If you're on our website, it's because you're facing serious federal charges – and you know this isn’t something you can brush off. These are not minor county cases. These aren’t tickets. Federal charges in Mississippi mean 18 U.S.C. § 841 drug trafficking, 18 U.S.C. § 1343 wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 371 conspiracy, firearm charges under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). We’ve defended people against every single one of these, and we know how brutal it gets if you walk into a Mississippi federal courtroom unprepared. At Spodek Law Group, we’re not intimidated by the government’s resources. We’ve defended clients in cases the media thought were “done deals.” We fought back, and we’ll do the same for you.

Look, I’ll be straight with you. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Mississippi doesn’t play softball, not now, not ever. In Oxford and Jackson, recently, we’ve seen entire federal task forces indicting groups of people in huge conspiracy cases. The FBI is running wiretaps and surveillance vans. The DEA is coordinating undercover buys. The IRS is digging through five years of your tax returns when they suspect financial crimes. The ATF is tacking on firearms enhancements because they know it locks in mandatory sentencing. And Mississippi federal judges—Northern and Southern districts—are known to hit harder than the national average on sentencing. If you're in the scope of one of these investigations, time isn’t on your side.

Understanding Federal vs. State Charges in Mississippi

I want to make sure you understand this. State charges and federal charges are not the same species. State prosecutors might charge a possession case and be willing to resolve it with probation. But when the feds step in under Title 21 (Controlled Substances Act) or Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), you are suddenly dealing with the sentencing guidelines, mandatory minimums, and statutes that don’t allow second chances. You don’t get easy breaks. You don’t get “probation first.” The penalties are written into law and judges have little wiggle room.

Example: a guy in Hattiesburg with 5 grams of meth might be charged in Lamar County Court with possession. He might be looking at a plea deal for probation. That same guy, tied into a “conspiracy” investigation stretching across 3 states and they slap him with 21 U.S.C. § 846 Conspiracy to Distribute — suddenly he’s in U.S. District Court in Jackson, facing a mandatory minimum ten years. No parole. That’s the difference.

FAQ: What’s the practical difference? Federal charges are brought by Assistant U.S. Attorneys, with cases investigated by the FBI/DEA/IRS/ATF. They operate using grand juries, sealed indictments, confidential sources. State cases? They’re usually reactive — one officer arrests, DA files charges, done. Federal cases? They build for months, sometimes years, and the evidence is already stacked before you even know you’re in the crosshairs.

The Federal Court System in Mississippi

Mississippi is split for federal purposes into the Northern District and the Southern District. Northern has courthouses in Oxford, Aberdeen, and Greenville. Southern covers Jackson, Gulfport, and Hattiesburg. Each of these districts has their own judges, probation offices and quirks. One judge in the Northern District is known for nailing defendants to the guideline floor with upward adjustments. Southern District judges in Jackson have been statistically higher than national averages for drug-trafficking sentences, especially under §2D1.1 of the guidelines. It’s not just theory. This is from real USSC data — 2024 release. If you walk into those venues unrepresented or with an inexperienced lawyer, you’re toast.

We’ve worked cases across the country. Yes, including Mississippi. We know the clerks, we know the AUSA tactics, we know how the Pretrial Services reports can sink your chances at bond unless your lawyer pushes back. We know that detention hearings in Mississippi federal court? You don’t get out by default. Detention is presumed in drug trafficking (§ 3142(e) presumption). Only strong, strategic arguments move the needle.

The process you’re looking at is: investigation, indictment (via grand jury), arraignment, detention/bail hearing, motion practice, discovery, plea negotiations, trial, sentencing, then possible appeal. Each stage matters. Screw things up at detention and you sit in jail for 18 months pretrial. Screw things up at plea talks and you get hammered with enhancements you didn’t even know you were agreeing to. We’ve handled cases that went to verdict—look, the point is we win, because we understand the complete playbook.

