Federal criminal charges occupy a different world from state prosecutions. The rules of evidence, the speed of indictment, the sentencing math, and the relative power of the prosecutor are all weighted in ways that often surprise people who have only experienced the state system. If you have been contacted by an FBI, DEA, ATF, IRS-CI, or Homeland Security agent — or if you have already been served with a federal target letter or grand jury subpoena — the next decisions you make will shape the rest of your case. Kent Starr has spent three decades defending serious felony allegations in North Texas, and the federal practice he has built draws on the academic and appellate work he started in the 1990s.
Federal jurisdiction reaches further than most people realize. A drug case that crosses a state line, a wire fraud allegation that touches a single email server in another district, a firearm enhancement attached to a state-level offense, a conspiracy charge alleging two or more participants — all of these can lift a prosecution into the Northern or Eastern District of Texas. Kent represents clients facing federal drug trafficking allegations, white-collar charges (wire fraud, mail fraud, healthcare fraud, tax fraud), conspiracy indictments, federal weapons charges, and the federal exposure that can attach to immigration and child-pornography cases. Many of these matters begin long before charges are filed, in the proffer-and-target-letter phase, where the most consequential decisions about cooperation, immunity, and trial posture are made.
The procedural shape of a federal case is unforgiving. Indictments are returned by grand juries, often without the defense ever being heard. Detention hearings move quickly, and the federal Bail Reform Act creates presumptions of detention in many drug and weapons cases. Federal sentencing is governed by the United States Sentencing Guidelines and, in many statutes, mandatory minimum sentences that strip ordinary judicial discretion from the equation. A client charged in state court with a similar set of facts may face dramatically different exposure than a client charged federally. The role of the federal defense attorney — particularly in the negotiation, plea, and sentencing phases — is to find every honest argument that reduces guideline calculations, secures variances, and preserves appellate rights.
This is where Kent’s background matters in concrete ways. After Oxford University, where he focused on international law, he completed an LL.M. in taxation at the University of Denver — useful training when financial-instrument and tax-loss arguments come up in white-collar matters. He clerked for the Supreme Court of Arkansas and for the Navajo Nation Supreme Court, work that demanded careful written advocacy and a habit of reading statutes the way appellate judges do. He has argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the federal appellate court that hears appeals from federal trials in Texas. That perspective — knowing what arguments will and will not survive on review — informs how he prepares motions, suppression hearings, and trial records from day one.
Federal cases also frequently overlap with state-level matters. Federal drug indictments often run alongside related state-court drug crime defense issues, and a federal supervised-release violation can collide with state parole and probation violations. Kent handles the full picture, not just the slice in front of one judge.
Starr Law P.C. serves clients throughout the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas, including residents of Dallas, Tarrant, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson, and Parker Counties. Kent is a solo practitioner by design — when you hire the firm, you work directly with him, not a rotating bench of associates. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English, and offers free, confidential initial consultations.
If federal agents have already contacted you, do not speak with them again before retaining counsel. If a target letter is already in your hands, time is shorter than it feels. Call (214) 982-1408 to schedule a free, confidential consultation with Kent.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is evaluated on its own facts.
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