Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys

The Attorney General of the United States designates which drugs are controlled substances. The Criminal Defense Strikeforce defends Federal Drug Cases.

Controlled substances are separated into five schedules. The schedule determines the different regulations that apply to the manufacturing, storing, transportation, and distribution of controlled substances.

The Attorney General weighs the drug's potential for abuse against the drug's potential medical benefits when considering which of the 5 schedules to place a drug.

Schedule I controlled substances are drugs that have a high potential for abuse, have no accepted medical treatment use in the United States, and lack accepted safety for use under medical supervision. Examples of Schedule I controlled substances are heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Federal Criminal Defense

Your federal criminal defense attorney must know how to use the advisory Federal Sentencing Guidelines to your advantage to negotiate with the Assistant United States Attorney.

In cases without mandatory minimum sentences, the district court must impose a sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary to achieve the goal of sentencing.

In Federal Drug Cases with mandatory minimums, Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys fight for sentences below the mandatory minimum prison sentence. These clients quality for a significant downward adjustment known as the safety valve which is different from providing the government substantial assistance under United States Sentencing Guideline 5K1.1.

Gold, Leftwich & Wagner are Federal Defense Attorneys with a broad command of the federal drug sentencing laws, the primary controlled substance guideline - United States Sentencing Guideline 2D1.1 - and the Drug Quantity Table.

Federal criminal courts must consider all mitigating factors, history and special offender characteristics, and all available sentences including probation, home detention or split sentences.

The Federal Guidelines direct probation to apply the greatest offense level. This is critical during the presentence investigation. The Drug Quantity Table does not treat all substances equally.

Federal drug charges involving methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine base (crack) receive harsher punishment. The Drug Equivalency Table Ratio uses marijuana as the standard for all substances.

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1, increased the amount necessary to trigger mandatory minimums, eliminated mandatory minimum applicable to simple possession of crack.

If under a federal criminal investigation for a drug crime, let the Federal criminal defense attorneys with over 80 years of combined experience go to work for you.