Los Angeles Espionage Lawyer

What You Need to Know About Your Federal Criminal Charges

If you have been accused and charged with espionage anywhere in the United States, you will be facing federal criminal penalties upon conviction and will be in need of serious criminal defense. Defined as the practice of gathering and transmitting information pertaining to the defense of our nation, espionage is widely believed to be an intentional act made for the purpose of injuring the country in some way. In addition, espionage has been categorized as any act involving gross negligence in which information related to the U.S. was leaked in order to provide advantage to another foreign nation that may be working against America.

Very often, espionage refers to the practice of spying, or using spies, to obtain secret information about the internal plans and behaviors of a foreign nation's government. Espionage has also been used to describe illegal activities involving one or more competing companies. Confidential information obtained without permission from the holder of said information is specifically defined as espionage, and as such, it is punishable by law and is considered to be a crime separate from similar criminal activities such as treason and spying.

Espionage Act of 1917

Passed just shortly after the U.S. into World War I. Legally defined as the 18 U.S.C. §792, the act original intent was to prohibit and punish any acts in which attempts of interference with military operations were made. Additionally, the act targeted any support of U.S. enemies during wartimes as illegal, as well as any promotion of insubordination of the U.S. military or any interference in the recruitment activities for the U.S. military.

Since its inception, the law has been amended on several occasions, the first time in 1918 when the Sedition Act was included in its legal language. To this day, the Espionage Act continues to be a source that is frequently referred to by members of the U.S. government, and if you have been accused of espionage you will very likely be made to learn more about the act that was created nearly a century ago.

Espionage laws are used to prosecute both spies and non-spies alike. Most often, individuals convicted of espionage in the United States are sentenced to a significant number of years in jail, sometimes totaling a lifetime. In severe cases, convicts have even been sentenced to death. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you act immediately after being accused and / or arrested under suspicion of espionage in our country.

Without aggressive legal representation from a Los Angeles federal crime lawyer on your side, advocating on your behalf and taking specific measures to defend your rights and freedoms, you will stand little chance in court. As a federal crime, an individual accused of espionage will be prosecuted at the federal level and, as such, will require a Los Angeles federal criminal attorney such as that which can be found at Martinian & Associates INC.