Federal Criminal Lawyers vs. State Criminal Lawyers

First of all, any attorney admitted to practice in your state can practice in Federal Court too, civil or criminal, but if you had a brain tumor, you would be unlikely to want a dermatologist to remove it. With freedom at risk, you are wise to find a lawyer who is very experienced in criminal law. Many criminal lawyers practice only in state courts. Many do only Federal cases. Many do both. There are excellent lawyers in all three categories. The procedures, punishments and timetables in Federal Court are different than in state courts, but for attorneys substantially experienced in both courts, this is not a problem. In some cases however, it is more important that the attorney is experienced in your particular charge.

There are state court defense attorneys who specialize almost exclusively in drunk driving cases. You might find that such a lawyer is much more experienced that the Prosecutor in your case. The down side: he or she will likely be more expensive than a general criminal defense attorney. Similarly, Federal racketeering is a specialized niche, in which experience in that one charge may be critical. In other charges, it is less important that the attorney have a long list of cases on your one charge.

For example, an attorney who has handled many assault cases would likely be very capable of handling a murder case. A lawyer with robbery case experience should be just fine on a burglary case, and an attorney skilled on drug dealing will be able to handle drug possession.

There are some considerations which draw a darker line between Federal and state criminal defense attorneys. One is the range of punishments. Federal Courts do typically hand out stiffer sentences than state courts. Federal Judges are more independent than state judges, because they do not have to stand for re-election. Exclusively Federal criminal defense lawyers can often be more expensive than state or mixed practice lawyers. The best general rule in choosing a lawyer: Get the best lawyer most experienced in your Court on your charge that you can afford, and make sure he has substantial trial experience.