Wiktionary
n. (context idiomatic English) Any over-exaggerated ordeal.
Usage examples of "federal case".
Sanford countered that there would be no interference with the federal case as long as they were interviewing witnesses and suspects that federal prosecutors ignored, which seem to be in abundance.
But that's a local matter, and we're getting ahead of my federal case some more.
Besides, using them makes it an instant Federal case, and they've learned to keep away from us as much as they can.
It was their misfortune that any crime committed on federal property was a federal case, and further that the new district court judge was a man with more compassion than perception.
It was part of a federal case, and he hoped that somehow they could protect the name of a man who had certainly been a dirty cop.