When the prosecutor accuses you of a crime, you could find yourself seeking unconventional and risky ways of ensuring that the outcome of your case favors you. Many defendants would do anything, including bribing a witness, to ensure that the prosecutor’s evidence is weak and will not influence the court hearing significantly. The prosecutor’s evidence can include records, witness testimonies, and documentation. Depending on your charges, the prosecutor can present a witness in court to testify against you. If you bribe a witness, the witness could fail to appear in court, fail to make a statement or change their testimony in a way that favors you. In this case, the prosecutor could lose their persuasive edge. However, bribing a witness is a crime under California law that could attract a jail term and fines, among other severe penalties. If you face bribery or a witness charge, you should contact a skilled criminal attorney to assist you in fighting your charges.

Bribery Of Witness Under Penal Code 137 And Penal Code 138

It is an offense under Penal Code 137 to bribe a witness to influence their testimony or appearance during the trial. It is also an offense under Penal Code 138 for a witness to take a bribe. Bribery of a witness is typically a white-collar offense that attracts severe penalties if the court finds you guilty. A bribe is defined under California law as any incentive you offer a witness to corrupt their testimony or to ensure he/she does not honor court hearings.

Bribery of a Witness Under Penal Code 137

The prosecutor could prosecute you under PC 137 if you bribe a witness to ensure that he/she does not cooperate with the police or to have them testify in your favor. The prosecutor could also convict you under this statute if you offer a witness something of value in exchange for a modification or alteration of evidence or if you make the witness refuse to cooperate with law enforcement agents.

The prosecutor must prove the following elements for you to face criminal charges under PC 137:

  • You offered to give a witness something of value.
  • You had corrupt intentions when offering something of value to the witness.

The prosecutor can prove that you had corrupt intentions if you acted in a way that ensured you gained financially or wrongfully took advantage of someone else. You will also face bribery charges under this statute if you force, threaten, or fraudulently convince a witness to alter or falsify their statement or refuse to cooperate with the police.

In most cases, witness bribery constitutes an exchange of cash so that the witness does not attend the set court hearings. You could give the following items to a witness for bribery to be complete:

  • Money.
  • Employment.
  • Promises.
  • Gifts.
  • Properties.

Examples of unlawful acts under PC 137 include:

  • Paying your former employee to take back their harassment allegations in a workplace harassment lawsuit.
  • Giving a blank check to a professional witness to alter their testimony on DNA evidence.
  • Offering a witness $10,000 for them to lie about seeing you at the scene of the crime.

Bribery Of A Witness Under Penal Code 138

The court could charge you with bribery of a witness under Penal Code 138 if:

  • You refuse to testify at a court trial.
  • You refuse to cooperate with law enforcement agents or the prosecutor.
  • You failed to attend the court hearing to testify.
  • You agree to alter your testimony.
  • You take bribes to avoid testifying in court.

The prosecutor must prove the following elements for you to face charges under PC 138:

  • The judge ordered you to appear in court as a witness.
  • You accepted a bribe.
  • You agreed to take the bribe.
  • You knew the bribe would impact your testimony or make you not testify in court.

You must have accepted the bribe in cash or anything valuable for bribery charges to apply.

How The Prosecutor Can Prove Bribery Charges Against You

In most bribery cases, the prosecutor will table court transaction records, particularly if they involve money. The prosecutor could demonstrate how you sent money and how the witness received it. The prosecutor could also use other ways to prove bribery charges against you even if the witness did not receive the bribe in the form of money. Even if the witness has not yet received the money but expects to, the prosecutor must prove to the court that it will take some time for the witness to access the money.

If there is surveillance footage of you bribing a witness, it will be easy for the prosecutor to prove bribery charges against you. If the surveillance video has clarity problems, the prosecutor could be required to demonstrate that you did not need to meet with the witness at the place you bribed him/her.

