If you're on our website, it's because you're staring down something serious – federal charges that could change the direction of your life forever. Make no mistake, federal court in Austin isn’t a small‑town courthouse hearing. It’s unforgiving. It’s fast, and it’s stacked against defendants from the start. The U.S. Attorney’s Office doesn’t waste time filing weak cases. By the time you hear your name on that indictment list, odds are the DEA, the IRS-CI, the FBI and sometimes even Homeland Security have already spent months – maybe years – building a file on you. What we do is step into that storm and force the government to prove every single piece, line by line, statute by statute.

Recently in Austin, federal prosecutors rolled out an indictment involving 19 alleged members of a cocaine trafficking organization tied into Mexico and bulk cash smuggling corridors. These aren’t drive‑by prosecutions, they are years of electronic surveillance, cooperating witnesses, Title III wiretaps under 18 U.S.C. § 2516, and financial investigations pulled straight from IRS criminal division playbooks. You have to understand, federal prosecutions don’t resemble state court narcotics cases at all. It is a chess match where every piece is moving three steps ahead, and unless your defense team understands the Sentencing Guidelines manual, conspiracy law under 21 U.S.C. § 846, and the nuances of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure – you’ve already lost before you took the field.

Our firm brings over 50 years of combined experience. We’re not just technically strong lawyers – we’re known nationally for handling impossible cases. Todd Spodek, who handled the Anna Delvey trial that grabbed Netflix attention, leads from the front. We've managed courtroom chaos and media frenzy at the same time. And here’s the difference: we aren’t loyal to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, or the media, or political pressure. We’re only loyal to one thing: you, the client.

What Counts As A Federal Crime in Austin?

People ask constantly: *why is my case federal?* The answer isn’t geography. It doesn’t matter if the incident happened down the block in Austin. It matters whether the conduct touches a federal statute, involves interstate wires, banks, federal agencies, or triggers statutes like:

• 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) – being a felon in possession of a firearm
• 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 & 846 – drug distribution and conspiracy statutes
• 18 U.S.C. § 1343 – wire fraud, covering everything from healthcare billing schemes to tech‑startup scams
• 18 U.S.C. § 1956 – money laundering and financial structuring offenses
• 8 U.S.C. § 1326 – re‑entry after removal, the statute governing so many ICE led prosecutions

And here in Austin, the FBI, DEA, ATF, and ICE work in a joint pipeline with local law enforcement. It is absolutely routine to see a simple local arrest by Austin PD balloon overnight into an ATF federal gun charge or a DEA narcotics task force indictment. One day you're in Travis County jail, the next day you’re before a federal magistrate locked up under the Bail Reform Act of 1984. That’s the reality, and it’s brutal if you don’t have someone in your corner who knows these systems cold.

The Federal Courthouse in Austin – What Really Happens There

The Austin federal courthouse is physically part of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. But beyond the building, what happens inside is unlike anything defendants used to county courtrooms expect. The judges are federal Article III judges appointed for life. Hearings start on time. No delays because the docket is “too crowded.” Discovery moves on a schedule. Motions deadlines are non‑negotiable. Every mistake by a defense lawyer in federal court has consequences – not next month, but right then, that day. You walk into arraignment before a Magistrate Judge, you learn fast that bail is not about posting a bond down the street. Bail is a deep statutory analysis under 18 U.S.C. § 3142, and prosecutors routinely argue for detention claiming danger to the community or risk of flight.

Sentencing is another shock to defendants. Everything revolves around the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The court calculates an offense level, criminal history category, and enhancements based on specific conduct. Did a firearm appear? Was the alleged role leadership? Were there vulnerable victims? – all those stack points onto the Guidelines range. We had a case where the government calculated 188-235 months, but after aggressive argument and mitigation, the judge varied downward to less than half that. We've handled cases that… look, the point is we win battles inside a system where prosecutors try to convince you there's no hope.

Federal Charges Commonly Prosecuted In Austin

• Drug Conspiracies – from methamphetamine labs to interstate cocaine trafficking, prosecuted under Title 21. Mandatory minimums kick in at 5, 10, 20 years depending on weight.
• Firearms Offenses – everything from felon in possession, straw purchases under 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(6), to trafficking. The ATF loves Austin task force prosecutions.
• White Collar Crimes – wire fraud, bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344, tax evasion under 26 U.S.C. § 7201. Executives in Austin’s booming tech and healthcare scene are under a magnifying glass with IRS-CI agents around every corner.
• Immigration Cases – ICE removals and re‑entry prosecutions under 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Many times individuals are simply transferred directly from Travis County jail to federal custody.
• RICO – Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. § 1962 when the government alleges criminal enterprises in Austin tied to gangs or business organizations.

