This information is absolutely right on! I have a close relative who drew what his attorney told him was the toughest judge he could have drawn for his federal case. As soon as my relative was charged we began looking for information on what to do and found White Collar Advice and Prison Professors and began doing everything Justin and his partner suggested. Even during the plea hearing it was clear that the work done was paying off. The judge was extremely respectful to my loved one, set a sentencing date and all in all the process was painless. As we left the court his attorney and an associate who was with the attorney at the time declared "Who was that judge?!?" they both said they had never seen the judge act that way. At sentencing the judge came down very hard on my loved one in his comments and we were all prepared for a very tough sentence. Even though the judge strongly criticized my loved one for his actions and for the crime he had readily admitted to, he ended up giving him a sentence that was below what the prosecution had requested! It was a year and a day in prison. But even as he handed down that sentence the judge told my relative, "A year and a day, but you will probably be able to leave prison in 6 or 7 months..." it was almost as if the judge was saying, What you did was clearly wrong, and I want to send a firm message out, but I also see the steps you've taken to make amends and don't believe you should be in prison for 5 to 7 years for this so you will probably be out in less than a year under this sentence. When his case started two years earlier his attorney had told him, and this is an exact quote, "The best you can hope for is a year and a day".... He, of course, asked for probation or home confinement but after everything was done the attorney told my relative "this is one of the few times I can walk away from sentencing by this judge feeling like my client came out with the best possible outcome.." I should add that at FPC Duluth my relative found several Prison Professor books in the prison library! The advice is THAT good, even the BOP recognizes that fact!
I was a plaintiff in a civil case. I had an administrative law judge who was known to be friendly to defendants. My attorney quit fighting. It turned out that this judge was the right judge for ME. My case was complicated and lengthly. He read the entire case file the night before and that was obvious. He appreciated that I went way above and beyond the call of duty to try to mitigate the damage. He treated me a a deserving plaintiff. When he wrote a reserve decision, he did it in a way that was surprisingly favorable to me. The other side appealed and all the ALJ's orders that mattered to me stood. We went into settlement negotiations with a strong case, a case my attorney thought was a looser. (I consulted a legal malpractice attorney and I could have nailed this attorney for legal malpractice. The legal mal attorney understood why I settled.) My experience is: if you have a tough judge, double down on doing all the right things. Mitigate damage. Judges have seen and heard lots of BS in their careers. Show that you are different, that you are deserving of a favorable outcome... and good things might happen.
Great video, Justin. We certainly have our fair share of tough judges in Texas - probably more than our fair share. I believe in transparency with my clients and I will tell them up front when I know a client has a tough judge. As you and Ms. Bass rightly point out, it is important to go beyond that and explain to the client, here's why we have to double our efforts, bring our A-game, etc to go above and beyond. Knowing your judge and what resonates with a particular judge is so important. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. As an aside, we just referred someone to you who needs a lawyer in Texas. A PPP case. Sam and I encouraged him to call you. By the way, love your Tik Toks. Diane also has a great tik tok channel.
I definitely had a tough judge, I was set up for probation at 10-16 guidelines before my cooperation. The Judge gave me an upward variance and sentenced me to 48 months before cooperation. I honestly dont believe tough judges can be swayed. My judge didn't even UNDERSTAND my case which she admitted so I think my high sentence was based on the prosectors recommendation after he passionately lied about my conduct. Its very rough to go from probation to 4 years in a matter of hours.
Thank you for sharing your story, and I'm sorry this happened to you. It has helped me realize that I am not the only person whose life has gotten upended quickly and unexpectedly.
@@snowygirl131 you are welcome. I never knew our justice system could fail this horribly. I am beginning to make peace with the fact I will have to serve time and just get over it and just focus on becoming a better man, father, and husband. Stay strong!
The hardest thing in life for me is to accept ALL my decisions , both good and bad. So much of life is about making decisions every day, both big and small. Life is not easy for most of us.
Not true. A judge dies not have to look at it. I saw first hand when a man was given 15 years: 5 years in and 10 probation. This man had never had an incident in his life! Clean record 100% A pillar of his community, a CEO who worked for his local community providing housing to those in need. A strong mitigation was built. Over 115 letters of character letters of leaders, teachers, CEOs, chief of police, ministers, ect. Who knew of the incident, yet stood up to support that this man was not the man they were making him to Be. He endured a metal distress from medication overload and lack of sleep coupled with the death of his brother who he was going to see when he was stopped by a rookie cop. The cop could not see the distress he was going through, instead he accused him of being under the influence and forced him out his car under those circumstances instead of calling for back up and an ambulance. When things got out of hand he then called for backup which became the mess was lived. The altercation occurred but this officer was not damaged in any way. Contrary, thus man lost his job, family, and freedom for 5 years. Don't talk to me about this country having justice! I love my country but despise the evil Grimm reappers that sit on their thrones acting as gods! The state recommended 50 % less than what this judge gave him. That day, my friend, I was how racism truly continues to exist in this land. It's the new Jim Crow! It's a new way to enslave the Black and Brown man. Justin, if I would've committed what you were sentenced with, as a Latina I would've done 3x the amount you did. As a white man white collar sentencing does exist for many! Not all for sure. A judge should not be biased! And should not he sentencing under the reputation he has! A judge should never be seen as tough! He is not bove God nor the law. He should be standing in his line as a fair and rightous man, do his research, look at the whole picture of the life of that person and judge not based on his reputation, but by the fairness and rightousness of entire case.
