Illegaly Selling Migratory Birds

J.V. was federally charged with several counts of illegally selling migratory birds in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 703 and 707(b)(2). He was facing a possible sentence of two years imprisonment as to each count. Once we learned that J.V. was a veteran of the armed forces who suffered from severe PTSD due to the time he spent in combat, we decided to attempt an alternate resolution. We worked with him for months to obtain all of his relevant background information from the military, the VA, and his family. We then prepared a detailed request to obtain a federal pretrial diversion recommendation from the United States Attorney’s Office. At first, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida denied our request. We then met with supervisiors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office until we were able to convince them to allow our client to be admitted into a federal pretrial diversion program. Once we obtained this recommendation, we filed a pleading with the Court and J.V. was admitted to diversion. After successfully completing the diversion program and fulfilling all the terms and conditions ordered, no prosecution for the offenses was sought and the Indictment against our client was ultimately dismissed.