Beat The Prosecution

Jon Katz

Welcome to Beat The Prosecution with Fairfax, Virginia criminal defense / DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz. Jon Katz believes in spreading the word of justice on this podcast, in court, and on his blog at https://katzjustice.com/blog, to regularly provide information and ideas for beating your prosecution. More information is available at https://BeatTheProsection.com and at (703)-383-1100.

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Top 10 Beat The Prosecution Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Beat The Prosecution episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Beat The Prosecution for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Beat The Prosecution episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

Powerhouse lawyer Bob Hilliard- Winning trials by caring for our clients and throwing ourselves fully into their cause

Beat The Prosecution

06/11/24 • 54 min

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What do non-ego, blue jeans, and tireless work have to do with beating the prosecution? Join us as Fairfax, Northern Virginia, criminal and DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz talks in depth with Corpus Christi, Texas, trial lawyer Robert C. Hilliard, who was Jon's roommate at the Trial Lawyers College. https://hilliard-law.com

Early on, Bob inspired Jon to stay on the path of deeply caring for his clients, and to become his own boss. Bob's experience pursuing products liability cases against manufacturers served him well in achieving the ending of a multiyear vehicular homicide sentence for a defendant who asserted that his car's brakes did not work to avoid the fatal collision. Bob argued right up to the United States Supreme Court for the right to sue a United States Border Patrol agent for his cross-border fatal shooting of a teenager. Hernandez v. Mesa, 589 U.S. 93 (2000) (a 5-4 decision declining to permit such a cause of action for a cross-border shooting). Bob Hilliard pursues victory for his clients without ego, without airs, and with hard and smart work.
In this episode, we talk about being authentic and powerfully vulnerable, and about the connections we make with our loved ones, with each other and with jurors. We include discussing our late friend Dax Cowart, and Bob talks about how meaningful it is to have Dax's walking stick in his office. Jon and Bob have not seen each other in person for years, and here pick up where they last left off, as if it was yesterday.

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://BeatTheProsecution.com or contact us at [email protected], 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text). Hear our prior podcasts, at https://podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com/
If you like what you hear on our Beat the Prosecution podcast, please take a moment to post a review at our Apple podcasts page (with stars only, or else also with a comment) at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675

Winning without negative reactivity- Deb Katz from the Conscious Leadership Group

Beat The Prosecution

09/19/24 • 59 min

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In 2015, Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz finished court earlier than expected, and beelined to the Mindful Leadership conference in Crystal City, Virginia, in part to meet speaker Roshi Joan Halifax. Snagging a ticket to this soldout event, Jon met Roshi Joan, and also sat mesmerized by speaker Jim Dethmer's (co-founder of the Conscious Leadership Group) talk about conscious leadership, and about the difference between leading from above the line (where one is open, curious, and not attacking) versus from below the line. This conscious leadership approach is fully addressed in The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, and Kaley Warner Klemp.
The challenges abound for criminal defense lawyers and their clients to get sidetracked by actually or apparently slinged mud, heartlessness, dehumanization efforts, underhandedness and prevarication from various quarters in the courthouse and beyond. Getting angry and misdirected is weakening. Smiling in the face of proverbial flying vomit and diarrhea -- when knowing the possibilities of sweet success that may be right around the corner -- is the powerful way to proceed.
Conscious Leadership's Deb Katz pulls no punches in addressing how she transitioned from years of proceeding as an unconscious leader to a conscious one. She talks about how it is possible to say f--k you from above the line, and how sweetness does not automatically put one above the line. Deb addresses how Conscious Leadership draws on numerous pre-existing approaches to leading in a beneficial way. She and Jon both benefit from the teachings and practices of Ho'oponopono, which is featured on a previous Beat The Prosecution podcast episode.
This conversation between Jon Katz and Deb Katz (same last name, but no close family connection) dives deep into transitioning into the conscious leadership approach.
The universal and Apple podcasts URL for this episode are at https://podcast.beattheprosecution.com/2293867/episodes/15777966
and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beat-the-prosecution/id1721413675?i=1000669998168

Cross-exam wizard Larry Pozner- Winning with full preparation, focus, and compassion

Beat The Prosecution

07/08/24 • 43 min

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Cross examination master Larry Pozner https://www.pozneroncross.com for decades has been practicing law and teaching criminal defense and other lawyers how to effectively cross examine witnesses, without needing to be born with that ability. Fairfax, Virginia, criminal defense / DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz first met Larry at a National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers conference in Philadelphia in 1991. Jon Katz was immediately drawn to Larry's excellence as a lawyer and teacher, and his selflessness in sharing what he knows. Larry travels all over the country and beyond teaching cross examination. He is a very disciplined and dedicated attorney for obtaining the best possible results for his clients.

