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Mitigation Films: Harnessing the Power of Visual Narrative to Humanize our Clients

Set For Sentencing

Release Date: 09/30/2024

Maxwell's Silver Hammer (PART II): Transfer to Minimum Camp & Sentencing Post Mortem show art Maxwell's Silver Hammer (PART II): Transfer to Minimum Camp & Sentencing Post Mortem

Set For Sentencing

In Part II of our deep dive into the Ghislaine Maxwell case, we begin with BOP Prison consultant, Walter Pavlo of prisonology.com to talk about her transfer to a minimum security camp.  Then, we resume with  Mark Allenbaugh of sentencingstats.com for one of our famous "sentencing post-mortems" to see what we can learn from Maxwell's sentencing proceeding.    IN THIS EPISODE: Maxwell's unprecedented transfer to a minimum camp; Cheers for the government for understanding the power of narrative lies in the specifics; Cheers to the defense for creating a theme (Epstein’s...

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Maxwell's Silver Hammer:  Part I show art Maxwell's Silver Hammer: Part I

Set For Sentencing

The saga of Jeffrey Epstein is ongoing and ever-present in the news.  And there are powerful lessons to be learned.  But the talking heads are mostly just spinning their wheels.  So, if you're seeking some straight talk and inside scoop about all of it, you've come to the right place.   This is a 2-part episode, as there is much ground to cover.  The title, of course, is an homage to the great Beatles song.  But in truth, Ms. Maxwell does indeed wield a hammer.  The Trump folks want to use it to do damage control and she's looking to dig a tunnel out of...

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Holding Court with Judge Nancy Gertner! show art Holding Court with Judge Nancy Gertner!

Set For Sentencing

An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. But judges are under attack.  Therefore, we must stand the post and protect judges from intimidation, unlawful prosecution, incredulous calls to impeach, or worse. And, when it comes to federal criminal sentencing, judicial independence is also crucial to the fair administration of justice.   But judicial independence has been undermined for decades by adherence to the stringent, dehumanizing, US sentencing guidelines. Since 2005, these guidelines have been discretionary, yet many judges and lawyers continue to...

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For My Enemies, the Law: The Return of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia show art For My Enemies, the Law: The Return of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia

Set For Sentencing

The Trump administration stated that Kilmar Abrego-Garcia would never return to US soil. But they just back-tracked and brought him back.  Unfortunately he now faces federal prosecution under a new indictment for conspiracy and alien smuggling.  The bigger problem is the govt. has gone to great lengths to wage an extra-judicial smear campaign against him, with a variety of other horrendous allegations. It remains to be seen whether this indictment represents a genuine pursuit of justice or is influenced by political motives. IN THIS EPISODE: The many red flags in the Indictment and...

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Due Process Denied (PART II):  Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and the Due Process Denied (PART II): Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and the "Great Replacement"

Set For Sentencing

In understanding the current administration's draconian deportation policies, nothing makes sense except in the light of white supremacy.  The underlying animating force of these policies, openly stated by Tom Homan during a white house press conference, is "the great replacement theory".  Propagated by white nationalist, white supremacist fascists, operating in and out of government, it's a lie that has resulted in depraved acts of racist and antisemitic violence (See Southern Poverty Law Center link below).    Sadly, the DHS, ICE, and other federal agencies have become...

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Due Process Denied: Kilmar Abrego-Garcia (PART ONE) show art Due Process Denied: Kilmar Abrego-Garcia (PART ONE)

Set For Sentencing

America might have moved on from Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, but we have not. So, ask yourself:  What happens when the U.S. government indefinitely sentences someone to a foreign prison without any due process and no one stops them? In this episode (part 1 of 2), I appear on Justin Yentes's podcast "Truth Be Found" to discuss the implications of this case.  Justin is an amazing criminal investigator, whom I've worked with in the past, especially on capital matters.  We were also joined by former gang member, now consultant, Angel Garcia, to pull back the curtain and talk about about...

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George Santos Sentencing Post-Mortem show art George Santos Sentencing Post-Mortem

Set For Sentencing

On Friday, April 25, George Santos learned his fate, at his fraud sentencing in federal court. He had two years since his indictment to walk the walk, demonstrate extreme remorse and acceptance, and take meaningful steps to address the problems that got him here and convince a judge he wouldn’t make the same mistakes again. But the government painted him as an unrepentant fraudster who was bound to reoffend, and the judge agreed, giving him a sentence at the very high-end of the guidelines. Therefore, Mark Allenbaugh and I went live on YouTube to conduct one of our world-famous “sentencing...

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Seismic Shift:  Big Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines & the Country show art Seismic Shift: Big Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines & the Country

Set For Sentencing

Although we often complain about the sentencing guidelines, this week, I find myself thankful that we still live in a country that has courts and due process, in the federal criminal courts.  At least for now.  So today, we celebrate the death of guideline departures, lament the death of due process in immigration, and worry for the future of this democracy. That's why we start off talking about the plight of Kilmar Garcia-Abrego, a person lawfully in this country who was abducted by brownshirt immigration thugs and stolen away in the night to a concentration camp in El...

