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Saratoga County cases are heard in Albany
Federal Crimes Attorneys Saratoga, NY
Federal court is a different system, not just a harsher one. Different rules, a different courthouse, and a government that has usually been building your case for a year before you hear about it. Scott Iseman prosecuted in that system before he began defending in it.
Who reads your file
- Before defense
- Federal prosecutor
- Military
- Marine Judge Advocate
- Admitted
- All four New York federal courts
- Tried
- About 35 jury trials
01Find your situation
Which federal charge are you dealing with?
Find your situation below. Each one goes straight to what it means and what to do next.
Not sure which one you are? Bring us the paperwork.
Schedule a Consultation
02Who will handle it
Tried to verdict, and won on both counts
Scott Iseman worked as a federal prosecutor before he opened Iseman PLLC in 2021, and he is admitted in all four federal courts in New York. Most federal cases end in a plea. The ones that do not are the reason trial experience matters.
Taken to verdict
Acquitted on both firearm counts
An agency sting put a fifteen year mandatory minimum on the table, and the plea offer did not match what our client said had happened. We believed him, tried the case on an entrapment defense, and the jury said not guilty to both firearm counts. Exposure fell from fifteen years to five.
Federal prosecutorBefore the defense
~300Criminal matters handled
~35Jury trials to verdict
2021 to 2026Super Lawyers
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Client names are withheld. Appeals in that matter were argued by separate appellate counsel.
03Where you are right now
What stage is your case at?
The most useful thing to know is which of these three you are in, because the work is completely different in each, and the earliest one is where the most is still possible.
Stage one
Nobody has charged you
Agents have made contact, a subpoena arrived, or you have simply heard your name is in something. This is the stage where a case can still quietly end, and it is the stage people most often wait through.
Stage two
You have been charged
An indictment exists. The work turns to detention, the evidence the government has to hand over, and whether its theory survives contact with the actual file.
Stage three
Guilt is decided
What remains is the number. Federal sentences are calculated from a formula before anyone argues, so the fight is over the inputs to that formula, and it starts long before the hearing.
04State versus federal
A different system, not a harsher one
People assume federal means the same case with bigger numbers. The rules, the timeline, and the people across the table are all different, and that is what changes the strategy.
A Saratoga County case
Charged in Ballston Spa
Local police or the county investigate, the district attorney charges, and you are usually arrested first and investigated afterward. The case moves in weeks, and the people involved are carrying hundreds of files at once.
A federal case
Heard in Albany
Federal agents investigate quietly for months or years before anyone is charged. By the time you learn about it, the file is already built. There is no bail as you know it, there is a detention hearing instead, and the sentence is calculated rather than negotiated.
Not sure which system you are in? We can tell you today.
Schedule a Consultation or call (518) 633-152805Money and property
What this costs and what they can take
Two questions everyone has and almost nobody asks out loud on the first call.
What a defense costs
The stage and the volume of evidence set the figure, and we will give you a real number rather than a range that means nothing. The first conversation costs nothing.
What they can take
The government can move against property it says is connected to the offense, sometimes before any conviction. Bank accounts, vehicles, and a house are all reachable.
If you cannot afford counsel
You are entitled to appointed counsel in federal court, and the federal defenders in this district are genuinely good. We will say so plainly if that is your better option.
06Quick answers
Federal questions we hear in Saratoga County
Most people asking these have not been charged. That is the right time to ask.
Where will my federal case be heard if I live in Saratoga County?
Albany, about half an hour from Saratoga Springs. Saratoga County sits in the northern federal district of New York, and its cases are handled at the federal courthouse in Albany rather than in Ballston Spa or New York City.
What makes a case federal instead of a state charge?
Crossing a state line, using a bank, the mail, the internet, or a phone, or involving a federal agency or program. The same conduct can often be charged either way, and which office picks it up changes the exposure enormously.
What is a felony conspiracy charge?
An agreement to commit a crime, plus one step toward it. You do not have to carry the plan out, and you can be held responsible for what other people in the agreement did. It is the most common federal charge and the most misunderstood.
How long can a federal investigation run before anyone is charged?
Years. Federal agents commonly work a case for one to three years before an arrest, and for most offenses they have five years from the conduct to bring a charge. A long silence is not a sign that it went away.
I have no record. Why is the government coming at me this hard?
Federal charging decisions get made after the investigation is finished, not before. By the time you are contacted, someone has already concluded the case is worth bringing. A clean record helps at sentencing, and it does not slow the machine down.
Know exactly what stage your case is at
Bring the letter, the subpoena, the receipt an agent left, or the indictment. We will tell you what stage you are at, what the government most likely has, and what can still be done about it. Nobody can promise you an outcome. We can make sure you stop guessing today.
Schedule a Consultation
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Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 633-1528 scott@scottisemanlaw.com Get directions
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Iseman PLLC 59 Franklin StreetSaratoga Springs, NY 12866 (518) 633-1528 scott@scottisemanlaw.com Get directions
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page is general information and is not a prediction about any individual matter. Iseman PLLC, 59 Franklin Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, (518) 633-1528.