Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“Is there a difference in plea bargaining between federal court and state court?”
Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA
“There is…and for a number of reasons. They kind of balance each other out. Well, the US Attorney’s office, by the time they file a case, their cases are extremely strong. So, they don’t file a case unless the case is extremely strong. The balancing of ‘can I win this at trial’ becomes less in the federal court system because of the strength of the cases that are filed. That said, the federal guidelines…the federal sentencing guidelines have more room to move. More factors that the prosecutors and the courts can consider when it comes to sentencing than state guidelines.
State guidelines, in my experience, tend to be more rigid. Although the cases are stronger in federal court, there’s more room to be able to negotiate. My experience has been, and it may not be everybody’s experience, but that the US Attorney’s office do a pretty good job at listening to mitigating circumstances.”
Ray Hrdlicka – Host – Attorneys.Media
“All right, so even though there’s less room to move initially, at the end of the case you have more room to move because of the sentencing guidelines.”
Spencer Freeman – Criminal Defense Attorney – Pierce County, WA
“Yes. I think that’s been my experience. Also to say, some of those sentencing guidelines, especially when it comes to the drug laws in federal court, are pretty severe. You can end up doing a lot of time in federal court for drug crimes, and in the state courts you would never do nearly that much time. That’s one of those risks you have to balance. You go to trial, and you’ve got a significant amount of time that you’re looking at.”
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