Limits of the information on this website

This site gives general information, not legal advice for your situation. Reading a page or sending a form does not make Criminal Center your lawyer. Brandon Sample is licensed in Vermont and practices federal criminal law nationwide; Criminal Center handles federal cases only. Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case.

What this site does not do

Reading a page does not file a motion, and it does not send a request to a warden. The form on this site does not pull records from the Bureau of Prisons. We cannot tell from a page view whether a particular sentence can be reduced. That takes the documents and a conversation.

What these pages are

CompassionateRelease.com explains federal compassionate release: the statute, the Sentencing Commission's policy statement, Bureau of Prisons rules, and how a request moves from the warden to the sentencing court. Articles that describe a court order describe that order. Guides explain the rules in plain words. Sample letters show the shape of a request. None of that is advice about a particular person, charge, or prison.

The law changes. A page shows the date it was written or updated. Where an older article states a rule that later changed, a box on that article gives the current rule. Check the date, and check the box, before you rely on a sentence. The eligibility guide and the statutes and policy page are the places to start for the rules as this site states them now.

Federal cases only

Criminal Center handles federal cases only. Brandon Sample is admitted to practice law only in Vermont. His practice is limited to federal courts and federal agencies. He has also handled federal cases in courts across the country. This site discusses federal sentences. It does not cover release from a state prison.

Naming a court, a prison, or a city on a page does not mean we have an office there. The only office is in Washington, DC. Court and prison pages are guides.

If you send a message

The consultation form is on our consultation page. We use what you submit to answer you and, if we can take the next step, to schedule. The privacy policy explains what the form collects, what the site logs, and the choices you have. You can also write to help@criminalcenter.com.

Contacting us through this site or by email does not make us your lawyer. Information you send before we agree to represent you may not be confidential. Please don't send a long account of the case until we have talked.

Orders described on this site

Some pages report a judge's order in one federal case. Outcomes vary. A past result does not predict or guarantee the outcome of any other case. A video on the client stories page is one person talking about one motion. It is not a prediction, and it is not a promise about any other case.

When a consultation helps

If you want to talk through a federal sentence, request a consultation and tell us what happened. We will tell you whether a compassionate release motion is the right next step, or whether the case needs something else.