Federal Criminal Defense

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

A federal criminal case is not simply a larger version of a state case — it is a different system with its own rules, timeline, and consequences. Federal agents build their investigations quietly, often over months or years. Federal prosecutors carry the resources of the Department of Justice. And federal sentencing follows a rulebook that bears little resemblance to state practice. If you are under federal investigation, have received a target letter, or face a federal charge, the choices you make early — including when to retain a federal criminal defense attorney — can shape everything that follows.

We are Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C., and federal criminal defense is the whole of our practice. Elizabeth Franklin-Best, our principal attorney, practices exclusively in federal courts and agencies. She is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and all twelve United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, and Best Lawyers in America named her the 2026 “Best Lawyer” in Appellate Practice. We bring that appellate-level rigor to every stage of a case, testing the government’s evidence against the U.S. Code, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and the controlling decisions of the federal courts.

This page explains what federal criminal defense involves, how a federal prosecution differs from a state prosecution, and the areas of federal practice we handle—from the first sign of an investigation through trial, sentencing, and appeal. If you are facing a federal matter, we offer a paid, one-hour initial consultation to review your situation and discuss how a defense would take shape.

Quick Answer

Question	Answer
What is federal criminal defense?	It is the representation of people and companies investigated or charged under federal law — in the U.S. district courts, before federal agencies, and on appeal in the U.S. circuit courts and the Supreme Court.
How are federal charges different from state charges?	Federal agencies investigate them, U.S. Attorneys prosecute them, the United States Sentencing Guidelines drive the sentence, and the system has no parole. The exposure usually exceeds that of a comparable state case.
What kinds of cases do you handle?	We defend federal cases with a white-collar core — fraud, tax, public corruption, and money laundering — plus drug, firearms, and sex offenses, and we handle federal sentencing, appeals, and post-conviction relief.
When should I contact a federal criminal defense attorney?	As soon as you suspect federal scrutiny — a target or subject letter, a grand jury subpoena, a search warrant, or an agent’s visit. Early counsel often matters more than counsel retained after an indictment.
What does an initial consultation cost?	The initial consultation is paid — one hour with our team to assess your situation and chart the next steps.

Key Takeaways

• Federal prosecutions differ from state cases in who investigates them, how they proceed, how courts sentence them, and what they put at stake.
• The government usually investigates before it charges, so the period before an indictment is often the most important stage of a federal case.
• Most federal cases end in a plea, yet the result still turns on the defense work done long before anyone enters that plea.
• The United States Sentencing Guidelines drive federal sentencing; judges must calculate and consider the range, but may sentence outside it.
• The federal system has no parole — a defendant serves the sentence in full, with reductions only for good conduct time, First Step Act time credits, and limited other options.
• A defendant can challenge a conviction on direct appeal and, in defined circumstances, through post-conviction motions and petitions.
• The federal government and the states are separate sovereigns, so the same conduct can sometimes draw charges from both.
• Our federal criminal defense practice runs nationwide, and our deepest experience lies in appeals and post-conviction work.

What Is Federal Criminal Defense?

Federal criminal defense is the representation of individuals and organizations that the United States — rather than a state — investigates or charges. Federal crimes appear primarily in Title 18 and Title 21 of the U.S. Code, in the tax provisions of Title 26, and across dozens of regulatory statutes. Federal agencies investigate them: the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, and the inspectors general of federal departments, among others. Assistant United States Attorneys in the ninety-four federal judicial districts, or the litigating divisions of the Department of Justice, then prosecute them.

A federal criminal defense attorney works across the whole arc of a case. The work ideally begins during the investigation — responding to a subpoena, managing a proffer, or persuading prosecutors not to charge at all. It runs through the charging decision, the arraignment, pretrial litigation, and either a negotiated resolution or a trial. And it does not stop at sentencing: a defendant can carry a federal conviction to the courts of appeals and, in the right circumstances, attack it through post-conviction proceedings. We treat federal criminal defense as a single, continuous strategy, not a series of discrete events.