Proving That You Had Intent

The prosecutor does not have to demonstrate that he/she had strong evidence against you that made you bribe a witness. The prosecutor only needs to prove that your intention to bribe the witness would falsify or change their testimony in your favor. In this case, the prosecutor must provide evidence that you were aware of all the relevant facts surrounding your charges and that you knew who you could bribe to secure a favorable outcome. The prosecutor can achieve this by analyzing your instructions to the witness. If the witness confesses to having received a bribe from you, the prosecutor will include all the instructions you gave the witness. The prosecutor will also include the details you wanted the witness to omit, falsify, or modify in their testimony.

You Caused The Witness To Fail To Attend Court Hearings

The prosecutor can provide evidence that you intentionally strived to ensure the witness failed to attend the court hearing and testify against you, which is why you gave a bribe. The prosecutor could also prove to the court that you bribed the witness to come for trial late so that the prosecution could not utilize the witness's testimony. The prosecutor could prove this by checking your prior transactions with the witness. This could prove you had corrupt intentions to ensure the witness did not come early for a court trial.

The prosecutor can request the court's approval to check your communications, like text messages, emails, and call logs. The prosecutor could also use surveillance footage to prove you met the witness.

The Witness Demanded a Bribe From You

A witness can sometimes approach you and demand a bribe, promising to falsify, change, or fail to attend the court hearings. In this situation, the prosecutor must provide evidence that, despite the witness approaching you, you did not object but went ahead and gave the bribe.

Penalties For Bribing a Witness

Prosecutors often prosecute bribery as a felony. The penalties you could face include the following:

  • Felony or formal probation.
  • Hefty fines.
  • A jail term that does not exceed four years in a state prison.

Felony or Formal Probation

When convicted of felony witness bribery, the court could impose felony or formal probation. This is a potential alternative to a jail or prison term. Despite a conviction for a felony, formal probation will allow you to continue living at home and working. However, you must comply with specific conditions to maintain your freedom. The conditions accompanying your probation can vary and are imposed at the judge's discretion. Some of the common conditions include:

  • Restricted travel rights.
  • Consent to searches by the police.
  • Avoid any criminal activity.
  • Complete community service, and
  • Attending various classes.

Formal probation sentences typically last three to five years. The specific period depends on the severity of your charges and the offense you committed.

Bribery of witnesses could also lead to a mandatory loss of rights or remedial actions for some time after the charge. Alternative repercussions you could face include:

  • Loss of Second Amendment gun rights.
  • Community services hours.
  • Anger management courses.

Loss Of Second Amendment Gun Rights

Typically, criminal convictions attract several penalties and repercussions. A conviction could lead to the withdrawal of certain rights, and one of those rights is buying and possessing a gun. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees you the right to own a gun. However, firearms are dangerous and are subject to several guidelines and restrictions. A felony charge will cost you your gun rights. Under the California Department of Justice Bureau, a person convicted of a felony has no right to own a gun. This applies to both federal felonies and state felonies.

The period during which you could lose your gun rights depends on the severity of your offense and the judge's discretion. A conviction for bribing a witness could lead to a permanent ban on gun ownership. However, with the help of your criminal attorney, you can restore your gun rights. Your attorney could work to have your felony charges reduced to misdemeanor charges. However, you must have completed probation.

Community Services

The judge can decide on the kind of community service you should engage in, but it must be reasonable, depending on your offense. Also known as community restitution, community service is a form of punishment that aims to benefit the community. The judge could order you to participate in community service instead of other penalties like probation, fines, or incarceration. However, the judge must consider some guidelines when imposing a community service sentence, including:

  • Capping the service term.
  • Your constitutional rights.
  • Connection to your offense.
  • The community service must be for the benefit of the community.

Expungement Of Bribery Charges

You can have your bribery charges expunged if the court grants probation instead of imprisonment. Under California law, you cannot have your charges expunged if you are sentenced to a state prison. According to Penal Code 1203.4, an expungement permits you to withdraw a plea of no contest or guilty, enter a plea of not guilty, and have your charges dropped.

An expungement relieves you from all the disabilities and penalties arising from your charges. An expungement also allows you to join most professional organizations and secure or maintain professional licenses. When the court drops a crime against you, it offers you a new beginning from your criminal past.

