Untangling Fear For Lawyers & Clients With Prof. Heidi K. Brown
It’s Halloween! What better time to talk about FEAR!!!??? Many think fear is the great motivator, but it can also be the great debilitator. Fear prevents lawyers from “going for it” at sentencing and making the extraordinary ask on behalf of their clients. Fear also prevents those clients from communicating their own truth on the…
Sam Bankman-Fried: Is Autism the Missing Piece of Mitigation?
Sam Bankman Fried is almost certainly on the Autism Spectrum. And, if his lawyers can fully understand ASD, they would have a better chance at acquitting their client by explaining to the jury why his actions may not have been nearly as intentional and calculated as they seem. Moreover, if he’s convicted, ASD would go…
Imperfect 10: Why thousands will be deemed ineligible for the ZPO and what to do about it
On Nov 1, the Zero Point offender Amendment to USSG goes into effect. WE CALL IT THE ZIPPO (ZPO). It is retroactive, and thousands facing sentencing and already sentenced should be eligible to have their sentences reduced. BUT what happens if you received a guideline bump under 3B1.1, for being a “leader organizer”? Because of…
Danny Masterson Sentencing Post-Mortem
A jury convicted Danny Masterson of two counts of forcible rape in California state court, and the judge just sentenced him to thirty years. It was a daunting task for his lawyers, because Masterson maintained his innocence to the bitter end. If the lawyers could have successfully threaded that needle, then Masterson would have potentially…
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Means “Backwards on Purpose”
What is the purpose of prison? Most people think the very fact of being removed from society, loved ones, and life in general, is the punishment. But that’s only the beginning. Once you get inside the walls of the BOP, the real punishment begins. Intentionally or not, those in charge of BOP facilities make the…
Find the Hurt, Amplify the Pain, Heal the Wound: 3 Steps to a Bulletproof Legal Narrative
Telling your client’s true and powerful mitigation story is the most important part of sentencing. But we lawyers are never taught how to do it right. The bigger problem is, this leads to disastrous consequences on the big day because when a lawyer fails to control the narrative, someone else will tell your client’s story…
GOIN’ RETRO: Retroactive Application of ZPO and Status Point Amendments
The Zero Point Offender and Status Point modifications to the Sentencing Guidelines go into effect on November 1. They are RETROACTIVE. But not everyone knows whether they may benefit from the changes or how to go about getting that benefit. Therefore, helping us get Set for Sentencing, Mark Allenbaugh, and Keith Hilzendeger to tell us…
BOP Stands for Big Ol’ Problems: Exposing Dysfunction & Danger at the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Judges routinely hand out prison sentences in white collar/non-violent offender’s cases, believing a client will end up in a minimum security “camp” and that their time there will therefore be less severe, or even “easy”. But, the days of the “Club Fed,” if they ever existed at all, are OVER. Decision makers need to understand…
Straight to Sentencing: Pre-Trial Detention Through the Lens of SBF & DJT
When a judge incarcerates a client awaiting trial, each of whom has not been convicted and is therefore presumed innocent, the practical result is that they go straight to sentencing without passing go, without collecting 200 dollars. Pre-trial detention should be reserved for the worst, or most potentially violent alleged offenders. But it’s not. And the…
The Power of Empathy
I believe that NOTHING IN THE LAW MAKES SENSE EXCEPT IN LIGHT OF EMPATHY. This is especially true when it comes to sentencing. A lawyer’s ability to understand and connect with a client is essential to their practice. But it’s not an easy concept to understand, it’s not always easy to put into practice, and…