Federal Criminal Defense

The Hawkins Law Firm provides federal criminal defense throughout middle Tennessee and the Southeast.

Travis Hawkins has successfully defended clients facing federal charges in many federal jurisdictions and constructs a defense strategy to aggressively fight the allegations against our clients. Our federal criminal defense lawyers and our federal appellate lawyers are licensed to practice in any federal court in the United States. Our primary federal practice areas include:

Federal white collar crimes such as fraud.
Federal Drug Crimes such as Trafficking, Smuggling and Distribution and Sales.
Weapons charges including Firearms Trafficking and Unlawful Import or Export of Weapons.
Money Laundering.
Racketeering or RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) Charges.
Criminal Gang activity.
Conspiracy Charges.
Human Trafficking.

A Federal charge is of the utmost seriousness. Taking a plea puts you at the mercy of the crushing great wheel of justice. The Hawkins Law Firm is dedicated to giving you your day in Federal Court. Before you think about a plea talk to us about what a sophisticated vigorous defense at trial can do for you.

Federal felonies are charges brought against a person suspected of breaking a federal law by an agency of The United States Government where the sentence may be one year or more in prison. Generally, if you have been taken into custody by federal agents or arrested on federal property (a National Park for instance) you will be charged with a federal felony. Charges brought against a person by a state agency where the crime is said to have occurred in multiple states may also qualify as a federal felony.

Defendants facing federal felony charges will face a different set of circumstances than those of a state proceeding. For instance, bail, on the state level, is determined by a schedule (i.e., if you commit THIS crime, you must pay THIS much to get out of jail). The procedures of a federal arrest differ in that there is no bail schedule, and defendants are required to be interviewed by a Pretrial Services Officer in order to determine whether or not they are even eligible for bail.

The Pretrial Services Officer will make an investigation of:

Background
Employment history and/or status
Financial situation
Family relationships
Position within the community in which they live

Having a federal criminal defense lawyer can be vital to securing your ability to be released on bail. The government maintains the right to hold, without bail, individuals who pose a flight risk or individuals who are determined to be too dangerous to released back into their communities while awaiting trial.

It is common to be detained without the allowance of bail if involved in:

Violent crimes resulting in death or injury
Serious “serial” criminal violations (ie armed robberies, rape)
The sale and distribution of illegal weapons
Organized crimes
Gang related activities
Individuals with extensive criminal histories may also be detained without bail.

A federal criminal defense attorney may be able to help you secure your bail, or help you appeal to the District Court Judge, if your bail has been denied.

The discovery process in federal courts is also quite different than that of the state courts. A United States Prosecuting Attorney, for instance, is not required to provide the statements of their witnesses to the federal criminal defense team until after the witnesses have testified before the courts. This means that, without a motion to compel discovery early on in the trial, a U.S. Prosecutor can withhold testimonial evidence until the last minute and present a bombshell disclosure for which the defendant is unprepared. We will counter these kinds of strategies with skill and forcefulness.