Set For Sentencing Doug Passon

It shocked the nation when David DePape, driven by insane QAnon conspiracy theories, violently attacked Paul Pelosi, husband of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  
A federal judge recently sentenced DePape to 30 years in prison.  With that de facto life sentence looming, we uncover a legal twist: the judge’s oversight during sentencing denied him the chance to speak in his own defense.  Now, a follow-up hearing is in the offing, leaving us wondering—will DePape break his silence, and will the sentence change?
More importantly, at sentencing his lawyer reveals that DePape has documented mental health disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Yes, we're going there -- again.
In this episode, we explore the intersection of radicalization and vulnerability, particularly online, among individuals with ASD.  Could this condition render them more susceptible to extremist ideologies?  
#DePapeCase #SetForSentencing #Radicalization #MentalHealth #Autism
 
LINKS:
 
Original DePape Podcast:  https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/david-depape-pelosi-attacker-guidelines-mitigation-breakdown/
 
Alan Ellis - Articles about What Judges Look For At Sentencing:
https://alanellis.com/law360-series-sentencing-representation/
 
For a copy of Judge Bennett's Article, go to shownotes at the Set for Sentencing website:
https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/depape-pelosi-at…cing-post-mortem/

The pre-sentence report is arguably the most crucial sentencing document. Not only does it serve as a vital tool for judges during sentencing, but it also acts as the “bible” that the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) relies on to make critical decisions about our clients.
Unfortunately, many lawyers struggle to properly prepare their clients or ensure the report’s accuracy before it reaches the BOP.
In this episode, we’re fortunate to have Leslie Lockwood as our guest. Ms. Lockwood spent her career as a pre-sentence report writer in the Eastern District of NY, including several years as a supervisor. She’ll provide valuable insights into federal pre-sentence reports, covering topics such as best practices for pre-sentence interviews, the role of pre-sentence writers, and more.

Artificial intelligence is here and it’s getting more sophisticated and more ubiquitous every day.  Indeed, the legal community seems to be largely embracing A/I with open arms. 
But the jury is still out whether this somewhat terrifying new technology is going to be our savior or our destroyer. 
Therefore, helping us get set for sentencing this week are two great gentlemen:  a lawyer (Patrick Barone) and communications expert (Dr. Randy Olson) to debate the pros and cons of A/I in life, and in law.
 
IN THIS EPISODE: 
Using A/I as an editor in legal writing; Using A/I to help a client prepare to allocute at sentencing; Using A/I to summarize voluminous discovery and creating summaries for clients; A/I’s limitations; The concept of “prompt engineering” and it’s importance in generating the best A/I results; The importance of infusing meaning into our sentencings, our stories, and our lives.  
OTHER LINKS: 
We spent a fair amount of time discussing the "ABT" Narrative template. It's a simple way of powerfully communicating in narrative form in any setting.  I co-authored a book on this with Dr. Randy Olson and have done a few podcasts on the topic.  Here's Episode four:  https://setforsentencing.com/podcast/narrative-is-everything/
Here's a link to buy the book:  https://a.co/d/0dVt1MP
As we discussed, the big fault with all of this new technology is the risk that it robs your pursuits of all meaning!  This goes to the core of what Randy’s big critique about A/I is at this moment, it’s MEANING that makes our lives worth living.   That’s why we love telling, watching, reading, and listening to stories so deeply – great stories are infused with big meaning- universal truths about life.   I wrote about this on my blog a few years back in the context of the epic Tarantino Film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”.  Take a look:     
https://dougpassonlaw.com/articles/every-good-story-has-meaning/
More on Patrick Barone: https://www.baronedefensefirm.com/
More on Randy Olson:  http://abtframework.com/randy-olson/
 

Today history is being made, as the first criminal trial of a former president for multiple felony allegations begins in New York.
But none of the pundits seem to be talking about what happens if Trump loses at trial.
Therefore, helping us get set for sentencing is a superb New York criminal defense attorney, Richard Willstatter, to break it all down.
 
IN THIS EPISODE:
 
Possible sentencing ranges if convicted; Whether, if convicted, he could be taken into custody upon conviction or sentencing; Whether the judge can consider “other conduct” of Trump at sentencing if convicted; Where Trump might serve a sentence if convicted; How quickly might sentencing occur should he be convicted; Whether Trump could delay his sentencing if convicted. LINKS:
Trump Indictment & Trump Statement of Facts:
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/04/read-the-trump-indictment-document-00087925
 
Richard Willstatter:
http://greenandwillstatter.com/
 

Last Thursday, Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced Sam Bankman-Fried to 25 years in prison.  Some think that’s an appropriate result.  Some think it should have been more.
But this sentence far more than necessary to meet the goals of sentencing.  The bigger problem is, there were likely missed opportunities to convince the Judge that justice demanded a lower sentence for Sam. 
Therefore, here is the straight scoop on SBF’s sentencing (we have the full transcript) and the larger problems it reveals about federal sentencing and beyond.
 
IN THIS EPISODE:
 
Judge Kaplan’s “tip of the cap” to the insurrectionists; The missed opportunity to present powerful sentencing statistics, including average federal sentences for murder, kidnaping, sexual abuse, and child pornography; Judge Kaplan’s explicit comments regarding broken guidelines; Autism Spectrum Disorder – the (largely ignored) elephant in the room; SBF’s sentence compared to  (spoiler alert, his sentence is HIGHER than all of ‘em); The missed opportunity of highlighting a LIFE EXPECTANCY analysis at sentencing; The missed opportunity to tell the story of BOP classification issues;  
LINKS:
 
Ep. 73: Sam Bankman-Fried: Is Autism the Missing Piece of Mitigation?
https://youtu.be/jkh6eEkvBRg?si=qXJxNu4SBKCqTWEq
 
 

The guidelines commission is gearing up to make their recommendations for the next round of amendments.  It’s the follow-up album to their first hit record, which included memorable songs like The “Zero Point Offender Boogie”, and “Release Me (Compassionately)”.  The real question is can they top their debut with their sophomore effort?  Will there be any hits?  Can we dance to it? 
Mark Allenbaugh and I hit the highlights, and offer up some B-side pontifications about the death of the administrative state, why Trump’s immunity claim is destined to die in the Supreme Court, and what rhymes with “acquitted conduct”????
 
IN THIS EPISODE:
 
Proposed amendment to reclassify classic “departures” into a generic category; Proposed amendment to deal with “intended loss” issue in fraud cases; The possible death of “Chevron Deference” and what that could mean for the guidelines (spoiler alert – it will render all commentary meaningless); Remembering the “rule of lenity”; Proposed changes to “youthful offender” criminal history provision; Following up on “acquitted conduct”; A really cool discussion about Booker and how the guidelines should (and must) interplay with 18 USC 3553; The only true fix to render the guidelines constitution is to implement “charge offense sentencing”; Revisiting the proposed amendment to criterion 10 of the Zero Point Offender guideline.  
LINKS:
 
Acquitted Conduct Revisited with Mark Allenbaugh & Prof. Doug Berman:
https://youtu.be/iRG6cbZ_YCY?si=VZ_IEDp5Zq8Z8esC
 
Imperfect 10: The Commission’s attempt to fix the Zero Point Offender Criteria:
https://youtu.be/amEXfhgMpa8?si=_tZ9-FIOrw-b4huP