Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

Re: Possible 1st degree drug trafficking 1st offense

Your agreement to work MAY have been the right thing to do. A lawyer experienced in federal cases will often encourage his client to cooperate with authorities when the government already has sufficient damning evidence against his client; so, your decision to work may not have been a stupid one. But, there are never any airtight gaurantees that can be made in exchange for working with the cops. Unfortunately, even with a written plea and cooperation agreement, the judge is the sole decision maker as to the sentence that a defendant receives, bound only by the U.S. sentencing guidelines. Even when the U.S. Attorney's Office requests a downward departure from those guidelines for substantial assistance, the U.S. Attorney very rarely suggests how far that departure should be. Further, it is very rare that cooperation, in and of itself, will result in no jail time. The bottom line is this, if the feds truly have enough on you to put you away for a long time, then you don't have much to lose by cooperating with them -- any leniency is better than none. (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em). It really takes a good lawyer, however, to determine quickly whether the feds really have you or not. Do yourself a favor and hire an experienced federal attorney now.

Re: Possible 1st degree drug trafficking 1st offense

You should have hired an attorney the moment you first got into trouble. An attorney would have advised you not to say or do anything which the government could later use against you in court. If proper arrangements could be made under which you exchanged cooperation for immunity then a legally enforceable written document would have been negotiated, drafted and executed by the U.S. Attorney's office, your attorney and yourself. I have had numerous cases such as yours where the defendant (you) works for the government agents, often risking life or at least serious harm, only to have the government press criminal charges against him after he is no longer of any use. Sometimes the prosecutor will agree to mention to the judge at sentencing the fact that the defendant cooperated, and sometimes the prosecutor will even agree to a better plea bargain because of the defendant's cooperation, but in most cases the defendant (you) still goes to prison. It may not be too late for you to obtain the legal representation you need. Why anyone would not have an attorney where years of your life is at stake is beyond me. Good luck.