For over 15 years, our firm has maintained its principal office at 101 Marietta Street in Atlanta. Our Atlanta office is less than a block away from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and walking distance to the Federal Courthouse where the Northern District of Georgia federal judges and courtrooms are located.
Atlanta is the largest city in the Northern District of Georgia. Most of the federal criminal cases brought in this district are filed and prosecuted in the Atlanta Division. But there are other federal courthouses in the Northern District of Georgia. Federal criminal cases are sometimes heard in the Gainesville Division, the Newnan Division, and the Rome Division. There are federal magistrate judges and district court judges who handle criminal cases in those divisions. Our federal criminal lawyers have successfully represented clients in every division of the Northern District of Georgia.
Our firm has a well-earned reputation for aggressive and diligent representation of clients in all types of serious federal criminal cases brought in the Atlanta area. We have won difficult federal criminal trials in Atlanta, convinced the government to dismiss questionable cases before trial, and negotiated very favorable resolutions for clients who were most interested in quickly ending their cases.
Our federal lawyers also assist clients in federal sentencing hearings and federal criminal appeals. Our office is a block away from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court for the all federal cases in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
When we are retained to assist a client with a federal sentencing hearing, the client has usually been convicted at a trial or entered a guilty plea while being represented by a different law firm.
Once our firm is hired, we obtain all of the relevant discovery material and evidence and being a thorough review of the entire case. We work closely with the client to make sure he or she fully understands the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and how they may apply to the case. We then work hard to get the United States Probation Office to see our side of the case and agree with our Guideline analysis, well before the sentencing hearing occurs. Once the Presentence Investigation Report is prepared, we review it closely with our client to make sure it is correct. If any changes or objections need to be made, we make them. We then work with the client and his or her family to develop good character and other evidence to help convince the district judge to impose the lowest sentence possible. Many times, that sentence will be an alternative to prison, like home detention or community confinement (a half-way house).
Before the sentencing hearing occurs, we will file a detailed sentencing memorandum with the federal district judge. This memo includes our arguments about the Sentencing Guidelines and all the positive character and background information we can obtain. We also include letters from family, friends, employers, and community leaders to help the judge better understand our client’s history and positive aspects. Sometimes, we will provide video testimony of witnesses who may not be able to come to court. We also work closely with the client to prepare the client’s statement to the judge, which we recommend be submitted before the hearing.
We think it is vitally important that the judge have all this background information and legal arguments well before the sentencing hearing. In our experience, most federal district judges have already made up their minds about what the sentence will be before they even take the bench for the hearing. That’s why it is critical that a federal criminal defense lawyer submit all relevant information to the judge ahead of time.
If you need an experienced federal criminal lawyer in Atlanta, with a long record of success, contact our office now to discuss your case. There is no charge for the call and it is always completely confidential. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
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