Larry Pozner has been particularly devoted to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and to the criminal defense lawyers who learn from him. Jon was blessed for Larry to have been among his two cross examination instructors at the 1994 Trial Practice Institute of the National Criminal Defense College in Georgia. Listen to this podcast episode for Jon's discussion with Larry about that experience and much more. Larry is one of many great NACDL members and other attorneys who welcomed Jon Katz into the fold of criminal defense and to the recognition that even solo practicing criminal defense attorneys never need to feel that they are alone.
Larry Pozner and friend Roger Dodd's Cross-Examination: Science and Techniques are essential for any trial lawyer.
https://store.lexisnexis.com/products/crossexamination-science-and-techniques-skuusSku6893 Learn more about Larry,,his upcoming programs and his training DVDs at https://www.pozneroncross.com

Persuading With Psychodrama and Storytelling- Trial Consultant Don Clarkson and Lawyer Christopher Flohr

Beat The Prosecution

04/23/24 • 54 min

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What do Soul Train, Jacob Moreno and trials have to do with each other? Two of my favorite people help with that answer. Join us for our first episode with guests outside our law firm as we talk with Maryland trial consultant and psychodramatist Don Clarkson and Severna Park, Maryland, Criminal Defense lawyer Christopher Flohr (https://bflawmd.com/team/christopher-flohr/). Jon Katz first met Don at the Trial Lawyers College in 1995. Chris attended the Trial Lawyers College four years later.

Developing peacefulness and compassion for winning in court and life - Jun Yasuda of Nipponzan Myohoji

Beat The Prosecution

08/13/24 • 57 min

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When Fairfax, Virginia criminal and DUI defense lawyer Jonathan Katz faces particularly challenging times in court, he often imagines that his peace teacher Jun Yasuda is to his right, his trial teacher Steve Rench is to his left, and his martial arts teacher is also right there. This Beat the Prosecution episode interviews Jon Katz's friend and peace mentor Jun Yasuda, who spearheaded making the Grafton, New York, Peace Pagoda a reality.https://www.graftonpeacepagoda.org (This peace pagoda is such an amazing place that Jon's friend's usually constantly overactive dog stood in quietness when first visiting the pagoda.)
Lama Surya Das has aptly pointed out that it is not enough to rage against violence if we do not also pursue peace within ourselves. Likewise, an effective criminal defense lawyer needs to find and develop internal peace so that anger, stress, and upset do not eat the lawyer alive; and so that the lawyer may think, see and hear clearly -- and show total compassion, teamwork and listening with their client -- on the road to pursuing the best defense.
Jun Yasuda is as tough as nails, having crisscrossed the nation on foot in even harsh climates, having fasted for peace and justice for days on end, and having set her own selfish interests aside for the greater good of humankind. She advocated for sanctuary in New York for American Indian Movement cofounder Dennis Banks when his sanctuary in California was cancelled. She dry fasted for a week for Mumia Abu-Jamal when he was still on death row. Jun-san's central prayer for peace -- drummed at a walking pace -- is Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo, which is the Odaimoku, the essence of the Lotus Sutra.
Jun-san briefly was in a lockup adjacent to Leonard Peltier's during the pendency of his trial where she went to support him. (Mr. Peltier's prosecutor ended up concluding that his prosecution and continued incarceration were and are unjust. https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/From-US-Attorney-James-Reynolds.pdf . His authoring appellate judge decades ago supported clemency for Peltier. https://www.whoisleonardpeltier.info/download/Heaney.pdf )
Jun-san recognizes the importance of restorative justice as an alternative to the overgrown criminal justice system that she points out disproportionately incarcerates minorities and often uses inmates for free and cheap labor.
Jun Yasuda is a monastic with the Nipponzan Myohoji Nichiren Buddhist order. More about this remarkable woman, her strikingly serene peace pagoda in Grafton, NY, and her order's peace work is at https://www.graftonpeacepagoda.org .

