Where Will You Serve Prison Time if Convicted on Federal Charges?

(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.)

The other question that clients always have, unfortunately, is where they're going to serve their time if they get a federal sentence. A judge can recommend that a person be allowed to serve their sentence in the same state that they're from and sometimes the bureau of prisons will honor that request; however, sometimes they don't.

The Government May Send You to Another State to Serve Your Sentence

You can be sent to Missouri. I'm trying to think of the farthest one away I had, I think it was in Maine. This was a person who was convicted in Arizona.

Interviewer: Why did they do that?

Acacia Law: It has to do with prisoner population. I think what happened was when they passed the sentencing guidelines, they didn't at the same time say, "Wow, we'd better start building prisons in all 50 states as fast as we can." And I don't think they planned ahead for the dramatic increase it would have on federal inmate populations.

Are Federal Prisons More Lenient Than State Prisons?

Interviewer: How are the federal prisons? I mean, you've heard people say "Club Fed" but are they just as bad as state prisons?

Acacia Law: If I had to pick between the two whether I'd rather do my time federally or in state, I would choose federal. But it is no club. There are no tennis courts. It's not a club, it's a prison, but it's a better-funded prison. It's a prison that's not as overcrowded.

It's a more professional prison. The guards in federal prisons are federal employees. They're better paid. They're better taken care for so you get a better quality of guard.

Interviewer: Are more amenities available to you or is it the same as state prison?

Acacia Law: That I don't really know and it would probably depend on what facility you were in. Now, some of the drawbacks on some federal sentences, the federal government has contracts with it's called "Corrections Corporation of America" (CCA), which is a for-profit prison outfit and they have facilities in Arizona.

Corrections Corporation of America’s Prisons Do Not Have the Same Reputation as Federal Prisons

I'm not sure where else but they're scattered around the country. The CCA prisons are not a place where I would want to serve a federal sentence.

Interviewer: Is that because they have a profit motive so they may not invest in the prisoners as much as other places?

Acacia Law: Exactly, exactly.

Interviewer: Is there a common back-story among the clients that are accused of these crimes?

Receiving a DUI in a National Park Is a Federal Offense

Acacia Law: No, I don't think there really is. Like I said, federal court cases run the gamut from white collar crime all the way through to, for example, if you get cited for a DUI in a National Park, you're going to end up in federal court.

This Statute Applies to Offenses Committed on Any National Land

This applies not only to National Parks, but also National Forests, Bureau of Land Management, and that's a pretty big chunk of real estate, as well as Indian reservations.

The federal government does have jurisdiction over what happens on reservation land.

There was a US magistrate judge in Flagstaff and I jokingly called him "the mobile judge" because he was headquartered in Flagstaff but he would also have cases at Lake Powell.

Do you know Lake Powell? So all the BUI's, boating under the influence, those cases would be charged into US magistrate court and the judge would drive up to Lake Powell and they had a little, portable platform to put him on and a couple of flags to set up court. There's also a federal courthouse at the Grand Canyon, which houses a US magistrate court. It's beautiful, a really nice place.