The Federal System
In the United States, the federal government is responsible for enforcing federal laws. In order to accomplish this, the federal government assigns judges, prosecutors and public defenders to districts throughout the whole United States. Each district is responsible for dealing with alleged violations of criminal law that occurred within their district boundaries. There are currently 94 districts nationwide to include those in U.S. territories.
In Indiana there are two districts: The Northern District of Indiana and the Southern District of Indiana. The Northern District encompasses 32 Indiana Counties: Adams, Allen, Benton, Blackford, Carroll, Cass, Dekalb, Elkhart, Fulton, Grant, Huntington, Jasper, Jay, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Marshall, Miami, Newton, Noble, Porter, Pulaski, St. Joe, Starke, Steuben, Tippecanoe, Wabash, Warren, Wells, Whitley and White.
The Northern District is further divided into four Divisions: Fort Wayne, Hammond, Lafayette and Southbend.
Federal criminal law and procedure are very different than Indiana State law. Further, the participants in the federal system - judges, prosecutors, probation officers – are all federal employees who rarely have any interaction with the state system.
Federal Drug Laws
People charged with violations of federal drug laws face very severe penalties if convicted. Many of the laws carry mandatory minimum sentences. This means that regardless of the specific facts of a case (minimal involvement, clean criminal history, drug addiction), many people facing federal drug charges are looking at federal prison sentences of five or more years. For example the following crimes are punishable by not less than five years of imprisonment:
1. Possession of five grams of methamphetamine.
Five grams is less than 1/5th of an ounce.
2. Possession of one gram of LSD.
One gram is less than 1/25th of an ounce
Additionally, almost all drug sentences include a long period of supervised release after a convicted person is released from prison and the suspension of eligibility for many government programs.
The potential punishments for crimes involving common drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, crack, methamphetamine, heroin, LSD, ecstasy and other “street” drugs, are addressed in Section 841 of Title 21 of the United States Code.