Defending in criminal court by keeping one's eyes on the prize- Plowshares & Catholic Worker activist Mark Colville

Beat The Prosecution

11/13/24 • 65 min

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Fairfax criminal and DWI lawyer Jonathan Katz heard Abbie Hoffman's lawyer Gerald Lefcourt speak in 1991 about how Abbie had asked Gerry to keep Hoffman out of jail so that he could keep pursuing his agenda. At that moment, Jon wondered whether he had missed the boat on the days of defending activists. Nine years later, Jon teamed with Ramsey Clark to defend the Plowshares 4 at their 2000 criminal jury trial following their action against depleted uranium, and Ramsey mentioned there being plenty of interesting activists to defend when doing so for free.
Thanks to Plowshares and Catholic Worker activist Mark Colville of the Amistad Catholic Worker in New Haven for joining Jon in talking about his three Plowshares actions and resulting jury trials for two of them, and his Catholic Worker activities, including with Rosette Village.
Plowshares actions include admitting the defendants' actions, while arguing that the action should not be convicted any more than Underground Railroad activists should have been convicted. Mark presents great ideas for beating the prosecution through such approaches as keeping our eyes on the prize of winning no matter the seeming and actual hurdles along the way, pushing the envelope of advocacy as necessary, and working in community / teamwork.
Jon recommends donating to the Amistad Catholic Worker or any other Catholic Worker community, and/or the Rosette Village, helping homeless people.

Winning through powerful trial advocacy- Criminal defense wizard Lisa Monet Wayne

Beat The Prosecution

10/08/24 • 57 min

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There are heroes, and then there are heroes. Lisa Monet Wayne is one of Fairfax criminal / Virginia DUI lawyer Jonathan Katz's greatest heroes. Lisa was one of Jon Katz's earliest great criminal defense teachers, encouraging attorneys not to shy away from taking even the toughest cases to trial. She was among Jon's teachers at the National Criminal Defense College's Trial Practice Institute.
Lisa is one in a line of great former Colorado Public Defender training directors. She is currently Executive Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). This interview will be a battery recharge for all criminal defense lawyers.

Harmonizing criminal defendants' imbalanced situations- Venerable Thubten Chodron

Beat The Prosecution

10/15/24 • 58 min

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Fairfax criminal defense lawyer and DUI attorney Jonathan Katz has been inspired for years by the great and to-the-point online dharma talks and guided meditations by Venerable Thubten Chodron. Venerable is at once compassionate, kind, generous of her time and as tough as nails. Through divine coincidence that neither knew about at the time, Venerable was editing a book about inmates when Jon Katz invited her onto this show.
Transcending all religious and non-religious approaches to life, Venerable here gives great lessons on non-anger, selflessness, restorative justice, working with inmates, mindfulness and more approaches that work very well for helping criminal defendants and their lawyers obtain the best possible results in court, and for making us feel more grounded. Venerable suggests entitling this podcast as harmonizing the situation rather than beating the prosecution, to which Jon responds why the name remains as it is.
Check out Venerable's many great books, and the section of her abbey's website with writings by incarcerated people and prison volunteers. You are bound to be inspired by Venerable's words and great spirit. If you like what you hear, please consider donating to her abbey.

Winning through compassion, true sensing & realness- Nikki Mirghafori

Beat The Prosecution

08/29/24 • 62 min

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After learning about non-attachment after revisiting Wim Wenders's visit in Tokyo-Ga to the gravesite of famous director Yasujirō Ozu (who left his body only eight months after Jon Katz was born), whose headstone was marked solely with the character 無 Mu (translatable as nothingness), Fairfax Virginia criminal and DUI defense lawyer Jonathan Katz learned more clearly and deeply about nonduality / non-attachment, and began more intentionally pursuing this life path, through his continued practice of the taijiquan martial art, additional mindfulness practice, and lessons from such great teachers as Baba Ram Das (born Richard Alpert) about our interconnectedness.
Jon learned about the lawyers mindfulness movement, ultimately attended a great partially silent long weekend law professionals' retreat at the Blue Cliff Monastery, for a year became coordinator of the then-named Contemplative Lawyers group of the national capital area, and finally was willing to spend a long weekend in heavy silence and meditation -- other than during group discussion and question and answer sessions -- at the 2015 Mindful Lawyering long weekend at the Garrison Institute.
While Zoketsu Norman Fischer -- a former abbot at the San Francisco Zen Center, which Shunryu Suzuki Roshi founded -- was the biggest draw for Jon among the teachers at this Mindful Lawyering retreat, the remaining lineup of teachers was also great. Nikki Mirghafori stood out for Jon among the retreats' teachers for her apparent particularly practical approach to applying mindfulness, together with her profession as an artificial intelligence scientist. Nikki also brings us front and center to the mindfulness of death, seeing that we all have only one exit from this world. Nikki's social media links are at www.facebook.com/dr.nikki.mirghafori; www.facebook.com/nikki.mirghafori; linkedin.com/in/nmirghafori; www.instagram.com/nikki.mirghafori; x.com/NikkiMirghafori

