If you're on our website, it's because you're facing serious federal charges – and you need a law firm that gets it. At Spodek Law Group, we know the fear and pressure you’re living with right now. This isn’t about traffic tickets or misdemeanor fights. Federal cases are life-changing, sometimes life-ending, and you can’t afford someone “learning” federal law while your freedom is on the line.

Let’s get clear: there’s a world of difference between state charges and federal charges. The feds come prepared. They investigate under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, they throw around statutes like 21 U.S.C. §841 (drug trafficking), 18 U.S.C. §1349 (conspiracy to commit fraud), 18 U.S.C. §924 (firearms offenses), and once they indict, it’s because they already believe they’ve got you pinned to the wall. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston doesn’t file a weak case. They file what they believe is already locked and loaded.

In Houston in 2024 alone, dozens of defendants were hammered with decades in federal prison. People get life without possibility of parole across the street from Minute Maid Park, inside the Bob Casey United States Courthouse. If that doesn’t chill you, it should. When you’re up against the Department of Justice, FBI, DEA, IRS, and ATF – sometimes all of them working together – you need someone with enough skill and grit to push back and pull apart their so-called hard evidence.

Why Federal Criminal Defense in Houston Hits Different

I’ll be straight with you: stop thinking of federal cases as just state cases with bigger titles. Federal prosecutors do not move fast just to shuffle later. They take their sweet time. They’ll sit on grand jury subpoenas for a year or more, they’ll quietly line up confidential informants, pull your bank records, your emails, your phone calls – and by the time an indictment is filed, it’s stacked three volumes thick with discovery. That’s what you’re walking into.

And Houston? Houston falls inside the Southern District of Texas, which is one of the busiest federal jurisdictions in America. You’ve got judges here like Lynn Hughes, Sim Lake, and others who are known for following the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines to the number. They don’t play. I’ve seen enhancements for a single firearm add 10 years in a sentencing hearing like it was nothing. You think a local DA can hammer you hard? No. The feds are a completely different animal.

Step Inside the Houston Federal Court Process

Everything federal happens downtown at the Bob Casey courthouse. Down the hall from where you’ll check in is the U.S. Marshals office, and directly across is the U.S. Attorney’s team, many of them career prosecutors who eat, sleep, breathe federal law. Once you’re in that building, you realize this isn’t county court anymore. The pressure is different here, and so are the stakes.

The moment an indictment is returned, you’re arraigned, bail is a battleground, then discovery, motion practice, evidentiary hearings, and potentially trial. A lot of people don’t ever see trial – because the feds leverage frightening penalties. They’ll wave mandatory minimums in your face, 10 years, 20 years, life – and then offer you a plea for half. That’s the leverage game. That’s why having us involved from day one can cut things down before you’re even stuck in that cycle.

Federal Agencies Flood Houston With Enforcement

Every federal agency has boots on the ground here. The DEA runs constant operations targeting fentanyl pipelines, the FBI runs white collar squads chasing securities fraud, the IRS-CI investigates financial crimes relentlessly, ATF builds firearm cases that tack decades onto people’s sentences. It’s not one agency. It’s all of them overlapping. And in 2024, ICE Houston alone arrested over 800 so-called criminal aliens, gang members, and fugitives. That’s just one branch. These numbers aren’t headlines – they’re real cases filed in this district daily.

We’ve handled cases that – look, the point is we win. We’ve seen drug conspiracies that covered five states, white collar fraud cases with thousands of pages of financial records, firearm indictments where the enhancements meant more prison time than the underlying crime. Sometimes the fight is about dismissing evidence, sometimes it’s about cutting 10 years off a sentence, sometimes – it’s about flat out acquittals. Every case is unique, but the battlefield is always tilted in favor of the prosecution. That’s why we exist. To tip it back.

