Off The Record

Imhoff and Associate’s Shannon Dorvall, general counsel and Shannon Leis, managing attorney, introduce us to Imhoff and Associates through their experiences with the firm as well as their appreciation for it’s commitments to justice.

What you will hear

• Introduction
• Second chair
• Ethos and its application

Quotes

“Human connection is one of the reasons why our firm  is amazing”

Mentioned

Imhoff and Associates

If you enjoyed this episode of Off The Record  Podcast, make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review.

Shannon Dorvall, counsel for defense  at Imhoff & Associates and Shannon Leis, managing attorney of Imhoff and Associates take a deep dive into the pros and cons of AI technology in the criminal justice system.

What you will hear

• AI and how it can help criminal defense lawyers
• AI challenges and considerations
• Access to justice
• AI gone wrong sample case
• Ethical concerns and predictive AI
• Types of AI and AI learning
• Jury selection
• Photographic use of AI and Daubert

Quotes

“AI tends to make racially biased decisions.”

“A lawyer should be aware of changes in the law in its practice, including any benefits or risks associated with relevant technology.”

“AI is not perfect. It is based on human intelligence and you know humans are nothing if not flawed.”

Mentioned

Imhoff and Associates

Daubert standard

Mata vs. Avianca

If you enjoyed this episode of Off The Record  Podcast, make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review.

Shannon Leis is the managing attorney of Imhoff and Associates and your host for today’s show. In this episode we are discussing Miranda warnings. We'll discuss the origination, substance, subsequent decisions, and the future of Miranda.

What you will hear

• Miranda Warnings history and definition
• When the warning must be provided
• Interrogation and evidence of guilt
• The Public Safety Exception
• The Jailhouse Informant Exception
• Violating a right v violating a rule protecting a right
• The future of Miranda warnings
• Alito, Clarence Thomas and stripping protections for the rights and remedies of the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments

Quotes

“Miranda was one of several groundbreaking decisions aimed at protecting the right to the accused handed down by the Warren Court that fundamentally changed criminal procedure.” 

“A traffic stop is not considered custody. Police are not required to provide Miranda warnings for an investigative stop and although these warnings are not required, that does not mean anything you say can't be used against you, because it certainly will. So be mindful of your mouth when the officer is asking questions, assume everything you do and say is being recorded and will be used against you.”

“While Miranda remains settled law, the effect of these subsequent decisions prevents Miranda from protecting people from police abuse, especially members of marginalized communities as it was intended to.”

“If you're interrogated in custody without Miranda warnings and make a statement, then testify at trial and give contradictory testimony, the prosecutor can use your statement to impeach the testimony in court.

“It is now irrelevant whether a suspect was cognitively or mentally impaired at the time, they waived their rights as long as police coercion is not involved.”

“To exercise your right to remain silent, you are required to speak…..So you need to invoke your right to remain silent in order to prevent your silence from being used against you.”

“No one should ever speak to law enforcement without a lawyer. They are not there to help you despite what they might claim. They can lie to you. They can trick you. Do not speak to law enforcement without a lawyer.” 

“False confessions of people proven factually innocent by DNA account for 29% of wrongful convictions.”

“Miranda is important and necessary. It should be built upon and strengthened, not weakened.”

Mentioned

Arizona v Miranda 1966

Warren Court

Gideon v Wainwright

Harry v New York 1971

Rhode Island v Innis 1980

New York v Quarles 1984

Illinois v Perkins 1990

Marilyn v Shatzer 2010

Berghuis v Thompkins 2010

Salinas v Texas 2013

Vega v Tico 2022

Dickerson v United States

Map v Ohio

Imhoff and Associates

California Penal Code 4.22

If you enjoyed this episode of Off The Record  Podcast, make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review.

Austin Wallace, attorney and case manager at Imhoff and Associates, discusses  the crime of terrorist or criminal threats and the impact of social media in these types of cases and convictions.

What you will hear

1:05 Defining criminal threats and  terroristic threats

1:51 Penal code statutes

3:01 Misconceptions and general misunderstanding of the statutes

5:26 Consequences of conviction

6:45 Social media’s impact on convictions

9:02 Case examples

11:47 Advice 

Quotes

“Every jurisdiction in the country, every state, every county municipality, even at the federal level has criminal statutes that make it illegal to threaten violence towards other private citizens.” 

“I didn't mean, and I didn't do, it is not a sound defense.”

“Social media has changed things and so, what used to be a really difficult case to prosecute because it was he said, she said, is now way easier because of screenshots from social media posts or DM messages or threads of Snapchat or Instagram or Discord. That is hard, as attorneys, to defend against.”

“What was, prior to social media, just a high school beef is now being charged criminally as a felony.”

“So the rule of thumb that I like to apply to it is, Do not say anything to anyone else on social media that you would not say if a law enforcement officer was standing right next to you in person.”

Mentioned

Imhoff and Associates

California Penal Code 4.22

If you enjoyed this episode of Off The Record  Podcast, make sure to subscribe and drop us a five-star review.

Shannon Dorvall, counsel for defense at Imhoff & Associates,  offers helpful advice and information on what to know if you are pulled over for a suspected DUI.

What you will hear

• You have the right to remain silent.  
• Provide information calmly and carefully
• Decide whether or not to participate in the field sobriety test.
• Choose between breath or blood test
• What happens with a refusal
• Be aware of cameras

Quotes

“You have a right to remain silent. You should use it .”

“Field sobriety tests are not designed for you to pass. They are designed for you to fail. Overconfidence generally works against you.”

“Most people metabolism at .02 per hour depending on size and weight and how used to alcohol you are, all sorts of things.”

"People ask, "What should I do breath or blood." The answer is, it depends on what you have in your system. How much you drank and when you stopped drinking."

Tyler Templeton, case manager at Imhoff & Associates,  offers helpful advice and information on what to know if you are charged with a DUI.

What you will hear

• Understanding you have 2 records 
• The challenges of a DUI on your record
• Record relief and different states
• DMV record vs criminal record
• The 2 separate arenas housing your records
• Consider the aftermath if you are charged with a DUi

Quotes

“DUI’s are notoriously difficult to either seal or expunge.”

“There’s 2 arenas every time you get a DUI. You gotta deal with the court and the criminal and then also the administrative side.   The biggest thing to remember is you gotta know who you’re dealing with.”

“Just about anybody can get charged with a DUI and even people who aren't drunk sometimes.”