In this Beat the Prosecution podcast conversation between Nikki and Jon, they both learn that their early meditation practices involved applying Herbert Benson's Relaxation Response, and moved forward. Nikki's early mindfulness practice took place during very substantial personal challenges.
Jon asks Nikki for ideas for lawyers, criminal defendants and others to deal with their suffering, addiction, and suicidal thoughts, as well as how to beat the prosecution. Nikki's lessons include being mindful and compassionate, engaging in restorative justice, and being ready to interact with prosecutors and others on a human level.
Visit Nikki's website for a treasure trove of discussion, meditations, and

Winning through relentless client focus- Sameera Ali, Lauren Whitley, Erin Smith and Jim Magner

Beat The Prosecution

12/13/24 • 55 min

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Criminal defense lawyers must hang together lest they hang separately. Northern Virginia lawyer Sameera Ali accepted an Alexandria Juvenile & Domestic Relations (JDR) Court request to represent an indigent defendant (for abysmally low pay), let the court know she was not available on the then-pending court date, got the prosecutor's office on board for seeking a very brief court date rescheduling to when Ms. Ali was available, and instead got issued a show cause notice to appear in the same court to address why she should not be held in jailable contempt of court.
Once this story hit the Washington Post (with the bittersweet ending of a dismissal of Sameera's show cause case, but only after a one hour hearing), the outpouring of support for Sameera came rushing through. The show cause hearing courtroom was filled with supportive criminal defense lawyers and also included prosecutors and city attorneys. With criminal defense lawyers ready to instantly rally around their mistreated sister and brother lawyers, and with the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' strike force, judges, prosecutors and police should think carefully before trespassing against one of our own.
On this Beat the Prosecution episode, Sameera and Erin Smith tell about the events following the unjust issuance of this show cause order against her, Erin's immediate departure from the Alexandria JDR court's indigent appointment list, and what happened at the hearing where the show cause order against Sameera got dismissed. Longtime public defender lawyer Lauren Whitley talks about the importance for lawyers to speak out about judges' wrongful actions. Sameera's law partner Jim Magner talks about the importance for people to recognize the devotion and talent that so many lawyers demonstrate in representing indigent defendants. Not present for this show is Christopher Leibig, Sameera's lawyer who filed this great motion to dismiss the show cause matter against Sameera.
Striking is the absence of anger nor any agenda in Sameera nor Jim, and just Sameera's getting right back in the saddle and urging criminal defense lawyers to accept court appointments to represent indigent defendants.
Many criminal defense lawyers are unsung and undersung heroes. Sameera is a hero to let the light be shined on her plight, to not let this matter knock her down, to win, and to treat such mistreatment with such dignity and can-do strength.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," as Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded

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FAQ

How many episodes does Beat The Prosecution have?

Beat The Prosecution currently has 50 episodes available.

What topics does Beat The Prosecution cover?

The podcast is about Lawyer, Attorney, Virginia, Criminal, Podcasts, Education, Crime and Government.

What is the most popular episode on Beat The Prosecution?

The episode title 'Trial readiness needs to lead your criminal defense.' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on Beat The Prosecution?

The average episode length on Beat The Prosecution is 44 minutes.

How often are episodes of Beat The Prosecution released?

Episodes of Beat The Prosecution are typically released every 7 days.

When was the first episode of Beat The Prosecution?

The first episode of Beat The Prosecution was released on Dec 14, 2023.

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Beat The Prosecution

Jon Katz

Top 10 Beat The Prosecution Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does Beat The Prosecution have?

What topics does Beat The Prosecution cover?

What is the most popular episode on Beat The Prosecution?

What is the average episode length on Beat The Prosecution?

How often are episodes of Beat The Prosecution released?

When was the first episode of Beat The Prosecution?

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