David Rudolf: American Injustice, The Staircase, and Defending Empathy
Set For Sentencing · Doug Passon
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Show Notes
Mr. Rudolf has been on the front lines of justice for decades as one of the nation's preeminent trial lawyers. He has dedicated his life to giving voice and vindication to a special class of victims in our system -- those convicted and sentenced for crimes they did not commit.
He recently published a riveting look at our dysfunctional system, American Injustice: Inside Stories from the Underbelly of the Criminal Justice System.
In this whirlwind discussion, we cover:
- Rudolf's new Book, American Injustice;
- The Staircase documentary and the new, highly fictionalized HBO miniseries;
- Draconian sentencing statutes and guidelines;
- How confirmation bias and tunnel vision can corrupt every aspect of the criminal justice process;
- The need for accountability for prosecutors and police when the innocent are wrongfully convicted;
- How becoming a client made him a better lawyer;
- Advice for criminal defense lawyers struggling with work life balance;
- The coercive nature of plea bargaining;
- How to handle sentencing when your client maintains innocence;
- AND, the very best ways to inject humanity back into our broken system;
Oh, yes, for all you diehard Staircase fans, we do discuss "the owl theory"!
LINKS:
David Rudolf's Website: https://davidsrudolf.com/
Abuse of Power Podcast:
https://www.audible.com/pd/Abuse-of-Power-with-David-Rudolf-and-Sonya-Pfeiffer-Podcast/
Incredible 3-hour CLE offering on the Staircase:
https://www.nacdl.org/Event/The-Staircase-Lessons-from-the-Michael-Peterson-Mu
https://vimeo.com/332364136 (staircase CLE teaser)
HBO Rebuttals:
the owl theory: