Federal Criminal Defense

If you are being investigated for a federal offense or have been indicted by a federal grand jury and are looking to retain an attorney to defend you and protect your constitutional rights, please give me a call at (423) 255-7642.  That is my mobile number, and I am available day or night--including weekends--to take your call.

Federal prosecution is a lot different than state prosecution, for at least two very important reasons.  First, in federal court, unlike in state court, you cannot strike a plea bargain with the prosecutor for a particular sentence or term of imprisonment.  Instead, the federal judge must decide what sentence and term of imprisonment to impose, even if you plead guilty.  Second, there is no parole in the federal system, and federal prison sentences tend to be significantly longer than state sentences for similar crimes.  In addition, many federal crimes carry lengthy mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment, and all federal sentences are guided by and based in part upon the United States Sentencing Guidelines.  Although the Guidelines no longer are mandatory, the federal judge must consider them before imposing a sentence, and many if not most federal sentences tend to be within or very near the applicable Guidelines range.  A good federal defense lawyer can help you predict your applicable Guidelines range, so that you can evaluate whether to enter a plea agreement or take your case to trial. 

While working for a Senior Judge on the United States Court of Appeals, my job included reviewing appellate briefs, examining trial records, and advising the judge as to the law governing appeals from convictions on such diverse federal crimes as drug trafficking, international money laundering, and murder.  Accordingly, my experience as an attorney includes not only representing federal defendants in trial courts, but also working on federal criminal appeals "from the other side of the bench."  My experience in that regard does not give me any special privileges with or favorable treatment from any judges, but it helps me to know what will be persuasive to the people reading the briefs.