Posts by pwsadmin

The differences between federal and state courts are defined mainly by jurisdiction.  Jurisdiction refers to the kinds of cases a court is authorized to hear. Most criminal cases involve violations of state law and are tried in state court, but criminal cases involving federal laws can be tried only in federal court. We all know,…

The Drug Enforcement Administration is expected to approve an opinion by the Department of Health and Human Services that marijuana should be reclassified from the strictest Schedule I to the less stringent Schedule III. It would be the first time that the U.S. government has acknowledged its potential medical benefits and begun studying them in…

Recently, a client wanted to have a serious discussion about having a pardon.  Many times the answer is unless you know the President personally, you don’t have a chance.  However, that is not necessarily the case.  Each year the average President receives XX applications for pardon.  Technically, a presidential pardon is a right granted to…

What makes a good sentencing memorandum? The defense sentencing memorandum is the cornerstone of advocacy for a rigorous defense at sentencing.  This is because, admittedly many Judges already have an idea of the sentence they will impose by the time the hearing arrives.  By the time of the hearing, the Judge has already read the…

Years ago, I had a client place me on retainer (as he knew he was being investigated and wanted to have me lined up in case he was arrested).  He thought the case would be a state case, but it turns out federal law enforcement had been following him for a while and the case…