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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Court Declares Pennsylvania’s Sex Offender Registry Unconstitutional
Chester County Court Judge Allison Bell Royer held on August 22, 2022, that Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry laws were unconstitutional, after a remand from the state supreme court. Here’s a snippet from the opinion on why: Based on the evidence of scientific and academic consensus presented, we find that [Pennsylvania’s sex offender registry laws] do…
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Federal Habeas Corpus: How to Raise a Fourth Amendment Claim
The slam dunk for federal habeas claims, if there exists such a thing, would be a claim that successfully challenges the evidence in a criminal case. By tossing the illegally-obtained evidence, not only would the conviction be overturned but the prosecution wouldn`t have a case for a new trial. The prisoner walks free. But reality…
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Federal Habeas Corpus: Obtaining Relief from Trial Errors
It used to be that a state prisoner could use federal habeas corpus to raise any trial errors in the criminal case that violated the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The federal courts effectively became a venue to retry unfair state cases, the courts complained, and the Supreme Court mostly shut down this practice. Then…
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Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for State Prisoners
It`s no secret that an evidentiary hearing significantly increases your chances of habeas corpus relief. But what does seem to be a big secret is how a state prisoner can obtain that hearing in the federal habeas court. Basically, there are two main concepts at work: Developing the factual basis of the claim, and the…
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Federal Appeals Court Says Fetus Isn`t a `Person` for Federal Sentencing Enhancement Purposes
The Tenth Circuit held in United States v. Adams, No. 21-3043 (10th Cir. July 20, 2022), that because Kansas includes injury to a fetus in its aggravated battery statute, a prior conviction for that offense could not be used to enhance a firearm sentence, even if the prior offense had nothing to do with a…
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BOP Updates its Abortion Policy to Exclude Requirement that Staff Follow State Laws
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has revised its abortion policy and removed the language in it that had required staff to adhere to state laws when arranging an abortion for a pregnant prisoner. Was this done in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade last month? I`d say that`s a good assumption. In…
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BOP Opens Direct Communications Link to Central Office for Transgender Prisoners
The BOP announced July 14, 2022, that it opened a direct email link to the Central Office in Washington, DC, to allow transgender prisoners to voice their complaints and concerns to the Transgender Executive Council (TEC). The link became active on July 5, through the BOP`s TRULINCS internal email system for prisoners and staff members.…
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BOP Medical Center Prison Explodes with COVID Three Days After Lifting Mask Mandate
Just three days after the Federal Bureau of Prisons lifted its mask mandate at the Federal Medical Center at Devens, near Boston, COVID-19 cases exploded across the housing units. The medical isolation wing of the medical building is completely full and staff are stuffing prisoners with COVID into the Special Housing Unit (SHU), a jail…
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BOP Finally Gets New Director
The Federal Bureau of Prisons has a new leader, and it`s someone who has a long history of being pro-prisoner. Will she be able to hold up under the deeply corrupt BOP? I hope so. Her name is Colette S. Peters, and she`s been the director of the Oregon Dept. of Corrections since 2012. She`s…