I've been practicing federal criminal defense in the Los Angeles area for the past 26 years, so I have a pretty good idea about how cases are handled — kind of what the procedure is there, just like any federal court.
I've been to many of them nationwide. Los Angeles's federal criminal defense system has its way of doing things. The judges are unto themselves and unique, just like any pool of judges is in any jurisdiction.
When arrested, they are typically brought to the Roybal Building in downtown Los Angeles at 255 East Temple, where the person is presented with their indictment — the charges against them.
If they have an attorney, the attorney will fill out specific paperwork on their behalf so that they are prepared to do the initial appearance. Eventually, the government can proceed through a preliminary hearing or indict the person.
Once a person is indicted, they will appear at the post-indictment arraignment, and they will enter a not-guilty plea. Once they enter the not guilty plea, bail will be dealt with.
Posting Bond in a Federal Case
In the federal system in Los Angeles, as in most jurisdictions, the person can sign a signature bond to get out. They can also do a property bond, where someone, including the person, pledges their property to be released from custody.

This means if they don't show up the property can be sold and the government can then take the money.
So, a property bond is something that the government will often ask for if they agree to the person getting out because they feel it's a more secure way of ensuring the person's appearance on the federal criminal case.
The judge in the Roybal Building in downtown Los Angeles can also detain the person. If a person is detained, they can't get out while the case is pending. Once the case is pending, they will be released after they serve any sentence that a judge might hand down.
After the post-indictment arraignment and the bail is set, the case will be sent to one of the judges. It's supposed to be done randomly. It likely is. I'm sure they have a system for handling their cases, but some judges sit in the Roybal Building.
There are also judges in the new modern federal courthouse recently built on First Street in downtown Los Angeles.
Once you make your initial appearance in front of the judge who has your case, that judge will have typical rules. Sometimes, you'll be given the rules during the post-indictment arraignment, and then, obviously, you want to follow those rules.
Your attorney will be in charge of that on our behalf, and then the attorney will also deal with the assigned prosecuted, called an Assistant United States Attorney on your case.
Conservative Federal Courts in Los Angeles
So, I think Los Angeles is unique because it's very conservative. In some cases, I've seen other jurisdictions be more lenient, while the Los Angeles Central District is more harsh. Santa Ana is also a neighboring federal court in Los Angeles.
The Santa Ana Federal Court is a beautiful courthouse, but that's also part of Los Angeles County. I see some cases where the defendant commits crimes in both Los Angeles and Orange County, and the case gets filed in the Santa Ana court.
It's a smaller courthouse with fewer judges and, to a degree, handles the overflow from the Central District. Many prosecutors in Los Angeles have to travel to Santa Ana to prosecute their cases.
While other cases that are filed in that jurisdiction are just assigned to a prosecutor that's there, they have limited space there — limited judges and limited prosecutors. Again, it's a smaller courthouse but a sister courthouse to the Los Angeles Federal Criminal Courthouse on First Street and the Roybal Courthouse.
At this point, as far as Los Angeles goes in uniqueness, you must look at your charges. That's one thing that I would discuss when I meet with somebody in assessing their criminal case, and in addition to what the charges are, we have to look at what judge you got assigned to.
Some judges are more conservative in Los Angeles, while others are less conservative. So, in my opinion, that will impact your potential sentence and how the case is dealt with.
So, if you have a federal criminal case in downtown Los Angeles, you know who your judge is, or maybe there's a loved one who's just been arrested and about to start the process, pick up the phone, get in and let's sit down and talk about everything so we can get your federal criminal case in Los Angeles moving in the right direction.