Criminal Defense Lawyers

Austin Federal Crime Defense Lawyers

Welcome to the Spodek Law Group. If you’re reading this article, it’s because you’re looking at federal allegations, and need an Austin federal criminal defense lawyers. The stakes cannot be higher. Federal crimes are treated differently than state level crimes.

The FBI agent who knocked on your door this morning—or the target letter that arrived yesterday—isn’t going away. Neither is the investigation that’s been running for months without you even knowing about it. Look, here’s what you need to understand—regardless of what the agent told you, regardless of how friendly they seemed, their building a case against you right now. Your case. Your future. Your freedom. All on the line. The next 72 hours are basically the most critical window you’ll face, and the decisions you make—or don’t make—during this time will effect everything that comes next. This article explains what’s happening right now in Austin’s federal court, what decisions you face immediately, and why Austin’s unique federal court situation changes everything about your defense strategy. You have options. Legal options. But only if you act now.

What’s Happening Right Now—The Investigation You Didn’t Know About

Federal agents doesn’t just show up randomly at your door—they’ve been investigating, investigating, investigating for months before making contact. When the FBI San Antonio Field Office that covers Austin decides to approach you, it’s because they already have something. Your phone records. Your bank statements. Your emails. Already seized. They know. More than you think. Much more.

Here’s the thing—and I mean, look, this is crucial—anything you say to these agents becomes evidence that can’t be taken back. The Operation Take Back America initiative that’s filing 200-350 cases weekly in the Western District isn’t about individual cases anymore; its about massive enforcement pushes where your just another number in their system. The recent Frank Richard Ahlgren III cryptocurrency case shows how they use everything against you—Ahlgren’s 2014 blog post about cryptocurrency mixers was used as evidence of criminal intent nearly a decade later. Digital footprints from years ago becomes weapons in their prosecution.

What you need to—let me explain this differently—the Western District of Texas leads the NATION in federal prosecutions with 13,360 cases filed between October 2021 and September 2023. This ain’t no small-time operation. The multi-agency coordination means FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, DPS, Austin Police—their all sharing information about you. They have 48—no, 72 hours after initial contact to build their strongest case, which is why Pretrial Services wants to interview you immediately. Your rights—I mean, your actual rights under 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g)—doesn’t mean much if you don’t know how to use them.

The Tren de Aragua raid that arrested 47 people in April 2025 started with months of surveillance nobody knew about. Same with Operation Spiderweb at UT that caught 13 students—the investigation ran for months before arrests. By the time agents contact you, they’ve already decided your guilty; their just looking for you to confirm it. Never, under any circumstances, speak to federal agents without an attorney present. I’m sorry, but this is important—they’re recording everything, even casual conversation. Regardless of what they promise, regardless of how they frame it, your words will be twisted against you.

Why Austin Federal Court Is Different—The Single-Judge Bottleneck

Austin’s federal court situation are completely different then anywhere else in Texas—and this changes everything about your defense strategy. Judge Robert Pitman is the ONE active federal judge handling all criminal cases since Judge Yeakel retired in May 2023. One judge. One courtroom. One decision-maker for your entire future. He’s managing 400+ civil cases and 100+ criminal cases all by hisself, which creates both problems and opportunities you need to understand.

Look—I mean, here’s what matters—your jury won’t be drawn from Austin’s educated, diverse population like you’d get in Travis County state court. Federal juries comes from 17 counties including rural places like Kimble (population 4,286), Mason (population 3,953), McCulloch (population 7,630). Them jurors from small towns views things different than Austin residents. Way different. The demographic reality is that federal juries in this district has less minority representation, older average age, and more conservative viewpoints—which could help or hurt depending on you’re case.

The Western District of Texas has 7 divisions spread across 68 counties, but Austin—well, Austin only has one judge making every single decision. The Austin Bar Association rates Judge Pitman at 85%+ for dedication and temperament, but that don’t change the fact that he’s overwhelmed. You’re attorney’s relationship with Judge Pitman becomes exponentially more important when there’s no other judge to get assigned to. Every motion, every hearing, every sentencing—it all goes through him regardless of how backed up his docket gets.

