SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Beat the Prosecution, presented by Virginia Criminal Defense Lawyer John Katz, where we are here to regularly present to you information and ideas for beating your prosecution as best as possible. Now your host, John Katz.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Welcome to the first episode of Beat the Prosecution. I'm John Katz of Fairfax, Virginia Criminal Defense and DUI Lawyer. I'm delighted to have you here, and I introduce all of you to my assistant, Abigail Sweigart, who's going to be jumping in every once in a while during this discussion. Today's discussion is about our law firm and what a criminal defense and DUI defense lawyer can do for you and about your rights with the police. Abby, what did you have to say about all that?

SPEAKER_00 0:45

Well, I think first off, it's important to know what why you got into this line of work.

SPEAKER_01 0:51

It starts with this uh fifth grade teacher in uh public school, and I was walking down the hallway, minding my own business, and this teacher pulls me aside and says, What were you doing across the street of the garden apartments last week playing there? I said, What makes you think that I was doing that? And she said, There was a report of a brown-haired boy, I used to have brown hair, and a blue jacket doing so. And I leaned over to her, the fish story gets bigger every time I tell it, and I said, You just described half the boys in the school, Mrs. Smith. And she was speechless. And I said, Anything else, Mrs. Smith? She said, No. And I said, have a nice day. And so that was the first time that I advocated for myself. I advocated for myself two years later in avoiding detention after school, and I kept advocating and kept advocating, and I joined Amnesty International doing human rights work and joined the American Civil Liberties Union. And this is on the side of the angels doing criminal defense for people who are the innocent accused on the side on the side of the angels, and even for people who have committed crimes, there's always a good side of every person, well, not the mass murderers maybe, but everybody else. And even if I'm representing someone who's alleged to have committed a mass murder, even if they committed a mass murder, they still are entitled to the defense. Because if they don't get a defense, not everyone else is protected. And just if you're convicted, just because you're convicted, you deserve a fair sentence. And certainly since I'm opposed to the death penalty, that's justification enough for doing that.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

So what made you feel like you needed a podcast?

SPEAKER_01 2:41

I've been listening to podcasts because I can't read while I drive. That wouldn't be safe. And I don't like to just uh be having dead time all the time. So I figure a lot of people are the same. They might want to listen to a podcast while they're cooking, while they're driving, while they're running. I think that's a good idea. I like podcasts.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

What can we expect from this podcast? The public, what can they expect to hear?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

I'd like to ultimately do a live call-in podcast, and that would be really interactive. And until we can do that, maybe can sometimes bring some people around if we're just pre-recording it. Uh I really want to help people empower themselves. Uh, this is not a purely marketing podcast. I really like getting the word out there. I'm going to give you an example about how I really like people to empower themselves without it even being a marketing for me. Uh one day a lawyer said to me, I don't understand why you want marijuana legalized. That just makes less money in our pockets for marijuana defense clients. I said, So what's your point? And that's a selfish interest I have, is my civil liberties and everyone's civil liberties. By marijuana becomes becoming decriminalized, by Virginia not letting police do searches of people and their cars and other property merely because marijuana is smelled, that benefits all of us.

unknown 4:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Well, kind of along that same line, since you're a criminal defense lawyer, DUI lawyer, what's the best way for people, our listeners, and you know, people to deal with law enforcement?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Start with knowing the word no. NO, the opposite of yes, and KNOW. Know your rights. Go to CatsJustice.com slash rights, and you will see my top ten list for dealing with the police, and you will see my YouTube video for that. So you can practice, but it's as simple as this. The police officer comes over to your car after stopping it for allegedly speeding, going through a stop sign, not making a turn signal before switching lanes. Where are you going? My simple answer is I'm not answering questions. Where are you coming from? I'm not answering questions. Why aren't you asking answering questions? I want a lawyer. You can add that in too. So you have no and lawyer. I'm not answering. I want a lawyer. Pop open your trunk, no. Uh you don't mind if I get inside your car and check to see if there's any contraband in there. I do not consent. Make it as short as possible so the cop does not say they misheard you saying I do consent. I do not agree with searches. That is gonna go so far.