How Federal Charges Differ From State Charges

People who have been through a state case are often surprised by how different a federal prosecution feels. The differences are not cosmetic. They shape every federal criminal defense strategy, at every step.

The investigation comes first

A state arrest frequently precedes the investigation. Federal cases usually run the other way. By the time the government charges a federal defendant, agents have often spent months or years gathering records, interviewing witnesses, and presenting evidence to a grand jury. That long runway creates danger — but it also creates opportunity. A defense that engages early can shape the record, correct the government’s assumptions, and sometimes change the charging decision before a prosecutor makes it.

The resources are different

The Department of Justice, federal agents, forensic accountants, and data analysts stand behind a federal prosecution. Federal prosecutors tend to bring cases they expect to win and to charge them carefully. That reality does not make a case unwinnable, but it does demand an equally rigorous federal criminal defense — one that tests the government’s evidence, its methods, and its theory rather than assuming any of them hold.

Sentencing follows its own rulebook

Federal courts calculate sentences under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, a detailed framework that converts the facts of an offense and a defendant’s history into an advisory range. Since United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), a judge must calculate and consider that range but may sentence outside it; the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) ultimately govern. Federal sentencing also sweeps in “relevant conduct” under Guideline § 1B1.3 — conduct the government never charged, or dismissed in a plea, can still raise the range. And the federal system abolished parole for offenses committed after 1987. A defendant serves the sentence imposed, reduced only by good-conduct credit of up to 54 days per year under 18 U.S.C. § 3624(b) and, for eligible prisoners, the earned time credits the First Step Act created.

Two sovereigns, two sets of charges

The federal government and the states are separate sovereigns. Under the dual-sovereignty doctrine, both can sometimes prosecute the same conduct — a state charge does not always bar a later federal one. That principle makes it important to learn early which government is investigating and whether more than one may become involved.

Applied insight. In federal practice, the most consequential work often happens before a case is ever filed. Once a grand jury returns an indictment, the government has committed to a theory in public. The window to influence whether — and how — a person is charged is the investigative stage, and it tends to close quietly, without notice.

What Has Changed in Federal Criminal Law (2023–2026)

Federal criminal law does not stand still, and a defense built on last decade’s law is built on sand. The past three years produced an unusual run of Supreme Court decisions cutting back the government’s broadest theories, a series of Sentencing Guidelines amendments that favor many defendants, and a visible reordering of Department of Justice priorities. We track each of these developments because each one creates openings — in motions, in negotiations, at sentencing, and in post-conviction litigation.

The Supreme Court has narrowed key federal statutes

The Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected expansive readings of the federal fraud and corruption laws. In Ciminelli v. United States, 598 U.S. 306 (2023), the Court held that wire fraud protects only traditional property interests and struck down the “right to control” theory. In Dubin v. United States, 599 U.S. 110 (2023), it held that aggravated identity theft under 18 U.S.C. § 1028A applies only when the misuse of another person’s identity sits at the crux of the offense, not at the edge of a billing dispute. In Snyder v. United States, 603 U.S. 1 (2024), it held that 18 U.S.C. § 666 reaches bribes, not after-the-fact gratuities. In Fischer v. United States, 603 U.S. 480 (2024), it confined obstruction charges under § 1512(c)(2) to conduct that impairs evidence for an official proceeding. And in Thompson v. United States, 604 U.S. 408 (2025), it held that a statement that is misleading but true is not a “false statement” under 18 U.S.C. § 1014.

Not every decision favors the defense. Kousisis v. United States, 605 U.S. 114 (2025), upheld wire fraud convictions on a fraudulent-inducement theory even though the defendants intended no net economic loss. In the firearms area, United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024), upheld the ban on firearm possession by persons subject to qualifying domestic-violence restraining orders, while Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821 (2024), required that a jury — not a judge — find that prior convictions occurred on separate occasions before the Armed Career Criminal Act’s fifteen-year minimum applies. A current federal defense has to know which charges these decisions reach, which arguments they preserve, and which convictions they call into question.

