Federal cases move on federal time.
By the time you learn about a federal investigation, agents and prosecutors may have worked it for months. The response has to be immediate, informed, and disciplined.
Federal Defense
Federal court
A different arena, with different rules and deeper resources.
Federal prosecutions are built before they surface. Grand juries meet in secret. Agents interview witnesses long before anyone is charged. When the case finally appears — a target letter, a search warrant, agents at the door, an indictment — the government is already organized.
The defense answer is not panic; it is structure. Who is a witness, who is a subject, who is a target. What the statute of conviction would actually require. Where the sentencing guidelines put the exposure, and which decisions move that number. Whether detention can be avoided at the first appearance.
Every one of those questions has a clock attached. None of them should be answered alone. Jerome Matthews is admitted in all three federal districts of Louisiana — Eastern, Middle, and Western — and before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Order of operations, from first contact to resolution.
Contact protocol.
Nobody speaks to agents without counsel. A false statement to a federal agent is itself a felony under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 — even from a person with nothing to hide. Declining an interview, politely and correctly, is a right.
Pre-indictment engagement.
Where possible, counsel engages prosecutors before charging decisions are final — on status, scope, and sometimes the decision itself. This window closes at indictment.
Detention and release.
The first appearance and detention hearing shape everything that follows. Preparation for release conditions starts before the hearing, not during it.
Motions, trial, sentencing.
Suppression and dismissal motions where the facts support them; trial where the government cannot carry its burden; and rigorous, guideline-literate advocacy at sentencing either way.
Asked in nearly every first call.
Federal agents left a card at my door. What now?
Do not call them back to “clear things up.” Call a defense lawyer first. An early, counseled response can protect you; an uncounseled interview can create a new crime even where none existed.
Am I a witness, a subject, or a target?
Those words carry real meaning in federal practice, and the answer changes the strategy entirely. Counsel can often learn your status directly from the prosecutor — without exposing you.
How long do I have to appeal a federal conviction?
Generally 14 days from entry of judgment for a defendant, under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b). It is one of the least forgiving deadlines in criminal practice — treat it as immediate.
Talk through the case before the next deadline does the talking.
Calls and texts are answered day and night. Share only what you are comfortable sharing — the first conversation is about timing, exposure, and what has to happen next.
504-247-6411