Independent reporting on federal criminal defense
Section
The federal criminal system is procedurally distinct, and most of what determines an outcome happens before a courtroom is involved. These explainers describe how the machinery actually operates, in the order a person encountering it would meet it.
01
Explainer / Procedure
After a federal indictment, the defendant is arrested or surrenders, appears before a magistrate judge for an initial appearance and arraignment, and is either released on conditions or detained. The case then moves through discovery, pretrial motions, and plea negotiations under a Speedy Trial Act clock, and ends in a guilty plea, a dismissal, or a trial. Most federal cases resolve by plea before trial.
02
Explainer / Investigations
A federal target letter is a written notice from a United States Attorney's Office informing a person that they are a target of a grand jury investigation — meaning prosecutors have substantial evidence linking them to a crime and consider them a putative defendant. It usually advises of the right to counsel and the right against self-incrimination, and often invites testimony or contact from counsel. The correct response is to retain counsel immediately, preserve documents, and not speak to investigators directly.
03
Explainer / Sentencing
The federal sentencing guidelines produce an advisory range by combining an offense level, which starts with a base level for the crime and is adjusted up or down for specific factors, with a criminal history category based on prior convictions. The two values intersect on a sentencing table to yield a range in months. Since United States v. Booker in 2005 the range is advisory, but the court must still calculate it correctly and consider it alongside the statutory factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
04
Explainer / Systems
Federal and state charges differ in who investigates and prosecutes, what procedural rules apply, and how sentences are determined and served. Federal cases are brought by United States Attorneys with federal agency investigators, proceed under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure with grand jury indictment required for felonies, and are sentenced under the advisory federal guidelines with no parole. State cases vary enormously by jurisdiction and often carry parole eligibility and greater diversion availability.
05
Explainer / Procedure
A federal grand jury is a body of 16 to 23 citizens that decides whether there is probable cause to believe a crime was committed and that a particular person committed it. If at least 12 members agree, it returns an indictment. It also serves as an investigative tool, with power to subpoena documents and compel testimony under oath, and it operates in secret without a judge, defense counsel, or the rules of evidence.
06
Explainer / Data
Federal conviction rates exceed 90 percent primarily because the overwhelming majority of defendants plead guilty rather than go to trial, and because federal prosecutors decline weak cases before charging them. Long investigations, grand jury subpoena power, mandatory minimums, and sentencing guidelines that reward acceptance of responsibility and punish trial exposure all push cases toward pleas. The rate reflects case selection and plea structure more than trial performance.