Set For Sentencing

Helping us get Set for Sentencing this week, an amazing human who happens to be not only a former client, but also the subject of the first full-on sentencing mitigation video ever produced in Federal Court, almost twenty years ago!  I am so grateful that Dustin Arnold agreed to share his incredible journey from gifted student to deep addiction, from arrest to sentencing, and from rehabilitation t...

Understanding, let alone telling, your client's story can be a daunting task.  Lawyers often lack the time and resources to peel back the layers of a client's life and properly put their offense in context.  Thankfully, they now have a free, powerful, comprehensive and confidential tool to help get the job done – Defense Map. Helping us get Set For Sentencing is Charlie Asher, the founder/creator...

In a criminal case, the contents of your computer can be your saving grace or the nail in your coffin.  This is particularly true in cases involving online offenses. But, taking the government's word for what they found during the search of your devices is a very bad idea!   Helping us get Set For Sentencing is computer forensics expert, Tami Loehrs.  She brings more than 30 years of legal and com...

Helping us get Set for Sentencing this week, Patrick Barone , a phenomenal Michigan criminal defense lawyer and certified practitioner of psychodrama, a powerful and popular tool used in psychotherapy. Done right, lawyers can deploy psychodrama techniques in and out of court.  It gives us a new path to discover credible and heartfelt ways to reframe our sentencing narratives.  Perhaps most importa...

Helping us get Set for Sentencing this week, extraordinary defense attorney and fantastically empathetic human, Ashley Adams.  Ms. Adams brings a unique perspective, having spent several years as an Assistant United States Attorney, prosecuting predominantly white-collar offenses. This episode is jam packed with incredible information, great stories, new ideas, and tons of heart.  It also ends up...

Helping us get Set For Sentencing, Prof. Douglas Berman.  He is is the Newton D. Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and Executive Director of the  Drug Enforcement and Policy Center , housed in the Moritz College of Law of The Ohio State University. Professor Berman is the creator and author of the widely-read and widely-cited blog,  Sentencing Law and Policy . The blog now receives nearly 100,000 pag...

At least 1 in every 54 Americans are on the Autism Spectrum.  But prosecutors and judges often fail to understand what Autism is, why those on the spectrum can be morally blameless for the crimes they have committed, why they are they unlikely to reoffend, and why sending them to prison is cruel and unusual punishment. Helping us get Set For Sentencing this week, Attorney Jamie Sparks and Dr. Toni...

The 1/6 hearings are in full swing. We don't know what will come of it. What we do know is that there have already been two major indictments brought by the DOJ alleging the crime of "Seditious Conspiracy". But, it is a total mystery what kind of sentences a judge may impose if convictions ensue. This crime has little precedent in American jurisprudence, and the sentencing guidelines contain more...

Lawyers are fundamentally problem solvers; and narrative is, as Dr. Randy Olson tells us, is "a series of events that occur in search of a solution to a problem ." So, if you want to persuade decision makers to reach the right result at sentencing, you must communicate in narrative. Helping us get set for sentencing this week is communications expert, author, filmmaker, and teacher Dr. Randy Olson...

Prison is not just a potential outcome of sentencing; it can and should be an influencer at sentencing.  Where a person will serve their time, how a person will serve their time, and what information follows them into an institution are all integral components of a comprehensive, empathy-based, sentencing presentation. Helping us get set for sentencing is Maureen Baird.  Ms. Baird retired after a...

Helping us get set for sentencing is David Rudolf -- attorney, author, and lead counsel in the acclaimed Netflix documentary, " The Staircase ", which is now a controversial HBO mini-series. Mr. Rudolf has been on the front lines of justice for decades as one of the nation's preeminent trial lawyers.  He has dedicated his life to giving voice and vindication to a special class of victims in our sy...

I can think of no better guest to officially launch the Set For Sentencing Podcast than the incomparable Liz Vartkessian! As the Executive Director of Advancing Real Change, Inc., she understands that narrative is everything at sentencing.  She knows that our clients are more than their worst deed, and more than just a stack of paper in a file.  Her amazing organization takes an undeniably essenti...

The powers-that-be would like to pretend that Covid is over, the prisons are safe, and Compassionate Release is no longer necessary. This is simply not the case. Set for sentencing is a brand new podcast. Officially launches end of the month. But some topics are just too timely to wait for the official release.  Therefore, enjoy this web extra with the incomparable Mark Allenbaugh, who returns to...

The Set for Sentencing Podcast is close to launch and I can't wait for you to see/hear it.  But, the recent Senate Confirmation Hearings for Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson were heavily focused on federal sentencing law. Therefore, I could not wait to dig in. I had a lively conversation about all of the misinformation and disinformation happening at the hearing concerning questions about the judge'...