Before you pay anyone
There is an industry around federal cases, and a good part of it sells things that cannot be sold, at the worst moment of your life, when you are least equipped to evaluate the claim.
I am in this industry. I take clients and I charge money.
So read all of this the way you would read anything written by someone with a stake in it. What I have tried to write is the page I wanted at two in the morning, which means it includes the parts that are bad for business. The longer version of my bias is on the disclaimer page.
The three things nobody can sell you
Each of these gets sold constantly. None of them are real.
What the work actually is
If it sounds like access, it isn't
The claims that turn out to be false share a shape: somebody has a relationship, a channel, or a form that other people do not have. Designation, custody scoring, halfway house time, and expungement all run on published rules and none of them have a back door.
What is worth paying for is time, judgment, and somebody who has read the policy. Everything on this site is free, so start there, and if it turns out you need more than an email, the honest version of that conversation is one click away.
These pages cover the general rules. Your situation has details they don't. Email me a question. Answers are free, and "you don't need to pay anyone for this" is my most common answer.
I answer in the order received, usually within a couple of days. I have a day job. If your situation genuinely needs more than an email, I take a limited number of consults, so say so and we'll work it out.
Somebody you know is about to pay for one of these. Pass it on.