Philadelphia Federal Cocaine Charges: Laws, Defense and Sentencing

Philadelphia Federal Cocaine Charges: What You Need to Know

Getting charged with a federal cocaine offense can be scary. The potential penalties are severe, and the federal criminal justice system can seem cold and intimidating. However, with an experienced federal criminal defense lawyer on your side, you can get through this difficult time. In this article, we’ll break down everything you need to know about Philadelphia federal cocaine charges—the laws, possible defenses, and potential sentences.

Federal vs. State Drug Charges

An important first thing to understand is the difference between federal and state drug charges. Federal charges are brought by federal prosecutors and heard in federal court, while state charges go through the Pennsylvania court system. Federal drug crimes almost always carry harsher sentences than similar state charges. This is because federal sentencing guidelines—specifically, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines— are much less flexible than state sentencing policies.

Types of Federal Cocaine Charges

There are a few main federal laws that prosecutors use to charge cocaine offenses:

• Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine (21 USC 841(a)(1)): One of the most common federal cocaine charges. This applies when you possessed cocaine with plans to sell or distribute it to others. The amount you had on you at the time of arrest helps determine how severe the sentence may be.
• Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine (21 USC 846): If federal agents believe you made an agreement with someone else to distribute cocaine, you could face this charge. They don’t need hard evidence of an actual sale taking place.
• Crack Cocaine Offenses (21 USC 841(b)(1)(A)): Harsher sentences apply if the drug charge involves crack cocaine instead of powder cocaine. This is due to outdated federal laws from the “War on Drugs” era that treated crack much more severely.
• Continuing Criminal Enterprise (21 USC 848): This statute targets high-level drug traffickers. It is often called the “Drug Kingpin Law” and requires proof you organized and managed a large drug network.

Cocaine Quantity & Mandatory Minimums

A major factor that influences federal cocaine sentences is the quantity involved in the alleged crime. Under federal law, even small amounts can trigger what are known as “mandatory minimums.” This means judges do not have leeway to go below a set prison term. For example:

• 5 grams of crack or 500 grams of powder cocaine triggers a 5-year minimum
• 28 grams of crack or 5 kilos of powder leads to a 10-year minimum

So if federal prosecutors claim you possessed those amounts of cocaine, you’ll face at least 5 or 10 years in prison if convicted under 21 USC 841(b)(1)(A) or 21 USC 841(b)(1)(B). The law does not allow judges to give shorter sentences, even for first-time offenders.

This is why having an aggressive defense focused on attacking the government’s evidence about drug quantity is so important. If your legal team can show flaws in how investigators measured weight, you may be able to get under the mandatory minimum thresholds.

Sentencing Guidelines for Cocaine Charges

While mandatory minimums set hard floors for sentences, federal judges also use Sentencing Guidelines to decide appropriate prison terms. These rules provide sentencing “ranges” based on the details of a case. So even after avoiding a mandatory minimum, the guidelines can still have a major impact.

In cocaine cases, the biggest factors are:

• Drug quantity
• Your criminal history score
• Whether guns or violence were involved
• Your role in the offense (leader, organizer, low-level seller, etc.)

Without a mandatory minimum], judges have more flexibility to consider mitigating factors about you as an individual. An experienced federal drug crimes lawyer can advocate for a fair sentence under the guidelines by presenting evidence about your background, health issues, addiction struggles, family obligations, and more.

Possible Defenses in Federal Cocaine Cases

Fighting federal cocaine conspiracy and distribution charges is difficult, but possible defenses do exist. Some common strategies include:

Challenging the investigative methods: If federal agents used illegal search and seizure tactics, forced confessions, or relied on informants who lied, any evidence gained from those strategies may be excluded. This could cause charges to unravel or lead to acquittal at trial.

Contesting drug quantity calculations: The government often inflates drug weight to trigger harsh mandatory sentences. But their measurements may be sloppy or based on guesses rather than hard evidence. Disputing their math can lead to lower sentencing ranges.

Questioning witness credibility: Many cocaine cases depend on testimony from cooperating informants or co-defendants. But these witnesses usually have incentives to lie in order to help themselves. By exposing their credibility issues, the defense can undermine their statements.

Presenting addiction/mental health defenses: Those who commit drug crimes solely due to untreated addiction or mental illness may be able to argue they lacked necessary criminal intent. For sympathetic defendants, this can sometimes lead to probation in lieu of prison.

Arguing you had no knowledge of drugs: If drugs were found in your home or car, you may not have known about them. Or someone else involved may be trying to minimize their role and exaggerate yours. Fighting back against false allegations is key.

Proving you withdrew from the conspiracy: If you can show you clearly withdrew from a drug conspiracy before any crimes occurred, you may beat conspiracy charges by proving lack of intent.