If you're on our website, it's because you're facing serious federal charges – and you’re smart enough to know you need more than just a “lawyer.” You need a federal criminal lawyer who knows Columbus, who understands the Southern District of Ohio, who knows the statutes prosecutors love to throw at people, and who knows exactly how to punch back when your life is literally on the line. At Spodek Law Group – we’ve been doing this for decades. We’ve stood inside the Joseph P. Kinneary U.S. Courthouse, we’ve looked at judges who control fates, and we’ve fought tooth-and-nail for clients. And let’s be clear: we don’t serve the press, or the prosecutors, or the system. We answer only to you.

Look, I'm going to be honest with you: the federal government isn’t like fighting city prosecutors at Franklin County. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio has teams of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, each backed by investigators from the FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, Homeland Security, ATF, even sometimes the EPA depending what the charge is. And when those agencies deliver a case, you’re in a world where statutes like 21 U.S.C. §846 (drug conspiracy), 18 U.S.C. §1343 (wire fraud), or 18 U.S.C. §922(g) (gun possession) are weaponized against you. Judges like Edmund Sargus, Algenon Marbley, Sarah Morrison, James Graham – they sit every day and impose sentences that break families. You have to hire a law firm that gets it – that’s us.

Columbus Federal Reality: What You’re Actually Facing

Federal cases in Columbus aren’t abstract, they’re real, they’re happening daily. In 2024, Klegewerges Abate, a Columbus resident, stood in front of Judge Sargus for violent gang-related racketeering charges. Jury conviction. Decades gone. Not long after, six more defendants got life sentences for narcotics conspiracy combined with shootings tied to the Short North gang. These are cases inside the Southern District of Ohio, not state Common Pleas, and federal sentencing enhancements meant their prison terms were measured in lifetimes.

You have to understand this difference: Franklin County handles DUIs and local assaults at Franklin County Common Pleas Courthouse. But once the FBI or DEA is involved, once interstate commerce is proved, once financial wires have crossed state lines – it’s federal. Your courthouse becomes 85 Marconi Blvd, Columbus OH. That’s federal ground. Once you’re standing there, discovery rules strangle your options, plea deadlines sneak up, and one misstep can add years because §2D1.1 sentencing enhancements are brutal. That courthouse is where futures end – or sometimes – saved with the right lawyering.

Federal vs State Charges: Why the Gap is Enormous

I’ll be straight with you. A state court armed robbery, you might do a few years if your lawyer is decent. A federal narcotics conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)(A), you’re looking at mandatory minimums of 10 years, sometimes life. The Sentencing Guidelines combine drug quantity, role in the conspiracy, use of firearms, criminal history category – and suddenly your guideline range is triple what you expected. Add enhancements for leadership (+4), violence (+2), possession of a firearm during drug trafficking (+2 under USSG 2D1.1(b)(1)), you’re stuck looking at decades. It’s not even comparable to state practice. Federal rules of evidence are narrower, prosecutors don’t give up Brady material easily, trial calendars are strict, and the jury pools are different. The government literally has a win rate over 90%. That’s what you’re up against.

And here’s the thing – we’ve been here before. We have a rock star team of federal defense lawyers with over 50 years combined fighting federal indictments. Todd Spodek’s defense of Anna Delvey wasn’t just media hype. It was proof that when the stakes are national, when the government is relentless and the public wants blood, we can hold that line. We file motions that prosecutors don’t expect, we negotiate 5K1.1 cooperation departures, we put on real trials. We do this every single day.

Federal Charges We Defend in Columbus

• Drug Conspiracies (21 U.S.C. §841, §846) – Cocaine, heroin, fentanyl conspiracies. The DEA builds massive cases here, often with confidential informants and wiretaps, and enhancements pile up quickly. We’ve seen sentences swing from mandatory life down to 8 years with effective work.
• Firearms & Violent Crime – U.S.C. §922(g) felon-in-possession, §924(c) firearm in relation to crime of violence, gang-related RICO charges. Columbus has seen RICO indictments against neighborhood organizations portrayed as criminal enterprises by FBI task forces.
• Fraud & White Collar – Wire fraud (§1343), bank fraud (§1344), mail fraud (§1341), securities offenses, PPP loan fraud, cryptocurrency frauds. IRS-CI and FBI financial crimes units have been heavily targeting professionals in Columbus since COVID relief fraud waves began.
• Public Corruption / Bribery – 18 U.S.C. §201, §666 involving federal funds. Columbus has had major public employees facing indictment for misuse of funds tied to federal grants.
• Environmental / OSHA / EPA violations – Southern District prosecutors have charged businesses for violating Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §7413) and criminal mishandling of hazardous waste.

