If you're on our website, it's because you're facing serious federal charges – and you need the absolute best federal criminal defense attorney in Kentucky. At Spodek Law Group, we understand the gravity of federal prosecutions – we take this very, very seriously. This isn't the same as a state court misdemeanor. Federal prosecutors are better funded, better staffed, and backed by agencies like the FBI, DEA, IRS, ATF – with teams of investigators who have already been working against you for months, sometimes years, before you even knew you were under investigation. When your freedom, your family, your career – your entire life is on the line – you need a federal defense lawyer who gets it.

The Reality of Federal Charges in Kentucky

Just in December 2024, a federal grand jury in Louisville indicted over 20 defendants in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy stretching from Louisville to California. This wasn’t some little sting, it was Homeland Security, FBI Louisville, DEA agents, ATF, IRS-CI, and even local agencies like LMPD rolling hard. These types of prosecutions involve Title III wiretaps, pen registers, financial records obtained with grand jury subpoenas, controlled buys using informants. If you get swept up even on the edge of the conspiracy you’re looking at statutes like 21 U.S.C §841 (drug distribution), 21 U.S.C §846 (conspiracy), and potentially 18 U.S.C §924(c) if a gun is anywhere near the transaction. These aren’t technicalities—they're sledgehammers, with mandatory minimum sentences measured in decades, not months.

At Spodek Law Group, we’ve represented clients in federal courtrooms across the country – including clients whose cases became so notorious Netflix made scripts out of them. Todd Spodek himself represented Anna Delvey (Anna Sorokin). You already know that story. What matters is that when federal cases become larger than life, reporters call us, legal analysts cite us, and clients who feel like there’s no exit find relief with us. We've handled cases that were on CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times… look, the point is we win, and we do it under conditions where nobody else thought a win was possible.

Why Federal Charges in Kentucky Are Different

Kentucky is split between two federal judicial districts: the Eastern District of Kentucky and the Western District of Kentucky. Each one has its own U.S. Attorney’s Office, its own AUSAs, its own judges with reputations you need to know cold. A case out of Covington in the Eastern District can look very different than a case tried in Louisville in the Western District – sentencing tendencies, plea deals, courtroom culture all change depending on where you stand. And everything is governed by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines – not just gut instinct or “what sounds fair.”

I’ll be straight with you: the guidelines are cruel. Harsh. Complicated. And if you walk into a federal sentencing thinking you’ll get “time served” because your neighbor’s lawyer did a good job in county court—well, you’re going to prison. Period. Federal time isn’t like state time. You don’t do 50% of your sentence and walk free; parole doesn’t exist. Even good time credit caps out at 54 days per year, meaning you serve about 85% of whatever gets imposed. That’s real life. Not rumors.

A December 19, 2024 case, Paul Oliver Brock v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, was a state issue, but it demonstrates the enormous difference between state appeals and federal. In federal courts, appellate review focuses on federal procedure, constitutional claims, and deadlines that if you miss them by one day—your shot is gone forever. That’s why you don’t hire your cousin’s local DUI lawyer. It’s suicide in a federal case. Federal charges = federal lawyers. Always.

Federal Statutes We See in Kentucky Cases

Our cases in Kentucky touch on statutes like:

• 21 U.S.C §841 / §846: Drug distribution and conspiracy – common in large methamphetamine indictments.
• 18 U.S.C §1343: Wire fraud – frequently charged in financial crime cases involving interstate communications.
• 18 U.S.C §1956: Money laundering statutes – the government loves these in conjunction with narcotics or fraud.
• 18 U.S.C §922(g): Felon in possession of a firearm – an ATF favorite in Kentucky gun investigations.
• 18 U.S.C §371: General conspiracy – prosecutors tack this onto everything to expand liability.

Understanding these statutes and how they’re charged together is the heart of a defense strategy. We don’t just read them, we live them. We see how prosecutors stack charges to maximize leverage. And we strike back.

Common Federal Cases in Kentucky

• Drug Conspiracies & Trafficking: Methamphetamine dominates Kentucky federal dockets. We’ve seen 20-defendant conspiracy indictments where every single phone call becomes government evidence. Ten years minimum sentence is the starting point, not the end.
• White-Collar Crimes: Wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud—federal agents from IRS-CI and FBI love these investigations because “numbers don’t lie.” But they actually do. Spreadsheets distort. Paper trails mislead. We tear them apart.
• Weapons & Corruption: ATF pushes felon-in-possession prosecutions hard. Meanwhile, DOJ’s Public Integrity Section works with Kentucky AUSAs when elected officials or public employees are under scrutiny. Both are devastating if you’re charged.

People Also Ask – Kentucky Federal Defense Questions

How much do federal lawyers charge?

There’s no flat answer. A straight-forward fraud case can be handled for one number, but a RICO indictment with 15 defendants, dozens of wiretaps, expert witnesses, digital forensics—it's completely different. Federal trials eat time, manpower, resources. At Spodek Law, our fees are structured around what the case really demands, no gimmicks, we spell it all out from day one.