The Sentencing Guidelines keep moving

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has adopted amendments to the Guidelines every year since 2023, and several matter enormously in practice. Amendment 821, effective November 1, 2023, reduced criminal-history “status points” and created a two-level reduction for certain zero-point offenders — and because the Commission made those changes retroactive, eligible prisoners can still seek reductions under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Amendment 826, effective November 1, 2024, removed acquitted conduct from the Guidelines calculation. A further amendment package took effect on November 1, 2025. We evaluate every matter — including closed ones — against the current Manual, because yesterday’s range is not always today’s.

Enforcement priorities have shifted

Since early 2025, the Department of Justice has reordered its enforcement priorities toward immigration offenses, drug-cartel and transnational-crime cases, and national-security matters, while routing much corporate enforcement through civil tools. Charging directives have also pressed prosecutors toward the most serious readily provable offenses, including charges that carry mandatory minimums. For anyone under investigation, these shifts change the practical calculus — which agencies are active, which theories prosecutors favor, and where declination arguments are likely to land.

Applied insight. Decisions like Ciminelli, Snyder, and Fischer do more than shape new cases — they can unsettle old ones. When the Supreme Court narrows a statute, people convicted under the broader reading may have grounds for relief, and people under investigation gain arguments that did not exist a year earlier. The defense that reads the advance sheets sees those openings first.

Federal Crimes We Defend

Our federal criminal defense practice has a white-collar core and reaches across the federal offenses we regularly defend. Each area below links to its own detailed guide.

White-collar and financial crimes

White-collar prosecutions are our central focus. They turn on intent, on documents, and on how the government measures loss, and they reward a defense that engages the evidence in detail:

• White-Collar Crime Defense — the firm’s anchor practice, covering financial and corporate offenses of every kind.
• Federal Fraud Defense — wire, mail, bank, securities, healthcare, and other federal fraud charges.
• Federal Tax Crimes — tax evasion, false returns, and related criminal tax matters.
• Public Corruption & Bribery — bribery, honest-services fraud, and related charges.
• Money Laundering Defense — money laundering, structuring, and Bank Secrecy Act offenses.

Drug, firearms, and sex offenses

We also defend serious non-white-collar federal charges, many of which carry mandatory minimum sentences and demand early, careful work:

• Federal Drug Crimes — trafficking, conspiracy, and distribution offenses.
• Federal Firearms & Weapons Offenses — felon-in-possession and related charges.
• Federal Sex Offenses — federal sex-offense statutes, defended with a clinical, factual approach.

Process, sentencing, and what comes after

Beyond specific charges, we guide clients through every later stage of the federal system — including the areas where our experience runs deepest:

• Federal Criminal Process & Investigations — what to expect from investigation through trial.
• Federal Sentencing — Guidelines calculation, mitigation, and sentencing advocacy.
• Federal Criminal Appeals — direct appeals from a federal conviction or sentence.
• Post-Conviction Relief — Section 2255 motions, habeas corpus, and related remedies.
• Compassionate Release — motions to reduce a sentence for extraordinary and compelling reasons.
• Presidential Pardons, Clemency & Commutation — clemency petitions and commutation requests.
• Collateral Consequences — supervised release, registration, and the lasting effects of a conviction.
• Federal Courts Where We Practice — our reach across the circuit and district courts nationwide.

The Federal Criminal Process, Step by Step

A federal case moves through a recognizable sequence, even though no two cases look alike. Understanding that sequence helps a client see where a defense can make a difference.

A case usually begins with an investigation — a grand jury subpoena, a search warrant, an agent’s interview request, or a target or subject letter that names a person’s status. The charging decision follows: a grand jury may return an indictment, or the government may proceed by information when a defendant agrees. Charges lead to an initial appearance and arraignment and to a decision on pretrial release or detention under the Bail Reform Act. Pretrial litigation then tests the government’s case through discovery, motions to suppress evidence, and motions that challenge the charges themselves. The Speedy Trial Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3161, generally requires trial to begin within seventy days of the indictment or first appearance, although excludable delay stretches that clock in most cases.

