A federal criminal charge filed in Raleigh, NC doesn't end up in the Wake County courthouse. It goes to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the United States Attorney, not the county district attorney, presents the case. It's very important to have a federal criminal defense attorney who understands all the unique federal rules and procedures for handling your case. Getting Federal Criminal Defense If you can pay, you can hire a lawyer. If you can't pay, the court itself must appoint you one. The lawyer you need must already have been admitted to practice in the Eastern District of North Carolina and defended people in that federal courthouse. Federal investigations, federal discovery, federal motions, and federal sentencing guidelines are completely different from the rules and guidelines of state court. Without the right lawyer, you can't keep the deadlines, keep evidence out, or contest your sentence. The Process At your first appearance before a magistrate judge, the court will ask you whether you can afford a lawyer and require you to make a financial affidavit using Form CJA 23, which is completed under oath. This allows the court to decide if you qualify for free assistance, and only if the judge finds that you don't have the resources to hire adequate counsel will they'll appoint a Federal Public Defender to represent you. If the Federal Public Defender cannot accept the appointment for some reason, the court turns to a private lawyer drawn from the district's Criminal Justice Act panel, a list of attorneys the court has already screened and approved for this work and whom the government pays at set rates. Getting Your Own Attorney Hiring your own lawyer means you're choosing the person who will speak for you, which is the difference that matters most. A hired lawyer can be brought in while agents are still asking questions, serving you a target letter, or building a case that has not yet been filed, which allows you to get out ahead of the issue. In contrast, if you wait until a lawyer is appointed or supplied by the court, that can't happen until you're already taken into custody or have appeared before a magistrate judge, and that means your lawyer is coming in late. You've lost the chance to stop the train before it even leaves the station. The months before the first hearing are often the period in which the most important statements are made – the statements that will make a huge difference to the outcome of your case – and bargains can be discussed. Get Help in Raleigh, NC If you're under investigation or have already been taken to federal court, the time to move is right now. The sooner we get started defending you, the better, and the stronger your case will be. Contact us at Frasier & Griffin in Raleigh or Durham now to talk with an experienced federal defense attorney.
