For the Defense with David Oscar Markus

David Oscar Markus sits down with CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig to talk about the intersection of law, media, and justice — and his new book, When You Come At The King. Elie Honig, CNN senior legal analyst, bestselling author, and former federal prosecutor, joins David Oscar Markus for a wide-ranging conversation about how the media shapes public understanding of crimi...

For the Defense  returns as David Oscar Markus sits down with Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, for a fascinating look at how the defense strategy evolved from Weinstein’s first trial to his retrial. Arthur Aidala, one of the most charismatic and colorful defense lawyers in the country, joins David Oscar Markus to break down the retrial of Harvey Weinstein. From cross-examining a comp...

The Season 6 finale is a doozy – featuring Howard & Scott Srebnick, who discuss the high profile trial of Michael Avenatti with David Oscar Markus. Michael Avenatti was a modern day Icarus. He had everything going for him, so what happened? Howard & Scott Srebnick represented him in the infamous Nike prosecution in which Avenatti is accused of extorting Nike. Listen in as Da...

A first for the podcast -- the former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, joins David Oscar Markus to discuss prosecutorial independence.   Alberto Gonzales and David Oscar Markus discuss the job of a prosecutor, whether prosecutors should be appointed or elected, whether governors should be permitted to fire prosecutors and other pressing ethical questions of the day. 

David Kendall sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. Independent counsel, impeachment hearings, infidelity. No, we aren’t talking about Donald Trump. Instead, we head back to the late 90s to discuss David Kendall’s incredible representation of President Bill Clinton. The high stakes showdown between Kendall and independent couns...

Chris Morvillo of Clifford Chance sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss the long and amazing saga of his representation of Mike Lynch, the CEO of Autonomy. Mike Lynch was dubbed the British Bill Gates. Then his world came crashing down as he was charged in federal court with fraud for what the feds described as a massive scheme to trick HP into buying Autonomy for more than it was wort...

Florida International University School of Law hosted Phil Hubbart and David Oscar Markus for a discussion about Hubbart’s book,  From Death Row to Freedom: The Struggle for Racial Justice in the Pitts-Lee Case . The podcast is lucky to host Phil Hubbart this week, a living legend in the 3-0-5. He revamped the public defender’s office and was an appellate judge. He recently wrote a...

Sean Hecker, of Hecker Fink, joins David Oscar Markus to discuss the trial of Barclays trader Robert Bogucki. How do you explain complicated FX trading to a jury? How do you try a case on the other side of the United States, far from home? How do you try a case with a large team? Join David Oscar Markus as he interviews his friend and amazing lawyer Sean Hecker about the fascinating case of Robert...

Judge Andrew Brasher joins David Oscar Markus to discuss all things Eleventh Circuit. Judge Brasher joined the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals when he was 39 years old. Having clerked for Judge William Pryor and worked as the Alabama Solicitor General, he is part of the well-known Judge Pryor “judging tree,” along with Judge Kevin Newsom and others. He discusses ho...

CNN’s Kaitlan Collins joins David Oscar Markus and his University of Miami class to discuss everything from covering high profile trials to how to examine a difficult witness.  As criminal defense lawyers know, cross examining witnesses is one of the hardest things to do. There's a lot to be learned from journalists who do it live on the air with difficult politicians. And Kaitlan C...

Todd Blanche, counsel to former President Donald Trump, joins David Oscar Markus to discuss the New York trial of People v. Trump. Todd Blanche, the first guest to appear twice on For the Defense with David Oscar Markus, discusses everything from the war room to Melania Trump not appearing at trial to getting into it with Michael Cohen and everything in between in this in-depth and free flowing in...

In this bonus episode, Judge Kevin Newsom joins David Oscar Markus for an open and wide-ranging discussion about being a judge on the 11th Circuit, legal writing, and even a recent health scare.   This bonus episode of For the Defense with the affable Judge Kevin Newsom and David Oscar Markus (they were law school classmates) continues to explore what i...

