Federal Courts Where We Defend Criminal Cases

Deandra Grant Law defends federal criminal cases throughout Texas and beyond. Federal court is a separate system from the state and county courts, with its own prosecutors, judges, rules, and sentencing — and the stakes are usually higher. Our federal practice is led by attorney James Lee Bright, who holds one of the broadest federal-court admission profiles of any criminal defense attorney in Texas.

Lee is personally admitted to all four federal districts in Texas — Northern, Eastern, Southern, and Western — as well as the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States. That means wherever in Texas your federal case is assigned, and wherever an appeal may be heard, he is already admitted and ready to represent you — with no pro hac vice applications, no delays, and no jurisdictional limitations.

The federal courts where we practice

Northern District of Texas

North Texas — our home court. Courthouses in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, San Angelo, and Wichita Falls. It covers 100 counties across North Texas and the Panhandle and runs one of the busiest federal criminal dockets in the country — drug trafficking, firearms, fraud, immigration, and child-exploitation cases. The Dallas and Fort Worth divisions handle most criminal matters, and the district is home to a Healthcare Fraud Strike Force and active DEA and ATF task forces. The Dallas Division covers Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall counties.

Eastern District of Texas

East Texas & DFW. Courthouses in Sherman, Plano, Tyler, Beaumont, Marshall, Texarkana, and Lufkin. Covers East Texas, and its Sherman and Plano divisions reach much of the Dallas-Fort Worth area — many Collin County and Denton County residents fall within the Eastern District, so a federal case from the northern suburbs is often heard in Plano or Sherman rather than Dallas. Active dockets in drug trafficking, firearms, fraud, and immigration.

Southern District of Texas

South Texas. Courthouses in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, Laredo, McAllen, and Victoria. Covers 43 counties across South and Southeast Texas and typically prosecutes more federal criminal cases than almost any other district, with heavy drug-trafficking, immigration, money-laundering, and firearms dockets in the border divisions.

Western District of Texas

Central & West Texas. Courthouses in San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Del Rio, Midland-Odessa, Waco, and Pecos. Covers 68 counties across Central, West, and South Texas. The border divisions carry heavy drug-trafficking and immigration caseloads, with a growing financial-crime docket in Austin and San Antonio. The Waco Division covers McLennan, Bell, Coryell, and the surrounding counties.

U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Washington, D.C. One of the highest-profile federal trial courts in the country. Attorney James Lee Bright tried a three-month federal trial in the District of Columbia that drew national and international coverage — real trial experience, not a nominal admission.

U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

New Orleans. The federal appeals court for Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It hears criminal appeals from all four Texas federal districts, so admission here means we can carry a case from pretrial motions through trial, sentencing, and appeal without handing it off.

Supreme Court of the United States

Washington, D.C. The highest level of federal court admission available to any attorney. The Court hears very few criminal cases each term, but admission reflects standing in the federal bar and the ability to pursue a case to the end of the road.