Criminal Defense Lawyers

Union County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

Union County Federal Criminal Defense Lawyers

Union County has its own criminal courthouse in Elizabeth. State charges from all 21 municipalities get processed at 2 Broad Street. But when federal charges come, Elizabeth defendants don’t stay in Elizabeth. They go to Newark. The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building at 50 Walnut Street. A different city. A different county. A completely different system. Elizabeth might be a major city – but its federal defendants appear in an even bigger city for prosecution. Eight counties feeding into one federal courthouse. Urban to urban. City to city.

Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to explain how federal criminal prosecution actually works when you’re from Union County – the Newark Vicinage reality that takes Union County defendants to Essex County for federal court, the gang prosecution unit that specifically targets organizations operating in your county, and the 97% plea rate that shapes every federal defense strategy. Todd Spodek has represented clients facing federal charges throughout New Jersey and understands that Union County federal cases present challenges that state cases in Elizabeth simply don’t.

Here’s the paradox that defines federal prosecution for Union County residents. State court is local – Elizabeth handles cases from all 21 Union County municipalities. Federal court isn’t. The same Elizabeth resident who appears at 2 Broad Street for state charges appears at 50 Walnut Street in Newark for federal charges. Different building. Different city. Different prosecutors with different priorities and different procedures. The Early Disposition approach that defines Union County state prosecution doesn’t exist in federal court.

Federal Court in Newark – Elizabeth to Newark

Heres what Union County residents dont understand until there facing federal charges. State Superior Court is in Elizabeth – at least thats in Union County. Federal court is in Newark – Essex County. Different county entirely. Different courthouse. Completly different system. Elizabeth is the county seat of Union County. Federal prosecution happens in the county seat of Essex County.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Building at 50 Walnut Street in Newark handles federal matters for the entire Newark Vicinage. Thats eight counties feeding into one courthouse – Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and northern Middlesex. Union County is just one of eight. Your federal case competes with defendants from across northern New Jersey for court time and attention.

Think about what that means for someone from Elizabeth or Plainfield or any other Union County municipality. State court keeps you in Elizabeth. Federal court takes you to Newark. Every hearing. Every status conference. Every court appearance in a different city. The urban county prosecutes its federal defendants in a different urban county entirely.

Union County has no federal courthouse. Federal prosecution for Union County residents means Newark – not Elizabeth. Understanding that geography is the first step toward understanding how federal cases actualy work for Union County defendants.

The Newark Vicinage – Eight Counties, One Courthouse

Heres the irony that shapes federal prosecution for Union County defendants. Elizabeth is a major city. Population 137,298. The largest city in Union County. But Elizabeth defendants dont appear in Elizabeth for federal charges – they appear in Newark, an even larger city. Urban to urban prosecution. City residents traveling to a different city for court.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of New Jersey makes prosecution decisions independantly. No state input. No county influence. Prosecutor William Daniels Union County office – the one with the Early Disposition approach – has no jurisdiction over federal cases. The evidence his office collected might transfer to federal prosecutors. But the prosecution itself is entirely federal.

This is the system revelation that changes everything. Federal prosecutors decide what cases to bring, what charges to file, what plea offers to make. There incentive structure is completly different from state prosecutors. State prosecutors in Union County use Early Disposition to resolve cases efficiently. Federal prosecutors dont operate under that constraint. They bring fewer cases – but they bring cases designed to result in severe consequences.

Appeals from the Newark Vicinage go to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. If your case gets appealed, it moves to yet another city. The federal system operates on federal geography, not Union County boundaries.

When State Gang Cases Become Federal RICO

Heres the hidden connection that Union County defendants need to understand. The gang activity that defines serious crime in Union County – the Rollin’ 60s Crips, the Sex Money Murder Bloods, MS-13 – creates federal exposure that state prosecution dosent. State court handles individual crimes. Federal court handles organizational crime. The RICO statute lets federal prosecutors charge entire organizations, not just individual defendants.

State evidence gathered by Prosecutor Daniels office can be shared with federal prosecutors through formal channels. The Violent Crime Initiative – formed in 2017 – coordinates federal-state prosecution across the region. Union County is part of that coordination. When state investigations reveal gang organization, federal adoption becomes possible. Your state gang case can become a federal RICO case based on evidence the state already collected.

The consequence cascade works like this. State arrest for gang-related activity. Evidence review. Investigation reveals organizational structure. Federal prosecutors review the case. Federal RICO adoption. Now your facing federal charges in Newark – charges that can carry life sentences. MS-13 members from New Jersey received life imprisonment for racketeering. The street-level arrest triggers federal consequences that state court cant impose.

