What does proffer mean in legal terms

In the context of criminal law, a proffer agreement is a written agreement between federal prosecutors and individuals under criminal investigation which permit these individuals to give the government information about crimes with some assurances that they will be protected against prosecution. Witnesses, subjects or targets of a federal investigation are usually parties to such agreements.

Proffer agreements are not complete immunity agreements. Although the government cannot use actual proffer session statements against the individual in its case-in-chief, the information provided can be used to follow up leads and conduct further investigations. If those leads and further investigations lead to new evidence, the new evidence can be used to indict and convict the individual who gave the information in the proffer session.

Proffer agreements typically contain a clause allowing the government to impeach you with your proffer statement in a subsequent proceeding if your testimony is inconsistent with your proffer.

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  • Professionals
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  • Professional Sports Organization
  • Professional Sports Contract
  • Proffer Agreement
  • Proffered Evidence
  • Profile Evidence
  • Profiling
  • Profit A Prendre
  • Profit and Loss Centers

  • Acceptance of Service Agreement
  • Account Agreement
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  • Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement
  • Acreage-Contribution Agreement
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Verb He proffered advice on how best to proceed. proffered his assistance in helping the two sides reach a compromise Noun a generous proffer of his baronial estate for the charity gala

Recent Examples on the Web

People still overlooked habit and assumed that their reluctance to proffer help was due to their mood at the time. CNN, 29 Aug. 2022 But Mullis also asked his colleague Dr. Jan Szatkowski to proffer a second opinion. Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star, 24 Aug. 2022 Ancient oaks proffer shade, and at various times of the year, tapestries of wildflowers and cactus blooms fling themselves across the land. Travel + Leisure, 18 June 2022 The influencer network allows Beijing to easily proffer propaganda to unsuspecting Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube users around the globe. Bloomberg.com, 30 Mar. 2022 The influencer network allows Beijing to easily proffer propaganda to unsuspecting Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube users around the globe. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Mar. 2022 But, given the Navy’s poor estimating skills, few Admirals are eager to publicly proffer a realistic cost target. Craig Hooper, Forbes, 21 Dec. 2021 The space itself will clock in at 140 seats (about half the size of Prime), and the six-seat chef counter will likely be the most coveted chairs in the house — and where Moore and Gomez promise to proffer on-the-fly tasting menus. Travel + Leisure, 12 Mar. 2022 After an uneven beginning to the season, Kansas City had dropped only one game since Halloween — a 34-31 defeat to the Bengals in Cincinnati on Jan. 2 — and precedent suggested that Sunday would proffer the opposite result. New York Times, 30 Jan. 2022

Parenti noted that the defense lawyers of each cooperating witness were present during the proffer interviews and none asked for them to be recorded. oregonlive, 10 Oct. 2022 Later on, Kelly called Freeman and asked him to smooth things over so Freeman could get paid, according to the proffer. Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 Some of the most significant differences between the prosecution proffer and the actual testimony relate to Freeman himself. Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 Meek did not participate in a proffer interview, Bont said. Alexandria Burris, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Sep. 2022 And some of his testimony at trial differed from what was previewed in the Santiago proffer. Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2022 In this case, a trader, Frances O’Brian, is brought in for a proffer to the US Attorneys Office. Walter Pavlo, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2022 Chinese crypto entrepreneur Justin Sun revealed himself Wednesday as the mysterious bidder who secured a seat on Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight with a $28 million proffer — only to skip it — and announced plans to take five people with him. Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2021 The deal would have required Budish to give a proffer statement, an agreement in which a person is allowed to speak freely to investigators in exchange for them not using the statements to charge them with a crime. Cory Shaffer, cleveland, 20 Dec. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'proffer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

What does it mean to proffer a case?

In the context of a trial or a hearing, for example, a “proffer” means an offer of proof: an attorney formally tells the court what the evidence would have shown, instead of actually presenting the evidence.

What happens during a proffer?

A proffer is less formal than grand jury testimony. The individual will usually meet with a prosecutor and an agent at a governmental office. Typically, the prosecutor asks questions while the agent takes notes, which he or she will use later to prepare a written summary of the interview.

What is the purpose of a proffer agreement?

A proffer agreement is a written contract between a federal prosecutor and the defendant or someone under a criminal investigation. Put simply, the defendant will agree to give the prosecutor helpful information. In exchange, their statements won't be used against them later in a criminal proceeding.

What does the term proffer mean?

Definition of proffer (Entry 1 of 2) transitive verb. : to present for acceptance : tender, offer.