Federal Criminal Defense
Criminal cases in Federal Court are a completely different beast than State Court criminal proceedings. When you are facing a federal criminal charge, it is not a small-town police department or sheriff’s office investigating you—it is the FBI and other well-resourced federal agencies. By the time you are charged with a federal crime, it is likely that several highly trained and well-funded federal agencies have been investigating you and clandestinely collecting evidence against you for months, if not years.
Once a case is initiated, it is not a county prosecutor’s office handling your case, it is the overwhelming thumb of the United States Attorney’s Office on top of you as you battle your charges. Most federal cases proceed to a sentencing hearing on at least one charge, and federal sentencing is also a completely different entity than what you may be used to in State Court. Although federal cases are generally significantly more serious than their State counterparts, there is actually a lot more flexibility and creative litigation you can do at the sentencing phase of a federal criminal case to minimize prison time and other collateral consequences.
Many serious federal crimes also have accompanying mandatory minimum sentences (meaning, a judge cannot impose lower than a certain amount even it significant mitigation exists). If you are facing a case that may hold a mandatory minimum (most often on drug trafficking, firearms offenses and child pornography offenses), you need an experienced advocate to negotiate your case in a manner that may avoid imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence.
Although it is always important to bring a legal team on board as soon as possible whether charges are in state or federal court, it is especially true in the federal system. Often times, federal investigations start at the bottom of a larger conspiracy or scheme and the Feds try to “flip” low level witnesses to cooperate and provide information against more-involved parties. The first to cooperate in these situations and provide substantial assistance to the government often are able to greatly reduce the nature of the charges they ultimately face, as well as the amount of time they face in prison. Stephen Ritchie has represented dozens of witnesses who have cooperated with federal authorities and has achieved great results in those cases. If you have received a target letter from a federal agency that you are under federal investigation, if you have been approached by federal agents indicating they want to talk to you about a matter or if you have been indicted on federal charges, you cannot afford to delay and should contact The Ritchie Firm PLLC today to start planning your defense.
Common federal cases you may need representation on include:
- Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud and Mail Fraud
- Aggravated Identity Theft
- Drug Trafficking
- Firearms Trafficking
- Human Trafficking
- Unlawful Possession of Firearms
- Illegal Entry
- Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion
- Money Laundering
- Child Pornography (Possession, Distribution or Production)
- Any offense committed on an airplane, military base or other federal land.
If you are facing a case like this, you need an advocate in your corner who has experience navigating the Federal Criminal Justice system and sentencing scheme. Stephen Ritchie primarily focused on Federal Criminal Defense in New York City for the first few years of his career. Upon going into private practice in the Seattle area, he was approved by a panel of Federal Judges of the Western District of Washington to serve on the CJA Panel and handle federal criminal cases when the Federal Defender office has a conflict. He has the experience handling federal criminal cases you need if you are facing federal charges.