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Are There a High Percentage of Attorneys That Are Certified to Work in Federal Court?

(The content below was transcribed from an interview done with Acacia Law. We think you'll find it much easier
and more enjoyable to read this way.)

Interviewer: What percentage of attorneys get the additional licensing to do federal crimes and would you say it's pretty low?

Acacia Law: No, it's probably pretty high but the number that actually practice in federal court is probably not that high. This is because typically what happens is people graduate from law school, go to work for a law firm and the law firm says, "Hey, we need you to be licensed in US District Court. Send in your application."

So usually within your first two or three years after law school you've submitted your applications and been admitted to these various courts. Whether you actually practice there, that's a different story. 

I don't know how many attorneys in Arizona are licensed just in the US District Court. I'm sure there's some publication that lists how many. I know you can go to the court websites and it will list a directory of attorneys that are admitted to practice in federal court.

What Should You Ask the Attorney You Are Considering to Defend Your Federal Case?

Interviewer: An even better question would be, first of all, "Are you licensed to practice in federal court?" Secondly, "Do you have a substantial number of cases that you've tried there? Then you'd know, okay, this person really has the experience I'm looking for.

Acacia Law: Those questions would supply the exact information you need to make your decision.

Can You Expect to Be Offered a Plea Bargain in a Federal Case?

Interviewer: In the federal cases, does the federal government operate differently than the state governments do? Do they tend to plea bargain more or less? Do they push for trial more? Have you seen any differences in behavior?

Acacia Law: Yes, I have. The majority of the federal cases are resolved through plea bargains. So in order to do a good job for your client, the first thing you're doing is investigating what plea-bargains may be available. This is because the feds will charge them with everything they can possibly think of because they want to push the guidelines as high as possible.

So they want to really terrify the defendant because then they come back and they offer you a plea of some kind that would be less than what you would be looking at under the guidelines.

The Federal Prosecutor May Try to Pursue More Than One Charge Initially

Interviewer: So they try to stack as many charges as possible even when it may not make sense because they could always backpedal a little bit and still get what they want on it.

Acacia Law: Exactly. So on the front end it comes off real heavy. When you're dealing with federal cases, what you need to make sure you do, as an attorney, is you need to make it very clear to the US Attorney's Office that, look, we are ready and willing to go to trial. You don't scare us. We'll go to trial if we have to, because that message needs to be sent.

Otherwise, when it comes time to negotiate a plea, the US Attorney has to believe that you're ready and willing to go to trial and make them work for their conviction, that you're going to make them spend resources to get that conviction, because that gives you some leverage to negotiate a plea that's actually in your client's benefit, as opposed to the first plea offer they present.

Does the Federal Government Have an Advantage in These cases?

Interviewer: Is it often a hopeless situation where they pursue as many charges as they can against your client? How hard is it to prevail in a federal case versus a state one?

Acacia Law: That's hard to say because it is so case specific. There are certain cases in federal court that I'm sure that are probably much more difficult to deal with than they would be in state court. The exposure to the person is so much higher because the resources the federal government have compared to a state law enforcement agency is much greater and they will utilize every one of those resources.

Interviewer: I guess they have unlimited resources essentially, is that right?

Acacia Law: Pretty much.