Marilyn Mosby Sentencing Post-Mortem
Marilyn Mosby, Baltimore’s former top prosecutor, made headlines for her bold actions during her tenure. She fearlessly took on the Baltimore police, charging those involved in Freddie Gray’s death, and advocated controversial positions, including refusing to prosecute low-level drug offenders. However, her own legal journey took an unexpected turn. Accused of federal fraud violations, she…
DePape (Pelosi Attacker) Sentencing Post-Mortem
It shocked the nation when David DePape, driven by insane QAnon conspiracy theories, violently attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A federal judge recently sentenced DePape to 30 years in prison. With that de facto life sentence looming, we uncover a legal twist: the judge’s oversight during sentencing denied him the chance…
Guidelines Blues: The Commission’s Next Moves
The United States Sentencing Commission is gearing up to make their recommendations for the next round of amendments. It’s the follow-up album to their first hit record, which included memorable songs such as ” The Zero Point Offender Boogie”, and “Release Me (Compassionately)”. The real question is can they top their debut with their sophomore…
Year of the Dragon: Sentencing Guideline New Year’s Cheers & Jeers
Making Sense of the Georgia Trump RICO Pleas (Vol. I)
Three lawyers (so far) have plead guilty in the Georgia State RICO case. I had so many questions about what these pleas and sentencings really meant – for the lawyers who entered them, the remaining defendants, and the pending federal matters. But, I don’t practice in Georgia state court. Therefore, I put out the “bat…
Guideline Tricks & Treats: A Rundown of All New Sentencing Guideline Amendments That Took Effect on 11/1/23
The day after Halloween, all of the proposed guideline changes went into effect! We’ve talked about many of them in detail on previous podcasts, but here, we do a quick run-through of all eigiht categories of amendments. So what’s in our candy bags the day after? Well, in truth, most of what we got were…
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…
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…