Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Federal Drug Charges

I have friend that was recently indicted on federal drug charges. The story I heard was that she was caught with 30 grams of heroin. I know she did cooperate with the FBI on this but nothing she gave them yielded any results. She was charged with possession with intent to deliver more then 100 grams. I don't know if that was something she admitted to or if there is evidence of her doing so as the indictment has about a six month period on it in which she did this. So my question is what sort of sentence she is looking at. The verbage on the indictment states 5-40 years. I want to be supportive of her and I just a little curious to how much time she will get if convicted. I know its difficult to say without all the facts but I wondering if it will be the minimum or something more extreme. This is her fist offense and she did cooperate. I'm also curious as to whether or not to help with a lawyer as she is using a public deffender and what the difference between the two would given that she admitted to much already. Please let me know what you can.


Asked on 1/09/09, 4:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Federal Drug Charges

Your friend needs a good attorney as soon as possible; however, a public defender can be a good attorney. They are required to have the same license and education as private attorneys and have to obey the same code of professional ethics. They are often more experienced than many private attorneys and extremely talented; yet they are also overburdened by very large case loads. If you hire a private attorney for your friend, odds are that attorney will have a good deal more time to devote to your friend's case than most public defenders. This often means more time spent communicating with a client and the client's family, which can be crucial to the eventual result. Federal drug conspiracy charges are grave matters and the sentencing ranges which you quote of up to 50 years seem realistic. However, for some defendants with bad records, the sentence could be a long as life imprisonment. The federal sentencing guidelines are often followed closely be US District Court judges, hence you are best off going through them on the US Federal Sentencing Commission's website. The length of sentence varies greatly depending upon the total quantity of drugs moved by all participants in the conspiracy, as well as the amount touched by any individual defendant. Numerous other factors such as cooperation and acceptance of responsibility can further reduce sentences. Answering your question is therefore impossible due to the limited information you have provided. Please feel free to provide more information via private email and I will try to assist.

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Answered on 1/10/09, 5:27 pm


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