Criminal Defense Lawyers

Houston Federal Crime Defense: Southern District of Texas Representation

Last Updated on: 26th November 2025, 07:00 pm

The call comes at 8am on a Tuesday. An FBI agent wants to talk. Or maybe its a letter from the U.S. Attorney’s Office asking you to contact them. Your first instinct might be to explain, to cooperate, to make this go away by being helpful. That instinct—however natural it feels—could be the mistake that costs you your freedom. Federal investigations don’t start the day you find out about them. Their likely already months or even years into building a case, and you’re phone records, bank statements, text messages, and emails is probly already sitting in a prosecutor’s file at the Southern District of Texas.

In Houston and throughout the Southern District of Texas, federal criminal cases is different then state cases in ways most people don’t understand untill its to late. The conviction rate hovers around 90 percent—not because prosecutors is smarter or better funded then state DAs (although they definately are both), but because they don’t file charges untill they have overwhelming evidence. By the time your indicted, they’ve spent thousands of hours building there case. The question isn’t wether you need a lawyer. The question is: can you afford not to have one right now, before things get worse?

What Just Happened and What Happens Next

You might think you know your rights based off what you seen on TV or heard from a freind who went through something similar in state court. Federal court is a completly different animal. For one thing, if federal agents is contacting you—FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS-CI, HSI, or any of the multi-agency task forces operating in Houston—it means your case has already crossed thresholds that triggered federal jurisdiction.

So what makes a case federal instead of state? In Texas, especially in the Houston Division of the Southern District, several factors come into play. Your looking at federal charges if:

• The crime occured on federal property (military bases, VA hospitals, federal courthouses, national parks)
• The crime crossed state lines or involved interstate commerce (drugs traveling along I-10, wire fraud using phones/internet, guns purchased in one state and transported to another)
• Drug quantities exceed certain threshholds (50+ grams of methamphetamine, 5+ kilograms of cocaine, 100+ grams of heroin, or any measurable amount of fentanyl with trafficking indicators)
• Fraud losses exceed $10,000-$50,000 and involve federal programs, banks, or multiple victims across state lines
• The investigation was conducted by federal agencies (if DEA made the arrest, its going federal irregardless of where the crime happened)
• You have prior convictions that trigger career offender enhancements (federal prosecutors use the system to incapacitate repeat offenders)

Houston’s unique geography makes federal jurisdiction almost inevitable for certain crimes. The Port of Houston is the nations busiest port in foriegn tonnage. Bush Intercontinental Airport handles international flights daily. I-10 runs from California to Florida. Highway 59 connects to Mexico. If your crime touched any of these corridors, your likely facing federal charges.

But here’s what most people don’t realize: there’s usually a window between when you become a target and when you’re indicted. This is the golden time—the pre-indictment period when a good federal criminal defense attorney can actually effect the outcome. During this window:

• Attorneys can negotiate proffer sessions where you provide information under limited immunity
• You might be able to cooperate before charges is filed, potentially avoiding indictment altogether
• In white collar cases, attorneys can sometimes convince prosecutors to decline prosecution if you pay restitution and demonstrate no ongoing threat
• Even if charges can’t be avoided, early cooperation dramatically effects the sentencing range your facing

Most people miss this window because they don’t hire an attorney untill after arrest. By then, leverage is essentialy gone. The prosecution has already decided your guilty enough to charge. Now your just negotiating how much time.

So how do you know where you stand? Federal investigations typically categorize individuals as:

Target: The prosecution beleives you committed a crime and is building a case specifically against you. If you recieve a target letter, indictment is immenant (usually within 30-90 days).

Subject: Your conduct is within the scope of the investigation, but prosecutors hasn’t yet decided whether to charge you. This is the gray area where things could go either way based off what evidence surfaces and wether you cooperate.

Witness: You have information relevent to the investigation but aren’t suspected of criminal conduct. However—and this is crucial—witness status can change to subject or target if your testimony reveals incriminating information or inconsistancies emerge.

The problem? Federal agents won’t tell you which category your in. They might say “we just want to hear your side” or “we’re talking to everyone who might have information.” Don’t beleive it. If their talking to you, your at minimum a subject. And anything you say can (and will) be used to build a case—either against you or someone your close to.

