Attorney Robert D. Sicoli

Robert Sicoli has been a criminal defense attorney for over 30 years, practicing exclusively in the areas of white collar criminal defense and criminal defense in both Minnesota state and United States federal courts.  He has successfully represented clients accused of mail fraud, wire fraud, tax evasion, identity theft, environmental crimes and other white collar crimes.  He has also obtained jury acquittals for clients charged with fraud, sex crimes including criminal sexual conduct, criminal vehicular homicide, assault, home invasion, drug offenses, arson, tax evasion, identity theft and DUI.

Bob has developed a well-deserved representation as an aggressive effective attorney in all types of cases.  For example, Bob has enjoyed unrivaled success in representing clients charged with violent crimes.  Bob has won numerous acquittals of clients wrongly accused of committing sex crimes, including two separate acquittals of two high school teachers wrongly accused of sexually abusing their students.  Bob also obtained a jury acquittal of a client who was accused of Assault in the Second Degree for pointing a gun at a legal process server who was delivering legal papers on the defendant, but who did not identify himself as a process server.  Bob successfully argued to the jury that his client was acting in self-defense of his property because the process server did not identify himself and acted aggressively towards Bob’s client.

Bob is an especially effective advocate in complicated cases involving forensic evidence, as is evidenced by Bob obtaining an acquittal in 2014 for a client wrongly accused of arson for allegedly setting his house on fire in Becker County.  In that case, Bob so effectively destroyed the state’s fire experts that the jury returned a verdict of not guilty after deliberations of less than two hours, with one juror afterwards stating that Bob did such an effective job that he would have applauded at times, if it would have been appropriate to do so.  The same juror commented that Bob knew the science of fire cause and origin better than the state’s fire experts.  It is just that commitment to detail that makes Bob an effective advocate for his clients.

Bob has also developed a reputation for being one of the “go to” attorneys for individuals and businesses being investigated for and/or charged with complicated white collar fraud cases.  For example, Bob represented the President of Denny Hecker’s automobile business in a federal indictment on mail and wire fraud charges in an alleged fraud involving millions of dollars.  Bob also represented the Vice President of a well-known real estate developer, who was charged in federal court with several counts of mail and wire fraud involving over ten million dollars.

In addition to his trial work, Bob has developed an expertise in criminal appeals. Bob successfully argued in the Minnesota Supreme Court for a new trial for a client convicted of Assault in the First Degree, and also successfully argued in the Minnesota Supreme Court that the Minnesota Pattern Sex Offender statute was unconstitutional as it was applied to Bob’s client.

Bob obtained a B.A. from the University of Minnesota cum laude in 1983 and a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School cum laude in 1986. Bob is admitted to practice in the State of Minnesota, the U.S. District Court in the District of Minnesota, the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the U.S. Court of Appeals in the Eighth Circuit.

He also holds the rare qualification of a MSBA Certified Criminal Law Specialist. He has been voted a Minnesota “Super Lawyer” in White Collar Criminal Defense and Criminal Defense by his peers every year since 1996. This honor is given to the top Minnesota lawyers as determined by other Minnesota lawyers. He has also had the preeminent rating of “AV” from Martindale Hubbell since 1994. This is the top rating a lawyer can receive for competence and ethics by Martindale Hubbell, and is awarded to attorneys based upon recommendations from other lawyers who practice in the area of criminal defense.

Beyond his criminal practice, Bob volunteers his legal skills as a consultant for the Volunteer Lawyer’s Network and Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.

Practice Areas

• Criminal Law
• White Collar Criminal Defense

Bar Admissions

• Minnesota, 1986
• U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, 1987
• U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit, 1987

Education

• Law School: University of Minnesota, J.D., cum laude, 1986
• College: University of Minnesota, B.A., cum laude, 1983

Memberships

• Member: Minnesota Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • (Board of Directors 2003-2010, President 2008-2009);
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Honors & Certifications

• MSBA Certified Criminal Law Specialist
• Minnesota Super Lawyer, White Collar Criminal Defense and Criminal Defense, as voted by peers every year since 1996

Representative Clients:

Corporations and Individuals who are under investigation or have been charged with criminal offenses.