Criminal Defense Lawyers

New Hampshire Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

New Hampshire Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. If your facing federal charges in New Hampshire – or if federal agents have contacted you about an investigation – you need to understand something that most defense websites wont tell you directly. New Hampshire’s federal court is one of the smallest in the country. Three judges. Maybe 118 criminal cases in an entire year. Everyone knows everyone. And that familiarity dosent work the way you think it does.

Heres what nobody says about federal criminal defense in a small state: when there are only three federal judges and maybe a dozen attorneys who regularly practice in the District of New Hampshire, professional relationships matter more then individual case outcomes. Your attorney knows the prosecutor. Probably had coffee with them last month. The judge assigned to your case? Your attorney will appear before that same judge next week on a different case. And the week after that. And for the next five years. Nobody wants to be the attorney who burns bridges, makes enemies, or gets a reputation for being “difficult” in a professional ecosystem this small. That effects your defense in ways most clients never realize.

The data reveals the trap. In fiscal year 2015, the District of New Hampshire had 154 federal convictions and 0 acquittals. Not one. A 100% conviction rate. New Hampshire was among twenty federal judicial districts that achieved perfect conviction rates that year. The “personal touch” didnt save anyone. It never does. Were not here to make you feel better. Were here to tell you what your actually facing so you can make decisions based on reality, not hope.

The Smallest Federal Court in New England

The United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire operates out of Concord. Its one of the smallest federal judicial districts in the country. To understand what this means for your defense, you need specific numbers.

In fiscal year 2024, the District of New Hampshire handled 118 federal criminal cases total. For comparison, there were 61,678 federal criminal cases nationwide that same year. New Hampshire represents less then 0.2% of the federal criminal docket. The entire state. For an entire year. 118 cases.

There are three federal judges: Judge Paul Barbadoro (chief judge), Judge Samantha Elliott, and Judge Joseph LaPlante. Three judges handling every federal criminal case in New Hampshire. Civil cases. Every motion. Every sentencing hearing. Every suppression issue. Every cooperation agreement. They see the same prosecutors. The same defense attorneys. The same federal agents testifying. Month after month. Year after year.

What this creates is a professional ecosystem were familiarity breeds predictability. Judges know which prosecutors are reasonable and which ones dig in there heels. Prosecutors know which defense attorneys file frivolous motions and which ones only fight when there’s something real to fight about. Defense attorneys know which judges will actually read a sentencing memorandum and which ones have there minds made up before the hearing starts.

And everyone – judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys – knows that they’ll be working together on the next case, and the case after that, and the case after that. That awareness shapes every tactical decision. Every negotiation. Every motion to suppress. Every objection.

Of the 118 cases in fiscal year 2024, 57 involved drug trafficking charges. Thats 48% of the entire federal criminal docket. Nearly half. Most of those cases come from the same source.

The Massachusetts Corridor Problem

New Hampshire shares a border with Massachusetts. Interstate 93 runs from Boston through Manchester, Concord, and up to the White Mountains. That highway corridor has become a primary route for drug trafficking organizations based in Lawrence, Lowell, and Methuen, Massachusetts to move fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into New Hampshire communities.

The Martinez Brothers case illustrates the scale. In 2018, federal prosecutors charged 45 individuals for participating in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy. Forty-five defendants in a single case. For context, thats nearly 40% of New Hampshire’s entire annual federal criminal docket. The investigation targeted an organization led by Sergio and Raulin Martinez, who allegedly maintained a residence in Lawrence, Massachusetts staffed by dispatchers taking drug orders over various “customer phones.” The organization distributed drugs throughout New Hampshire. Federal agents seized over 30 kilograms of suspected fentanyl, two firearms, and over $500,000 in cash.

More recently, twelve defendants pleaded guilty in a cross-state social media drug trafficking conspiracy. Every single one pleaded guilty. Not one went to trial. The ring operated from Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts, conducting high-volume narcotics deals via cell phone and social media apps. Between April 2023 and April 2024, they distributed an estimated 20 kilograms of fentanyl, one kilogram of methamphetamine, and 200 grams of cocaine – the vast majority sold to dealers in New Hampshire and Maine for redistribution.

