When it comes to sentencing in federal criminal cases, judges can consider various factors, and certainly a person's family circumstances are a relevant consideration.  It's important to remember that even seemingly ordinary family situations can have a significant impact on the court's decision. So, don't lose hope, as your family circumstances could indeed influence the outcome of your federal criminal case.

Federal Judges Are Strict On Allowing Family Issue Departure

I make all kinds of family circumstance arguments, and sometimes I have been successful. Still, one of the biggest problems is that everybody has family circumstances, so if they were to liberally apply this department and lower people's sentences solely based on that, they'd have to do it in many different cases.  So, judges are pretty stingy when it comes to allowing family circumstances to be considered in determining levels of a particular sentence.

An example where I've seen family circumstances used effectively is, let's say that a mother is the only parent alive for a young child, and she commits a federal crime. Her defense attorney argues that because the child needs the mother, there's no father around, and that it's important that the mother is there.

Obviously, you don't want to bring the child into federal prison, so that's probably a pretty good argument for a chance to get the family circumstance departure and get some level shaved off your federal sentence.

However, even in that circumstance, I can see the government arguing, and the court might even say that if there were grandparents or other individuals available to watch the child, that might block the judge from granting a family circumstance departure.

Out of the Ordinary Circumstance

So, you never know when you're going to be able to get this, but to really have a good chance in getting family circumstances, the judge looking at in and giving you two levels off, three levels off, four levels off because of your family circumstances, you're going to need something out of the ordinary. Remember, it's the uniqueness and compelling nature of your family circumstances that can make a real difference in your case.

You need something different than what most people have, because they realize, when they're looking at this family circumstance argument, they're comparing your situation to other families and other people, and if it's the same. Everybody has that family circumstance, you're probably not going to get the departure.

Sick relatives are another example.  You have an informed father, mother, brother, sister, or wife, then you might be able to argue for family circumstances.

The bottom line is this: if you have a family and it would hurt them, let's say financially, for example, if you were put in federal prison for a long time, your attorney is certainly going to include it in the argument.

They may not give you levels off for that specific argument, but that certainly could be looked at in the big scheme of things by the judge. There might be some other circumstances in addition to the family circumstances that add up to giving you some levels off on your sentence, giving you a low-end sentence of the guidelines instead of a high-end sentence of the guidelines.

So, certainly your family circumstances are an important factor for your attorney to vet and discuss with you.  The probation department does a pretty good job in federal criminal cases of getting information related to your family and your loved ones.

They check your house.  They go into your background.  So, they're usually a nice source to present that information to the judge. Of course, your defense attorney can take that information and their sentencing position paper and use it to get you the lowest possible sentence. Rest assured, your defense attorney is well-equipped to present your family circumstances in the most effective way possible.

The bottom line is that when federal judges in criminal cases are considering sentencing, they look at the totality of the circumstances.  They're looking at you as a package, as a person, including your family, work, and criminal history.

Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer

However, they're also considering what you did, how you impacted the community, the seriousness of your conduct, and what the appropriate punishment is.  Therefore, these judges have considerable discretion.  They also hold a great deal of authority.

Suppose you have a family circumstances argument, and you have some interesting information about your family and your circumstances. In that case, you definitely want to give that to your federal criminal defense attorney.  Let them figure out where it fits in and how they're going to use it to get you the lowest possible sentence in your federal criminal case.