This bottleneck situation means two things that’s crucial for your defense: First, delays are inevitable (which can work in you’re favor if your out on bond), and second, Judge Pitman’s sentencing patterns are highly predictable because he handles every case. Unlike San Antonio with multiple judges where you might get lucky with assignments, in Austin you know exactly who you’re dealing with. Travis County—and them 16 other counties in the jury pool—creates what we call jury pool dilution. Your not getting a jury of tech workers and university professors; your getting ranchers from Llano and retirees from Burnet mixed in.

The Five Federal Agencies Investigating You Right Now (And How They Work Together)

Federal investigations in Austin ain’t just one agency—they’re coordinated operations between multiple agencies who shares everything. The FBI San Antonio Field Office covers Austin, but that’s just the beginning. You got DEA focusing on I-35 drug trafficking, IRS-CI targeting cryptocurrency and tax fraud after the Ahlgren conviction, HSI doing immigration enforcement, and even ATF (though 80% of ATF agents was reassigned to immigration work in May 2025).

Here’s the thing—and this is based off recent changes—the 287(g) agreements now authorizes 50+ Texas agencies including DPS to function as ICE agents. What starts as a traffic stop on I-35 through Travis County can becomes a federal immigration case in seconds. Five agencies—well, more than five really—are all feeding information into the same database about you. The FBI Virtual Assets Unit formed in February 2022 specifically targets crypto crimes, which means if you’ve touched Bitcoin, Ethereum, or any digital assets, their watching those transactions.

Look—each agency has their own focus but they all share intelligence. FBI handles white-collar crime, public corruption, and terrorism. DEA focuses on drug trafficking, especially fentanyl coming up I-35. IRS-CI goes after tax fraud and now cryptocurrency cases. HSI deals with immigration, human trafficking, and cross-border crimes. The multi-agency task forces includes FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, DPS, Austin Police, Travis County Sheriff, Lakeway Police, Cedar Park Police—their all working together. When one agency finds something, they all knows about it immediately.

You know what makes this worse? The multi-agency coordination means that what starts as an IRS audit can become an FBI fraud investigation which becomes a DEA drug case if they finds anything connecting you to controlled substances. Regardless of which agency made first contact, they’re sharing, sharing, sharing information constantly.

What Actually Happens in Austin Federal Court (From Target Letter to Sentencing)

Look, here’s what really happens when your facing federal charges in Austin and I’m not gonna sugarcoat this because its way more complex then people realizes—the process starts long before you even knows your under investigation and by the time you get that target letter or that knock on the door from FBI agents the government has already been building, building their case for months maybe even years. First thing that happens after initial contact is you got 72 hours—and this is absolutely critical—72 hours to report to Pretrial Services at 501 West Fifth Street, Suite 2100 where they’re gonna do an interview that shapes whether Judge Pitman lets you out on bond or keeps you locked up and what you says in that interview can destroy your case before it even starts.

The Homer Thornberry Judicial Building at 903 San Jacinto Boulevard is where everything happens—your arraignment before one of the magistrate judges (Andrew W. Austin, Susan Hightower, or Mark Lane), your detention hearing, you’re trial if it gets that far—and the Western District operates the LARGEST pretrial services district nationally covering 92,000 square miles with 9 offices so they got resources to monitor you if your released. The Speedy Trial Act says you got to go to trial within 70 days of indictment but here’s the loophole—18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A) lets them extend indefinitely for “ends of justice” which Judge Pitman grants all the time because he’s handling 400+ civil cases and 100+ criminal cases by hisself since Judge Yeakel retired.

What nobody tells you is that federal conviction rates is 90%+ which means if your charged, your probably getting convicted unless you got a attorney who really knows what their doing in this specific courthouse with this specific judge. The Operation Spiderweb case that caught 13 UT students shows how these cases goes—what starts as campus drug distribution becomes federal trafficking with firearms enhancements and if someone dies from drugs you sold (like the 2 overdose deaths during that investigation) your facing 20 years to life under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C). Having an attorney BEFORE the Pretrial Services interview is critical because what you say their determines if you get bond and what conditions.

