Set For Sentencing

By Doug Passon

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Category: True Crime

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Subscribers: 1
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Episodes: 139

Description

Over a million people a year will face sentencing. For a client and their loved ones, it will be the most important day of their lives. Unlike at trial, there is virtually no limit to the kind of information a lawyer can credibly present to advocate for their client and demonstrate their humanity at sentencing. My passion is helping lawyers and clients craft their most compelling sentencing narratives. So, I was inspired to create this new podcast drawing on my 25+ years of criminal defense experience, my passion for storytelling, my expertise in producing mitigation videos, and my years spent consulting and developing compelling case narratives that get real results. In Set for Sentencing, I present cutting edge resources, world-class experts, and the straight scoop on our often dysfunctional system -- all in service to one goal -- to bring more more justice, more humanity, and more hope to the sentencing process. So, are you ready? Then let's get SET FOR SENTENCING!

Episode Date
The Fate of John Bolton: Trump Doesn't Just Pick Who's Prosecuted — Now He Picks Your Prison, Too
Jul 05, 2026
Manifest Injustice: Hunter, Hemani, & Buh-Bye Blanche
Jun 22, 2026
New Compassionate Release Cases: Is the Door to Freedom Shrinking?
Jun 08, 2026
"8647": A New Low for Trump's DOJ
May 25, 2026
Negotiating Plea Agreements with Bite (Pt. II of "Straight Up No Chaser")
May 11, 2026
Pleading Straight Up, No Chaser! (Part I)
Apr 06, 2026
Atkins & The IQ Fallacy: Why IQ is Not a Reliable Measure of Culpability (with Dr. Ted Lidsky)
Mar 23, 2026
Life for Charles "Sonny" Burton: Act now to Save Sonny!
Mar 09, 2026
What's Crackin' at the Sentencing Commission - New Proposals that Could Change the Shape of Federal Sentencing
Feb 23, 2026
Absolute Power (Pt.II): Clear Messaging in the Age of the Information Maelstrom
Feb 09, 2026
Absolute Power Pt. I: Politization and Weaponization at the DOJ (With Gary Restaino)
Feb 02, 2026
A Look ahead: Sentencing Developments for 2026
Jan 19, 2026
For My Enemies, the Law
Dec 29, 2025
Year End Review (White Collar Support Presentation)
Dec 15, 2025
Understanding Autism with Dr. Nick Dubin
Dec 01, 2025
Illegals: How Trump is Ignoring the Constitution and Laws to Install Loyalist US Attorneys
Nov 03, 2025
Hostility & the Heart, With Joy Bertrand
Oct 13, 2025
Save Robert Roberson.
Sep 28, 2025
Terrible, But Not "Terrorism": the Death of Charlie Kirk
Sep 22, 2025
White Collar Support with Jeff Grant, Esq.
Sep 08, 2025
Maxwell's Silver Hammer (PART II): Transfer to Minimum Camp & Sentencing Post Mortem
Aug 04, 2025
Maxwell's Silver Hammer: Part I
Jul 28, 2025
Holding Court with Judge Nancy Gertner!
Jun 23, 2025
For My Enemies, the Law: The Return of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia
Jun 09, 2025
Due Process Denied (PART II): Kilmar Abrego-Garcia and the "Great Replacement"
Jun 02, 2025
Due Process Denied: Kilmar Abrego-Garcia (PART ONE)
May 26, 2025
George Santos Sentencing Post-Mortem
Apr 28, 2025
Seismic Shift: Big Changes to the Sentencing Guidelines & the Country
Apr 21, 2025
Reign of Terror: Tesla, Luigi Mangione, & Beyond
Apr 07, 2025
Anchor's Aweigh: New Policies and New Proposed Guidelines Find Us Unmoored in 2025
Feb 03, 2025
The Truth About Restitution in Federal Criminal Cases with Ashley Adams, Esq.
Jan 20, 2025
The Truth About the Presidential Pardon Power With Margaret Love & Mark Allenbaugh
Jan 06, 2025
2024 United States Sentencing Guideline Amendments: A Front Row Seat to the Kabuki Theatre
Nov 25, 2024
BOP Programming With Dr. Alix McLearen
Nov 11, 2024
The Future of Federal Fraud with Mark Allenbaugh
Nov 07, 2024
The Why of the Where: Mitigation Geo-Narratives with Dr. Julie Urbanik
Oct 14, 2024
Mitigation Films: Harnessing the Power of Visual Narrative to Humanize our Clients
Sep 30, 2024
The BOP Horror Show & What We Can Do About It
Sep 16, 2024
