If you're on our website, it's because you're dealing with serious federal charges – and you know you can’t just roll the dice with some random local lawyer. At Spodek Law Group, we understand the pressure. We know what it feels like when it seems like the entire government – FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS, Secret Service, Homeland Security – has all eyes locked onto you. And let’s be frank, the feds don’t accuse unless they think they can convict. Our job is to pull that power apart piece by piece, and defend you with everything we’ve got.

We’ve built a rock star team of attorneys, 50+ years of combined experience, trial-tested and fearless. We’ve gone into courtrooms where everybody counted us out, we fought the Anna Delvey / Sorokin case which got international headlines and Netflix coverage, and we walked in knowing the odds were bad. But here’s the difference: we don’t play defense like an ordinary firm trying to make quick pleas and move files – we fight federal cases aggressively, strategically, and relentlessly. Federal law is an entirely different battlefield, and in Jacksonville, you are up against Assistant U.S. Attorneys who already have a head start. This isn’t like state court. We owe loyalty only to you – never to prosecutors, never to judges, not to anyone else.

The Stakes of Federal Charges in Jacksonville

Here’s what you need to realize. Federal charges carry extreme exposure. Sentences under statutes like 21 U.S.C. § 841 (controlled substances), 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (felon in possession of a firearm), and 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud) come with punishments measured in decades. The prosecutors in Jacksonville federal court aren’t just showing up to negotiate – their whole careers are built around securing long, hard sentences. Look at recent cases: Judge Marcia Morales Howard hammering a young man with a 15-year sentence as an armed career criminal. Judge Timothy Corrigan doing exactly the same in another case. That pattern isn’t an accident. It’s deliberate. The Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), takes first-time firearm charges and escalates them into decades behind bars if you have priors. This is Jacksonville federal court in real time.

State court and federal court are almost two separate planets. Walking into federal court with a “state lawyer” approach – it’s suicide, plain and simple. Discovery is narrow, prosecutors are trained to exploit every technicality, and AUSAs in Jacksonville do not bluff. They present their files in neat binders, stacked high, after months or years of wiretaps and surveillance. And once it’s in court, you’re looking at sentencing guidelines that basically start stacking time like bricks until you can’t breathe. This is why you need lawyers who live federal law every day. We do.

How Jacksonville Federal Cases Are Different

Step into Duval County Court versus downtown Jacksonville’s Federal Courthouse on N. Hogan Street – instantly you’ll feel the change. Different atmosphere, different rules. In state court, prosecutors might overcharge and then deal. In federal cases, AUSAs rarely walk back their indictments. They charge what they know they can stand up with evidence collected by the DEA, ATF, FBI, IRS, even HSI when international money is involved. Plea bargaining is limited. Discovery feels locked. And the timeline? It’s brutal – federal indictments don’t gather dust, they move forward fast. You can be arraigned on a Monday and facing a trial date or heavy plea pressure within weeks.

Jacksonville has become a heavy enforcement zone for the DEA. The nightlife around Jacksonville Beach, for example, has been under targeted stings for years, especially with cocaine and meth trafficking. The ATF stacks enhancements in firearm cases constantly. The IRS investigates wire fraud tied to healthcare providers and Medicare billing fraud. These agencies coordinate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida in downtown Jacksonville regularly. This is coordinated, tactical prosecution. And make no mistake, they take every case seriously.

Federal Statutes They Use in Jacksonville

Here’s the reality, the exact laws matter more here than anywhere else:

• 18 U.S.C. § 922(g): Felon in possession of a firearm – especially dangerous here because prior convictions transform this into a 15-year mandatory under ACCA.
• 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 & 846: Drug possession with intent and conspiracy – cocaine, fentanyl, meth, heroin – once conspiracy is charged, everyone in the network faces 10-year minimums.
• 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 & 1344: Wire fraud and bank fraud – max penalties of 20 or 30 years, and judges here hand out long terms for economic crimes.
• 18 U.S.C. § 1956: Money laundering – if your case ties to proceeds of unlawful conduct, they will throw on laundering counts to drive sentencing ranges even higher.

Once charged federally, your exposure isn’t a few months or a suspended sentence, it’s usually double digits in years. It’s decades. One wrong move, you lose your life as you know it.

Jacksonville Federal Court: What You’re Up Against

The Middle District of Florida has its Jacksonville Division courthouse right downtown. Judges like Corrigan and Howard, and Magistrates handling initial hearings, are tough by reputation – and they’re known for rigid adherence to sentencing guidelines. AUSAs here are sharp. They’re not overworked local assistant DAs juggling traffic tickets and misdemeanors. They’re specialized litigators backed by the full muscle of FBI case squads, DEA tactical units, IRS forensic accounting divisions. Every Jacksonville federal defendant should know this: the U.S. Attorney’s Office is structured to win, not to get cases off the docket.

We’ve been in this courthouse. We know how judges react to firearms cases – we know how they react to fraud involving hundreds of thousands of dollars versus millions. We’ve seen AUSAs with charts, slides, agents lined up ready to testify like a military parade. And if your lawyer isn’t ready for that? You’re finished. That’s why we hammer this point. Federal defense in Jacksonville isn’t something you learn as you go. You either know, or your client pays with decades of his life.

