The Central District of California is one of the busiest and most populous federal judicial districts in the United States. Spanning Southern California, it serves a population of over 20 million individuals across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties.
Given the sheer size and diversity of this region, the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, a key player in the federal criminal prosecution process, has implemented a structure designed to efficiently handle its heavy caseloads. This structure includes various specialized divisions, with the Criminal Division serving as the primary component in prosecuting a wide range of federal crimes.
The United States District Court for the Central District of California is one of four federal district courts serving the State of California. The others cover the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Districts, as well as one of the 94 district courts that cover the United States.
The Central District Court has jurisdiction over only seven counties across Southern California, but these seven counties comprise the state's largest population center. All told, the Central District serves approximately 19 million people, making it the largest federal district in California population-wise and the largest federal district in the U.S. The Central District sees an average of more than 17,000 cases filed annually.
Criminal cases involving violations of federal laws are also heard in the Central District. These include tax fraud, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, and other crimes with a nexus to federal laws.
In both types of cases, adverse decisions in the Central District of California may be appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Pasadena location). This involves filing a notice of appeal within a specified timeframe and presenting arguments to a panel of judges, who will then review the case and render a decision.
Overview of the Criminal Division
The Criminal Division, a bastion of legal expertise, is responsible for prosecuting individuals and entities accused of violating federal laws within the Central District of California. It oversees cases that range from common federal offenses to highly complex criminal operations.
Due to the broad scope and volume of cases, the division is organized into sections, each dedicated to a specific category of crimes. This infrastructure ensures both efficiency and a high level of expertise in addressing various types of criminal activity.
General Crimes Section
The General Crimes Section handles a wide array of criminal cases that don't fall into a specialized category. These cases can range from immigration violations and firearm offenses to identity theft and drug trafficking on a smaller scale. The section provides a broad overview of federal criminal law and serves as a platform for newer Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) to gain experience before transitioning to more specialized units.
A conviction in federal court for drug trafficking can result in a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison. Federal drug trafficking crimes are covered in Title 21 of the United States Code. The severity of the penalties depends on several factors, including:
- The type and amount of the drug involved.
- Large amounts of cash, weapons, numerous cell phones, and scales.
- Whether it is your first drug offense.
- Whether a minor was involved in the drug trafficking.
- A defendant's criminal history.
- Whether state or international borders were crossed in the offense.
- Whether the drugs were distributed to minors or near a school.
- Whether anyone sustained injuries or was killed in the drug offense.
For many newer Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs), this section serves as a platform for gaining experience before transitioning to more specialized units.
Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section
The Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is a beacon of justice, focusing on crimes that undermine public trust or violate constitutional rights. This section prosecutes cases involving corrupt public officials, including bribery schemes, election fraud, and the misuse of public funds.
It also addresses civil rights violations, including hate crimes, police misconduct, and human trafficking offenses. These cases often generate significant public interest and can involve high-profile defendants.
Public corruption is one of the most heavily investigated federal offenses, and those suspected of this crime may be monitored for an extended period before charges are formally filed.
Public corruption is actually a broad category. Federal prosecutors employ specialized units that focus solely on investigating issues related to public corruption. For example, a widely recognized unit that handles these types of cases is the Public Integrity Section within the United States Department of Justice.
Major Frauds Section
The Major Frauds Section specializes in prosecuting large-scale, sophisticated financial crimes. This encompasses offenses such as corporate fraud, healthcare fraud, mortgage fraud, and Ponzi schemes.
Cases handled by this section frequently involve millions, if not billions, of dollars in losses and often require extensive investigation due to their complexity. The attorneys in this section work closely with federal agencies, including the FBI and the SEC, to untangle intricate financial schemes, ensuring no stone is left unturned in the pursuit of justice.
Pyramid schemes and Ponzi schemes are similar illegal financial activities that typically involve investment fraud and are prosecuted under federal laws, with trials held in federal courtrooms.
Investors and business partners could be paid in cash or offered promises of receiving profitable stocks or hedge funds. These types of illegal schemes involve innocent investors making investments, hoping to return a profit.
International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section (INMLRS)
The INMLRS handles cases involving global aspects of criminal activity. These include international drug trafficking operations, money laundering schemes, and cases against organized criminal enterprises under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
This section works to dismantle major trafficking networks and financial systems that support criminal organizations, frequently in collaboration with international law enforcement.
RICO allows for members of criminal enterprises to be charged with racketeering. If members of the criminal enterprise commit any 2 of 35 listed federal and state crimes within 10 years, the RICO Act applies.
This act was passed to eliminate the ill effects of organized crime on the nation's economy and originally targeted the Mafia and others participating in similar criminal activity.
The primary purpose of racketeering laws is to penalize organized criminal activities and crimes. These can include a wide array of charges, such as arson, embezzlement, fraud, money laundering, robbery, extortion, gambling, bribery, kidnapping, conspiracy, and homicide.
Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section
The Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section prosecutes violations of federal environmental laws and offenses that pose risks to public health and safety. Examples include illegal dumping of hazardous waste, Clean Air Act violations, and workplace safety infractions that result in injuries or deaths.
Protecting natural resources and ensuring compliance with safety regulations are top priorities for this section, which frequently collaborates with agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Environmental crimes are offenses that endanger the community by dumping, leaking, or introducing toxic chemicals or other substances into the environment. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the responsibility to investigate possible environmental crimes.
If the EPA discovers a violation of environmental laws, an individual or corporation could face criminal prosecution by the United States Department of Justice, leading to substantial fines and even imprisonment in a federal prison.
Violent and Organized Crime Section
The Violent and Organized Crime Section tackles offenses that are particularly violent and/or occur within the context of organized crime. This includes cases related to gang violence, armed robbery, murder for hire, human smuggling, and kidnappings.
Federal murder cases are often high-profile, and federal prosecutors and law enforcement agencies are under pressure to aggressively investigate and file charges against alleged suspects to bring them to justice.
Murders that will become potential federal crimes are those that occur in the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
This could include murders which occur aboard ships in United States territorial waters, aboard airplanes under the jurisdiction of the FAA, or murders which occur in national parks or on military bases, which are places in which only the federal government has criminal prosecutorial authority.
Additionally, the section prosecutes organized crime activities like extortion and illegal gambling rings. Federal resources and coordination with local law enforcement agencies are essential in dismantling these dangerous operations and ensuring community safety.
What This Means for You
Suppose you're suspected of committing a federal crime within the Central District of California. In that case, you are up against a system built to handle even the most complex cases with efficiency and competence.
Understanding the workings of the Criminal Division can give you insight into how your case might proceed, which section may oversee the case, and what level of expertise you may face from federal prosecutors.
Every case brought before the Criminal Division, whether it involves fraud, public corruption, violent crime, or another offense, is treated with the rigor and thoroughness characteristic of federal prosecutions.
Seeking skilled legal representation from a federal criminal defense attorney with specific experience in the Central District can make a huge difference in the quality of your defense and the outcome of your case. For more information, contact our federal criminal defense law firm, Eisner Gorin LLP, based in Los Angeles, CA.
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