Federal Pre-Trial Diversion With Jon May
Sep 02, 2024
On Deaf Ears: When Sentencing Goes Wrong
Aug 19, 2024
Psychodrama at Sentencing: (PART TWO)
Aug 05, 2024
Psychodrama at Sentencing (PART ONE)
Jul 22, 2024
Outside the Box Defense with Investigator Justin Yentes
Jul 08, 2024
The First Step Act (with Walt Pavlo)
Jun 24, 2024
Bonus YouTube Livestream: Hunter Biden Conviction - What To Expect at Sentencing and is Lawfare Really a Thing?
Jun 15, 2024
Marilyn Mosby Sentencing Post-Mortem
Jun 10, 2024
DePape (Pelosi Attacker) Sentencing Post-Mortem
May 27, 2024
Pre-Sentence Reports
May 13, 2024
The Artificial Lawyer: A Debate About the Usefulness of A/I in the Legal Arena
Apr 29, 2024
Trump on Trial
Apr 15, 2024
Sam Bankman-Fried: Sentencing Post-Mortem
Apr 01, 2024
Guidelines Blues: The Commission's Next Moves
Mar 18, 2024
When Justice Depends on It: The Need for Professional Standards for Mitigation in All Criminal Cases
Mar 04, 2024
BOP MEANS: Back Off the Punishment: Making the Case That Judges Must Fix the BOP by Imposing Fewer and Shorter Prison Terms
Feb 19, 2024
Indian Country: A Glimpse into Tribal and Federal Indian Criminal (In)Justice
Feb 05, 2024
A Child's Poison: Lead Poisoning as Sentencing Mitigation with Dr. Ted Lidsky
Jan 22, 2024
Year of the Dragon: Sentencing Guideline New Year's Cheers & Jeers
Jan 08, 2024
A Brief Haitus: Set For Sentencing Takin' a Break
Nov 27, 2023
David DePape (Pelosi Attacker): Guidelines & Mitigation Breakdown
Nov 20, 2023
Making Sense of the Georgia Trump RICO Pleas (Vol. I)
Nov 13, 2023
Guideline Tricks & Treats: A Rundown of All New Sentencing Guideline Amendments That Took Effect on 11/1/23
Nov 06, 2023
Untangling Fear For Lawyers & Clients With Prof. Heidi K. Brown
Oct 30, 2023
What is Truth? The Difference Between Reality TV, Documentaries and Sentencing Mitigation Videos
Oct 23, 2023
Sam Bankman-Fried: Is Autism the Missing Piece of Mitigation?
Oct 16, 2023
Imperfect 10: Why thousands will be deemed ineligible for the ZPO and what to do about it
Oct 09, 2023
Danny Masterson Sentencing Post-Mortem
Oct 02, 2023
Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Means "Backwards on Purpose"
Sep 25, 2023
Find the Hurt, Amplify the Pain, Heal the Wound: 3 Steps to Bulletproof Legal Narrative
Sep 18, 2023
GOIN' RETRO: Retroactive Application of ZPO and Status Point Amendments
Sep 11, 2023
BOP Stands for Big Ol' Problems: Exposing Dysfunction & Danger at the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Sep 04, 2023
Straight to Sentencing: Pre-Trial Detention Through the Lens of Sam Bankman-Fried (and DJT)
Aug 28, 2023
Acquitted Conduct Revisited: Mmmmm... Flavors of Evil
Aug 21, 2023
Too Cute By Half: Why Hunter's Plea Went South
Aug 14, 2023
The 3rd Trump Indictment (Sentencing Guidelines): Everything Nowhere All at Once.
Aug 03, 2023
Surviving Pretrial, Vol. 1: Is My Lawyer Any Good?
Jul 31, 2023
The Power of Empathy
Jul 24, 2023
The Cold Hard Truth About White Collar Crime: With Kelly Richmond Pope
Jul 17, 2023
Drugs on the Docket: Data and storytelling in federal drug sentencing and the U.S. Sentencing Commission
Jul 10, 2023
Life in the Shadow of Death, With Cyndy Short
Jul 03, 2023
Diversion Perversion: Hunter Biden's Super Sweet Plea Deal
Jun 26, 2023
What About Walt: Sentencing Implications for Trump Co-Defendant, Waltine Nauta
Jun 19, 2023
Reality Check: Unpacking the Trump Indictment
Jun 12, 2023
Stewart Rhodes Seditious Conspiracy Sentencing Post-Mortem
Jun 05, 2023
The Zero Point Offender Guideline Amendment: The ZIPPO IS ON FIRE!
May 29, 2023
Surrender Georgie: Possible Sentencing outcomes for George Santos Indictment
May 22, 2023
JSIN: Will "Judicial Sentencing Information" Mutilate the Stats or Slash Sentences?
May 15, 2023
Overcoming Impossible Odds at Sentencing (Fearless Lawyering, Vol. 3, with Joel Meyers)
May 08, 2023
The Power of a State "Sentencing Study" (with Rich Robertson)
May 01, 2023
Fearless Lawyering, Vol. 2: Exposing the Racist Origins of U.S. Immigration Law with Kara Hartzler
Apr 24, 2023
BIG Guideline Changes on the Horizon (With Mark Allenbaugh)
Apr 17, 2023
Defending Autism With Mark Mahoney (Pt. 2)
