Oregon Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

Last Updated on: 15th November 2025, 07:28 pm

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve defended federal criminal cases for over 40 years as a second-generation law firm. Led by Todd Spodek, who handled high-profile federal cases like the Anna Delvey case featured on Netflix, we understand exactly what you’re facing when you’re charged in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. This article breaks down why your Oregon criminal lawyer probably can’t practice in federal court, what the 85% rule actually means for your time served, and why bail hearings at 1000 SW Third Avenue use a completely different standard than state court. You’ll learn the specific differences between state and federal court in Portland, the Federal Defender office crisis affecting your representation, and what mandatory minimums really mean when there’s no parole.

Your Oregon Criminal Lawyer Probably Can’t Practice Federal Court

Look, here’s the thing most people don’t get. You’re facing federal charges in Portland. You hired a criminal defense lawyer who’s been practicing in Oregon for years. Great trial record. Impressive state court wins. Doesn’t matter. They’re probably not admitted to practice in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon – and that means they literally cannot represent you in federal court.

Oregon State Bar license does NOT equal federal court admission. These are two completely different things, different admissions, different courts. Oregon has roughly 16,000 active attorneys. U.S. District Court for District of Oregon has about 3,000 admitted attorneys. That’s 13,000 Oregon lawyers who cannot legally practice in federal court. Your lawyer might be one of them.

Federal court admission requires separate application. Background check. Sponsor from an attorney who’s already admitted. Motion before a federal judge. It’s not automatic. Most criminal defense attorneys in Oregon focus on state court – Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Washington County – and never bother getting admitted federally because they don’t handle federal cases.

So here’s the question you got to ask: “Are you admitted to practice in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon?” Not “do you handle criminal cases.” Not “have you done federal work.” Admitted. Specifically. To federal court. If they hesitate, if they say “I can get admitted,” if they say “I work with a federal lawyer,” that’s your answer. They can’t practice there. And you need someone who can.

Using a non-admitted attorney in federal court isn’t just a bad idea – it’s grounds for ineffective assistance of counsel. Your case gets destroyed, you file appeal later based off of inadequate representation, but the damage is done. Your freedom is gone. Regardless of how good your lawyer is in Oregon state court, if they’re not admitted to U.S. District Court, they cannot help you.

We’re admitted to practice in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. We appear at the Portland federal courthouse – 1000 SW Third Avenue – regularly. We know the federal judges. We know the U.S. Attorneys. We know federal procedure, federal rules, federal sentencing. Unlike other law firms who refer out federal cases or try to “associate” with a federal lawyer, we handle your case directly. Your case. Your freedom. Your federal defense.

Federal Time Isn’t State Time – The 85% Rule Means What It Says

So, you’re facing 10 years. You’re thinking, “Okay, with parole, good behavior, maybe I serve 5-6 years.” Wrong. You’re thinking Oregon state court. This is federal court. Completely different. Much different than state court.

Federal prison has no parole. Zero. None. The parole system was eliminated in 1987. What you get is the 85% rule. You serve at least 85% of your sentence. Not “up to 85%.” Not “around 85%.” Minimum 85%. Federal law – 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b) – allows maximum 54 days good time credit per year served. That’s 15% reduction maximum. Which means 85% minimum.

Let me do the math for you. Ten-year sentence in federal court = 8.5 years actual time. Minimum. Twenty-year sentence = 17 years minimum. Five-year sentence = 4 years, 3 months minimum. And that’s if you get good time. If you have any disciplinary issues in federal prison, you lose good time credit. So basically you’re serving 85-100% of whatever sentence the judge gives you.

Compare that to Oregon state court. Ten-year sentence for Measure 11 crime – you’re eligible for parole. Earned time credits. Short-term transitional leave programs. Alternative incarceration. With all those programs, you might serve 60-70% of your sentence. Real time: maybe 6-7 years on a ten-year sentence.

Federal: 8.5 years minimum. State: 6-7 years with programs. Same “10 years” sounds completely different when you do the math. Federal time is 40-50% longer than state time for the same sentence length. And when you’re facing mandatory minimums – which are pretty common in federal court – that gap gets even bigger.

