In Summation - The Final Word

America has a fascination with serial killers, and Ted Bundy is perhaps the most famous in American history.  Before his execution, he confessed to the murder of 30 women, all women, almost all attractive and college-aged.  Many true crime historians estimate the number to be several times higher. While we may  never know if Bundy was born a killer or was a factor of the unique experiences of his...

Listeners and followers of the show, I have heard your repeated attempts to spice up the In Summation library by bringing on a co-host to discuss legal issues and topics, and I am giving you what you want.  In this episode I brought on Robert Gottlieb of Robert C. Gottlieb and Associates, my law firm, to discuss the sensitive topic of the delicate balance between civil rights/civil liberties and n...

Aaron Hernandez had a difficult upbringing.  He has a strained family life combined with losing his father at an early age which set him on a path of rebellion.  He was brash, quick-tempered and took offense at even the most benign gestures.  He was also a very talented football player, the one aspect of his life where he excelled and gave him a future. It was the love of football which connected...

Scott Peterson met Laci Rocha in 1994 while Peterson was working in the Pacific Cafe in Morro Bay, California.  They began dating and were married in 1997.  To the outside world, they had a picture perfect marriage.  Scott got a good job with an agricultural products sales company and Laci worked as a substitute teacher.  They bought a house, and in 2002 Laci announced that they would be welcoming...

By the middle of the year 2000, the Enron corporation was a giant in the energy industry.  The stock price was a whopping $90.56 per share, Forbes magazine had rated it the most innovative company in the country for six consecutive years, and it had a giant market share in the energy field. A lot of the credit for this was given to Jeffrey Skilling, a Harvard Business School graduate and consultan...

In the wake of the highly public Derek Chauvin trial, people seem to be curious about the guilty verdicts of both murder and manslaughter.  How are they different and when is it appropriate to charge one, the other, or both?  Having discussed murder in several previous cases, we focus on manslaughter in this episode. Shortly after 4:45 pm on March 25, 1911, a fire ignited on the 8th floor of the A...

Charles Manson needs no introduction.  He has become a boogeyman figure in American culture.  Virtually everyone is aware of the brutal murders committed by the Manson "family."  People recall that during his trial, Manson carved an X into his forehead, and later that X was replaced with a swastika.  He never expressed any remorse whatsoever for trying to trigger Helter Skelter, a race w...

Michael Jackson has been undeniably influential in the entertainment industry since he was eight years old.  The King of Pop has wowed millions with his singing and dancing and was an international sensation for decades. In 1993 that world came crashing down as allegations of child molestation arose and the Santa Barbara District Attorney's Office extensively investigated Jackson's relat...

Around 30 years ago, on March 2, 1991, Rodney King spent the evening drinking and watching basketball with some friends.  A little after midnight, he got into his car and started driving down the Los Angeles freeway.  When the California Highway Patrol attempted to stop him for speeding, he led law enforcement on an 8 mile high-speed chase.  Most people recall that when he was finally pulled over,...

On March 13, 2006, Crystal Magnum and Kim Mera Roberts were hired by the Duke University Lacrosse team as strippers for a party over spring break.  After the party, Magnum claimed that she had been raped by three of the team members.  Over the next year, the entire country watched with baited breath as the story transformed from indignation and condemnation towards the three affluent, privileged p...

I suspect you are not familiar with the name Ross Ulbricht.  But chances are you have heard of his alias, the Dread Pirate Roberts.  The Government claimed that Ulbricht chose the pseudonym from the Princess Bride so that he could anonymously run the Silk Road, an open air online marketplace where anyone could buy or sell all manner of illegal contraband using bitcoin without having to disclose th...

Who is Steven Donziger?  Chances are you've never heard of him.  He may be a brave human rights activist or perhaps an exceptionally talented con man.  One thing is for certain, the story of his life is a wild roller coaster.  Donziger is a Harvard Law graduate who sued Texaco/Chevron in 1993 for the pollution and devastation in the Ecuadorian Amazon.  After winning a massive international ju...

There is something about political corruption which is especially jarring to the common citizen.  We expect our elected officials to pursue their constituents' interests and to work to improve the quality of life for all.  When they instead seek ways to peddle their influence or abuse their power for personal gain, it draws significant righteous indignation.  On January 7, 2015, Shelly Silver...

Phil Spector held enormous influence over the music industry for decades.  He produced some of the most widely recognizable songs from the most widely recognizable artists.  But underneath the genius was a man prone to violent outbursts.  On February 3, 2003 everything came crashing down for Phil Spector when B-list actress Lana Clarkson was fatally shot in his mansion.  His ensuing arrest for mur...

On August 2, 2016 Queens native Karina Vetrano went out jogging and never came home.  That night, her body was found and the Howard Beach Jogger murder became a sensational story in New York City for months.  A 20 year-old man named Chanel Lewis was ultimately arrested and convicted of the murder.  In this episode, Paul discusses the prosecution of Lewis and breaks down how the insanity defense is...

In the 1990s Dr. Murad Jacob Kevorkian assisted approximately 130 people commit suicide in Michigan.  In response, the Michigan legislature passed laws barring the practice and judges issued injunctions against the practice.  In this episode, Paul examines the unyielding drive of "Dr. Death" to euthanize those who he believed had the right to die on their own terms with dignity.  Listen...

At just 24 days, army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn's tenure as National Security Advisor is the shortest ever on record.  But he is far more notable for his three year delayed sentencing on a guilty plea to lying to federal agents.  In this episode, Paul explains how federal sentencing works and tackles the issue who who ultimately has the authority to stop a prosecution, all in the context of the...

Al Capone used fear and intimidation to rule the organized crime world of Chicago for much of the 1920s.  Yet despite all the blood on his hands and wake of destruction he left behind, law enforcement could never make a case against him for violent crimes.  In this episode, Paul discusses how Al Capone learned the hard way that the only two things in life you can always count on are death and taxe...

Martin Shkreli was labeled "what's wrong with capitalism in America" after increasing the cost of certain life-saving medication for HIV+/AIDS patients over 5000% percent.  He was universally reviled and detested.  And then he was arrested and indicted on federal charges.  But Shkreli's indictment had nothing to do with the decision to raise the price of this crucial medication...

On February 26, 2012 a local neighborhood watch coordinator in Sanford Florida by the name of George Zimmerman shot a 17 year old high school student named Trayvon Martin to death under suspicious circumstances.  Was it murder? Self-defense?  Listen as Paul breaks down exactly what Zimmerman was charged with, what his defense was and how the prosecution and defense made their arguments to the jury...

Was Casey Anthony a party girl who killed her own daughter so she could live a life free of responsibility?  Or was she a grieving mother whose past history of suffering abuse impacted her ability to show distress and mourn?  Paul explains how the facts of this case get progressively more outrageous while breaking down trial strategy and showing why sometimes less is more when arguing to a jury.

Welcome to the podcast!  In this introductory teaser episode Paul provides a bit of background on who he is and what this podcast is about.  In his career as a lawyer, he has had had more conversations than he can count where people could remember one specific facet of a case that was splashed all over the media for months, but had no idea how or why the case ended the way it did.  This podcast is...