Federal Drug Trafficking – 21 U.S.C. § 841
Drug trafficking is a serious federal offense that requires an experienced and well seasoned federal defense attorney. Our lawyers are well experienced, well seasoned, and well known. We are familiar with all the federal drug crime laws and familiar with the federal court process. We will help you if you have been charged with drug trafficking.
If you are caught transporting manufacturing, or selling controlled substances such as marijuana, cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, you will be charged with drug trafficking. 21 U.S.C. § 841 states that it is a crime for any person to knowingly or intentionally manufacture, distribute or possess a controlled substance.
The severity of the penalties for a drug trafficking conviction depend on numerous factors such as: the type of drug trafficked; the amount of drug trafficked; whether the crime was committed domestically or internationally; criminal background and any prior drug convictions.
What Makes Drug Trafficking A Federal Crime?
Drug trafficking is an umbrella term that the federal government uses when people are involved in selling and moving drugs throughout states and across state lines. For example, many people will grow large amounts of marijuana in one state before moving and selling it in a different state.
Several people are involved in an act of drug trafficking, including those who manufacture the drugs, transport the drugs, sell the drugs, and use the drugs.
Over the last few decades, the American government has really gone to war against drugs, and that's not going to change. Many people do not realize how damaging a federal-level drug conviction can be, especially since there are mandatory minimum sentences that will be imposed.
A person who has been convicted of this type of crime will likely have to serve 85 percent of the sentence they receive, will lose their privilege to vote, be disallowed from ever owning or using a weapon, and will be supervised by a probation department.
If someone has been found or pleads guilty to a drug charge, they will have the opportunity to appeal the case. However, once someone pleads to a drug charge and works out a deal with the government, their appellate rights will be waived and it will be very difficult to appeal at that point.
In order to do so, they would have to mount an ineffective assistance of counsel argument, which is a very tough standard to meet.
If someone loses a case at trial, it could certainly be appealed for a number of reasons, such as a bad ruling, the admission of evidence that should have been barred, or the absence of evidence that would have supported their argument. In order to appeal a case, notice of the intent to appeal must be submitted within a certain amount of time, and an opening brief would have to be filed.
In addition, there are numerous procedural rules that apply when it comes to federal appellate work. It will be necessary to obtain a lawyer who specializes in and understands the process of federal appeals. An appellate lawyer will review the entire trial transcript and speak with the original defense lawyer in order to determine whether or not there is a solid basis upon which to argue an appeal.
There are different levels of punishment: there is a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life sentence in prison; a mandatory minimum of 5 years to 40 years sentence in prison; and a sentence of zero to 20 years in prison.
Our federal drug trafficking attorneys are here to contest all the evidence presented against you and to fight against any mandatory minimums the prosecutor may be trying to impose. We are aggressive, persistent, and determined to get you, as our client, the best possible results.
Our duty to you is to help you, direct you, and ultimately fight for you! If you are facing federal drug trafficking charges or any other federal drug crimes, you can not afford to waste any time. Contact our law firm and set up a free face to face consultation.
Distribution or Manufacturing of Drugs at the Federal Level
The feds will come in very harshly and with great power if someone is manufacturing narcotics or any type of drug to a large degree. The main concern they have is public safety, that somehow something is going to blow up and injure people.
Also, when people are manufacturing things, if they don't do it the right way, whatever they create or manufacture could end up killing someone or seriously harming them and then there's of course, people who are addicted to all these different drugs — methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and the plethora of drugs that are coming into the United States and that are also being manufactured within the United States itself.
Related Resources:
- Modern Federal Drug Conspiracy Defense
- How to Defend a Federal Drug Crime Case
- How to Defend a Federal RICO Drug Crime Case
- What's Required to Tie Someone into a Federal Drug Conspiracy?
- Will I Go to Prison If Charged with a Federal Drug Case?
- Federal Drug Conspiracy Charges
- Prescription Drug Fraud
So, obviously, the federal government will get involved if it involves a manufacturing situation where there's a danger to the public.
Typically, they will team-up with state enforcement agents and both will go in, get a search warrant, raid a location and if they find manufacturing equipment, and they find a situation where there's a danger to the public — especially if there's anything near any schools.
They will arrest that person and they will try to do everything they can to take all of their equipment away from them, prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law, put them in federal prison and really teach them a lesson and protect society.
Consult with a Federal Criminal Lawyer
Again, these manufacturing cases are so dangerous and there's so much on the line, that the feds will typically use their most sophisticated prosecutors to deal with these cases and try to put people in prison for a long time. So, if you have a manufacturing case related to drugs, related to anything at the federal level, come and sit down with me.
We'll go over the situation. Maybe there's more than meets the eye. Maybe there's a different version of events as to what's going on, but regardless of the situation, you need someone that is very well versed in criminal defense and knows how to deal with these federal manufacturing cases.