Federal Defense Stories

Independent reporting on federal criminal defense

Section

Case Reports

Each report pairs a documented federal disposition with explanatory reporting on how that category of charge works: the governing statutes, the elements the government must prove, how such cases typically proceed, and what the outcome signifies procedurally. Client names are removed and no case numbers are published.

  • Case Report / District of Columbia

    A Federal Capitol-Entry Charge, Dismissed in the District of Columbia

    The prosecutions arising from the events of January 6, 2021 became the largest single investigation in the history of the Justice Department, and most of the resulting charges were petty offenses rather than felonies. In one 2021 matter in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, a federal capitol-entry charge was dismissed. This report explains what that category of charge requires the government to prove and what a dismissal means procedurally.

    2021 |Federal capitol-entry charge |Dismissed|

  • Case Report / Southern District of Texas

    Securities Fraud and Aiding-and-Abetting Charges, Dismissed in the Southern District of Texas

    Federal securities fraud prosecutions turn on state of mind, and aiding-and-abetting theories extend that inquiry to people who did not make the statements at issue. In one 2018 matter in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, securities fraud and aiding-and-abetting charges were dismissed. This report explains what the government must establish in that category of case and what a dismissal resolves.

    2018 |Securities fraud / aiding and abetting |Dismissed|

  • Case Report / Southern District of Texas

    A Medicare Fraud Prosecution, Dismissed in the Southern District of Texas

    Federal health care fraud enforcement is driven by billing data, and the Southern District of Texas has been one of its most active venues for more than a decade. In one 2017 matter there, a Medicare fraud charge was dismissed. This report explains how these prosecutions are built, what the government must prove, and what a dismissal resolves.

    2017 |Medicare fraud |Dismissed|

  • Case Report / Western District of Texas

    Conspiracy and Money Laundering Counts, Acquitted at Trial in the Western District of Texas

    Federal acquittals are statistically rare, and an acquittal on money laundering counts is rarer still, because those charges depend on tracing proceeds back to a proven underlying crime. In one 2012 matter in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, conspiracy and money laundering charges ended in acquittal at trial. This report explains what those charges require and why a jury verdict of not guilty is final in a way no other disposition is.

    2012 |Conspiracy, money laundering |Acquitted at trial|