Set For Sentencing

In a perfect world, the presumption of innocence is sacrosanct.  If you are found not guilty by a jury, common sense and the constitution dictate that acquitted conduct should not later be used to enhance your sentence on other charges.   But in federal court, it is not only possible, but commonplace to increase punishment based on acquited, uncharged and dismissed conduct.  The good news is, that...

Well, January is shaping up to be an all Allenbaugh affair.  Although we finished our marathon session on December's metric ton of high-profile federal sentencings, there was one other bombshell that we couldn't leave untouched:  Congress's criminal referral to the Dept. of Justice of the former  president, Donald J. Trump , on a series of alleged federal crimes surrounding his involvement in the...

It was a long wacky December in the world of federal sentencing. I can't remember a month with more high profile proceedings, and Mark Allenbaugh (www.sentencingstats.com) and I covered all of it in a marathon, 4-hour session. Here is part 3, dissecting the sentencings of Julie and Todd Chrisley, the star of USA Network's reality shitshow, "Chrisley Knows Best." This husband and wife duo were conv...

Let's call this part-two of our long days journey into the night of several recent high profile federal setnencings.  Continuing our conversation from last week (Sunny Bulwani), we dig in to the sentencing of the very public and tragic fall of attorney Michael Avenatti.  We did most of the stats in last week's episode, but this week (see links below).  In today's episode, we first focus on some st...

In this case, we deal with the "ABCs" of federal fraud sentencing, meaning, we're doing a deep comparative analysis of three recent high profile cases: MICHAEL AVENATTI, SUNNY BALWANI, and JULIE & TODD CHRISLEY. I never ceased to be amazed by the miraculous work Mark Allenbaugh does with sentencing stats, but, maybe more so than any of our previous collaborations, this one is chock full of so much...

Rounding out an "all Doug December", this is absolutely my favorite podcast appearance, simply because Sigalle Barness brings so much soul to this space.  Our conversation was from the heart, and she asked me really hard and interesting questions that pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Once you get through some familiar territory about my origin story into law and film, you get to some really deep...

Continuing my goal of showcasing my own work in December, this week's episode is all about my passion, my love, my baby; what we call DEFENSE DOCUMENTARIES .  Some call them mitigation videos or sentencing videos.  These are short, true, films produced for criminal cases (for plea negotion, sentencing, and post-conviction relief) and used to humanize our clients and advocate for them in a far more...

We have produced over thirty episodes of Set For Sentencing including our Web extras, AND  we're just getting started.  BUT no episode has yet solely focused on the work I do helping lawyers tell their most powerful sentencing narratives and producing defense documentaries to humanize clients and bring their life story into living color. THEREFORE , I thought it might be interesting to flip the sc...

Mitigation Specialists can be a lawyer's secret weapon. They help us dig for, develop, and deliver our powerful mitigation narratives.  But many lawyers remain unaware of the import and effect of a full mitigation workup, or may not have the resources to do so.  Therefore, helping us get set for sentencing is Victoria Rusk, founder of Heart of Justice, LLC, a mitigation firm devoted to what she re...

Lawyers are taught that logic is their best friend.  BUT, in the real world, human beings make their most important decisions based on EMOTION, not LOGIC.  So how do you present your facts in a way that taps into the genuine emotions of the decision makers?  Come on people, you know this:  A good, true, & well told story! Helping us get Set For Sentencing, and joyfully continuing our ongoing conve...

On Friday, 11/18/22, a federal judge sentenced Elizabeth Holmes to over eleven years in prison.  Ms. Holmes was convicted after trial of a "fake it 'till you make it" fraud involving her company Theranos, and the revolutionary blood testing technology dream machine that was not to be.  There are many lessons we can learn from what went down last week, so, helping us get Set For Sentencing, our old...

Watch this episode on  YOUTUBE , on  APPLE PODCASTS , or wherever you get your podcasts! Ideally, when a person who may have committed a crime is deemed to be seriously mentally ill, a fair and rational criminal justice system will give them meaningful mental health treatment in a humane environment. But, in the federal system, mentally incompetent defendants who have never been found guilty of AN...