Individual prosecutions follow the same pattern. Jose Toledo drove from Massachusetts into New Hampshire with nearly a pound of methamphetamine and almost 300 grams of fentanyl. He was sentenced to 72 months in federal prison. Osvaldo Soto Jimenez managed dispatch operations for a Massachusetts-based organization trafficking fentanyl and cocaine into Manchester. He got 46 months. Hes the eighth of 21 defendants in that organization to be sentenced.

Heres what this means if your one of those defendants: your not from New Hampshire. You dont have ties to the community. You dont have local family writing letters to the judge. Your attorney might know the prosecutors and the judge, but YOU dont. Your an outsider being prosecuted in a system were everyone else has been working together for years. That personal familiarity dosent extend to you. It extends to the professionals. And the professionals have there own incentives.

The 100% Conviction Rate Nobody Mentions

You might be thinking: wouldn’t having your attorney know the prosecutor actually help? Dosent that personal relationship lead to better plea deals? More reasonable charging decisions? Judges who are willing to listen?

The conviction statistics answer that question.

In 2015, the District of New Hampshire had 154 federal convictions and 0 acquittals. Not a single acquittal. A perfect 100% conviction rate. New Hampshire was among twenty federal judicial districts nationwide that achieved perfect conviction rates that year. By 2018, the national federal conviction rate was 99.8%, with only 320 defendants out of 79,704 going to trial and winning there cases through acquittal.

The conviction rate tells you everything you need to know about whether personal relationships saved anyone. They didnt.

Lets be clear about what these numbers mean. The overwhelming majority of federal defendants nationwide – approximately 90% – plead guilty. Another 8% have there cases dismissed at some point in the process. Only about 2% go to trial. And of those who go to trial, very few win. In federal court, the acquittal rate for defendants who choose jury trials is approximately 14%. For bench trials, its around 38%. Those are the defendants who actually fought. Most dont.

Why dont they fight? Because federal prosecutors dont bring weak cases. They have the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF, and Homeland Security Investigations working for months or years before charges are filed. By the time you recieve that target letter or get arrested, theyve already reviewed your bank records, emails, text messages, phone calls, and interviewed people who know you. Theyve built there case. And in a small district like New Hampshire were the U.S. Attorney’s Office handles a manageable caseload of 118 cases per year, they can afford to be thorough.

But theres another factor that dosent get discussed in polite company. Defense attorneys in small federal districts like New Hampshire have to be strategic about which battles to fight. If your the attorney who files aggressive motions to suppress in every case, demands trials on marginal facts, and generally makes life difficult for prosecutors and judges, that reputation follows you. Into the next case. And the case after that. Your ability to effectively advocate for future clients depends on maintaining professional relationships with the people you see every week.

This creates what practitioners call “relationship capital.” And heres the uncomfortable truth: that capital gets spent on the NEXT case, not necessarily yours. An attorney might decide that your case isnt the hill to die on because theres another client next month with a better suppression issue, or another client next year who actually has a shot at trial. Irrespective of whether thats the right strategic call, its the calculation that happens in a district this small.

Where Your Actually Going: FMC Devens and the 85% Reality

If your convicted of a federal crime in New Hampshire, you need to know were you’ll actually serve your sentence. Not the abstract possibility of prison. The specific facility. The actual time you’ll do.

New Hampshire dosent have a federal prison within its borders for male inmates. The closest facility is the Federal Medical Center at Devens – FMC Devens – located in Ayer, Massachusetts, approximately 39 miles west of Boston. FMC Devens is designated as an administrative facility, which means it houses inmates from different security classifications. It has both a medical center holding 969 male inmates and a minimum-security satellite camp holding 123 inmates.