Nearly all federal cases end in a negotiated plea — in fiscal year 2025, 98 percent of sentenced federal cases resolved by guilty plea, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The remainder proceed to trial, where the government must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt to a unanimous jury. Both paths lead to sentencing — and the sentence, far more than the conviction itself, is often what a client cares about most. A federal criminal defense lawyer who treats sentencing as an afterthought has misunderstood federal practice.

Federal Sentencing: What Is at Stake

Federal sentencing is a process, not a moment. It starts with an advisory Guidelines range, built from an offense level and a criminal-history category. A probation officer prepares a presentence investigation report that proposes the calculation and assembles the facts that the judge will rely on. We scrutinize that report closely — objecting when the calculation is wrong and presenting the mitigating facts that the report omits.

The judge then weighs the statutory sentencing factors: the nature of the offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the need for deterrence, and the goal of avoiding unwarranted disparities, among others. A well-built sentencing presentation, supported by a thorough sentencing memorandum, can separate very different outcomes within — or below — the advisory range.

Sentencing law is also moving. Recent Guidelines amendments trimmed criminal-history status points, added a two-level reduction for certain zero-point offenders, and removed acquitted conduct from the calculation — and because the criminal-history changes apply retroactively, some people already serving federal sentences can move for a reduction now. We fold each year’s amendments into our sentencing and post-conviction analysis as a matter of course.

Applied insight. In white-collar cases, one figure drives the federal sentence more often than any other: the loss amount. How the Guidelines define, measure, and dispute loss frequently matters more to the final sentence than the label on the charge.

Appeals and Post-Conviction Relief

A conviction or sentence does not always end the matter. On direct appeal, a circuit court reviews the trial record for legal error — in the evidentiary rulings, the jury instructions, the conduct of the trial, or the sentence itself. Separately, post-conviction relief — including a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 — can raise issues that fall outside the trial record, such as ineffective assistance of counsel or a constitutional violation discovered later.

Appellate and post-conviction work is our particular strength, and it rewards experience: the rules are technical and the standard of review often decides a case before a court reaches the merits. The deadlines are unforgiving, too. A notice of appeal in a federal criminal case is generally due within fourteen days of judgment under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b), and a § 2255 motion generally faces a one-year limitations period. Missing either can forfeit review entirely.

Applied insight. Trial work shapes the appeal. A court of appeals generally reviews only the issues the trial record preserved, and an unpreserved issue faces a far harder standard. Counsel lays the groundwork for a strong appeal long before anyone files a notice of appeal.

Why Work With Elizabeth Franklin-Best, P.C.?

Federal cases are all we handle, at every stage and in every district. Elizabeth Franklin-Best, our principal attorney, is admitted to the United States Supreme Court and to each of the twelve United States Circuit Courts of Appeals, holds admissions in several United States District Courts, and appears pro hac vice in federal district courts nationwide. Best Lawyers in America selected her as the 2026 “Best Lawyer” in Appellate Practice, Chambers USA 2026 ranks her for Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations, and her book, Reversing Your Criminal Conviction: Develop Your Winning Strategy, distills the appellate discipline that anchors this firm. Our team pairs that courtroom experience with deep knowledge of federal procedure and federal prison policy.

That discipline shapes how we defend. Because our practice runs from the first subpoena through certiorari, we build every case with the end in mind — preserving issues at each stage, measuring every decision against the current state of the law, and preparing sentencing and appeal as part of the defense rather than as its aftermath. No honest lawyer promises a result. What we promise is the work: a defense investigated in fact, grounded in current law, and built for the client in front of us.

Talk With a Federal Criminal Defense Attorney

Wherever your federal matter stands — a quiet investigation, a pending indictment, an approaching sentencing, or a conviction you want reviewed — timing matters twice: once for the deadlines, and once for the openings the law’s recent movement has created. In a paid, one-hour initial consultation, we will give you a candid assessment of where your case sits and what a defense would look like.

Frequently Asked Questions About Federal Criminal Defense