Israel Arama, Adv.Israel Arama, Adv.

Consultation before police questioning

The most important right in criminal proceedings

Every person summoned for questioning, whether as a suspect or as a witness, has a fundamental right to consult a lawyer before the questioning. This is not a formality: it is the most significant decision you will make in the entire process. The statistics are simple: most criminal cases are decided on the basis of what was said, or not said, in the interrogation room, long before the case reaches a judge.

What happens at the consultation meeting?

At the meeting, we will examine together: what you are suspected of and what is most likely in the hands of the police; what the correct version line is, giving a full version, a partial version, or remaining silent, and when each of those options serves you; which interrogation tactics are expected (an undercover informer, confrontation, "we have everything," pressure, and time); and what your rights are in detention, arrest, and search. A prepared interviewee enters the interrogation room calm, focused, and cannot be surprised.

The common mistake: "I have nothing to hide"

Law-abiding people are convinced that if they just explain, everything will work out. In reality, the investigator is not a judge: his role is to collect evidence, and every innocent sentence may fit into the puzzle in a way you did not foresee. A small contradiction between your version and objective evidence, even on a marginal detail, will be presented as a lie that stains everything you say. Early advice is not "suspicious": it is a constitutional right, and the investigators themselves know that a represented interviewee is the rule among those who understand the system.

Were you summoned for questioning?

Do not delay and do not go alone. Israel Arama, former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, knows the interrogation room from both sides: as a prosecutor who read thousands of suspects' statements and knows exactly what collapses cases, and as a defense attorney who prepares interviewees. Contact us for urgent advice even before the date of the questioning, full availability in urgent cases.

Pre-Indictment Hearing

The last opportunity to stop the indictment

Section 60Aleph of the Criminal Procedure Law requires the prosecuting authorities to inform a suspect in a felony offense of the intention to file an indictment against him, and to allow him to argue why it should not be filed. This is the hearing: the only proceeding in which it is possible to persuade the prosecution to close the case before it becomes a public indictment. Once the indictment has been filed, the way back is many times harder.

How does it work in practice?

Upon receipt of the notice letter, the suspect has 30 days to request a hearing (and extensions may be requested). The lawyer receives the main investigation material, studies it in depth, and submits written arguments or appears for an oral hearing before the accompanying prosecutor. At the hearing, it is possible to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, point to failures in the investigation, present defense evidence that the police ignored, and argue personal circumstances and alternatives: a conditional arrangement, conversion of sections, or closure.

The possible outcomes

Full closure of the case; a conditional arrangement without an indictment; an amended indictment for lighter offenses (a difference that can change the entire sentencing path); a plea agreement agreed in advance; or rejection of the arguments. Even when the hearing does not prevent the indictment, it exposes the prosecution's position and the evidentiary material, and gives an advantage in managing what follows.

Experience from the other side of the table

Israel Arama sat on the side that makes the decisions: as a prosecutor in the Tel Aviv District, he knows exactly which arguments move prosecutors, which wear out from overuse, and how the decision-making process is built from the inside. Did you receive a notice letter? Time is running. Contact us for advice immediately.

Closure of a criminal case and grounds for closure

Three grounds, three worlds

A criminal case that did not mature into an indictment is closed on one of three grounds, and the difference between them is enormous: lack of guilt, the determination that the suspect did not commit what was attributed to him; the police record is deleted entirely. Lack of evidence, insufficient evidence was found for prosecution; the police record remains. Lack of public interest (or "the circumstances of the matter do not justify prosecution"), the record remains here as well. The police record, although it is not a "criminal record" of a conviction, is accessible to security bodies, authorities, and authorized entities, and affects enlistment, security clearance, firearms licenses, public positions, and immigration proceedings.

Change of ground for closure

A person whose case was closed for lack of evidence or because the circumstances of the matter are not suitable for prosecution may consider filing a reasoned request to change the ground to absence of guilt. The request must be based on the investigative material and the appropriate legal grounds. A rejection does not create a sweeping rule of a single opportunity: it is possible to consider an objection according to the deciding authority, the guidelines, and the circumstances.

How do you act to close an open case?

An open investigation case does not have to wait for the system's decision: it is possible to act proactively with the investigations officer and the prosecution, present exculpatory evidence, point to weaknesses in the case and to personal circumstances, and request closure or a conditional arrangement. Many cases are closed precisely this way, through a professional approach at the right time, instead of dragging on for years and maturing into an indictment.

Legal representation

Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, handles case closures, changes of closure grounds, and deletion of records, drawing on familiarity with the prosecution's internal considerations. Seek an initial consultation without obligation.

Cancellation of an indictment and preliminary arguments

An indictment is not the final word

Has an indictment been filed against you? The process is only beginning, and before a single piece of evidence is heard, the defense has tools at its disposal to attack the indictment itself. Section 149 of the Criminal Procedure Law lists a series of preliminary arguments that a defendant may raise, and accepting them can lead to cancellation of the indictment, its amendment, or a stay of proceedings.

The main preliminary arguments

Lack of local or subject-matter jurisdiction; a defect or invalidity in the indictment; the facts described do not constitute an offense; prior acquittal or conviction for the same act (double jeopardy); the offense has become time-barred; immunity; absence of a lawful hearing, where the duty of notice and hearing under section 60A was not fulfilled; and a defense of justice, the argument that the prosecution fundamentally contradicts principles of justice and legal fairness.

