Sentencing Guidelines

After the 2006 U.S. Supreme Court decision of United States v. Booker, and its progeny, sentencing advocacy under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines demands a keen attention to the constant developments in sentencing case law and deep expertise and creativity from any defense counsel. Dwyer & Collora, LLP has an extraordinary depth and breadth of experience and expertise in representing individual and corporate clients at the sentencing stage.

The firm has handled federal sentencing proceedings under the Sentencing Guidelines for mail and wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, honest services fraud, ERISA fraud, tax crimes, embezzlement, theft, extortion, bribery, commercial bribery, offering or receiving gratuities, money laundering, environmental crimes, intellectual property including counterfeiting offenses, violations of food, drug, and medical device laws, immigration and naturalization offenses, offenses involving individual rights including involuntary servitude, obstruction of justice, perjury, contempt, homicide, and conspiracy.

Although Guidelines sentences can be quite harsh, Dwyer & Collora, LLP's attorneys are skilled in shaping creative ways to achieve the most lenient sentences possible. The firm has obtained numerous sentences of straight probation, home detention, or community confinement for its clients, often over the government's recommendation of lengthy prison terms. For example, in 2006 Dwyer & Collora, LLP represented a defendant at sentencing in a multi-million dollar real estate fraud case involving 13 defendants.  Only one defendant–the Dwyer & Collora, LLP client–was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment despite the government’s recommendation of incarceration.

A thorough knowledge of the Guidelines and their interpretation by the courts–including the arguments that permit downward departure from the lengthy sentences otherwise advised–reduces the potential severe impact of the Guidelines on the firm's clients and their families.

Dwyer & Collora, LLP also achieves excellent results in state court sentencing proceedings, including pretrial probation, probation, and suspended sentences for charges ranging from Medicaid false claims to tax evasion to arson, and dismissal of more serious charges. Many of our clients face potential collateral consequences on numerous fronts including professional licensing, professional privileges, and immigration status.

Dwyer & Collora, LLP, prides itself on arranging global resolutions that avoid or minimize these effects.  When necessary, lawyers in Dwyer & Collora, LLP's criminal practice also help navigate clients and their families through the unfamiliar process of incarceration from designation and classification to release.

Collectively, the firm's attorneys are familiar with the correctional rules and regulations in most detention facilities, houses of correction, or prisons in Massachusetts and the federal Bureau of Prison's Northeast Region. The firm has enjoyed tremendous success in having clients designated to the least restrictive state and federal facilities available and maximizing the period of time served in alternative incarceration facilities such as federal Comprehensive Sanction Centers and state and federal halfway houses.  

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