Here’s what happens in the next 24-72 hours if you don’t get an attorney involved immediantly:

1. Federal agents will try to schedule an “informal” interview. This sounds casual. Its not. They’re recording everything (if not literally, then in 302 reports that become evidence).
2. If you agree to talk without an attorney, anything you say—even exculpatory statements meant to prove your innocence—can be reframed as lies, obstruction, or consciousness of guilt.
3. If you refuse to talk, agents may execute search warrants at your home or business. They’ve probly already prepared these warrants and is waiting for an excuse to execute them.
4. If you’re arrested, you’ll go before a magistrate judge within 72 hours for an initial appearance. At this hearing, the judge decides wether to grant pretrial release or detain you pending trial. In the Southern District of Texas, detention rates is higher then the national average—judges worry about flight risk to Mexico.

This ain’t the time to wait. Federal cases move fast once charges is filed. The Speedy Trial Act requires trial within 70 days of indictment (though this is often waived). Discovery in federal cases is massive—thousands of pages of documents, wiretap recordings, financial records, cell site location data. The sooner your attorney starts reviewing evidence and building strategy, the better your outcome.

How the Southern District of Texas Actually Works

Houston is located within the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, which is one of four federal judicial districts in Texas. Understanding this geography matters because federal criminal procedure, prosecutorial priorities, and even sentencing outcomes vary by district and division. If your facing federal charges in Houston, your case will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas and tried in the Bob Casey United States Courthouse at 515 Rusk Street.

The Southern District is massive. It covers 43 counties from Houston to the Mexican border, serving more then 9 million people. The district is divided into seven divisions: Houston, Galveston, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, and Victoria. Each division handles cases from its surrounding counties, but the Houston Division is by far the largest and busiest. It covers Harris County (where Houston is), as well as Fort Bend, Montgomery, Brazoria, Galveston, Waller, Austin, Chambers, and Liberty counties.

As of March 2025, the district is led by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei, a longtime federal prosecutor who previously served as acting U.S. Attorney and First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. Ganjei joined the Department of Justice in 2008 as an AUSA on the U.S.-Mexico border, which tells you something about his prosecutorial priorities. His office is aggressively pursuing:

• Fentanyl trafficking cases with enhanced penalties (death resulting = mandatory life; serious bodily injury = mandatory 20 years)
• Pandemic fraud prosecutions involving PPP and EIDL loans from 2020-2021 (the lookback period for wire fraud is 5 years, meaning 2020 cases is still being charged in 2025)
• Border-related crimes including human smuggling, unlawful reentry after deportation, and drug trafficking conspiracies
• White collar fraud in Houston’s energy sector, including securities fraud, royalty fraud, and environmental crimes
• Violent crime initiatives through programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and multi-agency gang task forces

With more then 200 attorneys, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for SDTX is one of the largest federal prosecutor offices in the country. But don’t let that number fool you—federal prosecutors is selective. They have to be. Even with 200+ attorneys, they can’t prosecute every case that crosses there desk. This is actually good news if you understand the economics of how prosecutors decide what to charge.

Federal prosecutors look at cost versus benefit. A case that will result in a 2-year sentence competes poorly with a case that will yield a 10-year mandatory minimum. A single-defendant case is less attractive then a multi-defendant conspiracy where one prosecution convicts five people. This is why cooperation is so prevelant in federal cases—prosecutors want to trade up. They’ll offer leniency to lower-level defendants who can help them reach kingpins, organizers, and higher-dollar targets.

In 2025, the conviction rate in federal court nationwide remains around 90 percent. In the Southern District of Texas, its consistent with that average. But here’s what that number actually means: of all cases filed, about 87-90% resolve through guilty pleas, and of the 10-13% that go to trial, prosecutors win approximately 85%. Do the math, and your looking at roughly a 9-10% chance of acquittal if your indicted.

Does that mean you shouldn’t fight? Absolutley not. What it means is that “success” in federal court often doesn’t look like dismissal or acquittal. Success looks like:

• Reducing a 10-year mandatory minimum drug charge to a 5-year plea agreement
• Avoiding detention pretrial so you can keep working and prepare your defense
• Getting the government to drop certain counts that trigger career offender enhancements
• Securing a cooperation agreement that results in substantial assistance and a below-guideline sentence
• Winning suppression motions that exclude key evidence and force a better plea offer
• Building such a strong defense that prosecutors decline to charge altogether (pre-indictment intervention)

The timeline for federal cases in the Southern District typically looks like this:

Investigation: 6 months to 3+ years before you even know your a target. Federal agents is patient. There building cases brick by brick.