SPEAKER_00 5:48

Keeping it simple.

SPEAKER_01 5:51

Keep it simple, Sammy.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

Sounds like it. And so is this the kind of conversation you'll be having in your podcast of helping people?

SPEAKER_01 6:04

This is a running theme. This will be a running theme of this podcast or the podcast coming up, which is your rights with the police, your rights in court. Why don't you write this down, Abby, for us to have some ideas for later podcasts? This would include what do you do when you're in court by yourself? Which is not a smart idea to do except for your initial scheduling hearing. How do you find a lawyer, the right lawyer for you? What questions do you ask for that lawyer? How do you research the lawyer? How do you get prepared to testify in court? How do you get involved with self-improvement? Steps to help your prospects in court. How do you prepare to testify in court? What are some of the new laws in Virginia that might help you out? Such as the law that's about two or three years old that enables your case to be dismissed after the court finds you have uh completed the steps necessary to do that. And I want to hear from you. What topics do you want to hear from about? You can send an email to John at Beatheprosecution.com. J O N at B E A T T A G prosecution.com. Abby, what's our texting number if you want to text us?

SPEAKER_00 7:26

It's 571-4067.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Abby, you've been working here for how long?

SPEAKER_00 7:35

Six months, I think a little over six months.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Do you have any questions for me that you uh haven't gotten around to that might help the audience?

SPEAKER_00 7:43

See, what's your favorite part about being a criminal defense lawyer?

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Winning.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

And beating the prosecution.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

And beating the prosecution. We came up with the idea of beat theprosecution.com just about a year ago. I was surprised that it wasn't trademarked yet. But that's what it's all about. It's about winning as much as possible. And if we can't get an outright win, let's get as much of a win as possible. I think it's pretty good if someone is caught for their third armed robbery, and if we can get them off for a trespassing conviction with no jail, I mean that might sound like an exaggeration, but I can't tell you how many times I exceed my expectations and getting great results for defendants. Do not throw out do not throw down the towel or throw in the towel if you are a criminal defendant. This is the time to fight, fight, fight. You may feel very low that you've just been arrested, you may see your whole life is crumbling apart, but I can't tell you how many times, no matter how severe the charges are, that the person gets their case dismissed, acquitted, or even has um, like I said, you have something as serious as an armed robbery that's reduced down to a trespassing conviction.

SPEAKER_00 9:06

You know, the best place to do that is to look at our website, be at the prosecution.com, calling our office, 703-383-1100, or the texting number, and we'll be happy to help you and see what we can do.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Yes, indeed. And I want to introduce you to uh the rest of our staff. Abigail is our part-time legal assistant. She's great. She used to work with the court system in Arizona, and Rachel is our full-time legal assistant for one and a half years. She's a former military police officer with the army, which just goes to show how good she is, because um I would look a little more carefully before I hire someone who's a former police officer. Abigail, what was your most interesting aspect of working in the court system in Arizona?

SPEAKER_00 9:58

I would say meeting all the people I I met, I worked in a criminal court and a family court, so I saw a wide variety of people from all walks of life, and you know, at the end of the day, we were all just trying to get through life and do our best. I think that was good to see people in different walks of life and be able to help them out.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

So what kind of work were you mainly doing there?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

In the criminal courts, I was a bailiff in the courtroom. And in family court I was a conference officer, so doing similar mediation for after divorces for children support, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

So when you were a bailiff in the courtroom, does that inform you about any suggestions you might have for our listeners about how to conduct themselves in the courtroom or the court hallways?

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Uh always act like someone's listening when you're you know in the courtroom or the courthouse and abide by the rules and be respectful. Um and just have respect to the court employees because some people forget that we're just here doing our job and we're not a part of, you know, the prosecution or a third party that's in control.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Did you ever have situations where the judge would give you some insights about what he or she was thinking about a case?