Discovery in federal cases ain’t like state court—you don’t get everything, you get what the government wants to give you and they holds back witness statements under the Jencks Act until right before trial which means you don’t know what people said about you until its almost to late to respond. If your detained, you should demand speedy trial and force them to be ready in 70 days but if your out on bond you might want to waive speedy trial for more prep time especially with Judge Pitman’s backlog. The sentencing guidelines—which just changed November 1, 2025 to eliminate formal departures—basically determines your fate based on offense level and criminal history and Judge Pitman follows them guidelines pretty close unlike some judges who varies more. Detained defendants should demand speedy trial while released defendants benefits from strategic delays but you got to know which strategy fits you’re situation and most lawyers doesn’t understand this distinction.

The Cost Reality—What Federal Defense Actually Requires in Austin

Let me be real straight with you about costs—federal defense is expensive. Very, very expensive. And I’m talking about real money here. Misdemeanor federal cases runs $5,000-$15,000. Drug cases? Your looking at $25,000-$100,000+ easy. Fraud cases typically $25,000-$75,000 unless its complex fraud which goes $100,000+ quick. Hourly rates for experienced federal attorneys in Austin ranges from $200-$500 per hour and that adds up fast when your talking about cases that takes months or years.

Here’s the thing—look, I know this sounds expensive, but let me break down what drives these costs. You needs expert witnesses—blockchain analysts for crypto cases like the Ahlgren prosecution, forensic accountants for fraud cases, digital forensics experts for computer crimes. Them experts charges $300-$500 per hour theirselves. Discovery review in federal cases can involve terabytes of data—emails, financial records, phone records, surveillance footage. Someone got to review all that, and it takes hundred of hours.

The CJA panel (court-appointed lawyers) is a option if you can’t afford private counsel, but here’s what nobody tells you—CJA lawyers gets paid $140 per hour with caps on how much they can bill, which means they might not have resources for expensive experts or extensive investigation. Private attorneys invests more because they’re getting paid more, and in federal court, you get what you pays for.

Early intervention can save six figures by avoiding indictment entirely, but most people waits until after their arrested which costs way more. An attorney who’s got relationships with Judge Pitman and the Austin AUSA office are worth the premium because of our single-judge situation—experience before him specifically matters more then general federal experience.

Why Austin Federal Experience Can’t Be Faked (And How to Verify It)

Alot of lawyers says they do federal defense but austin federal court are different and you need to know if they really understands this district or if their just claiming they do. Ask them—how many cases has you handled before Judge Pitman specifically? Whats his sentencing philosophy on drug cases versus fraud cases? If they can’t answer, they dont really know this court. Ask about the 17-county jury pool—how do you handle voir dire when you got rural jurors from kimble and mason counties mixed with austin tech workers? Do they even knows about the demographic challenges?

Here’s what to look for—real austin federal lawyers knows the magistrate judges by name (andrew w. austin, susan hightower, mark lane), they knows the Pretrial Services office is at 501 West Fifth Street, they understands venue strategy within the Western District seven divisions. Red flags is when someone say “federal law is the same everywhere” (its not) or “i practice in all federal courts” (which means they don’t have no local depth).

Ask three questions—no, five questions you must ask: When would you moves for transfer to waco or san antonio division? How does judge pitmans backlog affects plea negotiation leverage? Whose the current us attorney and what’s their prioritys? How does operation take back america impact non-immigration cases? What happens at the 72-hour pretrial services interview? If they cant answer these specific to austin, regardless of there credentials, they dont know this court good enough to protect you when it matter most.

You Need to Act Right Now—Not Tomorrow, Not Next Week

Your facing federal charges, and every hour you waits makes things worst. Call. Right now. Today. The 72-hour window for pretrial services, the evidence their collecting, the statements you might of already made—it’s all building against you RIGHT NOW. You needs a lawyer who actually knows Judge Pitman, who’s tried cases in the Homer Thornberry Judicial Building, who understands how the 17-county jury pool affects you’re case. We’re here 24/7—and I mean actually 24/7, not just office hours like other firms.

This isnt the time to shop around or wait to see what happens. Federal prosecutors doesn’t give second chances, they don’t care about you’re side of the story, and they certainly aint waiting for you to get ready. Do not wait until after you’ve spoken to federal agents—by then its already to late. You have rights. You have options. But only if you acts now. The decisions you makes in the next 24 hours—no, the next few hours—determines everything. Don’t let fear or confusion stops you from protecting yourself. Your freedom depends on what you do right now.