Indictment: Once the grand jury returns an indictment (which happens in 99% of cases presentted), your case is officially filed.

Arraignment: Within 10-14 days of indictment, you’ll appear before a judge to enter a plea (guilty or not guilty). At this point, most defendants plead not guilty—not because their planning to go to trial, but because they want time to review discovery and negotiate.

Detention hearing: If the government moves for detention (arguing your a flight risk or danger to the community), a magistrate judge will hold a hearing. In the Houston Division, these hearings is critical. Pretrial detention decisions have enormous strategic importance. Defendants who remain free on bond can work with there attorneys, maintain employment, support family, and present better at sentencing. Detained defendants is at a massive disadvantage—and prosecutors know it.

Discovery and motions: Over the next 3-6 months, your attorney will receive discovery (evidence) from the government and file pretrial motions challenging the evidence, seeking suppression of statements or searches, and arguing legal defenses.

Plea negotiations: In 87-90% of cases, this is where cases resolve. Prosecutors make an offer (usually involving count reductions, charge reductions, or sentencing recommendations). Your attorney evaluates the strength of the evidence and the likelihood of success at trial. You make a decision based off realistic outcome probabilities.

Trial or guilty plea: If you plead guilty, you’ll enter your plea in open court and schedule a sentencing hearing. If you go to trial, federal trials typically last 3-10 days depending on complexity.

Sentencing: This happens 90-120 days after conviction (whether by plea or trial verdict). The probation office prepares a presentence report (PSR) calculating your guideline range. Your attorney files objections and argues for a variance. The judge imposes sentence.

Appeals from the Southern District go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The Fifth Circuit is considered one of the more conservative circuits, and appellate success rates is low—around 10-15% of criminal appeals result in reversals or remands.

All of this happens faster then most people expect. Once your indicted, the system moves. And the Houston Division is particuarly fast-paced. With 19 active district judges and hundreds of cases filed annually, judges push cases toward resolution. You can’t afford to wait weeks or months to hire an attorney or get serious about your defense. The decisio

ns you make in the first 30 days after charges often determine the outcome more than anything that happens at trial.

The Cooperation Question Nobody Wants to Ask

Let’s talk about the thing everyone is thinking but no one wants to say out loud: should you cooperate with federal prosecutors? In state court, cooperation might mean giving a statement or testifying at someone else’s trial. In federal court, cooperation is an entire strategic ecosystem with degrees, timing windows, and valuation metrics that determine wether it helps you or destroys you.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: in drug conspiracy cases in the Southern District of Texas, 60-70% of defendants cooperate to some degree. That’s not an exaggeration. Its not unusual. Its expected. Federal prosecutors structure cases to create cooperation pressure. They charge conspiracies (where everyone is liable for the actions of co-conspirators). They file mandatory minimum charges (10 years, 20 years, life) that terrify defendants into flipping. They offer substantial assistance departures that can cut sentences by 50-70%. And they use cooperation agreements to build bigger cases against higher-value targets.

But cooperation isn’t binary. It’s not “snitch or stay silent.” There are degrees:

Debriefing: You meet with prosecutors and agents (with your attorney present) and provide information about the criminal activity, other participants, and the structure of the organization. No one is charged based off this information yet. Prosecutors is evaluating what you know and wether its valuable.

Proffer session: Similar to debriefing, but done under a proffer agreement (sometimes called a “queen for a day” agreement). This agreement provides limited immunity—what you say in the proffer can’t be used against you in the government’s case-in-chief, but it can be used for other purposes (like impeachment if you testify differently at trial). Proffering is common in white collar cases and pre-indictment negotiations.

Wired meetings or calls: You agree to wear a recording device and have conversations with targets of the investigation. This is high-risk cooperation because it requires you to engage in potentially dangerous situations, and anything you say on the recording can be used against you if you misstep.

Testimony before the grand jury: You provide testimony that helps the government obtain indictments against others. Grand jury testimony is secret, but targets often figure out who testified against them through discovery later.

Testimony at trial: The most visible form of cooperation. You take the stand and testify against co-defendants or other targets. This is what most people think of when they hear “cooperate,” and its the form that carries the most risk (both legal and personal).

Each level of cooperation has different value to prosecutors and different risk to you. The value depends on what you know. If your a low-level defendant in a drug conspiracy—maybe you just transported drugs once or twice and don’t know the suppliers or leaders—your cooperation value is low. Prosecutors might still offer you a plea agreement with a lower sentence, but they won’t file a 5K1.1 substantial assistance motion (the motion that allows judges to depart below mandatory minimums).