Twenty-year mandatory minimum for drug trafficking in federal court? That’s 17 years of your life. Minimum. Not 10-12 years with parole like state court. Seventeen years. You’ll serve seventeen years before you walk out. Irrespective of good behavior, irrespective of rehabilitation programs, irrespective of anything. The 85% rule doesn’t care.

This is why federal charges are more serious than state charges – even when the conduct is similar. The actual time you serve is just longer. Period. The punishment is harsher. The consequences are worse. And you need a lawyer who understands federal sentencing, who can argue for departures and variances, who knows how to fight for every sentencing level reduction. Because in federal court, one sentencing level can mean years of your freedom.

Federal Defender Office Has 200+ Cases Per Lawyer (The Math Doesn’t Work)

You’re thinking, “I’ll just use the federal public defender. They’re free. They know federal court.” And yeah, they do know federal court. But they’re overwhelmed. Completely overwhelmed with caseloads that make effective representation mathematically impossible.

November 2023. Federal Judge Michael Mosman gave Oregon seven days to find lawyers for defendants or he’d release them from jail. Why? Because the Federal Defender office was so overwhelmed they couldn’t provide constitutionally adequate representation. This actually happened. A federal judge threatened to release criminal defendants because there weren’t enough lawyers to represent them.

Here’s the reality. Federal Defender office in Oregon – each attorney is handling somewhere around 200-250 active cases at any given time. Two hundred cases. Per lawyer. Now let’s do some math. There are 250 working days in a year. Two hundred cases divided by 250 working days = each case gets about 1.25 hours of attorney time per year. One point two five hours. Per year. For your federal criminal case.

How much time does a federal case actually need? Typical federal case requires 100-300 hours of attorney time. Investigation. Discovery review. Witness interviews. Motion practice. Sentencing preparation. Trial preparation if it goes that far. You need hundreds of hours. You’re getting 1.25 hours per year. The math doesn’t work. It can’t work.

American Bar Association says public defenders should handle maximum 150 felonies per year. Oregon Federal Defenders are at 200-250+. That’s not a little over the limit. That’s way over. And it shows in the representation quality. Not because the lawyers aren’t good – they are – but because they’re drowning. They can’t give your case the time it needs when they have 200 other cases that also need time.

This is why “free lawyer” sometimes costs you your freedom. Yes, you save money on attorney fees. But you’re one of 200 cases. Your case gets 1.25 hours per year. Is that worth it? When you’re facing 85% of a federal sentence with no parole? When mandatory minimums mean you can’t get a reduced sentence? When your freedom depends on someone having time to actually work your case?

We represent YOU. Only you. Not 200 other people. Your case gets the time it needs. The investigation it needs. The motion practice it needs. The sentencing advocacy it needs. Because in federal court, details matter. And details require time. Time your federal defender doesn’t have.

Portland Federal Bail Hearing at 1000 SW Third Avenue = Different Standard

You probably think bail works like state court. Show you’re not a flight risk. Show community ties. Post bail. Go home until trial. That’s Oregon state court. Federal court? Completely different. Different standard. Different presumptions. Different outcome.

Bail Reform Act of 1984 – 18 U.S.C. § 3142 – allows federal detention based off of “danger to the community.” Not flight risk. Danger. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland routinely argues that drug defendants, firearms defendants, fraud defendants should be detained because they’re “dangerous.” Not because they’ll flee. Because they’re dangerous to the community.

What does “dangerous” mean? Pretty much whatever the prosecutor wants it to mean. Drug trafficking? Dangerous – you’re distributing drugs that harm the community. Firearms offense? Dangerous – you had a gun. Fraud? Dangerous – you’ll commit more fraud while out on bail. The standard is broad. Very broad. And it’s used to detain people who would get bail in state court without question.

Statistics tell the story. U.S. District Court Oregon – roughly 45-50% of federal defendants are detained pending trial. Oregon state courts? Around 15-20% detained pretrial. That’s a massive difference. In federal court, you’re more likely to be stuck in custody than released on bail. Even with job, family, community ties, no prior record – doesn’t matter if the U.S. Attorney argues you’re “dangerous.”

And some offenses have presumption of detention. Drug trafficking offense with 10+ year maximum penalty? Presumption against release. You have to prove you should be released. The burden shifts to you. Federal prosecutor doesn’t have to prove you’ll flee or commit crimes. You have to prove you won’t. That’s backwards from state court, where prosecution has burden to prove detention is necessary.

