However, in certain cases, a defendant may be subjected to sentencing enhancements. For example, a person may receive an enhancement for the role in the offense if the court determines that they were an organizer, supervisor, or a recruiter. Additionally, a person may receive an enhancement for using sophisticated means to facilitate a crime or for abusing a position a trust. A sentencing court will also enhance a person's sentence if the court finds that the defendant targeted a vulnerable victim, such as an elderly person.

Federal judges are free to sentence a person above the guidelines or below the guidelines in most cases. Nevertheless, certain crimes carry mandatory minimum penalties which are statutory, so a district court judge can not go under this type of sentence. For example, certain drug offenses carry mandatory minimum sentences depending on the quantity of drugs attributable to the offense of conviction as well as for prior drug convictions.

It is important to hire a criminal lawyer who is knowledgeable about federal sentencing and the guidelines. A federal attorney will be able to evaluate a presentence investigation report and make the appropriate objections at sentencing.

Federal law prohibits previously convicted felons from possessing a firearm. Normally, under section 924 of the United States Code, a felon in possession of a firearm could receive a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison. However, a defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon with three prior convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense qualifies as an armed career criminal. As a result, the accused is subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen (15) years imprisonment. It is therefore important to inform your criminal defense attorney of any prior convictions when charged with any federal crime, especially a firearms offense.

The Fourth Circuit previously held in Roseboro that a conviction under South Carolina's failure to stop for a blue light satisfied the test established by the United States Supreme Court in Begay v. United States and qualified as a violent felony. The Roseboro court used the modified categorical approach to determine that the crime could constitute a violent felony if the underlying conduct included willful or intentional behavior. However, in Rivers, the court held that failure to stop for a blue light only contains one category of crime, so using the categorical approach outlined in Chambers, the court determined that this south carolina state conviction can never qualify as an ACCA predicate.

Prior convictions are routinely used in federal court to enhance a defendant's sentence. It is therefore important to contact an experienced federal attorney when facing a federal indictment.

There are several defenses to some child pornography cases. Depending on who has access to your computer, if you are in a custody battle with a spouse, and how the files ended up on your computer all make for a basis to contest a child pornography indictment. It is important to remember that the amount of prison time that one may receive in a federal court will be based on the number of images and videos that the government can prove you either possessed or distributed. The worst case scenario would be to be charge with making child pornography. This provides for a particular enhancement under the United States Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Our South Carolina defense attorney is experienced in defending federal child pornography charges throughout the United States.

The Myrtle Beach and Horry County police have also been setting up additional checkpoints and roadblocks at night to conduct sobriety tests as well as other illegal activity in an attempt to enforce South Carolina's DUI laws. Myrtle Beach attorneys have learned from the local police that an effort is being made across the state to crack on on drunk drivers as a result of the number of deaths associated with drinking and driving in the state last year.

The local police have also cracked down on other offenses related to drugs and alcohol by conducting checkpoints near popular nightclubs in the area. This has resulted in many arrests of tourists, students and locals for disorderly conduct, minors in possession of alcohol, resisting arrest, drug possession, simple assault and battery.

When charged with a crime, including a misdemeanor, it is important to consult with a Myrtle Beach lawyer or a criminal attorney in the area to discuss your options. By pleading guilty to one of these offenses, it could impact your future employment. Additionally, if you are student and you are convicted of a criminal offense, you could be expelled from school.

Defending a mortgage fraud indictment is document intensive. You must have an attorney that is familiar with the application process and the necessary elements the government must prove in order to convict.

Mortgage Fraud is actually one or a combination one or more of the following:
-Bank Fraud
-Mail Fraud
-Wire Fraud
And the fraud must have impacted a federally insurance bank. This means that the bank needs to be part of FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Many credit unions and other investment houses cannot complain that they are a victim of fraud because they lack the FDIC requirement. The government has continually taken the position that they will not prosecute fraud cases that are against non-FDIC companies. This policy may change as more and more mortgage fraud cases are brought to light.

The court hears appeals from the District of Maryland, Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina, the District of South Carolina, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Northern District of West Virginia, and the Southern District of West Virginia. The Courthouse is located in Richmond, Virginia. There are 15 judgeships, 10 active judges, one senior judge who continues to hear cases part time, and two retired judges who no longer hear cases.

When an appellate attorney receives oral arguments on a case, each side gets twenty minutes to argue their side to a panel of three Judges, and each Judge may ask questions relating the issues presented in your brief. A three light timer is used to monitor each side. When the light is green, counsel may begin, when only five minutes remain, the green light is changed to a yellow light, when the five minutes expire, the red light appears, signaling that counsel is out of time.

As a mater of tradition, the Fourth Circuit Judges come down from the bench after each oral argument to greet the appellate lawyers and to thank them for their advocacy.

This issue will again be examined by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in its December 2009 term. It will be interesting to see how the appellate court treats alien status as a factor in sentencing proceedings in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Booker. Other Circuit Courts, like the Second Circuit and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, have held that even the appearance that a sentence reflects a defendant's race, national origin, or alienage requires that the sentence be reversed. In the initial brief and reply brief, the appellant argues that the Fourth Circuit should adopt a similar rule. The government argues in its appellate brief that any error was harmless.

In Federal cases, a defendant is sentenced in a separate court hearing that is set well after a guilty plea or guilty verdict after a jury trial. During this hearing, the district court calculates a defendant's guideline range, address objections to the pre-sentence investigation report, decides whether any sentencing enhancements are appropriate, and if a downward or upward departure should be granted. Federal sentencing proceedings are complicated and as a result, the District Court often commits reversible error during these proceedings. The appellate court will reverse a defendant's sentencing when the District Court improperly applies the law or violates a defendant's constitutional rights.

When filing a federal appeal, an appellate lawyer uses case law precedent of the Circuit Court and U.S. Supreme Court to argue the defendant's position. However, in cases that present an issue that has not been addressed in that particular court of appeals, a federal appellate attorney will cite cases from other circuit courts to support their argument. It will be interesting to see what questions the Fourth Circuit will ask at oral arguments in Richmond, VA in December, and whether the Fourth Circuit will join the Second and Eighth Circuit in holding that even the appearance of ethnic or racial bias by a district court when imposing a sentence is unconstitutional, which would require a reversal and remand for a new sentencing hearing.