Bucks County Federal Drug Lawyer
In federal court, individuals are either arrested upon probable cause or indicted. Under either circumstance, any and all charges that can be charged against an individual are filed and heard before a magistrate at the federal level and then a federal judge at the higher level. Contact a Bucks County federal drug lawyer to begin preparing your defense. An experienced narcotics attorney can help you gain the peace of mind you need before your trial.
Understanding Federal Drug Cases
Federal drug offenses are handled most commonly in the Philadelphia federal court. Federal court often handles larger conspiratorial-type cases or cases involving very large quantities of alleged narcotics. In either case, once the federal government gets involved, the matter often moves quickly through the system with grave consequence towards the accused should they be convicted. Participation and cooperation are very important for those involved in a federal court case. Thus, obtaining the services of a Bucks County federal drug lawyer is essential.
What Takes a Drug Case to the Federal Level?
The factors that are considered to make a federal case involving narcotics often depend on the alleged weight of the particular controlled substances, and third, the type of controlled substance. The length of the conspiracy and the size of the conspiracy are often significant factors that the federal government takes into account when determining whether to prosecute at the federal level. Firearms can often elevate a case from local to federal court as well as an individual’s background and prior contact with the system.
Commonness of a Federal Narcotics Offense
A Bucks County federal drug lawyer knows that the most common narcotics charges involve violation of federal drug acts. Thus, similar to Bucks County and Pennsylvania, as a whole, the charge of possession with intent to deliver involving violations of federal drug acts are at the lead of charges. Gun charges, paraphernalia charges or any other charges that may be connected to a particular case can come to fruition.
Typically speaking, federal drug charges are much more serious than state court charges. In most cases, the federal guidelines are much higher than local guidelines and the type of cases that get adopted by the federal court deal with the largest conspiracies.
The complexity of a federal case is often three or four times that of a local case and this type of investigation lasts much longer. Federal cases carry much harsher sentences simply because of the time, the efforts and the alleged amount and type of conspiracy involved.
Duration of Federal Drug Cases
A drug offense case can last anywhere from 90 days up to one year or two. There is no specific time limit that is a determinant in deciding when a drug case begins and when it should reasonably end. There are various factors to consider when determining the length of a trial. However, in simple cases, a matter can be resolved in a fairly short period of time or a number of months. The typical possession with intent to deliver case which goes to trial usually takes up to one year for the prosecution and the courts to have the matter heard. For information regarding the duration of your case, speak with a skilled Bucks County federal drug lawyer.