I hate to admit it, but we lawyers, we're really good talkers, but listening? Not so much.  When your lawyer puts away the police report, sits with you, and says, "tell me your story, I'm all ears," then you know you are in good hands.  But, being a good listener isn't always intuitive.  Therefore, it's time we look to the world of improv to see what it can teach us about being better advocates fo...

Watch this episode on  YOUTUBE , on  APPLE PODCASTS , or wherever you get your podcasts! We like to say 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 British scholar, sentencing expert, and Executive Dir. of The Se...

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 exactly what lawyers and clients can learn...

Watch this episode on  YOUTUBE , on  APPLE PODCASTS , or wherever you get your podcasts! Helping us get Set for Sentencing, Professor Doug Berman, author of the Sentencing Law and Policy Blog.  Prof. Berman helps us make sense of two major sentencing events of the past week - President Biden's blanket pardon for federal marijuana possession and a Florida Jury's  non-death verdict in the penalty ph...

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 not realize just how consequentional some of the proposed changes could be.  Therefore, helping us get Set For Sentencing, in an unpr...

Watch this episode on  YOUTUBE , on  APPLE PODCASTS , or wherever you get your podcasts! Steve Bannon is set for sentencing on Oct. 21, 2022, after a jury found him guilty of two counts of Contempt of Congress.  But, like many of the recent Trump-adjacent prosecutions, we are in uncharted waters.  Therefore, helping us get Set for Sentencing to sort all this out, our returning champion, Mark Allen...

Prison consultants have been receiving dubious attention in the press lately.  The truth is, a qualified prison consultant can be a valuable member of a well-managed defense team .  But, beware of so-called experts who promise you the moon for a fee.  Helping us get set for sentencing is Walt Pavlo, the founder of Prisonology, a collection of exceptionally qualified prison consultants, most of who...

Watch on YOUTUBE or LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS Helping us get set for sentencing, attorney Alan Ellis.  He's an expert in all things sentencing and post-conviction relief and the author of the wildly popular Federal Prison Guidebook. IN THIS EPISODE:   The importance of knowing your Judge; How to develop mental health mitigation; The need to develop a powerful and credible narrative; The need for qu...

The criminal system in Maricopa County, Arizona is missing the Justice.  It's the fourth largest county in the nation, and the eighth largest incarcerator IN THE WORLD.  The County Attorney's office has been infamous for decades for overcharging, systemic bias, and flat-out corruption.   Helping us get Set For Sentencing this week is Julie Gunnigle.  She's a democrat running for County Attorney as...

Black Americans and other minorities are disproportionally represented in the numbers of those charged, the kinds of charges they face, and the length of sentences imposed.  The question is WHY?  The answer is far from simple, but it's one that everyone needs to better understand. Helping us get Set for Sentencing, Dean of the Detroit Mercy School of Law, Jelani Jefferson-Exum.  Dean Jefferson-Exu...

Helping us get Set for Sentencing, Constitutional scholar and extraordinary criminal defense lawyer, Robert McWhirter.  Bob is a nationally and internationally known speaker and author on trial advocacy, immigration law, and the history of the bill of rights.  His most recent book, is Fixing the Framers' Failure: 13th, 14, 15th Amendment and America's New Birth of Freedom , available for pre-order...

I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it – at sentencing, narrative is everything .  Helping us get Set For Sentencing is a man who knows how to tell GREAT stories. Mark Hsu is an attorney and the author of a sweet, poignant, and incredibly well-written book called,  Please Open In the Event of My Death: A Father's Advice To His Daughters In Case Something Horrible Happens (Which Hopefully It...

We are all still reeling from the monumental events at Mar-a-Lago last week.  Everyone is presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty and there's still so much we don't know about what's going on. But the search and seizure of the former president's residence is unprecedented &  historic. Therefore, it's important to consider the potentially monumental sentencing possibilities if Trump is convicted of t...