What Happens at Federal Sentencing Hearing

What Happens at Federal Sentencing Hearing

You’ve pleaded guilty or been found guilty at trial. Your sentencing is scheduled 3-4 months from now – and you’re trying to figure out what actually happens when you walk into that courtroom. Whether you’ll leave in handcuffs or go home to get your affairs in order. Whether you can say anything before the decision gets made. How much time you’ll actually serve versus what gets announced from the bench.

This article explains what happens at your hearing – the practical sequence of events that determine your future. Your constitutional right to speak. Whether you go straight to federal custody or get to voluntarily surrender later. How much time you’ll really serve when good time credit applies.

Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. We’re a second generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek – with over 40 years of combined experience representing clients in these hearings. When you’re facing this, you need someone who’s stood in that courtroom hundreds of times.

The Courtroom Sequence

Walk into the federal courtroom. Judge on bench, prosecutor and your attorney at their tables, probation officer somewhere in the room, U.S. Marshal by the door. If your family came – they’re sitting in the gallery behind you.

First step: confirming you’ve read the presentence investigation report with your attorney – the document calculating your advisory guidelines range. Then the prosecutor speaks, arguing for a sentence (usually at or near the top of the guidelines), emphasizing the seriousness of the offense and need for deterrence. They cite the factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) – framing you as someone who deserves significant prison time. Your defense attorney speaks next. This is where mitigation happens – where your attorney presents the other side, the circumstances that make you more than the worst thing you’ve done. Calling witnesses, presenting letters of support, explaining your background, your acceptance of responsibility. If there are victims, they may address the court. Judges listen to victims carefully. Then it’s your turn. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32 gives you an absolute right to speak before the decision is made – this is called allocution. You’re not just a case number, you’re a human being with an opportunity to demonstrate genuine remorse, to explain what happened without making excuses, to acknowledge the harm you caused. The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines have been advisory (not mandatory) since 2005 – calculated but discretionary. After considering everything – the guidelines, the arguments, the victims, your allocution – the sentence is announced.

Your Right to Speak

Allocution is your constitutional moment. What you say can influence whether the court stays within the guidelines or varies lower. This is where you demonstrate that you understand what you did, that you’ve accepted responsibility (not just legally by pleading guilty, but morally by acknowledging the harm), and that you’re genuinely remorseful. Work with your attorney to prepare what you’ll say, but speak authentically when the moment comes. Judges can tell when someone’s reading a script their lawyer wrote versus speaking from genuine understanding.

Genuine remorse expressed in your own words – that works. Acceptance of responsibility without excuses. Acknowledgment of harm to victims. Explanation of circumstances that led to the offense without blaming others. What doesn’t work: minimizing the seriousness of what you did, blaming co-defendants, appearing insincere or reading mechanically from prepared text, failing to acknowledge victims. Judges have heard thousands of allocutions, they know the difference between genuine remorse and performance.

If you participated in a fraud scheme – don’t claim you were just following orders. If you sold drugs, don’t argue that everyone in your neighborhood did it. Take ownership. Explain what led you to make those choices, what you understand now that you didn’t understand then. In close cases where the court is deciding between the low end and high end of a guideline range, or considering whether to vary below the guidelines, what you say matters.

Do You Go Straight to Jail?

The moment after sentence is announced, you’re thinking one thing: am I leaving here in handcuffs or going home?

This isn’t predetermined. If you were released on bail pending this date, if you complied with all pretrial conditions, if you’re not a flight risk – there’s a reasonable chance you’ll be permitted to voluntarily surrender 30-60 days in the future. That gives you time to arrange childcare, finish work obligations, say goodbye to family. It’s a privilege, not a right, but courts grant it more often than many defendants realize when you’ve been compliant throughout. The alternative is immediate custody. If you violated pretrial release conditions, if you have serious criminal history, if the court views you as a flight risk – the U.S. Marshals take you into custody right there in the courtroom. You’re transported to a federal detention center to await Bureau of Prisons designation and transfer. Your family watches this happen. No chance to go home first.

Calculating Your Real Release Date

Sentence gets announced and you’re calculating what that actually means. Federal law provides for good time credit: roughly 15% reduction for maintaining good behavior in prison. That means you serve approximately 85% of the imposed sentence, assuming no disciplinary issues. Two years means serving about 20 months. Five years means roughly four years and three months. This isn’t parole – it’s a statutory credit built into the sentence. Good time credit is earned automatically but can be lost through disciplinary infractions. Fighting, drug use, refusing work assignments, violating prison rules – these result in loss of good time. Beyond the basic 15% reduction, there are additional ways to reduce time served. The Residential Drug and Alcohol Program (RDAP) offers up to 1 year off if you complete the program. First Step Act earned time credits provide additional reductions for participating in recidivism reduction programs – educational courses, vocational training, mental health treatment. After you finish serving (including good time), you don’t just walk out free. Federal sentences include supervised release – typically several years for felony convictions. This is essentially probation after prison: you report to a probation officer, comply with conditions (drug testing, employment requirements, travel restrictions), and any violation can send you back.

It’s over, sentence is announced – now you’re waiting to find out where you’re going and when you report. The Bureau of Prisons receives the judgment and begins designation. They review your case: criminal history, medical issues, security level, program needs, and any recommendation for a specific facility. This takes 1-2 months, sometimes longer. BOP has sole authority to designate your facility – not the court, not your attorney, not you. Judges can recommend a specific prison, and your attorney should request this: medical care you need, proximity to family, programs you qualify for. Since the First Step Act of 2018, BOP aims to place inmates within 500 miles of their primary residence when possible. When BOP completes designation, you receive instructions to report – usually 30-60 days from the hearing. You drive yourself there.

We’ve represented clients in federal sentencing hearings for over four decades. We know what judges consider when deciding – what actually persuades them to vary below guidelines, how to prepare clients for effective allocution, how to argue for voluntary surrender. The hearing isn’t just a formality. If you’re facing federal sentencing – we’re available 24/7. Call us at 212-300-5196.