Each of these statutes carries penalties that go far beyond what people think of as "normal time." Probation is rare, supervised release terms are harsh, and many offenses come with forfeiture proceedings where the government tries to strip assets, bank accounts, even cars and houses. Defending federal charges means defending your life, liberty, and property – all at once.

How Much Does Federal Defense Cost?

I’ll be straight with you: federal defense is not cheap. Our clients constantly ask, “how much does it cost?” The answer – it really depends. Some cases involve terabytes of digital discovery, tens of thousands of recorded jail calls, bank records across multiple states, expert witnesses. Others are targeted, surgical prosecutions with one main witness. We take on both. Flat fees, retainers, hybrid models. What never changes? The reality that federal cases require far more hours, far more resources, and more sheer experience than a simple misdemeanor in Travis County. Paying for quality defense is not optional, it is survival. Bargain shopping for a federal lawyer is like choosing the cheapest surgeon for open-heart surgery. You may save some dollars today, but you’re gambling with your life.

Why You Absolutely Need Counsel in Federal Court

Should you get a lawyer? If you're in federal court, the question itself is dangerous. The Assistant U.S. Attorneys prosecuting you have teams of FBI analysts, IRS forensic accountants, DEA chemists, and ATF agents working in unison. They don’t drop cases. They don’t let defendants slide because of a crowded docket. They pursue conviction, full stop. If you try to go it alone, you’ll drown in deadlines, in Rule 16 discovery issues, in Rule 12 suppression motions, in understanding what 5K1.1 departures are. Federal court punishes inexperience, and there’s no safety net once you blow a deadline. This is why you hire a law firm that gets it. We know how to negotiate pre-indictment resolutions, file suppression motions under the Fourth Amendment, and call the government’s bluff when they threaten enhancements that don’t apply.

Enforcement Patterns in Austin

Austin has unique federal dynamics, shaped by the tech industry’s rise, the proximity to Mexico, and immigration enforcement priorities. The FBI and IRS target financial crimes born from Austin’s startup boom. DEA targets corridor distribution hubs connected to I‑35. ATF zeroes in on firearms trafficking tied to gang activity. ICE scoops up individuals directly from Travis County jails and drops them into federal proceedings. All of these pipelines feed directly to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Austin. Why does this matter? Because understanding predictable priorities means building defense strategies before charges even come down. We’ve seen who gets indicted and why, year after year, which means our clients walk in armed with foresight the average lawyer just doesn’t have.

Spodek Law Group’s Edge

So why hire us, not just some "Austin lawyer"? Because we’re not local in the narrow sense. We’re national – federal litigation is our bread and butter coast to coast. Todd Spodek took on Anna Delvey’s case in New York, survived a circus of media attention, and still fought tooth and nail for his client. Clients hire us when stakes are insane, when publicity is suffocating, when the government is bearing down with unlimited force. Our 50+ years combined experience isn’t just numbers, it’s decades of fighting federal prosecutors, challenging wiretaps, dismantling financial trails, and convincing judges to step outside rigid Guidelines. And while other lawyers wrap themselves in slogans, we keep it simple: our job is protecting you, not making friends with prosecutors or currying favor with reporters.

Look, we treat every single client like they’re the only one that matters. Sometimes that means phone calls at midnight, sometimes it means aggressive litigation, sometimes it’s about quietly negotiating a resolution before things hit the fan publicly. Whatever the approach, we adjust it to what you – and only you – need. That flexibility is exactly what federal defense demands, because no two cases are identical and rigid formulas don’t work. Period.

Protect Your Freedom Today

Federal prosecutors move quick. They show up unannounced. They ask for “just a conversation.” They act like conviction is already sealed. Don’t believe it. Don’t talk to them without us. Once you speak, you give them more ammunition, more statements to twist. That’s why the smartest move is to bring us into the picture immediately, before indictment if possible, but the moment you suspect an investigation at minimum.

Call Spodek Law Group right now for a confidential consultation, 24/7. Don’t risk your freedom by waiting until it’s too late. We’re available in Austin around the clock, because federal agents don’t stop at 5:00pm and neither do we. This is your freedom, your future, your family at stake – and you need a defense team that genuinely gets it and fights like hell for it.

Spodek Law Group – Federal Defense Attorneys Who Get It