Now that you have been arrested and/or charged with a federal crime (or about to be charged), you have experienced the fear that so many others have experienced. The government wants to put you away. How will you know how much time you will be facing? What should your attorney be doing for you? For one thing, your attorney should not be ignoring you If he does, get another. The federal government has sentencing guidelines that advises the judge what the sentence should be. Is your attorney advising you of this? He should advise you as to how much time you are facing. If you don't understand something, speak up If you want time off of your sentence, tell the pretrial services and the judge that you want to be in the drug program. It won't do you any good to be silent about the drug abuse. When you get finished reading this pamphlet, you should be fully informed so you will know what to expect, and not be in the dark. This is not a prison book, filled with jailhouse stories. It is a simple overview of what you can expect to happen and when. It will be a good idea to show this to your attorney. Don't get fed up and think life is over When you have all of the facts, you will be able to handle this with more comfort. It is not easy being charged with a crime. But you can get through this.