SPEAKER_00 11:17

Sometimes not too often. Sometimes they I know that they would like to talk to their staff usually and be their judicial assistant.

SPEAKER_01 11:24

Do you have any examples of some particularly uh impressive or beneficial behavior that you've seen in the courtroom and the opposite?

SPEAKER_00 11:33

I've seen people get admonished when they were being disrespectful and um maybe they weren't addressed respectfully for the courtroom, and that's not just the people it was lawyers too. I think they seem to get admonished or not. They have appropriate attitude and dress in the courtroom, and it leaves a bad taste in the judges mouth when they have to see them again when they go like, oh, that was the person that you know wore that to court that day or you know was too disrespectful. Um so it kind of it does stick with people and their reputation.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

So how much is uh the work you do at our law firm different from what you were doing over in Arizona? And uh did you have any um transition difficulty in um in switching to this kind of work?

SPEAKER_00 12:25

I think what's different is this is directly helping the people and working for us when you work for the court, you know, you're just a third party, you're not necessarily involved with the prosecution or the defense. Um so this is directly helping individuals in the community. I think I guess the difficulty would just be like learning the difference in laws and how Virginia runs things compared to Arizona because there are some differences. Um with the transition of working for you know a defense attorney, I think it's very needed help and needed work. So it's been a great experience so far.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

Well, it's been a great experience for me with you and Rachel too, and um I really did not hesitate uh that you had this background in in the court system or that Rachel had this background as a law enforcement officer because I saw that the reason for both of you to do that work, I think, was really to help people in society. Uh, you know, there are bad apples in every area, including uh police officers, for instance. And one of the things I love doing is when Rachel's in the courthouse anyway, uh, for instance, she brings over uh some printouts I needed for court. Sometimes they'll say, Hey Rachel, will you come with me to talk to the prosecutor or or the police officer in the case? And one of the first things I say is Rachel's uh was a uh military police officer with the army for eight years. So for those who maybe think I'm more radical than maybe I am, although I guess I'm I I am radical in favor of justice. They know that if I have someone who used to be a police officer on staff, and they know if uh I have someone who's on staff like you, Abby, used to work with the court system, that it it is not my intention here uh to dismantle the uh the criminal justice system. It's my interest in getting the best possible results for my clients. And the way I like to look at it is we we actually have need to have people pushing from both sides of the walls. I push from inside the court system to get the best possible results for my clients and to get justice. And then we have um our our activists, the people uh who who are promoting changing laws through the legislatures, uh through public opinion. Uh I can't tell you how impressed I am, for instance, the huge strides that the marijuana legalizing activists have come to because I mean just 20 years ago, uh it was hard to get uh legalizing medical marijuana, or 20 or 30 years ago it was hard to get legalizing marijuana just on the DC ballot. And now medical marijuana is lawful in DC and Virginia, and we have dispensaries in both places for medical marijuana, and we're gonna even have the uh situation coming up on the horizon, hopefully sooner than later, in Virginia, where people can buy recreational marijuana uh lawfully, and what that's gonna do is that's gonna help protect the purity of it and not have people worrying that they might get held up by their dealer. And you know what? Even when recreational marijuana becomes lawful in Virginia, I'm not gonna touch it because this is for me the marijuana issue, legalizing it. It's not for me to be able to use it, but just about freedom of choice and civil liberties. Abigail, I think this is the first time I've ever been on uh mic with you together. I think you've done spectacularly. I'm really looking forward to uh doing more podcasts with your assistants, and I thank the audience for listening. Is there anything else uh that you or I should be talking talking to the audience about?

SPEAKER_00 15:59

No, I think just thanks for tuning in, and hopefully you'll catch our next episode in about a week or so. And you know, take care of yourself and call or you know, go to our website if you have any questions.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Well said. Thanks everybody.