Common Federal Charges in Mississippi

• Drug Trafficking: Title 21, U.S.C. § 841 and § 846. These are the bread-and-butter charges in federal district courts here. Oxford is packed with conspiracy indictments. They bring in OCDETF task forces (Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces) staffed by DEA, FBI, ATF agents. They love charging conspiracy because they don’t need actual drugs on you—just testimony or circumstantial proof you were “in.”
• White Collar / Fraud: Wire fraud (§ 1343), mail fraud (§ 1341), bank fraud (§ 1344), tax offenses (26 U.S.C. § 7201). In Tupelo, Jackson, everywhere in between, those cases are handled in federal venues because the transactions crossed wires, banks, or borders. Todd Spodek defended Anna Delvey in her fraud case — the trial that Netflix made famous — and we use that same sophistication when breaking down the government’s accounting “evidence.”
• Firearms / Conspiracy: Prosecutors in Mississippi routinely add § 924(c) charges (possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking). Why? Because it forces mandatory consecutive time. That means stack sentences and strip away judicial discretion. Conspiracy charges under § 371 also allow them to drag multiple defendants into one case, even if your actual role was peripheral.
• Financial / Public Corruption: In Jackson in particular, recent years brought public integrity cases. Bribery, kickback schemes, public contracts — all charged federally because they use federal funds. We’ve studied these indictments; we understand how the government flips witnesses early to build momentum. We know how to counter.

What a Federal Defense Lawyer Actually Does

Some people ask: what do you really do that’s different than any other lawyer? Here’s the truth. We protect you from the first second you know you’re being watched. Target letters. Grand jury subpoenas. Search warrants at 6am by FBI/IRS/DEA agents. We step in, handle communications, negotiate, file suppression motions, challenge surveillance under the Fourth Amendment, fight wiretap reliability, attack conspiracy theories the government builds on weak cooperating witnesses. And when it comes to sentencing, we actually study the Sentencing Guidelines tables, the Mississippi-specific trends, and argue for downward variances under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). That’s not cookie-cutter defense—that’s tailored, data-driven strategy.

When to Call Us

When do you hire us? The answer is obvious — the moment you sense something is off. If the FBI leaves you a voicemail. If IRS-CI agents show up at your office. If you get a subpoena to testify in front of a grand jury. Don’t talk. Don’t explain “your side.” That’s a trap. Every federal agent is trained to expand cases. If you have a target letter in Oxford, Jackson, Gulfport, or Tupelo — you needed us yesterday. Waiting until indictment makes our job harder, not impossible, but harder.

Cost, Value, and Why People Retain Us

How much does federal criminal defense cost? It depends. Complex fraud matters with 100k pages of discovery files, digital forensic experts, and multiple defendants — they can run hundreds of hours. Conspiracy drug indictments with informant issues, wiretaps, cross-border evidence — those aren’t resolved in a few days. You’re not hiring us for “discount representation.” You’re hiring us for survival. To keep you out of prison. To protect your business. To make sure your side is heard in front of a judge who only saw the DOJ’s version until now.

FAQ: How do I pick the best lawyer? Don’t pick by website slogans. Pick by who’s been there, who’s gone toe-to-toe with U.S. Attorneys in real federal trials, who has handled cases spanning multiple jurisdictions. Our team? Over 50 years of combined experience. Clients hire us when their case is labeled “unwinnable.” They hire us because they know loyalty at Spodek Law Group runs one way — to you, the client — not to the system.

Why Spodek Law Group is Different

We’re not the kind of firm that’s juggling DUIs one day, small shoplifting cases the next, and then occasional federal indictments. No. We’re a federal defense powerhouse. That’s why national media calls us, why Todd Spodek was at the center of the Anna Delvey defense, why clients across the country, facing everything from healthcare fraud to RICO indictments, come to us. Because in courtrooms where the entire government is lined up against one person—you need a firm that thrives under pressure. That’s what we do.

When you hire us, you hire a law firm that gets it. Period. Federal charges can and will destroy families, reputations, careers. Our role is to put up the shield, to build strategies that create leverage, to fight at every step — even if it looks like there’s no possible way out. Passion matters. Strategy matters more. And we bring both.

Call Spodek Law Group Today

If you’re facing federal charges in Mississippi — Oxford, Jackson, Tupelo, Gulfport, Aberdeen — anywhere — you don’t have time to gamble. Call us, confidentially, right now. Our promise is simple. We take control. We fight for you as if our own freedom was on the line. Spodek Law Group owes loyalty to one person — the client. Not the judge. Not the prosecutor. Not the press. Only you.