Common Houston Federal Charges We Defend

• 21 U.S.C. §841 & §846 Drug Trafficking / Conspiracy: Cocaine, fentanyl, meth. The DEA loves conspiracy charges – they rope in everyone, even someone tangential, and then use mandatory minimums to grind guilty pleas.
• 18 U.S.C. §1344, §1349 White Collar Fraud: Bank fraud, wire fraud, healthcare audits – Houston is home to major corporations, hospitals, investment firms. The FBI and SEC have dedicated offices here. This isn’t amateurs messing around. And yes, this is the same Todd Spodek who defended Anna Delvey – the Netflix case – we’re known worldwide for complex fraud defense, and we bring that fire to Houston courtrooms.
• 18 U.S.C. §922 & §924 Weapons Offenses: Felon in possession, firearms in drug trafficking, or adding 25 years for a gun during a 924(c) violation. These enhancements can balloon a sentence overnight.
• 8 U.S.C. §1326 Immigration Offenses: Illegal re-entry, harboring, smuggling cases through Houston are constant. DHS and ICE run investigations, and charges often carry stiff enhancements for prior deportations or felony records.

When To Hire a Federal Criminal Lawyer

People ask me: when do I actually need a lawyer. The answer: the moment you think you’re being investigated. Don’t wait until an indictment. Don’t wait until agents show up with a warrant. The truth is, we can sometimes prevent charges if we get in early enough and deal directly with federal prosecutors. Timing is everything, and waiting is the worst mistake people make because they think they can ride it out. You can’t.

What We Do Differently In Federal Defense

Here’s what a real federal defense lawyer does. We file suppression motions against illegal searches authorized under questionable warrants. We demand wiretap logs. We dissect the government’s confidential informants – half of whom are working off their own charges by lying. We fight enhancements under the Guidelines. We position clients so that instead of 25 years, they face 10. Instead of life, they face a few years. That’s strategy. That’s the game we play every day.

Look, anyone can stand in a courthouse and pretend to fight. But very few actually know every twist of the Sentencing Guidelines, and fewer still can stare down AUSAs who think they’ve got the book closed on you. That’s where we thrive. That’s our zone. And if you get us early, the impact can be life-saving. No exaggeration. And no promises we can’t keep either – just real defense, relentless, without compromise.

Choosing The Right Lawyer in Houston Federal Court

So how do you pick the right attorney for a federal case in Houston? You need someone who’s been inside that courthouse hundreds of times, not someone advertising “criminal defense” and really just handling DUIs. You need lawyers who’ve handled conspiracy indictments, multi-defendant trials, grand jury investigations – not small state cases with probation outcomes. This is a different league.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve handled the highest-profile federal fraud cases in the country and big, violent, gang prosecutions. We’ve gone head-to-head with the DEA, FBI, IRS, ATF – all the federal acronyms. We’ve beaten cases people thought were hopeless. Our rock star team of attorneys has over 50 years of combined experience, and it shows. You need a team that’s calm under fire, strategic, and actually loyal only to you. That’s us.

The Investment In Federal Defense

How much does it cost? Again, depends. No two cases look alike. Complex federal litigation – grand jury subpoenas, motions, suppression hearings – it isn’t cheap. And it shouldn’t be. Federal cases are deep-heavy resource battles. Discovery alone can be terabytes of data. Expert witnesses add up. Trial prep can run months. You should expect retainers and flat fees that reflect that complexity.

And here’s the truth people avoid saying out loud: the cost of hiring the wrong, inexperienced lawyer is catastrophic. It can be the difference between probation and 30 years. Between 8 years and life. You measure cost against decades in prison, not in dollars, because the government has no shame about burying people in time. We don’t cut corners, we don’t “cheap out” – because that’s how cases are lost.

Protect Your Freedom Now

Federal charges in Houston are life-changing. They are terrifying. They don’t go away on their own. If the U.S. Attorney’s Office is coming at you with 21 U.S.C. or 18 U.S.C. charges – you need every day of defense you can get. Don’t sit around thinking you have time. You don’t.

Look, I’ll be honest. Federal trials break people. They are designed to pressure you into pleas. They’re structured, rigid, unforgiving – and they punish defendants who go to trial with “trial penalties” in sentencing. But with the right defense, with attorneys who know how guidelines work, how local judges think, how enhancements can be fought, you do have a chance. That’s why we say: your best shot is now, not later.

Call Spodek Law Group today for an immediate, confidential consultation. We represent clients in Houston, Harris County, and the entire Southern District of Texas. Every single day matters. The sooner you reach us, the sooner we can look at the evidence, deal directly with prosecutors, and mount the defense that gives you a fighting chance.

We don’t owe loyalty to the court. We don’t owe loyalty to prosecutors. We don’t owe loyalty to anyone but you. That’s what makes us different. That’s what keeps clients alive and free. That’s why you call us.