Criminal defense.
From state misdemeanor to federal indictment, the right defense depends on the specific charge, where you are in the process, and what's already in the file. We match you to a Utah, Idaho, or Wyoming criminal-defense attorney whose case history fits your situation — fast, because the work that matters most often happens before charges are filed.
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Sub-specialties within this area.
State felony charges
Violent, property, drug, or white-collar felonies in state court. Penalties can include prison, probation, fines, and restitution; collateral consequences include firearm loss, voting rights, professional licensure, and immigration exposure. Pre-charge work — when a target letter or grand jury subpoena arrives — is often the highest-leverage moment in the case.
State misdemeanor charges
Theft, simple assault, disorderly conduct, possession, trespass. Not minor — they still create a criminal record, can trigger probation, and for non-citizens or licensed professionals can have outsized collateral consequences. A specialist who knows the courthouse and prosecutor will read the plea landscape correctly.
Federal charges
Charges brought in U.S. District Court — drug conspiracy, wire fraud, firearms, immigration crimes, white-collar. Federal practice is its own world: federal-bar admission, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, pretrial detention defaults, and a 30-day Speedy Trial clock. State counsel without federal experience is not the right fit.
Juvenile delinquency
Minors charged in juvenile court. Different rules, different posture, different goals — the focus is rehabilitation and keeping the case out of the public record. Detention hearings move within 24 to 72 hours. Idaho's lesser-included-offense rules and Utah's school-discipline interaction can shape strategy in ways an adult-only practitioner may miss.
Sex offenses
Sex-offense charges carry registration consequences that often outlast the criminal sentence. No-contact orders typically issue at first appearance and can affect housing, employment, and family relationships immediately. Sex-offense defense is a sub-specialty inside a sub-specialty; lifetime-registration cases need an attorney who tries this work specifically.
Criminal domestic violence
DV charges trigger federal firearm-surrender obligations under the Lautenberg Amendment that no state plea can fully undo. No-contact orders issue at first appearance, and any related family-court case (custody, divorce, protective order) runs in parallel. The two cases require coordinated strategy.
Expungement & record-clearing
Utah's Clean Slate Act automatically expunges some misdemeanors after waiting periods (5 years for most misdemeanors, 7 for class A); other records require a petition. Idaho and Wyoming use petition-based clearing. Each state has its own waiting periods, eligibility list, and exclusions (DUI, sex offenses, and most felonies are often excluded).
Three steps to the right specialist.
Tell us what happened
A careful AI conversation walks through the facts. Specific charge and statute, state and county, date of arrest or notice, your current custody status, prior record, any statements made to police, and any search or seizure involved. If you're not a citizen, that matters — even a minor conviction can be deportable.
We identify the sub-specialty
Not just "criminal defense" — state felony, state misdemeanor, federal, juvenile, sex offense, criminal DV. The right attorney changes with the charge type, and federal cases require federal-bar admission a state-only attorney doesn't have.
Warm introduction to the right firm
We match you to the firm on our bench whose case history fits your sub-type. You're introduced, not handed off. The firm knows about your case before they call — and they know any hearing or filing deadline that's already running.
What we'll ask about.
- The specific charge and statute — felony or misdemeanor, the exact code section, and whether it's state or federal. The charge controls penalties, defenses, and the right attorney.
- Where you are in the process — pre-charge (target letter, grand jury subpoena, search warrant served), arrested but not charged, charged with arraignment pending, post-arraignment with motions or trial ahead, or post-conviction.
- Any statements you made — to police, in jail calls (recorded), to witnesses, in writing, on social media. Anything you said becomes evidence; an early attorney conversation can stop more from being said.
- Your prior record — prior convictions, prior DUIs (10-year lookback in all three states), prior felonies, juvenile adjudications, and whether you're currently on probation or parole. A new charge while on probation triggers a separate revocation track.
- Citizenship status — Padilla advisals require the attorney to address immigration consequences before any plea. Any non-citizen with a drug, theft, DV, or moral-turpitude charge faces removal risk.
- Professional licensure, CDL, security clearance, or firearm ownership — collateral consequences can outweigh the criminal sentence and change which plea is acceptable.
Deadlines to know.
Criminal cases have parallel clocks that don't wait. Bond hearings and arraignments run within days of arrest. Detention hearings for juveniles run within 24 to 72 hours. Federal cases trigger a 30-day Speedy Trial clock from indictment. If a target letter, grand jury subpoena, or search warrant has arrived but no charges yet, you are in the pre-charge window — historically the highest-leverage moment in the case, when a Fifth Amendment invocation or proffer negotiation can change the outcome more than any motion later. Active probation or parole adds a separate revocation track that moves on its own timeline. Non-citizens face Padilla-mandatory immigration analysis before any plea — and even minor convictions can be deportable. If you hold a professional license, a CDL, a security clearance, or own firearms, collateral consequences can move faster than the criminal case itself.
What people ask.
Most criminal-defense attorneys quote a flat fee for pre-trial representation, with trial usually billed separately. Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming rates for a misdemeanor typically run $2,500–$7,500 pre-trial; felony fees run $7,500–$25,000 and up; federal cases run substantially higher. If you can't afford an attorney, you may qualify for a public defender at your first court appearance. There's no fee for talking to us or for the introduction.
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Cases adjacent to this one.
DUI & traffic
DUI/DWI, refusal-to-test, license suspension hearings, CDL violations, vehicular assault, traffic offenses.
Learn more →Civil rights
Police misconduct, excessive force, wrongful arrest, First Amendment retaliation, ADA claims, constitutional violations.
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