Should I get a lawyer for a federal case?

Look, if you even have to ask this, you’re already behind. Federal prosecutors rolled up evidence with FBI agents, DEA wiretaps, IRS subpoenas—long before you were tipped off. Without a lawyer with federal experience, you’re walking blind into the worst stretch of your life. Yes. You need a lawyer. Not just any lawyer. The lawyer who knows how DOJ plays its cards. That’s us.

What is a federal lawyer called?

On the prosecution side, they’re Assistant U.S. Attorneys. AUSAs. They serve the United States government. On the defense side? You want a federal criminal defense lawyer—somebody who faces AUSAs every week, who speaks their language, and who knows how to outmaneuver them. That’s quite literally our job.

What do federal lawyers actually do?

We fight. We negotiate, we draft suppression motions, we contest surveillance under Title III, we cross-examine FBI and ATF agents till their “airtight” case starts leaking, we prepare clients for sentencing and arguments based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. It isn’t glamorous – it’s grinding work. But that’s what saves clients years of their life.

Kentucky Federal Sentencing Insights

Every single federal sentencing begins with math: offense level, enhancements, role adjustments, acceptance points, criminal history categories. Judges don’t guess. They plug into the U.S. Sentencing Commission Guidelines. And here’s the thing—midpoint sentences in both Eastern and Western District federal courts in Kentucky are often ABOVE the national median. That matters if you live here. It means harsher outcomes. Even if you’re a “first time offender.”

We’ve seen white-collar offenders thrown into secure facilities. We’ve seen drug conspiracy defendants, with minor roles, get locked into mandatory minimums that don’t care about their family, their job, or their addiction stories. And you want the myth? The "Club Fed"? Sorry—it doesn't exist. It's prison. It’s concrete, barbed wire, COs who don’t care, and visitation rules that rip families apart. That's the hard reality no one tells you before you plead guilty.

That’s where we come in. Mitigation packages, pre-sentencing memoranda, character witness presentations, expert testimony on addiction or mental health. We grind to reduce offense levels, get variance arguments, push for departures. We don’t wing it—we put it in writing and fight tooth and nail because leniency in federal court doesn’t just fall in your lap, you wrestle it away from the government.

The Stakes: Decades of Your Life

I’m not being dramatic: one count of distribution of 500 grams of meth under 21 U.S.C §841(b)(1)(A) = 10 year mandatory minimum. Add conspiracy, add 924(c) firearm charges, tack on prior convictions? Suddenly your guidelines jump to 30–40 years. Add multiple counts? You’re looking at effective life. That's exactly what AUSAs want when they overcharge to force pleas. And when reporters glamorize defendants like Anna Delvey on Netflix, that’s entertainment. In real life, defendants sit in cells for 20 years while their kids grow up without them. That’s the difference—real people, real consequences.

How Spodek Law Group Builds Your Defense

We owe loyalty to nobody but you. That’s the difference. Federal prosecutors work for the U.S. government. We work exclusively for our clients. Our team—rockstars in every sense—brings more than 50 years combined federal litigation experience. We’ve employed former prosecutors who know federal courtrooms from the inside. And the media calls us for a reason: because we win cases most lawyers are scared to touch.

Our tactic? Aggressive, fearless, research heavy. We attack indictments. File smart motions. We negotiate when leverage is on our side, and when it isn’t—we push back till prosecutors reconsider. And if the case doesn’t resolve to your survival—we take it to a jury. Plain and simple. We’ve gone head to head against FBI, DEA, ATF investigators in open court. We don’t scare easy. Many local lawyers, with all respect, freeze when AUSAs apply pressure. That’s the difference. We don’t. Because we get it. We’ve been in the fire before and came out alive.

Kentucky Federal Courts – What To Expect

In the Eastern District of Kentucky (headquartered in Lexington but with divisions in Covington, Pikeville, Frankfort), your case is often before judges known for strict adherence to sentencing guidelines. In the Western District (headquartered in Louisville, with divisions in Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah), AUSAs sometimes leverage cooperation deals aggressively. Knowing which district you’re in, which judge you’re before, is half the battle. We’ve been there. We know the landscape.

If you think you can walk into those courthouses with the the same strategy you saw some TV lawyer use in a local court, you’re making a fatal miscalculation. These places demand real federal litigation practitioners. And that’s what we are.

Call To Action: Protect Your Future – Act Now

If you’re under investigation or already indicted in the Eastern or Western District of Kentucky – you cannot sit still. Federal prosecutors are already three steps ahead, building their case for a trial you don’t even know exists yet. Every single day you wait is another day lost. Call us 24/7. Confidential. No judgement. We represent clients across Kentucky—Louisville, Lexington, Covington, Pikeville, Paducah, Owensboro. When everything you love is on the line, there’s no margin for error. Hire a law firm that gets it. Hire us.