one you have, fire them and hope you get appointed a better one.If you can scrape together $5000for a sentencing (post conviction) specialist to work with your public defender I would highly recommend it.This specialist will make certain the judge sees the whole picture and will argue in the most effective mannerfor a light or reasonable sentence.Do not rely on your public defender to thoroughly present your case.Your sentencing hearing is going to flash by so fast you'll walk out of the court room dizzy.You and yourdefense team need to go into that hearing fully prepared, having already filed a sentencing memorandum.The plea agreement you sign is going to affect you and your case well after you are sentenced.Pleaagreements can be tricky business and if you are not careful or are in a bad defense position (the caseagainst you is strong), your agreement may get the best of you.There are many issues in a plea to negotiateover.But essentially my advice would be to avoid signing away your right to appeal.Once you get to a realprison with real jailhouse lawyers you will find out how bad you got screwed.That issue notwithstanding,you are most likely going to want to appeal.This being the case you need to remember two things: bring allyour appealable issues up at sentencing and file a notice of appeal within 10 days of your sentencing.Snooze and loose.I should however, mention that you can appeal some issues even though you signed away your rights toappeal.For example, you can not sign away your right to appeal an illegal sentence.If the judge orderssomething that is not permissible by statute, you then have a constitutional right to appeal your sentence.I will close this subpart with a prison joke.Q: How can you tell when your attorney is lying? A: You can seehis lips moving.D.CONSPIRACYWhatever happened to getting off on a technicality? I'm sorry to say those days are gone, left only to themovies.The courts generally dismiss many arguments as "harmless error" or "the government acted in goodfaith".The most alarming trend, and surely the root of the prosecutions success, are the liberally wordedconspiracy laws.Quite simply, if two or more people plan to do something illegal, then one of them doessomething in furtherance of the objective (even something legal), then it's a crime.Yes, it's true.In Americait's illegal to simply talk about committing a crime.Paging Mr.Orwell.Hello?Here's a hypothetical example to clarify this.Bill G.and Marc A.are hackers (can you imagine?) Bill andMarc are talking on the phone and unbeknownst to them the FBI is recording the call.They talk abouthacking into Apple's mainframe and erasing the prototype of the new Apple Web Browser.Later that day,Marc does some legitimate research to find out what type of mainframe and operating system Apple uses
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