Psychodrama at Sentencing (PART ONE)
Psychodrama has been used by trial lawyers for decades. But it hasn’t been effectively deployed for use at SENTENCING…. until now. While psychodrama action therapy requires a trained professional to implement, there good news is there are psychodrama-adjacent techniques that can help any lawyer dig for, develop, and deliver a powerful and persuasive sentencing presentation!…
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…
Indian Country: A Glimpse into Tribal and Federal Indian Criminal (In)Justice
The criminal justice system is a tool of social control. And no where is that more evident than on our nation’s Indian reservations. American Indians have been the targets of the wrath of the criminal process since the day a renegade Sioux warrior Crow Dog shot Chief Spotted Tail dead in the late 1800’s. We…
A Child’s Poison: Lead Poisoning as Sentencing Mitigation with Dr. Ted Lidsky
The government often weaves false sentencing narratives about our clients: they are born bad, uncontrollably violent, no concern for others, no respect for the law. There’s always a more truthful, powerful, and humanistic story to tell. And in some of those cases that story could be LEAD POISONING! The fact is, the probability of those…
Year of the Dragon: Sentencing Guideline New Year’s Cheers & Jeers
Life in the Shadow of Death, With Cyndy Short
Cyndy Short has been representing those accused of the worst crimes imaginable for most of her career – and she has NEVER had a client sentenced to death on her watch. She understands that sometimes what makes a lawyer great isn’t their legal abilities, but their human abilities. In other words, it’s time for lawyers to…
Across the Pond: Sentencing in the United Kingdom
Watch this episode on YOUTUBE, on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you get your podcasts! We like to think the United States has “the greatest system in the world.” But do we? There’s simply no way to answer that question until we learn how other countries adjudicate crime. Helping us get Set for Sentencing is Prof. Julian Roberts,…
A Richer Measurement of Justice: The Novel Lolita Read as a Sentencing Memorandum
Watch this episode on YOUTUBE, on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you get your podcasts! Lawyers have everything to learn from great stories on the screen, on the page, or on the stage. Legal Writing Professor Christina Frohock knows this well, as her latest law review article, Legal Fiction: Reading Lolita as a Sentencing Memorandum, brings into focus…
Your Voice Matters: Priorities for the Newly Minted Federal Sentencing Guidelines Commission
Watch this episode on YOUTUBE, on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you get your podcasts! For the first time in nearly four years, there is a fully staffed, fully functioning United States Sentencing Guidelines Commission. They have published a list of priorities for the 2022-23 cycle and are soliciting public comments until Oct. 17, 2022. But many may…