FMC Devens specializes in inmates requiring long-term medical or mental health care. Its also a forensic study site for federal courts, performing evaluations of insanity, trial competency, risk assessments, and sentencing issues for defendants from across the country. If your facing federal charges in New Hampshire and your convicted, theres a reasonable chance you’ll end up at FMC Devens for at least part of your sentence – depending on your security classification and medical needs.

But heres what matters more then the facility: federal sentences are real time. Theres no parole in the federal system. That program ended in 1987. You will serve a minimum of 85% of your sentence. If your sentenced to 10 years, your doing at least 8.5 years. If your sentenced to 20 years, your doing at least 17 years. The good time credit is capped at 15%. There is no early release for overcrowding like in some state systems. Federal time is real time.

The sentencing guidelines drive everything. For drug trafficking offenses – which represent 48% of New Hampshire’s federal docket – the guidelines calculate your offense level based on drug quantity. 20 kilograms of fentanyl? Thats a base offense level of 38, which translates to 235-293 months (19-24 years) for a defendant with minimal criminal history. One kilogram of methamphetamine? Base offense level 32, translating to 121-151 months (10-12 years). These arent maximums. These are the GUIDELINE ranges that judges start with.

Cooperation can reduce these sentences dramatically through whats called a 5K1.1 motion – but cooperation means providing substantial assistance to the government. Testifying against co-defendants. Wearing a wire. Making controlled buys. And cooperation only works if you have valuable information to trade. If your a low-level courier who dosent know the suppliers name or location, you dont have anything to trade. Your stuck with the guidelines.

The personal relationships in New Hampshire federal court might help you at sentencing – a respected local attorney writing a sentencing memorandum, vouching for your rehabilitation prospects, arguing for a downward variance. Judges do listen. But they listen within constraints. A variance of a few months or even a year or two on a 10-year sentence is still 8+ years in federal prison. The “personal touch” dosent save you from conviction. And it dosent save you from the sentencing guidelines. It might soften the blow. Slightly.

Why Nobody Fights in a Town This Small

Lets talk about what actually happens when a federal criminal case proceeds toward trial in New Hampshire. Not what should happen. What does happen.

There were 118 federal criminal cases filed in the District of New Hampshire in fiscal year 2024. Of those, maybe 2-3 went to trial. Thats consistent with national patterns were only 2% of federal criminal defendants choose trial. But in a district this small, the decision to go to trial carries additional weight.

A trial in federal court means: motions to suppress (your attorney arguing the search was illegal), motions in limine (fighting about what evidence the jury can hear), jury selection, opening statements, cross-examination of federal agents, expert witnesses, closing arguments, and sentencing if you lose. It means weeks of preparation. It means your attorney taking an aggressive posture against the prosecution – challenging there evidence, there witnesses, there case theory. It means the judge has to clear there docket for trial days, bring in a jury, and invest significant time in a case that could have been resolved with a plea.

And when your attorney does all of that – fights hard, takes aggressive positions, makes the prosecutor look bad on cross-examination, forces the judge to rule on difficult suppression issues – that attorney still has to appear in the same courtroom next month on a different case. Still has to negotiate with the same prosecutor on a different defendant. Still has to ask the same judge for a sentencing variance on a different client.

This dosent mean attorneys dont fight when fighting is warranted. Good attorneys do. But it does mean that the calculation about whether to fight includes factors beyond just YOUR case. Is the suppression issue strong enough to risk losing credibility if the judge denies it? Is the trial defense compelling enough to justify the reputational cost if you lose badly? Will taking this case to trial and losing make it harder to negotiate reasonable plea deals for future clients?

These are questions that shouldnt matter. In theory. In a perfect world were every case is evaluated solely on its merits, they wouldnt matter. But in a district were three judges handle 118 cases a year, and were the same dozen attorneys appear before those judges month after month, these questions matter a great deal.

