WHEN YOUR CASE REQUIRES MORE THAN ORDINARY PRISON CONSULTING
Specialized guidance for clients and their attorneys in sensitive, high-profile, and complex federal cases.
You may not have heard of me because I don’t try to be everything to everyone. I work with defendants, families, and defense attorneys facing sensitive, high-profile, and complex federal prison cases that require specialized experience and practical insight.
Attorneys understand the law. My role is to address the prison issues that arise before sentencing and continue long after it. That includes preparing clients with sensitive offenses to enter prison safely, identifying PSR language that could affect designation, understanding SOMP and sex offender treatment issues, and addressing protective custody concerns before they become real problems.
Not every federal prison case requires specialized consulting. But when the stakes are unusually high, ordinary prison consulting isn’t enough.
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How I Help
Prison Strategy for Sensitive and High-Profile Cases
Preparing for federal prison involves dozens of decisions that can affect a client’s safety and daily life. I help clients and defense attorneys evaluate protective custody options, review PSR language for potential prison implications, understand SOMP and sex offender treatment requirements, prepare for designation, and develop a plan for entering federal prison safely and with realistic expectations.
Family Guidance and Crisis Planning
Families often face the same uncertainty as the defendant. I help families understand what to expect before sentencing, during incarceration, and after release, including preparing for designation, responding to prison emergencies, and separating fact from rumor during one of the most stressful periods of their lives.
Reentry and Supervised-Release Strategy
Release from prison is the beginning of a new phase, not the end of the process. I help clients pursue early termination of supervised release, understand and comply with release conditions, address registration-related concerns, overcome housing and employment obstacles, and develop practical strategies for long-term success after federal custody.
Federal Post-Conviction Consulting
Federal post-conviction work often requires more than filing motions. I assist clients and attorneys with case organization, issue identification, legal research support, and strategic preparation for post-conviction litigation. My role is to help ensure that important issues are identified, organized, and presented as effectively as possible.
Latest blog posts
In-Depth Insights
Practical analysis on federal custody, sentencing, post-conviction trends, and supervised-release issues, written for defendants, families, and attorneys who want clear, accurate information.
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Counsel Failed to Argue that Person Cannot Burglarize Own House, Habeas Relief Granted
Leeds v. Russell, No. 21-16813, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 19081 (9th Cir. July 26, 2023) In 2006, a Nevada jury convicted Leeds of first-degree murder. Although Petitioner resided at the house where the murder occurred, the prosecution presented a felony-murder theory at trial, alleging that Petitioner committed the murder during the course of a burglary…
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Navigating Relief from the Denial of Federal Habeas Relief: Rule 60(b)(1) versus Rule 60(b)(6)
In the realm of civil procedure, seeking relief from a judgment denying a § 2255 or § 2254 petitionis not a straightforward process. Litigants must navigate the intricacies of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, most commonly Rule 60(b), to reopen their habeas case. Let’s delve into the key distinctions between two provisions of Rule…
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Rapper NBA YoungBoy’s Gun Charges Reinstated by Fifth Circuit
By Dale Chappell United States v. Gaulden, No. 22-30435, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 17995 (5th Cir. July 14, 2023). A somewhat divided Fifth Circuit made a novel decision July 14, 2023, by holding that a person allegedly violating the law in a video recording possessed by a video company he hired has no expectation of…
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The Real Story About a Federal Court Declaring a Federal Firearm Statute Unconstitutional
What’s the real story about a federal judge in Mississippi declaring the federal felon in possession of a firearm statute unconstitutional? As always, there’s more to the the story than what’s being reported. Here’s the real story about United States v. Bullock, No. 3:18-CR-165-CWR-FKB, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112397 (S.D. Miss. June 28, 2023). I’ve…
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Second Circuit Vacates Conviction Based on Insufficient Guilty Plea
Second Circuit Vacates Conviction Based on Insufficient Guilty Plea United States v. Aybar-Peguero, Nos. 21-1711(L), 21-1847(Con), 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 17015 (2d Cir. July 6, 2023) Francis Jose Aybar-Peguero pled guilty to drug trafficking in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sections 841 and 846 and concealment money laundering in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1956(a)(1)(B)(i). During…
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Second Circuit Reiterates that AEDPA Deadline is on Claim-by-Claim Basis
Clemente v. Lee, No. 21-279-pr, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 16892 (2d Cir. July 5, 2023) The Second Circuit reiterated that a single timely filed claim in a habeas petition with multiple claims does not make the entire petition (or application) timely. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and its statute of…
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Seventh Circuit Grants 2255 Relief, Vacates Life Sentence Under 924(c)
Seventh Circuit Grants 2255 Relief, Vacates Life Sentence Under 924(C) United States v. States, No. 22-1477, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 16934 (7th Cir. July 5, 2023) Charles States was convicted of attempted murder and attempted Hobbs Act extortion and was sentenced in 2005 to life plus 57 years, mostly based on multiple consecutive sentences under…
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SCOTUS Relists for Review 13 Cases About Courts Using Acquitted Conduct to Increase Sentences
The Supreme Court has relisted five cases a second time now. And they are joined by an additional eight cases raising the same (or closely analogous) issues. We’ll find out soon how lucky these 13 petitions are. Lots of you have asked me about what’s going on with judges using acquitted conduct to enhance federal…
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Fifth Circuit Holds Warrant Required to Seize Jacket Containing Firearm Thrown Into Relative’s Yard
Fifth Circuit Holds that Throwing Jacket Containing Firearm Over a Fence Into Family Member’s Yard Was Not “Abandonment” of Jacket and Cops Needed a Search Warrant to Seize the Jacket United States v. Ramirez, No. 22-50042, 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 11496 (5th Cir. May 10, 2023) A man suspected by police threw his jacket over…