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Reign of Terror:  Tesla, Luigi Mangione, & Beyond show art Reign of Terror: Tesla, Luigi Mangione, & Beyond

Set For Sentencing

I'm back. I've been in hibernation for the last couple of months, basically paralyzed by what can only be described as a rapid descent into authoritarian hell.  In his seminal work, "On Tyranny", Timothy Snyder warns:  "Listen for dangerous words. Be alert to the use of the words extremism and terrorism. Be alive to the fatal notions of emergency and exception. Be angry about the treacherous use of patriotic vocabulary."  So, today's podcast is brought to you by the letter "T" for "terrorism". The government is going to great lengths to brand anyone who dares question the...

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Anchor's Aweigh:  New Policies and New Proposed Guidelines Find Us Unmoored in 2025 show art Anchor's Aweigh: New Policies and New Proposed Guidelines Find Us Unmoored in 2025

Set For Sentencing

I call this episode “Anchor’s Aweigh” for two reasons.  First, there is a potential seismic shift in federal sentencing coming, which would go far to eliminate what we call the dreaded “anchoring effect” of the draconian and deeply dysfunctional sentencing guidelines. If this passes, it will likely be the biggest change in guideline sentencing since Booker was decided twenty years ago. The other reason for the title is because the achor’s up on the new ship of state, and anyone paying attention should feel deeply unmoored.  The vessel is powering through...

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More Episodes

I can’t think of a better topic for our 100th episode of Set For Sentencing – the topic that is so near and dear to my heart – MITIGATION FILMMAKING!

Mitigation films are arguably the most powerful and persuasive weapon in our advocacy arsenal.  They offer an unparalleled way to humanize a client and show the truth of their journey, rather than simply telling it. 

However, there’s currently a significant gap in learning and leadership within the world of mitigation filmmaking. With no established standards and a lack of a supportive community, many well-intentioned individuals—whether new to the legal field or even the supervising lawyers—often lack the comprehensive skill set needed to produce these films effectively. This gap can be detrimental to both the client and the broader cause.

 That’s why a group of dedicated, highly experienced professionals is coming together to form REEL DEFENSE: A MITIGATION FILM COLLECTIVE! This non-profit entity is committed to educating, building community, and producing these essential films for those who might not have the resources to do so themselves.  

Visit www.reeldefense.org and consider making a tax-deductible donation to support this worthy endeavor!

 

IN THIS EPISODE:

 

  • What is a mitigation film and why is it such a powerful persuasive tool of advocacy?
  • Announcing a new, non-profit endeavor – the mitigation film collective!
  • Examples of great results gained through use of video advocacy
  • Why your judges will love these (even the ones that say they hate ‘em);
  • Why the claim that these are just for “rich people” is a false narrative;
  • How you can support the newly formed, non-profit mitigation film collective!
  • Mitigation movies and the Simpsons!?
  • Bad Actors in the Mitigation film arena
  • Upcoming training opportunities with the collective

 

LINKS:

To make a tax-deductible donation or learn more about the Collective, please visit:  www.reeldefense.org

Sample sentencing videos:  If you've never seen one, here is a sample.  This was done for the first defendant to plead guilty and be sentenced in the plot to kidnap the Gov. of Michigan.  He received, by far,  the most favorable sentence of any of the individuals charged, and the video played a big part in that:  https://youtu.be/AOhOY3uuvRQ?si=7UO2LO1EPzDDF8SW

New Book on Holistic Defense:  Early in the episode, I told you about Katie Carter's new book, Holistic Defense: a Practice.  It's a must read for anyone doing criminal defense work.  You can buy it here:  https://www.carterinvestigations.com/shop/product/

 

EXTRA:  The Saga of Lance Oppenheim:  

One reason for the colletive is to guard against “bad actors” who either enter the space without the proper perspective to do the work, or who simply seek to exploit the medium for their own gain.  We talked specifically, in this context, about a filmmaker named Lance Oppenheim.  While we spared the audience much of the gory details, suffice it to say, Lance manipulated his way into the defense community and behaved badly in order to further his own ambition.  And, while we're here to uplift and inspire, sometimes people just need a reality check. 

Back around 2014, Lance was a Harvard undergrad with big ambition.  He took advantage of legal professionals (myself included) that thought they were helping him with a school project, and then preyed on our vulnerable clients by using portions of their mitigation films without permission.   He neglected to mention that the little supposed “student film” he was making was actually going to be submitted to the New York Times for the world to see.  The story of Lance and his careless attitude about what we do and who we do it for, is a cautionary tale of why only those who are trustworthy and hold the mission of providing quality, holistic, representation sacred can be allowed into the inner circle of mitigation filmmakers.