Penal Code 1203.4 authorizes expungement for a felony crime as long as:

  • You complete probation.
  • You are not serving a jail term for another crime.
  • You are not on probation for a criminal offense.
  • You are acquitted of an additional crime.

If you violate your probation, the court could schedule a special hearing to determine if you qualify for an expungement. In the face of a probation violation, the court can decide whether to grant your petition for an expungement under Penal Code 1203.4. The circumstances the court considers include the following:

  • Your relationship with the community.
  • Your support for the family.
  • Your employment.
  • Your criminal record.
  • The seriousness of your case.
  • Your general performance while on probation.

Defenses To Bribing a Witness Charges

You can use several defenses when you face witness bribery charges. The defenses you could use include the following:

You Were Coerced Or Forced By The Police

You can sometimes bribe a witness because of the pressure from the police. The police could coerce you to bribe a witness despite knowing the legal consequences of the act. If you bribe a witness because of violence, coercion, force, or threats, you could present this defense in court, and the judge could drop your charges. However, this defense can only be valid if you identify the police officer who coerced you to bribe the witness.

You Were Under The Influence Of Alcohol Or A Controlled Substance

Sometimes, because of the pressure accompanying a court hearing, you could take drugs or alcohol to comfort yourself. You might think that bribing the witness is an excellent idea, especially if you are drunk. Unfortunately, this is a big mistake. If you were under the influence when you bribed a witness, you need an attorney to help you prove that you were under the influence and could not make proper decisions at that time, causing you to commit the crime. Your attorney will eliminate the element of corrupt intent from your actions if he/she presents this defense.

The judge could drop the bribery charges against you because you could not make a reasonable decision if you were intoxicated when you bribed the witness. However, you must provide sufficient evidence that you were intoxicated. Your attorney could prove to the court by presenting evidence on the quantity of alcohol you consumed or presenting medical records to prove that you have low alcohol or drug tolerance levels.

You Are A Victim Of Police Entrapment

You could claim that your actions were the result of police entrapment. However, this claim can only be valid if you provide convincing evidence that law enforcers lured you into committing this crime.

You Did Not Intend To Corrupt The Evidence

One crucial element that the prosecutor must prove for you to face criminal charges under Penal Code 137 is your intent to corrupt the evidence. You can point out that you did not have corrupt intent. For example, you could have offered a gift to a witness, and he/she interpreted this gesture as bribery so that he/she would testify in your favor. However, you could have offered the gift in good faith without expecting anything. In this case, if your offer had no ill motive, you can provide evidence showing that your gesture did not have corrupt intent.

There Was No Witness

The charges against you can only be valid if the prosecutor provides evidence that the individual you bribed was about to be summoned to testify in your case or was a witness against you. You must prove that you did not offer a bribe to a witness.

You Are A Victim Of Mistaken Identity

Misidentification is common in most felony cases. The prosecutor could rely on eyewitness testimonies to create a case if he/she does not have clear evidence, like video footage. Several circumstances invariably lead to the false identification of defendants by witnesses. The common factors are:

  • Improper suggestions by law enforcers.
  • Racial bias.
  • The stress of the encounter.
  • Passage of time since the bribery of a witness happened and when the witness testifies.
  • Inebriation.

Other strategies that your attorney could use to question the witness’s testimony include:

  • Seeking the services of a witness identification expert — An expert could inform the court how memory works and identify any memory lapses that led to your false identity as the perpetrator. The witness's memory problems could also show inconsistent recollection of the witness's bribery crime.
  • Requesting for a live lineup to ascertain if the witness can identify you as an offender.
  • Contesting the process the law enforcers used in the lineups and the photo spreads they used to identify you as the offender.

Find A Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me

Bribery of a witness is a serious crime under California law and could have far-reaching consequences. You should contact an attorney when you learn that you or a loved one is under investigation for witness bribery. At Los Angeles Criminal Lawyer, we have experienced attorneys who can investigate your situation and help you create a convincing defense for your charges. Contact us at 310-502-1314 to speak to one of our attorneys.