In this bonus episode, Judge Nancy G. Abudu – the newest judge on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals – joins David Oscar Markus for an open discussion about her career, the confirmation process, and the Court itself. Almost all appellate judges served as lower court judges and bring that experience with them to the appellate bench. But Judge Nancy Abudu’s path was quite different. In...

In this bonus episode, Michael Schachter and Randall Jackson sit down with David Markus to discuss their amazing acquittal of Tom Barrack in federal court in New York. Tom Barrack, a close friend and advisor to Donald Trump, was charged with being a foreign agent for the UAE. The so-called FARA violation is the new hot charge by DOJ. Enter Michael Schachter and Randall Jackson who tried the case a...

In the Season 5 finale, partners Margot Moss and David Oscar Markus discuss their successful representation of Mayor Andrew Gillum. Mayor Gillum was a hairbreadth away from being Florida’s Governor. Had the FBI not started and leaked an unjustified investigation, he would have won. But once they did so, they kept the target on Gillum’s back, eventually charging him with 19 counts in fede...

Was it suicide or was it murder? Craig Albee sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss whether Mark Jensen murdered his wife with antifreeze or whether she committed suicide. Craig Albee is the federal defender in Wisconsin. And he's tried lots of cases. But nothing like this one, which has led to books, movies, and of course, podcasts. Known as the "letter from the gra...

Barry Scheck put DNA evidence on the map during the O.J. Simpson trial and now runs the amazing Innocence Project. Barry Scheck, a titan of the criminal defense bar, sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss high profile cases, exonerating the innocent, and the practice of law. He's one of the best and it shows. 

John Lauro is not sitting back in his defense of Donald Trump. Listen to him discuss his defense strategy with David Oscar Markus on this special episode of For the Defense. John Lauro is former President Trump's lawyer in the January 6 case in Washington D.C. In this interview with David Oscar Markus, he goes in depth on how he got involved in the case, his defense strategy, his media strate...

David Oscar Markus interviews Matthew Menchel, one of the best trial lawyers in the country, on his acquittal for UBS banker Raoul Weil.  The U.S. had enough with wealthy tax cheats hiding their money in Swiss bank accounts. So it decided to go after the foreign bankers to send a message, including Raoul Weil, one of the top executives at UBS. Enter Matt Menchel, who defended Weil in federal...

David Oscar Markus interviews Lisa Wayne, the executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, on her most recent trial win, for New Orleans district attorney Jason Williams. Progressive prosecutors have been pretty controversial around the country. The recently elected district attorney in New Orleans was no exception as he was indicted in federal court on 10 counts of...

David Oscar Markus interviews legendary Jerry Lefcourt about one of the most important trials in American history, the Chicago 8 case. Jerry Lefcourt had recently been fired as a legal aid lawyer in the late 1960s when he got a call from Abbie Hoffman. They spoke all night at Hoffman’s apartment. Hoffman told him “I'll start a revolution; you keep me out of jail.” And Jerry did...

David Oscar Markus sits down with former President Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, who has not yet spoken in detail with the media. Todd Blanche was a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, prosecuting violent criminals in federal court. He then left for the oldest law firm in New York – Cadwalader. There, he quickly developed a reputation for being able to handle hot button case...

Season 5 starts off with a grand slam – Milton Hirsch, one of the country’s finest trial lawyers, current judge, and David Oscar Markus’ former partner, represented World Series MVP Pedro Guerrero in his federal trial in Miami. Too dumb to do the drug deal? That defense could never work, right? Wrong -- if your lawyer is Milton Hirsch, who beat the odds and won a federal criminal drug tr...

Well-known Boston lawyer Douglas Brooks sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss the Harvard Fencing Coach case, an off-shoot of the Varsity Blues prosecution.  The college admissions process gives all applicants – and their parents! – stress. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston charged over 50 defendants in the biggest college scandal of our time, which they dubbed Varsity Blues.&n...

DOJ’s antitrust division has gotten crazy aggressive in recent months, bringing criminal cases with new theories never tested before in federal court. These new cases haven’t done well, however. In a recent case alleging that 10 defendants agreed to fix prices for chicken, all defendants proceeded to trial. The jury hung as to all the defendants. In trial number 2, yet again th...