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Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz daily practices the martial art of taijiquan / t'ai chi ch'uan Yang style short form, also known as Cheng Man Ch'ing (CMC) taijiquan form. This episode introduces our third taijiquan teacher, after previously introducing you to Jon Katz's vitally important teacher Julian Chu (a student of CMC senior student Benjamin Pang Jeng Lo, several of whose weekend training classes Jon has attended), and Len Kennedy, who is one of two lawyers who has inspired Jon on the taijiquan path.

Taijiquan is vitally important to Jon. Courtroom defense is war, and Jon's regular taijiquan form and sparring (push hands / sensing hands) practice is just the thing to enable him to find calm in the eye of the courtroom storm, so as to keep his eye on the prize of pursuing his clients' best defense.

Sifu William C. Phillips is one of CMC's junior students, and among the youngest to receive permission from CMC to teach taijiquan. Bill is among the small number of CMC's student who have written about him and his taijiquan. Bill's first book is In the Presence of Cheng Man-Ch'ing- My Life and Lessons With the Master of Five Excellences. Bill's second book is due out this year. This Beat the Prosecution episode explores the essence of CMC beyond what has already been written about him, and the further essence of Bill -- who also has advanced in several other martial arts -- beyond what is already available. Bill grew up with street fights, stumbled into a love of judo in college, and from the judo studio director learned about CMC, and the rest is history.

Bill declines an invitation to speak much about how criminal defense lawyers can come closer to beating the prosecution, but he actually says it all for himself in this interview: Learn and apply taijiquan. Be patient. Be compassionate (I add to be compassionate without sacrificing the interests of the defendant, nor the fighter's firepower). Fight for justice. Practice daily. Stay true to your practice.

Deeply thanking and bowing to Sifu Bill Phillips for joining this podcast episode.

This podcast episode is also on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnAD5GGZi90 and Apple podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/winning-with-full-martial-firepower-sifu-bill-phillips/id1721413675?i=1000713682983

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

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

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Fairfax criminal defense lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that acquittals are great and often exhilarating, but trials can also bring risks. On this Beat the Prosecution episode, Jon Katz talks on his own about the art of obtaining favorable plea or settlement deals, which need to be backed up by the threat and strength of trial readiness.

Settlements can only be earned, but are never owed to a criminal defendant. Many Virginia criminal and DUI defendants expect to be offered a plea deal, and want it to be a desirable plea deal. However, nothing in the law requires a Virginia assistant commonwealth’s attorney (prosecutor) to make a plea offer, nor for the accused to do anything other than proceed to trial. Jon Katz's parallel blog entry on this subject illustrates one of his successful plea negotiations that can be of help to you as a criminal defendant and your Virginia criminal defense attorney. With this settlement, we started out with a Virginia DUI / driving under the influence of alcohol prosecution alleging a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.20, which carries a mandatory ten days in jail. Jon reached an impasse with the prosecutor about going lower than the mandatory minimum five days in jail for a reduced BAC in the 0.15-0.20 range.

Jon asked the prosecutor if he had read Roger Fisher’s and William Ury’s Getting to Yes on negotiated settlements, which emphasizes negotiating on goals versus positions. The impasse continued. Jon transcended the impasse by standing up, calling out the names of the two lead police officers in the case, telling them the great self improvement his client had pursued, explained why the defendant's livelihood was at stake from the prosecutor’s plea offer, and asked them for ideas on how this case could be settled without active jail. Without missing a beat, the arresting officer suggested three years of the ignition interlock device. The prosecutor went along with that, adding to complete forty-five community service hours...

Fairfax criminal lawyer Jon Katz pursues your best defense against Virginia criminal & DUI prosecutions. Call us at 703-383-1100 or Info@KatzJustice.com to obtain your free in-person confidential consultation with Jon about your court-pending prosecution.

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

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

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Fairfax criminal lawyer Jonathan Katz knows that it is not radical to protest, but instead is among our rights under the Bill of Rights. As an undergraduate alum of Tufts University, Jon Katz opened his eyes and ears all the more to the plight of Rümeysa Öztürk, who is not known to have written or said anything more radical than the decidedly non-radical op-ed she co-authored with three others in the Tufts Daily.

Ms. Öztürk has a great team of lawyers -- including our interviewee Mahsa Khanbabai -- and she recently won a federal court order to release her from detention while she fights deportation proceedings. The question arises about which lesser known people facing the same plight will be able to pull together the right legal team.

Attorney Khanbabai suggests these relevant links:

- Senate Judiciary Committee report on immigration detention https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SENATE%20JUDICIARY%20COMMITTEE%20RANKING%20MEMBER%20REVEALS%20DEVASTATING%20INSIGHTS%20INTO%20ICE%20DETENTION%20IN%20EXCLUSIVE%20SITE%20VISIT.pdf

- Justice for Rümeysa Öztürk financial campaign page

- Abuse of migrants at detention centers https://www.laaclu.org/en/news/abuse-migrants-rampant-louisiana-ice-centers-report-finds

- Deaths in adult detention https://www.aila.org/library/deaths-at-adult-detention-centers.

This podcast episode also is available at YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2sNLkhKH0

This podcast with Fairfax, Virginia criminal / DUI lawyer Jon Katz is playable on all devices at podcast.BeatTheProsecution.com. For more information, visit https://KatzJustice.com or contact us at info@KatzJustice.com, 703-383-1100 (calling), or 571-406-7268 (text).

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