An additional route: application for cancellation by the prosecution

Alongside arguments in court, it is possible to apply directly to the prosecuting authority with a request to withdraw the indictment, under section 94 of the Criminal Procedure Law, on the basis of new evidence, flaws that were discovered, or personal circumstances. Such an application, when properly structured, ends cases without conducting a trial. A stay of proceedings by the Attorney General is also an available avenue in appropriate cases.

Timing matters

Preliminary arguments are generally raised at the beginning of the trial, and some of them are barred if they are not raised in time. The meaning is this: the preliminary examination of the indictment must be carried out immediately upon receiving it, not on the eve of the reading. Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, examines every indictment through the eyes of someone who drafted indictments himself, and knows where they break. Seek advice immediately upon receiving the indictment.

Plea agreement

What is a plea agreement?

A plea agreement is an understanding between the prosecution and the defense in which the defendant admits agreed facts, usually amended and narrowed, and in return the counts in the indictment and the sentencing position are agreed: an agreed sentence, a sentencing range, or freedom to argue with a ceiling. Most criminal cases in Israel end in plea agreements, and the real question is not "if" but "when and on what terms."

The advantages and the risks

Advantages: certainty instead of a gamble; reduction of the counts in the indictment, sometimes from a felony to a misdemeanor, a change that affects the record and the entire future; shortening an exhausting and costly process; and opening the door to outcomes such as non-conviction and community service. Risks: an admission is almost irreversible; the court is not bound by the agreement and may depart from it (although in such a case it will usually allow withdrawal of the admission); and an agreement signed too early, before the examination of the evidence has been exhausted, may amount to giving up a case that could have been won.

A good agreement is born from a position of strength

The quality of the agreement derives directly from the quality of the defense: a prosecution that understands that opposite it stands defense counsel who knows every weakness in the case, and is prepared to conduct a full trial, offers a completely different agreement from one facing a pressured defendant. Therefore, the correct approach is the opposite of intuition: first build a defense case as though you are going all the way, and only then approach negotiations.

Legal representation in negotiations with the prosecution

Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, conducted negotiations on plea agreements from the prosecution side, and knows exactly what drives prosecutors to be flexible, what their red lines are, and where there is real room to move. Seek an initial consultation without obligation before agreeing to any offer.

Criminal Appeal

Convicted? Received a severe sentence? This is not the end

Every defendant has one appeal as of right: a judgment of the Magistrate's Court is appealed to the District Court, and a judgment of the District Court to the Supreme Court. An appeal may be filed against the verdict itself (the conviction itself), the sentence (the severity of the punishment), or both. The prosecution may also appeal, against an acquittal or against the leniency of the sentence.

The deadline: 45 days, no forgiveness

An appeal must be filed within 45 days from the date of the judgment. Delay requires a request for an extension of time, which is not self-evident. The practical meaning: the decision whether to appeal must be made quickly, preferably with the support of a legal opinion from a lawyer who reads the judgment with a critical eye, even if that lawyer did not represent in the first instance. A fresh outside perspective often identifies grounds that were missed.

What do people actually appeal?

The appellate court does not conduct the trial anew, and it rarely intervenes in findings of fact and credibility. The strongest grounds of appeal are: legal errors in the verdict; a conviction based on an evidentiary foundation that is insufficient; procedural defects that prejudiced the defense; case law that contradicts binding precedents; and an extreme deviation from the accepted sentencing policy in the sentence. A successful appeal is built on a surgical analysis of the judgment and the trial protocol, not on repeating arguments that were rejected.

Representation in criminal appeals

Israel Arama, a former member of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, analyzes judgments and conducts criminal appeals, including requests to stay execution of a sentence pending the decision on the appeal. Received a judgment? Time is limited. Seek an examination of the grounds of appeal immediately.

Deletion of a criminal record

How does the criminal record registry work?

The Criminal Information and Rehabilitation of Offenders Law regulates the criminal record registry and the police registry. Alongside convictions, certain decisions without a conviction may also be recorded. The limitation and deletion periods are determined according to the type of record and the data listed by law, and they reduce the bodies authorized to receive the information and the use of it. Legal deletion is not necessarily the physical destruction of all information, and not all records are subject to the same periods.

Why is this so important?

A criminal record may affect acceptance for a position, a license, an immigration proceeding, or another decision, but it does not create an automatic disqualification in every field. The effect depends on the type of record, the timing, the connection to the position, and the provisions that apply to the deciding body. Information about closed cases is also accessible only to bodies authorized to do so by law. For this reason, it is advisable to check what information may be disclosed and what the options are for correcting the record or reducing its consequences.

The routes for shortening and deletion

A clemency application to the President of the State: the President is authorized to shorten limitation and deletion periods and even erase convictions, through a reasoned application supported by evidence of rehabilitation, employment, and personal circumstances. Cancellation of a police record: an application to the police to delete closed cases, according to the ground for closure, the severity of the offense, and the time that has passed. Changing the ground for closure to lack of guilt: completely erases the record. Each route has its own rules, timeframes, and manner of drafting, and an application that has been rejected makes a subsequent one more difficult.

Legal representation

Israel Arama, formerly of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, handles applications for deletion, clemency, and cancellation of records, including gathering the evidentiary foundation that supports the application. It is important to prepare a well-founded application; a rejection does not always preclude another application. In a clemency application, according to the guidelines of the President's Residence, it is possible to apply again after six months or following a significant change in circumstances. Contact us for an initial consultation with no obligation.