What Not to Do Before a Federal Sentencing: Lesson Learned from the Giudices

Teresa and Joe Giudice – the reality show husband and wife duo from the show Real Housewives of New Jersey – were sentenced to jail last week after pleading guilty to federal charges for bank and wire fraud. Perhaps lost amid the media frenzy that accompanied their sentencing hearings is a practical lesson for defendants preparing for sentencing: provide full and accurate financial disclosures prior to sentencing.

Judge Esther Salas sentenced Teresa to 15 months in prison, with her sentence to begin in January 2015, and Joe Giudice was sentenced to 41 months in prison to be served consecutive to Teresa’s commitment. Judge Salas staggered their terms so that one parent can be home with their four children, and Joe’s term will start when Teresa’s ends.

During sentencing, Judge Salas revealed that she almost applied the downward departure requested by Teresa’s attorney, which would have allowed Teresa to receive probation or house arrest. So what went wrong for Teresa? Judge Salas told Teresa:

For a moment, I thought about probation until I read the government’s report. What you did in the financial disclosure really sticks in my craw. It’s what the court has a problem with. It shows blatant disrespect for the court. I’ve seen a lot but I’ve never seen the confusion and work that went into these financial documents…I need a full picture of who you are, I need a full disclosure of your financial assets. It’s not because I want to be nosy. Because of that, I don’t think you respect the laws of this country. You are not as bad as your husband, you do not have the criminal record that he has had, but you are complicit in it. Getting this financial information that I need to judge this case was like pulling teeth, it was the most difficult in all my years as a judge and as a lawyer.

Enter table flip.

If Teresa had just taken the time to do one thing properly, she wouldn’t be facing over a year in jail away from her children.   Nothing she did prior to pleading to guilty landed in her jail; it was just her simple failure to fill out her financial disclosure form accurately. What should we learn from this?