This information is absolutely right on! I have a close relative who drew what his attorney told him was the toughest judge he could have drawn for his federal case. As soon as my relative was charged we began looking for information on what to do and found White Collar Advice and Prison Professors and began doing everything Justin and his partner suggested. Even during the plea hearing it was clear that the work done was paying off. The judge was extremely respectful to my loved one, set a sentencing date and all in all the process was painless. As we left the court his attorney and an associate who was with the attorney at the time declared "Who was that judge?!?" they both said they had never seen the judge act that way. At sentencing the judge came down very hard on my loved one in his comments and we were all prepared for a very tough sentence. Even though the judge strongly criticized my loved one for his actions and for the crime he had readily admitted to, he ended up giving him a sentence that was below what the prosecution had requested! It was a year and a day in prison. But even as he handed down that sentence the judge told my relative, "A year and a day, but you will probably be able to leave prison in 6 or 7 months..." it was almost as if the judge was saying, What you did was clearly wrong, and I want to send a firm message out, but I also see the steps you've taken to make amends and don't believe you should be in prison for 5 to 7 years for this so you will probably be out in less than a year under this sentence. When his case started two years earlier his attorney had told him, and this is an exact quote, "The best you can hope for is a year and a day".... He, of course, asked for probation or home confinement but after everything was done the attorney told my relative "this is one of the few times I can walk away from sentencing by this judge feeling like my client came out with the best possible outcome.." I should add that at FPC Duluth my relative found several Prison Professor books in the prison library! The advice is THAT good, even the BOP recognizes that fact!
I was a plaintiff in a civil case. I had an administrative law judge who was known to be friendly to defendants. My attorney quit fighting. It turned out that this judge was the right judge for ME. My case was complicated and lengthly. He read the entire case file the night before and that was obvious. He appreciated that I went way above and beyond the call of duty to try to mitigate the damage. He treated me a a deserving plaintiff. When he wrote a reserve decision, he did it in a way that was surprisingly favorable to me. The other side appealed and all the ALJ's orders that mattered to me stood. We went into settlement negotiations with a strong case, a case my attorney thought was a looser. (I consulted a legal malpractice attorney and I could have nailed this attorney for legal malpractice. The legal mal attorney understood why I settled.)
My experience is: if you have a tough judge, double down on doing all the right things. Mitigate damage. Judges have seen and heard lots of BS in their careers. Show that you are different, that you are deserving of a favorable outcome... and good things might happen.
Great video, Justin. We certainly have our fair share of tough judges in Texas - probably more than our fair share. I believe in transparency with my clients and I will tell them up front when I know a client has a tough judge. As you and Ms. Bass rightly point out, it is important to go beyond that and explain to the client, here's why we have to double our efforts, bring our A-game, etc to go above and beyond. Knowing your judge and what resonates with a particular judge is so important. Keep up the good work!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. As an aside, we just referred someone to you who needs a lawyer in Texas. A PPP case. Sam and I encouraged him to call you. By the way, love your Tik Toks. Diane also has a great tik tok channel.
Former CJA Panel here. This video is the unassailable voice of experience. You guys are right about everything.
Thank you Justin 👍
Of course. Thanks for watching!
Justin + Diane = Great Advice!
Thank you. She’s a great person and also a great lawyer. We are really fortunate to work with her!
Excellent video. This is your best one.
I definitely had a tough judge, I was set up for probation at 10-16 guidelines before my cooperation. The Judge gave me an upward variance and sentenced me to 48 months before cooperation. I honestly dont believe tough judges can be swayed. My judge didn't even UNDERSTAND my case which she admitted so I think my high sentence was based on the prosectors recommendation after he passionately lied about my conduct. Its very rough to go from probation to 4 years in a matter of hours.
Thank you for sharing your story, and I'm sorry this happened to you. It has helped me realize that I am not the only person whose life has gotten upended quickly and unexpectedly.
@@snowygirl131 you are welcome. I never knew our justice system could fail this horribly. I am beginning to make peace with the fact I will have to serve time and just get over it and just focus on becoming a better man, father, and husband. Stay strong!
The hardest thing in life for me is to accept ALL my decisions , both good and bad. So much of life is about making decisions every day, both big and small. Life is not easy for most of us.
Not true. A judge dies not have to look at it. I saw first hand when a man was given 15 years: 5 years in and 10 probation. This man had never had an incident in his life! Clean record 100% A pillar of his community, a CEO who worked for his local community providing housing to those in need. A strong mitigation was built. Over 115 letters of character letters of leaders, teachers, CEOs, chief of police, ministers, ect. Who knew of the incident, yet stood up to support that this man was not the man they were making him to Be. He endured a metal distress from medication overload and lack of sleep coupled with the death of his brother who he was going to see when he was stopped by a rookie cop. The cop could not see the distress he was going through, instead he accused him of being under the influence and forced him out his car under those circumstances instead of calling for back up and an ambulance. When things got out of hand he then called for backup which became the mess was lived. The altercation occurred but this officer was not damaged in any way. Contrary, thus man lost his job, family, and freedom for 5 years. Don't talk to me about this country having justice! I love my country but despise the evil Grimm reappers that sit on their thrones acting as gods! The state recommended 50 % less than what this judge gave him. That day, my friend, I was how racism truly continues to exist in this land. It's the new Jim Crow! It's a new way to enslave the Black and Brown man. Justin, if I would've committed what you were sentenced with, as a Latina I would've done 3x the amount you did. As a white man white collar sentencing does exist for many! Not all for sure. A judge should not be biased! And should not he sentencing under the reputation he has! A judge should never be seen as tough! He is not bove God nor the law. He should be standing in his line as a fair and rightous man, do his research, look at the whole picture of the life of that person and judge not based on his reputation, but by the fairness and rightousness of entire case.
Or how about not committing crime that will send you to prison? 😅😅😅
No one really thinks they’ll get caught. Everyone is smarter than the next person and a lot of people don’t get caught.