On the other hand, if you can identify suppliers, provide details about quantities and dates, introduce undercover agents to targets, or testify about the leadership structure of a criminal organization, your cooperation value is high. Prosecutors will file a 5K1.1 motion, and judges typically grant significant departures—sometimes reducing 20-year guidelines to 5-7 years.

But here’s the part nobody tells you upfront: cooperation timing matters more than almost anything. Cooperating pre-indictment gets you the most leverage. Cooperating post-arrest but pre-trial still has value. Cooperating after your convicted but before sentencing has some value. Cooperating after your sentenced has almost no value (unless you can provide information leading to new investigations, in which case you might file a Rule 35 motion for sentence reduction years later).

Why does timing matter? Because prosecutors value information that is timely and actionable. If you cooperate before indictments is filed, your information can shape the entire case strategy. If you cooperate after trial, your information is often stale—targets have already been convicted, fled, or changed there operations.

Now let’s talk about the psychological and personal weight of this decision, because this is where most people struggle. Cooperation isn’t just a legal strategy. Its a moral, ethical, and safety decision. Your not just deciding wether to reduce your sentence—your deciding wether to implicate friends, family members, business associates, or dangerous individuals who might retaliate.

In the Southern District of Texas, where many drug cases involve cartel-connected traffickers or violent gang members, safety considerations is real. Federal witness protection (the U.S. Marshals Service Witness Security Program) exists, but its rare and reserved for high-level cooperators in major cases. Most cooperators do not receive witness protection. They serve there sentences (often in protective custody if requested), and when released, they navigate life with the knowledge that people know they cooperated.

Some defendants rationalize cooperation by focusing on the people there not implicating. “I’ll cooperate about the drug trafficking, but I won’t talk about my family” or “I’ll testify about the fraud scheme, but I won’t name certain people.” Federal prosecutors sometimes accept partial cooperation, but its not a buffet. You don’t get to pick and choose which questions to answer. If you start cooperating and then refuse to answer certain questions, prosecutors can deem you non-cooperative, revoke your plea agreement, and use everything you already said against you.

So how do you decide? There’s no formula, but experienced federal defense attorneys evaluate these factors:

• What are you facing? If your looking at 5 years, cooperation might reduce it to 2-3 years. Is that worth the cost? If your facing 20 years or life, cooperation might reduce it to 7-10 years. The stakes change the calculus.
• What do you know? If you have high-value information (names, dates, quantities, methods, locations), cooperation has more value. If you don’t, prosecutors might make you an offer anyway, but it won’t include a 5K1.1 motion.
• Who are you implicating? Family? Dangerous people? Strangers? This effects both your willingness and your safety.
• What’s the strength of the evidence against you? If the government’s case is weak, you might fight and win. If its overwhelming (wiretaps, surveillance, financial records), cooperation might be the only way to avoid decades in prison.
• Can you live with it? Some people can’t. The psychological weight of testifying against others is real. Some defendants choose to do more time rather then cooperate, and that’s there choice. But make it an informed choice, not a reflexive one.

One more thing: cooperation doesn’t mean your case goes away. You still plead guilty. You still get convicted. You still serve time. What cooperation does is reduce the time. If someone tells you cooperating means walking free, there lying. In the Southern District, cooperators still serve sentences—just shorter ones.

What Your Case Is Actually Worth—And What Your Really Facing

This is the conversation no one wants to have but everyone needs to hear. What are you actualy facing? Not in the abstract “federal charges is serious” sense, but in the concrete “here’s how many years your looking at” sense. Because until you understand the math, you can’t make informed decisions about plea agreements, cooperation, or trial.

Federal sentencing is governed by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, a complex 600-page manual that calculates sentencing ranges based off offense conduct, criminal history, and various adjustments. The guidelines isn’t mandatory—judges can depart or vary from them—but there still the starting point for every sentencing argument.

Here’s how it works. Every federal crime has a base offense level. Then, the probation office (which prepares a presentence report called a PSR) applies specific offense characteristics that increase or decrease the level. For example:

Drug trafficking: Base offense level depends on drug quantity. 50 grams of meth = level 26. 500 grams = level 32. Each level represents roughly 10-20% more prison time. If you had a weapon during the offense, add 2 levels. If you had a leadership role, add 2-4 levels. If someone died as a result of the drugs (increasingly common in fentanyl cases), you face a mandatory minimum of 20 years or life.

