Federal Crimes Lawyer in Phoenix, AZ

Federal crimes in Arizona are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, whose main office is at Two Renaissance Square, 40 N. Central Ave., in Phoenix. The office says it is not an investigative agency. It reviews evidence referred by investigators such as the FBI, DEA, ATF, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security and ICE, and tribal, state and local police, and its own list of cases runs from bank robbery, fraud and public corruption to firearms, drugs, immigration and child exploitation.

Several of those agencies have Phoenix offices, among them the FBI's Phoenix field office on North 7th Street and DEA's Phoenix Field Division. Phoenix Police works alongside them. The city has publicized joint Drug Enforcement Bureau and DEA investigations, and the department's 2024 crime plan counts federal agencies, the ATF and the U.S. Attorney among them, as partners in its gun cases. A Phoenix Police stop or search warrant can therefore lead to a federal referral, stay a state case, or occasionally produce both, since each prosecuting office decides for itself. We handle these matters whichever office brought the charge.

Federal cases arising in Maricopa County are heard in the Phoenix Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, at the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse, 401 W. Washington St., which also houses the Phoenix offices of U.S. Pretrial Services and U.S. Probation. Nova Law Group appears in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.

After a federal arrest, Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 5 requires that the person be taken before a magistrate judge without unnecessary delay. Ahead of that hearing, a pretrial services officer gathers background through an interview and record checks and passes it to the judge. At the initial appearance the charges are read, copies are handed over, the court takes up the question of counsel, and release or detention is decided. That is why the call to a lawyer belongs before the hearing, not after it.

Federal release does not work like a Superior Court bond. Under the Bail Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3142, the judge releases the person on recognizance, on an unsecured bond or on conditions, often supervised by Pretrial Services, or orders detention after finding that nothing will reasonably assure appearance and the safety of others. The District's pretrial guidance says conditional release usually includes supervision and a ban on firearms, and a third-party custodian, who agrees to supervise and report violations, can be part of the plan. Where there is probable cause of a drug offense carrying a maximum of ten years or more, or of a § 924(c) offense, the statute creates a rebuttable presumption that no conditions will do.

Counsel comes through the District of Arizona's Criminal Justice Act Plan. It calls for a lawyer as soon as feasible after a person is taken into custody, first appears before a judge or is formally charged, drawn from the Office of the Federal Public Defender or a panel of private attorneys, for anyone financially unable to obtain counsel, with doubts resolved in the person's favor. The agent interview and the search usually come before any appointment, and hiring your own lawyer is possible at every stage.

Avoiding jail is not the same as avoiding a conviction. A federal felony conviction bars possessing firearms or ammunition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and it can affect work, licenses and housing. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen should get immigration advice before any plea. Arizona's set-aside and sealing process is built for Arizona convictions, not federal ones.

The investigation. Federal cases are often assembled over months from records, recordings, phone extractions and cooperating witnesses. You can decline an agent's questions and have a lawyer make contact instead. A materially false statement made knowingly and willfully in a federal matter, even in an informal conversation, can be charged under § 1001.

The grand jury. A federal felony generally needs an indictment from a grand jury of 16 to 23 people, at least 12 of them agreeing, unless the defendant waives indictment in open court. The proceedings are secret, and a witness's own lawyer waits outside the room. Under the District's CJA Plan, a written target notice from the U.S. Attorney's Office must tell the person they may contact the Federal Public Defender if they want a lawyer and cannot afford one. A Maricopa County felony can reach trial through a preliminary hearing instead of a grand jury; a federal one generally cannot, and once an indictment is returned no preliminary hearing is held.

Detention hearing. When the government seeks detention, or the court raises it on its own in a case of serious flight or obstruction risk, a hearing decides whether any conditions will reasonably assure appearance and safety. It takes place at the first appearance unless a continuance is requested; absent good cause, a defense continuance may not exceed five days and the government's three, not counting intervening weekends and legal holidays. A release plan built beforehand, with a verified residence, work and a possible custodian, is often the most valuable early work.

Arraignment. Once an indictment or information is in place, the arraignment is held in open court: the charges are read or summarized, the plea is entered and a trial date is set.

Motions and the clock. Federal cases often take many months to reach trial. That time is when suppression issues are litigated: the basis for a stop, the scope of a warrant, a phone extraction or a wiretap.

The Guidelines. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the judge must consider the sentencing range set by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with the other listed factors, and the statute calls for a sentence "sufficient, but not greater than necessary." Many federal disputes are about that math: drug quantity, loss amount, role and criminal history points.

The presentence investigation. After a plea or verdict, a probation officer from the Phoenix office interviews the defendant, reviews records, speaks with the prosecutor and agents, and visits the home when possible. Both sides can object to the report before sentencing. The Bureau of Prisons later uses it to designate a facility, so an error in it can outlast the hearing.

Sentencing and surrender. At sentencing the judge announces the sentence and any conditions that come with it. A judge who does not order custody at sentencing may allow a voluntary surrender to the designated facility.

Nova Law Group was built by Ryan Tait, a former Maricopa County Attorney's Office felony prosecutor. The practice is criminal defense first. We keep caseloads deliberately low, which means the lawyers on your case have time to actually watch the video and read the reports line by line. In a federal case, that includes the warrant affidavit, the extraction reports and the draft presentence report. We take federal cases to trial when trial is the right pressure. Overcharging happens, and a case that is genuinely prepared for trial changes the conversation with the prosecutor. Most criminal cases are quoted as a flat fee. Consultations are free and confidential.

Office: 4455 E. Camelback Rd., Suite C250, Phoenix, AZ 85018. Meetings are by appointment.