Teresa Giudice is getting a lot of attention as of late for her alleged criminal activity.
Earlier we wrote that Teresa and Joe Giudice had hired separate defense attorneys to combat their fraud indictment. We speculated that it seemed uncommon to have separate attorneys as a married couple fighting the same charges and I commented that I believed Teresa and Joe were planning to have him take the heat so she could try to avoid a more serious punishment like jail time. Remember, Teresa has no priors. Joe, well – you know…
In response to our story a criminal defense attorney (who does not represent Teresa or Joe) reached out to us to clear up some aspects of how the legal process works. The attorney we spoke to explained that it's "very common in criminal proceedings" to hire separate attorneys. Apparently many judges will not allow both parties to share legal representation because "as individuals, they have separate interests and those interests need to be protected."
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The lawyer explained judges expect one person to point the finger at the other at some point in time and if parties are sharing counsel than the lawyer is conflicted in whose best interest they should pursue. In this case it seems the Giudices have put forth a protracted effort to keep Teresa out of jail and looking as "innocent" as possible being as she has a prominent (ha!) career to protect and is the main breadwinner. However the fact that a judge demanded they pay equal amounts bail does not look good!
The lawyer went on to give her perspective on the situation the Giudices are faced with and believes they are both in serious trouble. "The Feds only indict when they have a rock solid case, the recent statistic is that 90% of federal indictments end in convictions."
"And unlike state courts, the federal court uses a sentencing guideline system. In working with a federal probation officer, the officer will determine what 'criminal history level' the person is at and what the 'offense level' is, from that and from the sentencing guidelines, a sentence is proposed by the probation officer to the Judge." Both Teresa and Joe were required to pay $500,000 bail each yesterday and are not allowed to leave New Jersey or New York. Both surrendered their passports immediately.
Despite Teresa likely attempting to get probation and a fine, this attorney believes it is inevitable that they will both serve some jail time in federal prison.
Meanwhile, Joe may or may not face deportation if he is convicted of his crimes since he is still legally an Italian citizen. We are currently trying to find out the likelihood of that so we'll keep you posted!
[Photo Credits: TNYF/WENN.com]
TELL US – WILL TERESA DO TIME?