Fraud and white collar crimes: Base offense level depends on dollar loss amount. $6,500-$15,000 = level 6. $250,000-$550,000 = level 16. $25 million-$65 million = level 24. Then add enhancements: more then 10 victims (+2 levels), vulnerable victims like the elderly (+2 levels), sophisticated means (+2 levels), abuse of a position of trust (+2 levels). A $500K fraud with 15 victims and sophisticated means could easily be a level 20 offense.

Child pornography: Base offense level 18 for receiving/distributing. Add 5 levels if images involved prepubescent minors or minors under 12. Add 2-5 levels based off number of images. Add 2 levels if distribution. These cases often result in guidelines of 8-12 years even for first-time offenders.

After calculating the offense level, the probation office looks at your criminal history. Prior convictions is assigned points (1 point for minor offenses, 2-3 points for serious offenses). Total points determine your criminal history category (I through VI). The offense level and criminal history intersect on the sentencing table to produce a guideline range.

Example: Offense level 26, Criminal History I = 63-78 months (5.25-6.5 years). But if your a career offender (two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence or drug trafficking), your offense level jumps to 32 or 34 depending on the statutory maximum, and your criminal history becomes VI. Suddenly your guidelines is 188-235 months (15-19 years) for the exact same conduct.

And then their are mandatory minimums. These is statutory prison terms that judges cannot go below (unless the government files a 5K1.1 substantial assistance motion). Common mandatory minimums in the Southern District:

• 5 years: 5 grams crack, 50 grams meth, 100 grams heroin, 500 grams cocaine; being a felon in possession of a firearm
• 10 years: 50 grams crack, 500 grams meth, 1 kilogram heroin, 5 kilograms cocaine; using/carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime or crime of violence
• 20 years: Distributing drugs that result in serious bodily injury; second offense firearm possession
• Life: Distributing drugs that result in death; third drug trafficking offense with prior convictions

These mandatory minimums is why cooperation is so common. If your facin’ a 10-year minimum and the guidelines says 12-15 years, a judge can’t sentence you to less then 10 years unless the government files a 5K1.1 motion. If you cooperate and the government files that motion, the judge can go as low as probation (though that’s rare). More commonly, cooperation in a 10-year mandatory case results in a sentence of 5-7 years.

Now here’s where things get psychological. The numbers above probably feel abstract. Let me make them concrete. If you’re sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, you will serve approximatly 8.5 years. Federal prisoners is required to serve 85% of there sentence (unlike state prison, where parole is possible). After 8.5 years in custody, you’ll be released to 3-5 years of supervised release (federal probation). If you violate supervised release—miss meetings, fail drug tests, commit new crimes—you can be sent back to prison for years.

So a 10-year sentence really means: 8.5 years in federal prison (likely far from Houston—BOP designates inmates to facilities nationwide based off security level and bed availability) + 3-5 years of supervised release with strict conditions. That’s 11.5-13.5 years of your life under federal custody or supervision. For a 20-year sentence, its 17 years in prison + 5 years supervised release. For a life sentence, you die in federal prison.

What about the First Step Act? This 2018 law promised sentencing reductions for certain drug offenders and earned time credits for completing rehabilitation programs. The realit

y in 2025: Its helped some people, but not as many as advocates hoped. In the Southern District, judges is granting First Step Act sentence reduction motions in less then 30% of cases. And even when granted, reductions is usually 1-2 years, not the massive reductions defendants hope for. BOP earned time credits (up to 365 days off your sentence for completing programs) is being applied inconsistently depending on the facility.

What’s success, then? What’s a “good outcome” in a federal criminal case in Houston? It depends on what your charged with and the strength of the evidence. Here’s a realistic framework:

Best case: No charges filed (pre-indictment intervention), charges dismissed (rare), or acquittal at trial (10% chance)

Good case: Plea agreement that reduces mandatory minimums through charge reductions, cooperation that results in substantial assistance departure, sentence significantly below the guideline range

Average case: Plea agreement that results in a guideline sentence (which is still better then going to trial and losing, where sentences is often 2-3x higher due to trial penalty and loss of acceptance of responsibility points)

Worst case: Trial conviction on all counts, guideline sentence at the top of the range or above, mandatory minimums stacked, no cooperation credit

The trial penalty is real. Defendants who go to trial and lose receive, on average, sentences that is 2-3 times longer then defendants who plead guilty to the same charges. Why? Because pleading guilty earns you a 2-3 level reduction for “acceptance of responsibility.” Going to trial means you don’t get that reduction. Also, prosecutors sometimes offer charge reductions or quantity reductions in plea agreements, then proceed on the full charges at trial. And judges, who watch defendants lie on the stand or put victims through the trauma of testifying, sometimes impose harsher sentences.