Your bail hearing happens within days of arrest. Magistrate Judge at 1000 SW Third Avenue. U.S. Attorney argues detention. You need a lawyer who knows federal bail arguments, who understands Bail Reform Act standards, who can counter the “danger” argument. State court bail arguments don’t work in federal court. Different law, different standards, different strategies.

If you’re detained in federal court, you’re detained until trial or plea. Could be months. Could be a year. Could be longer if case is complex. That’s months or years in federal custody before you’re even convicted, just because the standard is “danger” instead of “flight risk.”

What You’re Actually Facing – U.S. Attorney + FBI + Mandatory Minimums

Let’s talk about who’s prosecuting you. Not Multnomah County DA with Portland Police detectives. U.S. Attorney for District of Oregon with FBI agents. DEA agents. ATF agents. IRS Criminal Investigation. Homeland Security. Federal resources. Federal budget. Federal investigative capabilities.

Typical federal case investigation budget: $50,000 to $500,000+. State case investigation budget: maybe $5,000 to $20,000. That’s a 10x to 100x resource advantage. FBI can do nationwide witness interviews. DEA can get wiretaps under Title III. Federal grand jury can subpoena records from anywhere in the country – anywhere in the world. U.S. Attorney has time to focus on each case because they have way less cases than county prosecutor.

You’re facing Goliath. With federal budget. With best investigators. With sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums stacked in their favor.

And speaking of mandatory minimums. Oregon has Measure 11 – mandatory minimums for violent crimes. Federal system has mandatory minimums for drug crimes. Firearms crimes. Child pornography. Immigration offenses. Lots of crimes. And federal mandatory minimums are longer than Measure 11 in many cases, and they stack.

Example: Drug trafficking 5 grams methamphetamine. Oregon state court – no mandatory minimum, goes to sentencing guidelines. Federal court – 5-year mandatory minimum under 21 U.S.C. § 841. Five years. Minimum. Judge cannot give you less. Same conduct: state court = maybe probation or short jail sentence. Federal court = 5 years minimum in federal prison.

And if you had a firearm during that drug offense? Add 5 more years under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Consecutive. Mandatory. So now you’re at 10 years minimum. No judicial discretion. No reduction. Ten years minimum, which means 8.5 years actual time with the 85% rule.

But wait – there’s one exception. One. Safety valve. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). If you’re a drug defendant and you meet 5 specific criteria, judge can sentence below the mandatory minimum. The five criteria:

• (1) you have 0-1 criminal history points,
• (2) no violence or firearm in the offense,
• (3) nobody died or got seriously hurt,
• (4) you weren’t a leader or organizer,
• (5) you provided all information about the offense to the government.

About 46% of federal drug defendants qualify for safety valve nationally. But criterion #5 is tricky – “provided all information to the government.” That means cooperation. That means telling the U.S. Attorney everything. Which might conflict with your defense. So safety valve is possible, but it requires strategic decisions about cooperation vs. defending yourself.

Mandatory minimums in federal court are harsh. Harsher than Oregon Measure 11. Longer sentences. More crimes covered. And they stack when you have multiple charges. Every charge with a mandatory minimum adds more years. Unlike other attorneys who don’t explain the math, we calculate your actual exposure – every mandatory minimum, every sentencing enhancement, every guideline calculation – so you understand exactly what you’re facing.

Call Spodek Law Group for Federal Defense in Portland

Regardless of how strong the government’s case is, regardless of whether you think you’re guilty or innocent, you need experienced federal criminal defense representation. We’ve defended federal cases in Portland for many, many years. We know the U.S. Attorneys. We know the federal judges. We know the law. We appear at 1000 SW Third Avenue regularly. We’re admitted to U.S. District Court for District of Oregon. We understand the 85% rule, the bail standards, the mandatory minimums, the sentencing guidelines, the federal procedure that’s different than state court.

Federal charges aren’t state charges. Federal court isn’t state court. Don’t hire a state lawyer for a federal case. Don’t use a federal defender handling 200+ cases. Call us. We represent you. Only you. 24/7 when you’re facing federal charges in Portland. Your freedom depends on having a lawyer who knows federal court. We do. We’re here. We fight federal cases. Call now.