If you are facing four felony charges, the central fact to understand is that each count carries its own possible sentence, and a judge can order those sentences served one after another rather than at the same time. That is what turns four charges into decades. But the counts are also independent in your favor: a jury can convict on some and acquit on others, individual counts can be dismissed before trial, and prosecutors will often drop charges as part of a plea. The exposure is real, and so is the room to fight.
How Much Prison Time Four Felonies Can Add Up To
Under federal law, any offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment is a felony, with maximums running from five years at the low end up to life or death at the top.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3559 – Sentencing Classification of Offenses Your four counts do not have to sit in the same class. Two may cap at ten years, two at five, and each carries its own sentencing range that the judge works through separately.
The single biggest variable in how much time you actually serve is whether the sentences run concurrently or consecutively. In federal court, multiple sentences imposed at the same hearing run concurrently by default unless the judge orders otherwise or a statute forces consecutive time. Four ten-year sentences running concurrently mean ten years total. Four ten-year sentences stacked end-to-end mean forty. Judges commonly split the difference, letting some counts run together and others separately, after weighing the same sentencing factors for each individual count.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3584 – Multiple Sentences of Imprisonment
Some statutes take that discretion away. The clearest example is using or carrying a firearm during a violent crime or a drug trafficking offense. That charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years, seven if the firearm was brandished, ten if it was discharged, and the sentence must run consecutively to the punishment for the underlying crime.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 924 – Penalties Convicted of drug trafficking with a related firearms count, you are looking at ten years plus five, minimum, with no way for the judge to run them together. If any of your four charges is a mandatory-stacker, it sets a floor the rest of the case has to work around.
Federal judges also have to fit the whole sentence within a broader instruction: the punishment must be “sufficient, but not greater than necessary” to accomplish the goals of the sentencing statute.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3553 – Imposition of a Sentence That language gives defense attorneys room to argue for concurrent time and against the harshest reading of the guidelines.
How the Sentencing Guidelines Group Multiple Counts
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines use a grouping system when a defendant is convicted on more than one count.5United States Sentencing Commission. Multiple Counts – Quick Reference Materials Counts that come from a single course of conduct, such as multiple fraud counts arising from one scheme, are typically grouped together, which limits how far the combined offense level climbs. Counts involving separate victims or unrelated conduct are kept apart, and each one adds units that push the offense level higher.
The practical takeaway matters more than the mechanics. Four charges built out of one bad decision are usually treated more leniently at sentencing than four charges from four unrelated incidents. If your case involves a single event, a single victim, or a single scheme, that fact is a defense asset and your lawyer will use it.
Bail When You Have Four Counts
Before anything else happens, a judge decides whether you go home or wait in jail. Under the federal Bail Reform Act, that decision weighs the nature of the charges, the weight of the evidence, your personal history and community ties, and any danger you might pose if released.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3142 – Release or Detention of a Defendant Pending Trial Four counts make each of those factors harder. The cumulative severity looks worse on paper, the combined potential prison time raises the perceived flight risk, and the judge is being asked to accept that risk based on charges the government has not yet had to prove.
If bail is set, expect an amount that reflects the combined gravity of the counts. A bail bondsman will typically post the full amount for a non-refundable fee of around ten percent, though the exact figure varies by jurisdiction. The judge can also stack non-monetary conditions on top: electronic monitoring, travel limits, surrender of your passport, check-ins with pretrial services. And for certain charges involving violence, drug trafficking, or witness tampering risk, a judge can deny bail entirely and order pretrial detention if no set of conditions would reasonably ensure public safety or your appearance at trial.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3142 – Release or Detention of a Defendant Pending Trial
Fighting the Charges One at a Time
Because each count is independent, each count is separately attackable. That is the structural advantage buried inside a multi-count case.
The charging document itself has to describe each offense in concrete terms so you know exactly what you are accused of.7Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 7 – The Indictment and the Information If a count is vague or fails to describe an actual crime, your attorney can move to have it dismissed or rewritten before trial. On a four-count indictment, knocking out even one count reshapes the case, cuts your exposure, and can shift the plea math.
The bigger lever is often a motion to suppress. If police obtained key evidence through an illegal search, a coerced statement, or another constitutional violation, that evidence can be thrown out. In a multi-count case, one search or one interrogation often produced evidence relevant to more than one charge, so a single successful suppression motion can gut several counts at once. This is where cases are won or lost before a jury hears a word.
If the case does go to trial, the prosecution has to prove every element of every count beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury can convict on some counts and acquit on others. The defense does not have to prove anything, and you do not have to testify. When the government stacks charges on thin evidence, the defense strategy is often to show the jury that the volume is the point: that the count total is meant to create an impression of guilt the evidence itself cannot support.
Plea Deals When Prosecutors Have Four Cards to Play
Most felony cases end in a plea, not a trial. With four counts on the table, that changes the negotiation in a specific way. Prosecutors have leverage: they can offer to drop one or two counts in exchange for a guilty plea on the rest. And you have leverage too, because trying four counts is expensive and each count is a separate risk of acquittal.
