Differences Between Federal And California State Criminal Cases
As far as the differences go between a federal criminal case and a state criminal case, there are many. One big difference is the judges. In a federal case, a judge gets assigned to the case, and that judge is on the case. Period. The federal judges are tenured for life and they don't mix and match judges like they do in a state case.
For example, if a state case, if your case is set for trial and that particular judge's courtroom is busy, they'll shift it to another courtroom. That's not a problem. On the other hand, Federal almost always stays with the judge to whom it is assigned.
Even in the downtown Los Angeles State Court, which is the main hub in LA County, once the case goes past the preliminary hearing, goes into the trial court, and is ready for trial, instead of the courtroom where the case is pending, it will be sent to Department 100 in downtown Los Angeles, and from there, they're going to find an open court.
It could go right back to the court where it came from, but they'll find an open court, and that's where the case will be tried.
So, there's a huge difference between state and federal cases, where you need to figure out who your judge will be in a state case.
In contrast, in a federal case, you know what judge you have, whether they're a tough judge, a middle-of-the-road judge, or a more lenient judge, which is huge for strategy purposes as far as how you handle the trial, how you handle the motions and how you handle the plea negotiations with the prosecutors.
Are Defenses Different In State And Federal Cases?
The reality is that even though you're dealing with the Federal Rules of Evidence in a federal case and you're just dealing with the State Evidence Code, Penal Code, Vehicle Code, and Health & Safety Code in state cases, the law is very similar in how the case is dealt with, especially in a trial.
There are a few different twists. Some of them are the formality – when you're going to object in federal court, you need to stand up to raise your objection, whereas, in a state court, you can object from your seat in most circumstances. That's more of a formal way of looking.
Another big difference is that you're typically not doing a preliminary hearing in the federal system.
However, there are some jurisdictions I've seen where they do a preliminary hearing, which can be advantageous to the defense because you can get a good peek at the prosecutor's evidence and cross-examine some of their witnesses under penalty of perjury, which you can do in a state case.
Still, in a federal case, you're typically not doing a preliminary hearing. That's being waived, and you're either going to trial or working some deal out with the prosecutors.
Plea Agreement
Another big difference between state and federal crimes is how a plea agreement is worked out or can beat the case. In a federal case, the prosecutors will send you a written formal document—almost a 16, 17, or 18-page document that's the plea agreement. You negotiate with them, and ultimately, if you work the case out through a plea, everybody signs it—the prosecutors, the defense attorney, and the defendant.
Then, the probation department weighs in and does a report, and ultimately, the sentence is up to the judge. Or, as in a state case, a lot of negotiation is done between the prosecutor and the defense, but if you work out an agreement, there are waiver forms, which are not anywhere like a plea agreement. Ultimately, you know what the sentence will be in a state case.
A judge will rarely decide on the sentence unless there's a probation violation or some “top,” as somebody pleads. The most they can get would be a 6-year top, and they could get anywhere from that to probation, and the judge would decide. But in most cases, it's already a foregone conclusion of what the sentence will be by the time the judge gets to formally sentence the person.
Whereas, in a federal case, it's a whole different ballgame. You have a situation where the judge has all the power.
They have to consider the defense, prosecution, and probation departments, the guideline range, and all the different factors related to the case. The reality is that they can pretty much give whatever sentence they want as long as they can justify it.
So, there are so many different factors regarding federal versus state cases. There's only one way to get into some of them. There are a bunch of different nuances in how the cases are tried, how they're negotiated, and even how they're investigated.
Another huge distinction, I think, is – and I've been doing this for twenty-five years, both at the state and federal level – I think the way they investigate the cases is huge.
The feds will take one year, two years, three years, or four years to investigate some of these cases, so once the case starts, they've already done all their work. They've got it all loaded up, and now it's time for the defense to catch up and do their own investigation and motions to challenge the case.
Whereas the state has to go on a wing-and-a-prayer. The police arrest somebody, and they put the case into court. They've got to get the defendant in there within seventy-two hours, and they better have their act together, their case filed, and be ready to go. Unless somebody bails out, and then that buys them an extra thirty or forty-five days to be able to get the case together.
But it's a totally different ballgame when it comes to having the time to prepare and get the case together when you talk state versus federal across the country.
So, if you've got a federal or state case, you want to make sure you get an attorney who is not only local to the jurisdiction where the case is going to be tried but also an attorney who is a specialist in the area. In federal, lawyers can travel all over the country. The federal sentencing guidelines are the same in every state nationwide.
In contrast, in the state, you definitely want to get a lawyer who practices in the particular courthouse where your case is pending.