In one case, MS-13 members used phones from inside the Union County Jail to order the murder of three witnesses. They coordinated violent crime from county lockup. The federal charges that resulted carried penalties far beyond what state prosecution could achieve. Gang affiliation creates federal exposure that transforms outcomes.

The Organized Crime/Gangs Unit

Heres the system revelation that defines federal gang prosecution. The U.S. Attorneys Office operates an Organized Crime/Gangs Unit that specificly targets the organizations operating in Union County. Bloods. Crips. Latin Kings. MS-13. These arent just priorities – there the specific targets of a dedicated prosecution unit.

The unit focuses on federal interest murder, narcotics trafficking, gun trafficking, carjackings, and robberies. These are the crimes that originate in Union Countys urban areas. Elizabeth. Plainfield. Rahway. The gang activity that generates state cases also generates federal interest. When the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit takes a case, the prosecution resources are substantial and the potential sentences are severe.

In 2021, four Elizabeth men were charged federally for conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Not state charges in Elizabeth. Federal charges in Newark. The federal system handles drug trafficking as organizational crime – not just individual transactions. The consequence is dramatically increased exposure. Federal drug sentences carry mandatory minimums that state sentences often dont.

In 2025, thirty defendants were charged in a Newark fentanyl trafficking operation. The Union County Prosecutors Office collaborated on the investigation. State and federal prosecution work together – with federal prosecution carrying enhanced consequences. The coordination means state activity feeds federal cases.

The 97% Reality in Federal Court

Heres the uncomfortable truth that defines federal criminal defense regardless of which county you live in. Approximately 97% of federal defendants plead guilty. Only 2-3% of federal cases actualy go to trial. The rest negotiate. This isnt becuase federal defendants are more guilty – its becuase the federal system is designed to make trial catastophically risky.

Why does this happen? Becuase federal prosecutors only bring cases there confident they can win. The conviction rate at federal trials exceeds 85%. If you go to trial and lose, youve rejected the plea offer – and the sentence will reflect that. The “trial penalty” – the difference between pleading guilty and going to trial and losing – can be years of additional prison time.

Federal prosecutors hold almost all the leverage in plea negotiations. They decide what charges to bring. They control the evidence. They make the initial offer. The question for defendants isnt “can we win at trial” – its “can we afford to try.” The math is brutal.

Federal sentencing operates on the 85% rule. Theres no federal parole. When a judge says 10 years, you serve at least 8.5 years. When they say 20 years, you serve 17. When they say life – as they have for MS-13 racketeering defendants – you serve life. State sentencing has parole eligibility. Federal time is different. The number you hear is basicly the number you serve.

What Federal Defense in Union County Requires

Defending federal cases involving Union County defendants requires understanding both the geographic reality and the gang prosecution focus. Newark is not Elizabeth. The Organized Crime/Gangs Unit specifically targets organizations operating in Union County. The VCI coordinates federal-state prosecution. Defense strategy must account for factors that work completly differently from Union County Superior Court.

At Spodek Law Group, we understand that Union County federal defense requires different skills then state defense. The geographic reality means traveling to Newark for every appearance. The legal reality means navigating federal rules, federal sentencing guidelines, and federal plea negotiations that work nothing like the Early Disposition approach in Elizabeth.

Todd Spodek has represented clients from Union County who assumed federal court would operate like state court. Its not. Different prosecutors. Different procedures. Different consequences. The strategies that work at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth dont transfer to 50 Walnut Street in Newark. Federal practice requires federal experience.

The cooperation decision requires careful analysis. Federal prosecutors offer sentence reductions for cooperation – but cooperation means complete disclosure. Everything you know. Everyone involved. Information that might implicate gang associates, business partners, friends. In gang cases, cooperation can mean testifying against co-defendants. The benefit calculation isnt simple. Neither is the decision.

If your facing federal charges in Union County, the time to get federal-experienced representation is now. Not after indictment in Newark. Not after your first appearance. Now. Early intervention can change everything about how your case develops.

Call Spodek Law Group at 212-300-5196. We handle federal cases in the Newark Vicinage and throughout New Jersey. The consultation is confidential. The advice is real. And in a county were federal court takes you to Newark and the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit is paying attention, having representation that understands both the geography and the gang prosecution reality is exactly what seperates outcomes.

The federal system will continue operating wheather you understand it or not. The Newark Vicinage will continue processing cases from eight counties including Union. The 97% plea rate will continue shaping federal defense. Your choice is wheather to face that system with representation that knows how federal prosecution actualy works – or without.