Federal plea agreements come in three forms under Rule 11, and the differences are worth understanding before you sign anything. In the first, the government agrees to drop or not bring certain charges. In the second, the government recommends a particular sentence or range, but the judge is not bound by it. In the third, the government and the defendant agree to a specific sentence, and the judge must either accept the deal as written or reject it entirely.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 11 – Pleas The distinction is critical. A non-binding recommendation means you could plead guilty expecting leniency and still get a harsher sentence, without the right to withdraw the plea.
Alongside guilty and not guilty, you can also enter a nolo contendere plea with the court’s permission.8Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 11 – Pleas It carries the same criminal consequences as a guilty plea but cannot be used as an admission in a later civil lawsuit. That matters when the same conduct could expose you to a civil damages claim.
For most people facing four counts, the difference between conviction on all four and conviction on two is the difference between a sentence measured in decades and one measured in years. That is where a defense attorney’s work shows up most concretely.
Whether Diversion Is Realistic
Some jurisdictions offer pretrial diversion programs that dismiss charges after you complete requirements like community service, counseling, restitution, and supervision. These programs are generally reserved for non-violent offenses, and eligibility turns on local rules and criminal history. Four felony charges make qualifying harder, though not impossible if the offenses are non-violent and your record is otherwise clean.
One warning matters more than the details. Some diversion programs require you to admit responsibility as a condition of entry. If you fail to complete the program, that admission can follow you back into the regular court process. Whether diversion is genuinely in your interest, or whether it creates more risk than fighting the case, is a judgment call your attorney needs to make with you.
Your Lawyer
You have the right to a lawyer at every critical stage of the case, and if you cannot afford one, the court must appoint counsel.9Library of Congress. U.S. Constitution – Sixth Amendment Public defenders are fully licensed attorneys, and they handle most felony cases in the country. The practical concern is caseload: public defender offices carry more cases than any single lawyer can give full attention. Private attorneys typically handle fewer cases and may have easier access to investigators and expert witnesses.
With four counts, each potentially involving different evidence, witnesses, and legal theories, getting counsel in early is the difference between a defense built on time and one built in a scramble. Every pretrial motion, every suppression argument, every plea calculation gets stronger with lead time.
Life After a Felony Conviction
Prison time is only part of what a felony conviction costs. Four convictions on a record magnify each of these consequences.
Firearms
Federal law prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing any firearm or ammunition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts It is effectively a lifetime ban, and violating it is itself a separate federal felony.
Voting
Voting rights after a felony depend entirely on where you live. A few states never take them away. Most restore them after release, or after parole and probation are complete. A smaller group requires you to apply for restoration, and in some cases certain offenses permanently disqualify you.11Vote.gov. Voting After a Felony Conviction Check your state’s rules directly.
Employment
Some industries are closed off by federal law. Anyone with certain serious convictions in the past ten years is barred from working as an airport security screener or having unescorted access to secure airport areas.12U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Arrest and Conviction Records – Resources for Job Seekers, Workers Banking, securities, healthcare, education, and government positions each carry their own restrictions. Multiple felonies on a background check make an already difficult job search considerably harder.
International Travel
A felony record can shrink your options for travel. Canada treats any criminal conviction as potential grounds for inadmissibility, including offenses that would look minor at home. Australia generally refuses entry to anyone sentenced to twelve months or more. Japan bars entry for anyone convicted of a drug offense regardless of sentence length. The United Kingdom’s Electronic Travel Authorisation system requires disclosure of criminal history and can result in automatic refusal for custodial sentences of twelve months or longer.
Sealing or Expunging Convictions
You may eventually be able to seal or expunge some felony convictions, but rules vary sharply by jurisdiction and waiting periods of several years after completing the full sentence are common. Violent offenses and sex crimes are typically excluded. Each of your four convictions may need to be addressed separately, which makes the process longer and less certain. Start when you become eligible, because every sealed conviction makes the next job application, lease, or license application easier.
The Appeal Deadline That Cannot Wait
If you are convicted and want to appeal, the clock is short. In federal criminal cases, you have 14 days from the entry of judgment to file a notice of appeal.13Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4 – Appeal as of Right, When Taken Miss it and you lose the right. State deadlines vary but are often 30 days. Either way, the clock starts running immediately after sentencing and there is no grace period.
An appeal is not a second trial. The appellate court reviews the record for legal errors: mistakes in applying the law, in admitting or excluding evidence, or in instructing the jury. It can affirm the conviction, reverse it, or send the case back for a new trial.
Beyond direct appeal, federal prisoners can file a motion under 28 U.S.C. ยง 2255 to vacate a sentence that violated the Constitution, was imposed without jurisdiction, or exceeded what the law allows. There is a one-year deadline for filing that motion, generally running from the date the conviction becomes final.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 2255 – Federal Custody, Remedies on Motion Attacking Sentence State prisoners have a separate habeas corpus process, also subject to strict time limits.