Defense Attorneys With Federal Experience

At RaquinMercer LLC, we handle federal cases in Maryland for the Northern and Southern Division – in Baltimore and Greenbelt – and the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. Attorney Steve Mercer also represents clients in the federal District Court in the District of Columbia. Attorneys Isabelle Raquin and Steve Mercer can provide you with the knowledgeable advice and skilled representation you need. Our team has a passion for federal defense work, and we do everything we can to protect the rights of the accused.

Our federal experience extends to a wide range of cases, including:

Child pornography
Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Act (VICAR)
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
Drug possession, distribution or importation
Trafficking of guns and firearms

Federal Sentencing Guidelines

To determine your sentence, the judge will use federal sentencing guidelines. The guidelines can be complex, and the potential mandatory minimum sentences are very severe. Our firm knows how to work the guidelines and sentencing factors in order to mitigate the range of calculated points and give you the best possible outcome.

Protecting Your Rights At Every Stage Of The Process

Our firm assists clients throughout the criminal justice process, including if you have been contacted by the police as a suspect, target, person of interest, or as a witness, if you received a summons, or if you have been subpoenaed to testify at trial or before a grand jury. You should retain a lawyer to advise you of your rights. Our attorneys will:

Make sure you don’t incriminate yourself
Prepare you for the charges to come
Start investigating the case early and collect evidence
Negotiate the conditions of your release if an arrest is made
Protect you from harassment by the police, Child Protection Services, the state or government, or the media

If you have been charged or have reason to believe you are under investigation, it is important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible. Contact us now for a consultation.

Practice Areas

3 things you can request in a federal criminal trial

Whether you hear it on television or your attorney says the term, the word discovery gets used frequently in criminal cases. When preparing for trial, attorneys from both sides engage in the process of discovery. Discovery is the exchanging of legal information...

IS THERE EQUAL JUSTICE FOR JUVENILES IN MARYLAND?

In Maryland, any child under the age of 18 who does something that would be a crime if committed by an adult has thereby committed a “delinquent act” and is subject to the jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court. Some children, as you might expect, commit serious...

Forensic evidence testing can lead to errors

After investigators obtain a wide-variety of evidence from a crime scene, they then perform a myriad of tests to determine whether it links the suspect to the crime. Not all of the tests performed, however, are proven to be scientifically valid. In fact, some methods...

Expunging criminal offenses from a record

For those dealing with criminal charges, the hope is that (should their cases result in convictions) their challenges might end when they complete the punitive actions a judge assigns to them. However, that is often not the case. Indeed, they may begin to encounter an...