The social media drug trafficking conspiracy case is instructive. Twelve defendants. All charged in the same conspiracy. All facing significant sentences based on fentanyl quantities. Every single defendant pleaded guilty over an eight-month period. Not one went to trial. Not one forced the government to prove its case. Why? Maybe the evidence was overwhelming and trial wouldve been suicide. Maybe cooperation deals were offered and taken. Or maybe – and this is the part nobody says out loud – going to trial in that case wouldve marked you as the attorney who wouldnt be reasonable, who wouldnt work within the system, who couldnt be trusted to evaluate a case realistically.

Your probably freaking out reading this. Good. You should be. Federal criminal charges in New Hampshire – or anywhere – are serious. The conviction rates are real. The sentencing guidelines are harsh. And the professional dynamics in a small federal district create additional pressures that most defendants dont understand until its too late.

What Actually Works When Everyone Knows Everyone

After everything weve described – the 100% conviction rate, the tiny professional ecosystem, the relationship pressures, the harsh sentencing guidelines – you might be wondering what actually helps. What can a federal criminal defense attorney do in this environment?

First, early intervention matters. If your under investigation but havent been charged yet, an experienced federal defense attorney can sometimes prevent charges from being filed at all. This involves communicating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, presenting mitigating information, and shaping the narrative before the government commits to an indictment. Once your indicted, the leverage shifts dramatically against you. But before charges are filed, there’s room to maneuver.

Second, understanding the specific dynamics of the District of New Hampshire matters. An attorney who regularly practices in that courthouse knows the judges, knows the prosecutors, knows which arguments work and which ones fall flat. That local knowledge is valuable – not because it leads to backroom deals, but because it allows for realistic case evaluation. If your attorney knows that Judge Barbadoro is skeptical of entrapment defenses, you dont waste time and credibility pursuing one. If your attorney knows that a particular AUSA is reasonable about cooperation credit, you can have productive conversations early.

Third, cooperation strategy requires expertise. If you have information valuable to the government – knowledge of suppliers, distribution networks, other criminal activity – that information can be traded for reduced sentences through a 5K1.1 motion. But cooperation is complicated. You need an attorney who understands what information is actually valuable, how to proffer without destroying your defense if cooperation falls through, and how to protect you during debriefings. A proffer done wrong can add charges and eliminate defenses. A proffer done right can take years or decades off a sentence.

Fourth, sentencing advocacy is were experienced defense attorneys earn there value. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are complicated. Calculating offense levels, criminal history categories, specific offense characteristics, adjustments, departures – this is technical work. The difference between one guideline calculation and another can be years of your life. An attorney who knows how to argue for departures, variances, and alternative sentence structures can make a meaningful difference even when conviction is certain.

Fifth, realistic evaluation matters more then false hope. You need an attorney who will tell you the truth about your case. Not what you want to hear. Not vague reassurances about “fighting hard” and “exploring all options.” The truth. If the evidence against you is overwhelming, you need to know that so you can make informed decisions about cooperation, plea negotiations, and sentencing strategy. If you actually have a viable defense, you need an attorney who will recognize it and pursue it aggressively. But in a district were the conviction rate has historically hit 100%, false hope is dangerous.

Todd Spodek and the team at Spodek Law Group have represented clients in federal courts across the country, including complex cases in jurisdictions were professional relationships and local dynamics matter. We understand that federal criminal defense in a small district like New Hampshire isnt about courtroom heroics. Its about meticulous preparation, strategic positioning, understanding the professional ecosystem, and knowing when to fight and when to negotiate. Its about protecting clients in a system designed to produce convictions.

If your facing federal charges in New Hampshire – or if federal agents have contacted you and charges seem likely – dont wait. Every day you delay is a day the government uses to strengthen there case. Call 212-300-5196 for a consultation. We’ll give you an honest assessment of were you stand, what your options are, and what strategies actually work in the reality your facing.

The federal conviction rate in New Hampshire speaks for itself. 154 convictions and 0 acquittals in 2015. 118 cases and three judges in 2024. Professional relationships that span decades. This isnt a game. This isnt television. This is the federal criminal justice system in one of the smallest districts in the country, and it grinds through cases with ruthless efficiency. You need someone who understands that system and knows how to operate within it.

Even the small cases.