Does that mean you shouldn’t go to trial if your innocent? No. What it means is that innocence and provable innocence is two different things. Federal juries convict in aproximately 85% of trials. Prosecutors don’t take weak cases to trial. By the time a case gets to trial in the Southern District, the government has overwhelming evidence—wiretaps, cooperating witnesses, financial records, surveillance footage. Trials is expensive ($75,000-$200,000+ in attorney fees, expert witnesses, investigators) and high-risk.

But some cases should go to trial. Cases where the evidence is weak. Cases where the government’s witnesses have serious credibility problems. Cases where the stakes is so high (life sentence) that you have nothing to loose. Cases where you genuinely didn’t commit the crime and can prove it. Your attorney should give you an honest assessment of trial odds based off the evidence, not just tell you what you want to hear.

Choosing Defense Representation in Houston Federal Court

So you need a federal criminal defense attorney in Houston. Google shows you dozens of options. Websites promise “aggressive defense,” “proven results,” and “former federal prosecutors on staff.” Everyone claims experience in the Southern District. How do you choose?

Here’s what most people don’t realize: federal criminal defense is a specialization within criminal defense. An attorney who’s excellent at state court felonies might be out of there depth in federal court. The rules is different (Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure vs. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure). The prosecutors is different (career AUSAs vs. county DAs). The judges is different (life-tenured Article III judges vs. elected state judges). The stakes is different (federal sentences is typically 2-3x longer then state sentences for similar conduct).

When evaluating attorneys, here’s what actually matters:

Southern District of Texas-specific experience: Has this attorney tried cases in the Houston Division? Do they know the judges by name? Can they tell you which judges is more likely to grant bond, which judges is defense-friendly on sentencing variances, which judges run tight courtrooms vs. which judges tolerate extensive cross-examination? An attorney who practices primarily in the Northern District or Eastern District will have a learning curve in the Southern District. You don’t want to pay for that learning curve.

Relationship with the U.S. Attorney’s Office: Federal criminal defense is a small world. Attorneys who regularly practice in the Southern District know the AUSAs (Assistant U.S. Attorneys) by name. They know which prosecutors is reasonable in plea negotiations and which prosecutors take everything to trial. They know which prosecutors specialize in drug cases, which handle white collar cases, which handle child exploitation cases. This knowledge matters when your negotiating plea agreements and cooperation terms.

Judge familiarity: The Houston Division has 19 active district judges as of 2025. Judge assignments is random, but once your assigned, that judge’s tendencies matter enormously. Some judges grant downward departures or variances in 30-40% of cases. Others almost never depart from the guidelines. Some judges is impatient and push cases to trial quickly. Others tolerate extensive motion practice. Your attorney should be able to tell you, within a week of getting assigned, what to expect from your judge based off past cases.

Sentencing advocacy experience: Many federal cases is won or lost at sentencing, not trial. Has the attorney successfully argued for downward departures or variances? Do they understand how to challenge the PSR (presentence report)? Can they present mitigation effectively—not just “my client is a good person” but actual evidence-based arguments about overstatement of criminal history, loss calculations, role in the offense, and individualized sentencing factors under 18 USC 3553(a)?

Trial experience: Even if your case will likely resolve with a plea, you need an attorney who can credibly threaten trial. Prosecutors make better plea offers to attorneys they know will actually try a case. An attorney who always pleads out loses leverage. How many federal trials has the attorney handled? What was the verdict? (Don’t expect 100% acquittals—no one has that—but you want someone who’s won some and fought hard on the losses.)

Support team: Federal cases require infrastructure. Investigators to interview witnesses and track down evidence. Paralegals to organize the massive discovery (federal cases routinely involve 5,000-50,000 pages of documents, hours of recordings, terabytes of data). Expert witnesses (forensic accountants in fraud cases, toxicologists in drug cases, digital forensics experts in child pornography cases). An attorney practicing solo out of a small office might be brilliant, but if they don’t have the support team to handle a complex federal case, your at a disadvantage.

