Chicago’s Winningest Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer Michael Leonard discusses Ninth Federal Not Guilty Jury Verdict.
It is always extremely gratifying to obtain a not guilty jury verdict on behalf of a defendant in a Federal criminal case. First, statistically, it is not the norm. Second, it always feels as though Federal criminal law and Federal criminal procedures are stacked against the defendant. Third, the Government – i.e., the Department of Justice through a particular United States Attorneys’ Office – has essentially unlimited resources and typically has devoted numerous people, including prosecutors, agents, paralegals, and experts, to the case for a period of years.
But, finally and most importantly, that not guilty verdict comes after I have developed a deep relationship with the client/defendant – and oftentimes his or her family or friends – over a period of years. As a result, I am deeply invested in the case. I appreciate the fact that both the client/defendant and his family have placed their trust in me.
I know a lot of attorneys talk about obtain “not guilty” verdicts in Federal criminal trials. However, very often, when one looks at the verdict, the not guilty may have only been with regard to a Count or Counts out of the Indictment. Consequently, the result is NOT that the client/defendant walks out of the courthouse – instead, he or she is still sentenced to anywhere from years to decades in Federal prison.
At Leonard Trial Lawyers, we recently obtained, on February 26, 2026, the ninth not guilty jury verdict in a Federal criminal law. That means that in each and every one of those cases, the jury did NOT return any Guilty findings on any of the Counts faced by those defendants.
Those successful jury verdicts have come in the following areas of Federal law: 1) drug possession/distribution; 2) a stash house conspiracy case; 3) synthetic drug possession/distribution; 4) felon in possession of a firearm; 4) drug conspiracy and drug distribution; 5) conspiracy/health care fraud; 7) conspiracy/wire fraud/mortgage fraud; 8) assault upon a Federal agent; and 9) conspiracy/healthcare. fraud. In a 10th Federal criminal jury trial, all charges against our client were dismissed, pursuant to a diversion agreement offered to us in the middle of the trial.
There is nothing quite like hearing the words “NOT GUILITY” echo through a Federal courtroom.
Michael Leonard
Leonard Trial Lawyers
March 4, 2026
the relationship