Most Common Federal Jacksonville Charges

• Gun Offenses: Repeat cases under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Defendants are walking away with 15 years as “armed career criminals.” It’s practically a sentencing assembly line downtown right now.
• Drug Trafficking: Big conspiracies under 21 U.S.C. § 846. Defendants are indicted in groups of 10, 15, 20 people. DEA beach operations lead to 5, 10, even 20-year minimums – no matter your exact role.
• White Collar: Wire fraud, health care fraud, PPP loan fraud. Jacksonville AUSAs have targeted medical practices billing Medicare falsely, bank officers misrepresenting lending, entrepreneurs misusing federal loans. Punishments set by sentencing guidelines can shoot into decades, not months.

We’re blunt because there’s no time to waste. These aren’t little county misdemeanor cases. They’re federal felonies.

Questions We Hear Constantly from Jacksonville Clients

What do federal defense lawyers charge?

It depends – and anybody telling you there’s one flat number isn’t being honest. A felon-in-possession defense might involve fewer experts than a forensic accounting fraud case with millions in loss calculations. But they all require resources: subpoena work, motions practice, sometimes hiring private investigators, forensic consultants. Lawyers who quote bottom-of-the-barrel prices in federal cases? They cost clients far more in years lost inside prison, because they weren’t suited to fight AUSAs who live for trial.

Do I really need a lawyer if feds charge me?

I’ll be straight with you: yes. Immediately. Don’t think you can “figure it out.” AUSAs file only when they have binders inches thick. Federal agents wiretap, surveil, subpoena bank records – all long before you even knew you were a “target.” Self-representation basically equals surrender. Public defenders are good, but overloaded. You need a firm dedicated to only your case, prepared to dedicate manpower and experience fast.

What makes something a federal offense anyway?

Federal jurisdiction triggers whenever interstate commerce, federal agencies, or federal property is involved. For example: a handgun that crossed state lines, a cocaine conspiracy stretching between Jacksonville and Atlanta, wire fraud through interstate banks, Medicare billing fraud since it’s a federally funded program. In Jacksonville, most federal charges stem from drug conspiracy indictments and firearm cases tied to priors. But we also see healthcare fraud, bank fraud, and mail fraud – 18 U.S.C. § 1341 – showing up in regular indictments.

Federal Sentencing in Jacksonville

Sentencing is the most overlooked, but it’s where cases rise or crash. Even if trial is lost, presenting effective sentencing mitigation can carve years – sometimes decades – off the punishment. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines practically run the show. They weigh drug weights, prior convictions, financial loss calculations. Judges take the charts seriously. And AUSAs push the harshest reading they can.

In Jacksonville right now, 15-year minimums for felon-in-possession look automatic. Drug conspiracies climb into double decades quick. Fraud cases with losses above $9.5 million carry offense levels that equate to 30 years. Look, we’ve handled massive fraud cases in New York that pulled Netflix press, cases everyone said were unwinnable… and we fought until the end, because that’s what we do. In Jacksonville, the same applies – whether you’re a healthcare provider accused of upcoding, or a young person caught in a DEA conspiracy. We fight to reduce sentencing ranges, to present human mitigation, to highlight flaws in the government’s numbers. We don’t sit back and watch.

Why Spodek Law Group is Different in Jacksonville Federal Defense

We’re national. We’re recognized. But when we step into Jacksonville federal court, we do so already familiar with the judges, the AUSAs, and the enforcement priorities that dominate the local scene. We combine federal insight across the country with local-specific intel. We bring battle-tested strategies from other circuits, and apply them inside the Middle District of Florida. That combination is rare. That’s why so many of our clients come to us after firing inexperienced attorneys – we know how to fight these cases properly.

Our attorneys – 50 years combined experience, trial-tested – have fought narcotics conspiracies, health care fraud exceeding millions, complex firearm enhancements. We’ve handled federal appeals, we’ve argued novel motions that other lawyers wouldn’t even file. And look, the point is we win. Not every time, nobody does, but we fight to get the best possible outcome no matter the odds. That’s the commitment. That’s what separates us. Our loyalty is only to you. Period.

Your Next Step

Here’s what really happens: once you’re charged, the prosecutors are already working final angles. Agents are prepping witnesses. AUSAs are drafting sentencing memos before trial even begins. Time is the enemy here. Every second you hesitate, the government gains ground. You must level the playing field fast – and the only way to do that is with a federal defense team that knows Jacksonville, knows the statutes, knows the AUSAs, and knows how to dismantle the government’s blueprint.

Call Spodek Law Group. Call us right now. We don’t care if it’s 3 a.m. – we pick up because we know cases don’t run on schedules. Don’t wait to “see” what happens, because by then, motions deadlines are gone and leverage is gone. You want a firm that gets it? Hire us. And don’t look back.

Phone: (212) 300-5196

Request a strictly confidential consultation with Spodek Law Group today.