Federal Criminal Defense
Federal conspiracy, sentencing guidelines, proffer sessions, grand jury investigations, and asset forfeiture — and the critical differences between state and federal prosecution. Written by attorneys who practice in federal courts across Texas.
Latest in Federal Criminal Defense
Rico v. United States: A Quiet but Real Limit on How Long Federal Supervised Release Can Last
The Bock Sentencing: Why She Received 500 Months in Federal Prison
On May 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Aimee Bock, the founder and executive director of the Minnesota nonprofit Feeding Our Future, to 500 months in federal prison (just over…
Hemani: SCOTUS Rules Against Stripping Marijuana Users of Their Gun Rights
Pending decision notice: The Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Hemani on March 2, 2026. A decision is expected by late June or early July 2026. This blog reflects…
PPP and EIDL Fraud Prosecutions in 2026: Where These Cases Stand in Texas
The Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program distributed more than a trillion dollars in pandemic relief funding between 2020 and 2022. Federal prosecutors have been working through the resulting…
Caught with a Gun in Your Carry-On at DFW? It’s a Federal Case.
DFW International Airport intercepted 378 firearms at its security checkpoints in 2024 which is the second highest total of any airport in the United States (behind only Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson). Texas is the…
Smarter Sentencing: Why Mandatory Minimums in Federal Drug Cases Are Back in the National Spotlight
In early March 2026, Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) reintroduced two pieces of bipartisan criminal justice legislation: the Smarter Sentencing Act and its companion, the Smarter Pretrial Detention for…
Ghost Guns and NFA Firearms in Texas: What’s Legal, What’s Not, and What Changed in 2025
Few areas of firearms law have changed as rapidly as the rules governing homemade firearms and NFA-regulated weapons. A Supreme Court decision in March 2025 settled one major dispute about ghost gun…
Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, and Mail Fraud: What’s the Difference and Why It Matters
Federal fraud prosecutions almost always involve multiple statutes charged together. A scheme that uses email communications, involves a bank, and includes documents sent through the mail can produce wire fraud counts, bank…
Federal Gun Crime Charges in Texas: The Statutes, the Mandatory Minimums, and Why Federal Prosecution Changes Everything
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist A gun crime that begins as a state case in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, or McLennan County can become a federal case…
SCOTUS vs. the Federal Drug-Gun Law: What “Unlawful User” Really Means — and Why It Matters for Your Case
By Deandra Grant, J.D., M.S. (Pharmaceutical Science), ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist On March 2, 2026, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Hemani which is a case that could fundamentally…