Apr 10, 2023
Defending Autism With Mark Mahoney (Pt. 1)
Apr 03, 2023
Three Years of Hell: Responding to the Bureau of Prison's Abysmal Failures in Preventing, Treating, and Reporting Covid..
Mar 27, 2023
Inside Rikers Island & Beyond With Prison Consultant Craig Rothfeld
Mar 20, 2023
Mental Disabilities at Sentencing
Mar 13, 2023
Immersion: Dr. Paul Zak & the Science of Narrative Persuasion, Part 2
Mar 06, 2023
Immersion: Dr. Paul Zak & the Science of Narrative Persuasion, Part 1
Feb 27, 2023
Fearless Lawyering (Vol. 1) With Attorney Sharon Hicks
Feb 20, 2023
Who Says You Can't? Strategies For Creative Lawyering with Jon May
Feb 13, 2023
Fixing Legal Injustice In America: The Case For A Defender General of the United States
Feb 06, 2023
PRESUMED GUILTY: Using Acquitted, Dismissed, and Uncharged Conduct to Increase Sentences.
Jan 30, 2023
Trump The Terrorist? Jan. 6 Criminal Referral Sentencing Implications, Viewed Through The Lens Of The Recent Croft/Fox Michigan Militia Sentencings.
Jan 23, 2023
The Chrisleys Did NOT Know Best: Sentencing Post-Mortem
Jan 16, 2023
Fool For a Client: Michael Avenatti Sentencing Post-Mortem
Jan 09, 2023
Sunny Balwani (Elizabeth Holmes co-defendant) Sentencing Post-Mortem: The "ABCs" of Federal Fraud Sentencing
Jan 02, 2023
Leading With Story: Doug's Appearance on Lawyers Who Lead With Sigalle Barness
Dec 26, 2022
Defense Documentaries: How Defense Attorneys Use Cinematic Storytelling to Reduce Sentences (Ep. 182 of The Business of Story Podcast Featuring Doug Passon)
Dec 19, 2022
Special Episode: The Narrative Gym for Law discussion on Dr. Randy Olson's "ABT Time" Podcast, Featuring Doug Passon!
Dec 12, 2022
The Heart & the Head: Holistic Sentencing With Mitigation Specialist Victoria Rusk
Dec 05, 2022
Over the Rainbow & Into the Land of Legal Narrative (With Story Expert Matthew David)
Nov 28, 2022
Elizabeth Holmes: Sentencing Post Mortem
Nov 21, 2022
Rotting With Your Rights On: Indefinite Detention For Incompetent Clients
Nov 14, 2022
Listening to Understand: What Laywers & Clients Can Learn From Improv
Nov 07, 2022
Across the Pond: Sentencing in the United Kingdom
Oct 31, 2022
A Richer Measurement of Justice: The Novel Lolita Read as a Sentencing Memorandum
Oct 24, 2022
This Week in Sentencing News: Pot Pardons & Nikolas Cruz
Oct 17, 2022
Your Voice Matters: Priorities for the Newly Minted Federal Sentencing Guidelines Commission
Oct 10, 2022
Even Stephen: The Skinny on Steve Bannon's Sentencing
Oct 03, 2022
Prison Consultants and the Myth of the Fixer: How to Separate Substance from Snake Oil
Sep 26, 2022
A View From the Bench: Sentencing Expert Alan Ellis Discusses His Interviews with 40+ Judges About What Matters at Sentencing
Sep 19, 2022
SO GOES THE NATION: Talking Criminal Justice Reform With Julie Gunnigle, Democratic Candidate for Maricopa County Attorney
Sep 12, 2022
Presumed Punishable: Antiracism at Sentencing
Sep 06, 2022
Draco: Alive & Thriving: Historical and Constitutional Roots of Modern Sentencing
Aug 29, 2022
Please Open In the Event of My Death: The Art, Craft, & Terror of Telling Your Own Story.
Aug 22, 2022
MAR-A-LAGO-ING TO PRISON? (Worst Case Scenarios if DJT ends up in the BOP)
Aug 15, 2022
"It's a Real Life": A Former Client's Redemption Story
Aug 08, 2022
Digging Deep With Defense Maps
Aug 01, 2022
Question Everything: Computer Forensics at Sentencing
Jul 25, 2022
Sentencing Psychodrama!
Jul 18, 2022
Stories From the Frontlines of Justice: From Prosecution to Defense
Jul 11, 2022
The Devil You Know: The "Funny Math" of the Guidelines, Proposed Fixes, and Lessons Learned From Capital Defense.
Jul 04, 2022
Understanding Autism at Sentencing
Jun 27, 2022
YouTube Bonus Episode: Sedition Edition!
Jun 23, 2022
Narrative is Everything at Sentencing!
Jun 20, 2022
Telling the Story of Prison at Sentencing
Jun 13, 2022
David Rudolf: American Injustice, The Staircase, and Defending Empathy
Jun 06, 2022
Disrupting the Dehumanizing Sentencing Process
May 30, 2022
Keep Fighting the Good Fight on Compassionate Release!
May 24, 2022
Senators Selling Sentencing Snake Oil at KBJ Confirmation Hearings
Apr 17, 2022