When someone is charged with a crime, it’s common for another person to be indicted alongside them. The possibility of one or more of these people assisting the prosecutor or law enforcement arises when a person facing criminal charges has a co-defendant.
A person facing criminal charges must comprehend the ramifications of testifying or offering additional proof against a co-defendant. This approach has several clear benefits and drawbacks.
What Does the Term “Co-defendant” Mean?
You have a co-defendant when you are arrested with someone else. The judge may inform you that you cannot converse with your co-defendant at your initial court appearance. You cannot converse or interact with each other.
As your case moves forward, having a co-defendant can entail several things. In general, co-defendants cannot use the same attorney. The State may want one of you to testify against the other. Alternatively, they can attempt to utilize a comment made by one of you as leverage on the other. Another possibility is that your case will be of joint or separate trials.
You can be required to refrain from communication if you are placed on probation.
It is important to use care at every stage of a criminal prosecution. Oneself or another defendant’s remarks to the police can have a big impact on the case down the road. Conversely, the phone conversations you have with one another can come back to haunt you.
In Your Drug Trial, Will You Know If There Is a Co-defendant?
Indeed. In most cases, courts will ensure that everyone connected to a drug occurrence faces charges at the same time. This implies that you would normally learn the identities of the co-defendants in your case rather quickly. That knowledge may be crucial. To offer a stronger overall defense, it may be prudent in some circumstances to pool resources and effectively “team up” with the attorneys representing the other defendants.
Sometimes, though, a co-defendant will organize their defense strategy around “turning state’s witness” and flipping, attempting to place all the blame on you. Often, one co-defendant would attempt to implicate others in the case. It is advisable to promptly verify the identities of others in the government’s case against you.
Can You Speak With Your Co-defendant?
Your counsel has no right to speak with the co-defendant’s attorney if they have an attorney by one. Having said that, you and your lawyer are free to speak with the lawyer of any co-defendant. Sometimes, it may be more advantageous to consult a co-defendant’s lawyer rather than directly with the co-defendant. Additionally, you or your attorney can speak with the person directly if they do not have a counsel.
Testifying against a Co-defendant
Occasionally, a witness may give evidence against a co-defendant for the following reasons:
Testifying for Lower Penalty
Typically, the prosecutor’s recommendation or consent to the cooperating defendant receiving a lighter sentence lies at the core of any arrangement to testify against a co-defendant. When it comes to a co-defendant testifying against his or her so-called partner in crime, this is the typical exchange of benefits.
There is one very important thing to keep in mind when a criminal defendant agrees to testify against another defendant. Any agreement struck due to the defendant’s cooperation, even if it is made between the prosecutor and the defendant, should not be accepted by the court. Under these conditions, the court will typically impose the recommended punishment. However, once more, no Pennsylvania court will do so by law.
The Bigger Catch
More often, the prosecution aims to condemn a defendant who appears to be more important. In such cases, the prosecution’s primary focus will be on getting testimony or further supporting documentation for one of the co-defendants.
In such instances, the accused parties bear nearly equal responsibility for the purported misconduct. Working with the prosecutor in these kinds of cases can sometimes be viewed as a race. To put it another way, the defendant who approaches the prosecution first is probably going to get the best bargain.
Seek Legal Counsel Before Cooperating
A criminal defendant must consult with an accomplished Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer before consenting to cooperate with the prosecutor in a certain case. It is never appropriate for a criminal defendant to approach the prosecution or schedule a meeting with them to arrange a deal in which they will testify against another defendant. An unrepresented defendant in a criminal prosecution may suffer grave penalties for enrolling in such a course, and in most cases, they do.
FAQs
What does a co-defendant mean?
A codefendant is a defendant who is formally accused of committing the same crime as other defendants or one of several defendants jointly sued in a civil action.
What occurs when someone reports someone?
They are released from their accusations. After getting into difficulty with drug use, snitches typically work for the police, who ask them for the identities of other drug users in exchange for not prosecuting them. The police frequently still charge them for their crime even after they come forward as informants.
Does the co-defendant have a hyphen in it?
when creating nouns, adjectives, or verbs with the prefix co-that denote status or occupation: co-signer, co-sponsor, co-worker, co-author, co-chair, co-defendant, co-host, co-owner, co-pilot, co-worker (AP style; not to be confused with the Chicago Manual or Merriam-Webster, in some situations).
Does “snitch” imply “betrayal”?
The verb “betray” or the noun “informer” is the earliest meaning of the term snitch. This most likely originated from underworld slang from the 18th century, where “snitch” meant “nose”—possibly because a snitch is inquisitive.
Conclusion
If you’re about to be put on trial, make sure you or your lawyer know right away if you’ll be tried alongside other co-defendants. Knowing such knowledge might help you work with a co-defendant or be ready for a co-defendant who might turn against you.
