Mitigation Investigation for Sentencing
We are experienced fact & mitigation investigators, licensed in Vermont and New York. We will investigate your case from beginning to end. We will meet with you and/or your client as early as possible and explore alternate theories of the case and examine the evidence and discovery with an eye toward successful pre-trial motions. We will also start to understand and develop the narrative about your client’s life, so that you can negotiate for your client and be prepared for the end at the beginning. We have testified in both federal and state court, and are as comfortable on the witness stand as we are in the field.
“VTPrivateye grasps the essence of each case and understands what it is we need from any witness. I remember chasing down witnesses in a motor vehicle death case all over the Northeast Kingdom and getting them not only to talk but to understand why we needed their help.”
From the beginning, we are making observations about your client's physical and mental health because we realize there may come a time when you have to present your client as a whole complicated person to a sentencing judge. Our clients are much more than the worst thing he or she has ever done. We have an integrated approach to defense investigation. We are fact investigators who are concurrently exploring the mitigating factors that make your client's story unique, factors that change the narrative in court and make a difference at sentencing.
The prosecution can tell you what happened on the day or night in question. The more interesting story for VTPrivateye is always why did this happen. What did your client live through? We are storytellers. It's actually what we do best. If you are a criminal defense attorney, we will sit down with your client and piece together their life story. We will ask them to write their own story, detailing the most important milestones of their lives. Who really cared about them? Who were their parents, their foster parents, guidance counselors, basketball coaches? What was their childhood like? Where did they sleep at night? Are there mental health or substance abuse issues? Was there food and warmth in their house? It takes curiosity and patience to take a client's life apart to figure out why they have ended up at this exact spot in their lives.