How Columbus Federal Court Works in Reality

Cases don’t move slowly here. You’ll be arraigned, discovery is limited (often just FBI 302 reports, surveillance, wiretap transcripts), and you’ll be facing trial or plea timelines faster than state cases. Judges like Chief Judge Marbley or Judge Sarah D. Morrison follow Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure strictly: motions have to be filed within weeks, evidentiary hearings are scheduled without delay, and sentencing hearings run straight off U.S. Sentencing Commission guidelines. If you don’t know how to challenge an enhancement under §3B1.1 leadership role, if you can’t argue for a downward variance under §3553(a), you’re sunk. I’ve seen lawyers miscalculate Guidelines and literally add 10 years to the client’s exposure. That won’t happen here.

The terms that make or break clients – “acceptance of responsibility,” “substantial assistance,” “role enhancements,” “departures” – these aren’t meaningless. They are decades versus a chance at parole, or a shot at supervised release after 5 years. A lawyer who doesn’t breathe federal sentencing guidelines, who doesn’t stand in front of Commission data tables, has no business taking your case.

How Federal Investigations in Columbus Start

Most clients don’t even know the FBI or DEA has them under a microscope. Wiretap orders under Title III can run for months. IRS-CI can subpoena bank records without you seeing it. Homeland Security Investigations sits on computers and seizes crypto wallets quietly. And then – one random morning – it all explodes. A target letter shows up. Or armed U.S. Marshals bring you before a magistrate at Marconi Blvd for detention hearings. By then the government has built a case for sometimes years. That’s why early intervention matters. Call us the second you suspect an investigation. Not after indictment, because by then they’ve already locked you in with a grand jury return.

FAQ: Columbus Federal Defense

How much does a Columbus federal criminal lawyer cost?

Federal cases are not simple DUI retainers. They span months, sometimes years. Motions to suppress, multi-defendant trials, sentencing advocacy, appeals. We don’t do billable hours like civil firms. We do structured retainers, flat fees when possible, and flexible payment because honestly each case is different. Your case value isn’t measured in dollars, it’s measured in how many years we keep you away from prison.

Is it really necessary to hire a federal criminal lawyer?

Yes. And I’ll say it again—yes. Federal conviction rates hover above 90%. If you think you can walk into federal court pro se, or bring in a cousin who only ever handled DUIs in Franklin County—you’re gambling with your own freedom. Hire a law firm that gets it. That’s what Spodek Law Group exists for.

What exactly is a “federal lawyer” called?

We’re federal defense attorneys. We stand in defensive posture against Assistant United States Attorneys trying to put defendants away. We operate in U.S. District Court, Southern District of Ohio. That’s the battlefield, that’s where the fight happens.

Who wins most federal cases in Columbus?

Nobody wins “most cases.” That’s not reality. What matters is mitigation, getting §5K1.1 motions for cooperation when possible, fighting for downward departures when guidelines are stacked against you, and going to trial when the government overreaches. We’ve handled cases that seemed impossible—look, the point is we win battles that change people’s lives, that’s the metric that matters.

Spodek Law Group: Our Columbus Defense, Backed by National Reach

We are not local dabblers. The Spodek Law Group breathes federal defense. Every single week we’re in federal court somewhere – New York, California, Ohio, Washington DC. Columbus isn’t new ground for us. We know U.S. Attorney Benjamin C. Glassman’s office style, we know the sentencing tendencies of Judge Marbley and Judge Sargus, we know the Pretrial Services officers and how they evaluate release conditions. Knowledge like that is built only by doing this day after day, year after year.

We’ve been trusted by executives, entrepreneurs, doctors, financial officers, street-level clients too – people just like you. And yes, Todd Spodek’s defense of Anna Delvey was a national headline, because it showed how we don’t fold under pressure. But most of our proudest moments aren’t public. They’re the fathers who came home early, the business owners who kept licenses, the sons who didn’t get life. That’s the stuff that matters.

And bottom line – we are relentless. Maybe too relentless. Because we don’t answer to public perception or to media noise. We owe loyalty only to you. If you’re holding a target letter, if FBI agents just knocked on your door, if you’re about to stand in front of Judge Morrison for your arraignment – you can’t wait. Federal cases have momentum, and every day you delay the walls close in tighter.

Call to Action: Start Your Federal Defense Now

If you’re reading this page, chances are something has already erupted in your life. Maybe you’ve been charged under 21 U.S.C. §846 conspiracy. Maybe a search warrant was served with ATF and DEA agents at 6am. Maybe IRS already froze your accounts. Whatever it is—do not wait. The earlier we push back, the greater chance we have to change narrative, negotiate with prosecutors, file suppression motions, and even stop indictments before they drop.

Call Spodek Law Group today. Schedule a confidential consultation with a Columbus federal criminal lawyer who knows Marconi Blvd courthouse, who has stood in front of Southern District judges, and who can actually fight the FBI/DEA/IRS/ATF machine. We are nationally recognized, but our focus is on your case right here in Columbus. This is real. This is federal court. Your freedom is at stake – make your move now.