Dennnis Hecker faces civil discovery and a number of civil complaints in his personal bankruptcy case and sought the Court’s help (by staying those cases) in preserving his rights as a potential criminal defendant (that is, his right to remain silent) in the event he is criminally charged based on the transactions that are the subject of the civil complaints.
One can “plead the Fifth,” in civil litigation but it is possible in civil litigation that doing so would result in an “adverse inference” (which is prohibited in criminal law).
Is he forced to choose which battle to defend? If so, is that a problem? Hecker’s motion to stay was argued this morning before Judge Robert Kressel who rejected Hecker’s attempt to stay the civil litigation.
Hecker: Balancing Civil Litigation and Potential Criminal Legal Rights…