Under 18 U.S. Code §371, you may be charged with conspiracy if federal authorities gain evidence that you and at least one other person planned and took at least one overt act toward completing a specific federal crime.

If convicted of conspiracy, you can be fined and imprisoned for up to five years. Except, if the attempted crime was a misdemeanor, then the maximum penalty is that of the attempted misdemeanor offense.

Drug manufacturing, possessing, selling, and trafficking are all illegal under federal law (21 U.S. Code §841-865). In most situations, simple possession and sales are charged under state law.

However, when a drug offense includes large quantities of controlled substances, trafficking allegations, or the drugs crossed state lines, then it is more likely to be charged as a federal crime. Federal drug charges are harshly penalized, which is why you should have a federal criminal defense attorney represent you.

If you are driving your personal vehicle on a military base, in a national park, or on other federal property and you have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) above .08 percent, you can be charged with DUI/DWI under various federal laws. This is a misdemeanor offense for which you can be penalized with fines, months in prison, and years of probation.

Also, if you are arrested for operating a common carrier under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance, you can be imprisoned for up to 15 years (18 U.S. Code §342).

A common carrier includes vehicles involved in commerce by carrying passengers or goods on the ground, in the air, or across the water. Common carriers can be buses, trucks, ships, planes, and more.

In addition to the typical North Carolina firearm offenses, there are two main federal firearm charges: Felon in possession of a firearm and/or Ammunition (18 U.S. Code § 922(g)) and Possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or drug trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)).

These federal gun charges are aggressively pursued, and convictions could result in significant mandatory minimum prison sentences and in some circumstances up to life imprisonment.

Child pornography charges may be federal when the materials are transported across state lines or if they originate outside of the United States.

Federal penalties can be much harsher than state fines and prison time, so it’s important to work with a federal sex crimes lawyer to handle these charges from the beginning.