Federal Drug Penalties
Federal drug laws also carry stiff penalties. Serious offenses, involving possession of large amounts of illegal drugs with intent to sell, carry mandatory minimum prison terms of ten years. That means if you are found guilty, the judge has no option but to put you in prison for a period of time of at least ten years to life. Crimes involving lesser amounts of drugs may still require a mandatory minimum prison term of at least five years. In addition to imposing stiff fines, the government may seize and sell your home, your car, your jewelry, or anything else of value connected to your drug activity.
Federal drug laws are not limited to selling drugs. For example, it is against the law to maintain a house, a building, or even a room to store drugs, even if for someone else who intends to sell the drugs. Possession of drugs without the intent to sell them is also a federal crime and may yield a jail sentence. Finally, using a telephone to arrange a drug transaction is a separate crime.
If the federal government charges you with a crime, you could be detained, in custody, while you wait for a trial. Federal law allows you to be held in jail without bail before trial if the judge finds there is a serious risk that you will flee, or that you are a danger to the safety of the community. In addition, where the crime charged is a crime of violence or a serious drug offense, or there is a serious risk that you will obstruct justice or threaten a witness, you will have to overcome the presumption in the law that you should not be released. You cannot, however, be held for more than three days without a bail hearing before a federal judge or magistrate.
On Your Own, 2008 Edition
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