Now let’s talk about cost, because this is where people get sticker shock. Federal criminal defense is expensive. Here’s why:

A straightforward guilty plea case (no trial) with standard sentencing typically costs $25,000-$50,000 in attorney fees. This covers the attorney’s time to review discovery, negotiate with prosecutors, challenge the PSR, and argue at sentencing. That’s 60-100+ hours of attorney time at $250-$500/hour.

A case going to trial typically costs $75,000-$150,000+. Why? Because trial preparation is intensive. Attorneys need to review every page of discovery, depose witnesses, file pretrial motions, prepare cross-examinations, coordinate with experts, develop a trial strategy, select a jury, and conduct a multi-day trial. A federal trial might involve 200-400+ hours of attorney time, plus investigator time, expert witness fees, and demonstrative evidence costs.

Complex cases (multi-defendant conspiracies, large-scale fraud, cases involving hundreds of thousands of pages of discovery) can exceed $200,000-$300,000+. These is the cases where defense attorneys essentially run a small law firm dedicated to your case for 6-18 months.

Can you negotiate fees? Sometimes. Many federal defense attorneys offer payment plans. Some take credit cards. Some will negotiate reduced fees if you can pay a large retainer upfront. But understand that you get what you pay for. The attorney charging $15,000 for a federal case is either inexperienced, overworked, or planning to do the bare minimum.

What about the Federal Public Defender? If you financially qualify (which is determined by the court based off your income, assets, and ability to hire private counsel), the Federal Public Defender’s Office in the Southern District provides excellent representation. FPDs is full-time federal criminal defense attorneys who handle nothing but federal cases. They know the judges, know the prosecutors, and have extensive trial experience. The downside: they’re overworked (high caseloads) and you don’t get to choose your attorney (your assigned whoever is available). But if you can’t afford private counsel, the FPD is a strong option—often better then a low-cost private attorney who doesn’t specialize in federal work.

Red flags when choosing an attorney:

• Guarantees outcomes: “I’ll get this dismissed” or “You won’t do any time.” No honest attorney can guarantee outcomes in federal court. The conviction rate is 90%. Anyone promising certainty is lying.
• Primarily state court practice with occasional federal case: You want someone who does federal work regularly, not someone who takes a federal case once a year.
• No specific SDTX war stories: Ask the attorney to describe a recent case they handled in the Houston Division. If they can’t give specifics (without violating client confidentiality), they probly don’t have deep experience there.
• Fee structure that incentivizes quick pleas: Beware flat fees that don’t increase if the case goes to trial. This incentivizes the attorney to push you toward a plea even if trial might be better.

Finally, trust your instincts. You’ll be working with this attorney for months or years. They’ll know your darkest secrets. You need someone you can communicate with honestly, someone who listens, someone who explains things in terms you understand. A brilliant attorney who talks down to you or doesn’t return calls is worse then a less experienced attorney who’s responsive and treats you with respect.

After Conviction—The Road Doesn’t End at Sentencing

You’ve been sentenced. The judge imposed 87 months (7.25 years). Your devastated. You think its over. Actually, the legal process continues—and their are still opportunities to reduce your sentence or challenge your conviction.

Direct appeal: You have 14 days after sentencing to file a notice of appeal (though this can be extended). Appeals go to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. On appeal, you can challenge legal errors made during trial or sentencing (improper jury instructions, incorrect guideline calculations, admission of inadmissible evidence, etc.). You typically can’t appeal factual findings (wether you actually committed the crime) unless the evidence was legally insufficient. Appellate success rates is low—around 10-15% of criminal appeals result in reversals or remands. But if their were clear legal errors, appeal is worth pursuing.

2255 motion: This is a post-conviction motion filed in the district court (not the appellate court) alleging that your attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel. To win, you must show that your attorney’s performance was deficient (they made serious errors) and that those errors prejudiced you (the outcome would have been different but for the errors). Examples: Your attorney failed to investigate obvious defenses, didn’t call critical witnesses, didn’t file meritorious motions, gave you incorrect advice about plea offers, or had a conflict of interest. 2255 motions is hard to win—most attorneys make strategic decisions that, even if wrong in hindsight, don’t rise to the level of ineffectiveness. But if your attorney truly dropped the ball, a 2255 motion can result in a new trial or new sentencing.

