If you have received any communication from federal court, including the Northern District of Georgia, the Middle District of Georgia, or the United States Attorney’s Office, you should consult an experienced federal defense lawyer immediately. Many federal criminal cases in Atlanta begin with the receipt of a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Georgia, identifying its recipient as the target of an investigation. If you receive a letter like this – often called a “target letter” – you need the assistance of a federal criminal defense attorney. The target letter will be signed by a federal prosecutor – a United States Attorney – and says, “I am writing to advise you that you are the target of a federal criminal investigation.” It also says that if you have a retained attorney, your attorney can contact the federal prosecutors about this on your behalf. You should always have an attorney do this on your behalf and you should never speak to any police, prosecutors, or federal officials about the case without the assistance of counsel. If you receive a target letter, you must contact an experienced federal criminal defense attorney immediately. If you do, your attorney can obtain the details about the case that you will need and can, in some cases, prevent you from being charged criminally. In other cases, and experienced federal criminal defense attorney can prevent you from ever being arrested or greatly lessen the time you may be facing in terms of a potential sentence.
Federal court is different than state court. If you have a criminal case in the Northern District of Georgia or the Middle District of Georgia, you must hire an attorney who understands the process in federal court. Criminal procedure in these courts involves hearings with very specific standards and tight timelines and highly academic writing requirements.