Compassionate release: Under 18 USC 3582(c)(1)(A), defendants can file motions for compassionate release based off extraordinary and compelling reasons. Originally, only the BOP could file these motions, but the First Step Act allows defendants to file directly after exhausting BOP remedies (waiting 30 days after requesting compassionate release from the warden). Grounds for compassionate release include terminal illness, serious medical conditions, age (65+ and served 10+ years or 75% of sentence), family circumstances (death or incapacitation of caregiver for minor child), and other extraordinary circumstances. Post-COVID, courts has been more willing to grant compassionate release motions, especially for defendants with medical vulnerabilities or excessive sentences by current standards.

First Step Act sentence reduction: If you was sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before August 2010, or if you was sentenced under the old mandatory minimums that has since been reduced, you might be eligible for a sentence reduction under the First Step Act. The challenge: You must file a motion, the government will likely oppose it, and judges has discretion to grant or deny. In the Southern District, judges is granting these motions in less then 30% of cases. But if you qualify and the judge grants the motion, you could get 2-5 years (or more) off your sentence.

Rule 35 motion for substantial assistance: If you cooperated with the government during your case, prosecutors might have filed a 5K1.1 motion that reduced your sentence. But what if you didn’t cooperate initially, or what if you provided additional cooperation after sentencing? Under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b), the government can file a motion for sentence reduction based off substantial assistance provided after sentencing. This happens when defendants provide information leading to new investigations or prosecutions. Its rare, but it happens. If your providing ongoing cooperation, your attorney can work with prosecutors to file a Rule 35 motion within one year of sentencing (or later in some circumstances).

BOP designation and custody level: Once your sentenced, the Bureau of Prisons designates you to a facility based off your security level (minimum, low, medium, high), the length of your sentence, your criminal history, and bed space availability. Most federal defendants is designated to low or medium security facilities. Your attorney can file a request with BOP asking for designation to a specific facility (close to family, with particular programs, etc.), but BOP has discretion. If your sentenced to less then 10 years and has no violent criminal history, you might be designated to a minimum security camp, which has no fences, more freedom of movement, and better conditions.

Supervised release: After you serve 85% of your prison sentence, you’ll be released to supervised release (federal probation). Supervised release typically lasts 3-5 years, though some offenses carry longer terms. Conditions usually include: reporting to a probation officer, maintaining employment, submitting to drug testing, not committing new crimes, not possessing firearms, not leaving the district without permission, and various other conditions depending on the offense. Supervised release violations is taken seriously. If you violate conditions, you can be sent back to prison for years. In the Southern District, judges is strict on supervised release violations, especially for drug offenses or failure to report.

The bottom line: Sentencing isn’t the end. Their are post-conviction remedies, and the law continues to evolve. What seems like a long sentence today might be reducible in 5 years based off changes in law or guidelines. Stay engaged with your attorney even after sentencing. Monitor changes in the law. File motions when appropriate. Don’t give up.

The Next 48 Hours Matter More Than You Think

If your reading this because federal agents contacted you, or because you know your under investigation, or because you’ve already been arrested—what you do in the next 48 hours will shape the entire trajectory of your case. Federal cases is different. The system moves fast once charges is filed. The evidence is overwhelming by the time prosecutors file. And the decisions you make right now—today—determine wether you have any leverage left when negotiations start.

Don’t talk to federal agents without an attorney. Don’t think you can explain your way out of this. Don’t assume cooperation means your case goes away. Don’t wait weeks to hire a lawyer because you think the investigation will blow over. It won’t. Federal investigations doesn’t blow over. They intensify, they expand, and they end with indictments.

The Southern District of Texas is one of the busiest federal districts in the nation. Prosecutors here has virtually unlimited resources compared to state DAs. Judges here is experienced, efficient, and strict. Sentences here is serious—years or decades, not months. And the conviction rate is 90%, which means once your charged, the odds isn’t in your favor unless you have a defense attorney who knows this system inside and out.

Federal defense isn’t about miracles. Its about leverage, timing, and strategy. Its about knowing when to fight and when to negotiate. Its about understanding the value of what you know and what your facing. Its about making informed decisions based off realistic outcome probabilities, not wishful thinking or TV lawyer fantasies. Its about finding an attorney who’s done this before—in this district, in this courthouse, with these prosecutors and these judges.

You’ve got one shot to get this right. The choices you make now echo for years. Choose carefully. Act quickly. And don’t go into this fight alone.