Birmingham, Alabama Criminal Defense Blog

A Happy Ending - Finally

Posted by Michael P. Hanle  //  March 5, 2009

When D. W. was found not guilty of murder back in January, you would have thought that the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. NOT GUILTY. That is what the jury had said. Very loud and very clear. It only took 30 minutes to decide that he was not guilty. Unfortunately, D. W. had been sitting in a jail cell for over 13 months at that time. NOT GUILTY did not equal GET OUT OF JAIL. The same Judge who presided over D.W.'s trial had revoked his probation 11 months prior to his trial. The Judge had imposed a very long sentence becaue he had already decided that D.W. was guilty. This wrong had to be righted. After the acquittal, I filed two seperate post conviction documents. First, I filed a Rule 32 Petit... Keep Reading »

Holidays are Tough

Posted by Michael P. Hanle  //  February 18, 2009

Why is it that the day after a holiday is such a pain in the butt? I am not referring to the inevitable hangover that many of you might be suffering from. I am referring to the choas that seems to develope when people have an extra day off. Monday was President's Day. A local, state and federal holiday. That means that the courts and schools were closed. I took the day off and spent time with my kids. We hiked down by the Cahaba River and generally had a good day. However, when I returned to work on Tuesday, the world had changed for the worse yet again. The stock market crashed (again) and clients would not stop calling with problems. Job security is nice, but it never fails. I just don't get it. Anyone out there have a... Keep Reading »

Mission Impossible - Atlanta, Georgia - The run continues

Posted by Michael P. Hanle  //  February 11, 2009

The Date: February 3, 2009 The Scene: United States District Court, Atlanta, Georgia The Mission: Get a probationary sentence for a career offender involved in an internet pharmacy conspiracy. The Results: Downward Variance of 8 levels. Three years probation. One happy client. Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on the AUSA in an effort to secure his assistance in getting the District Court to grant a probationary sentence. Leading up the the sentencing, I continued to discuss probation with the Assistant U.S. Attorney. Never got him to agree with me, but never figured he would come right out and say so. Friday before sentencing. Client is getting nervous now. I am finally finished with my sentencing... Keep Reading »

What a Month - January 2009

Posted by Michael P. Hanle  //  January 29, 2009

Well it has been a wild and crazy month. Very productive and very successful though. We started off the month on January 5th with a bang. Three different clients, three different courts, in two different parts of town. On Wednesday of that week, I was involved in a federal bank fraud sentencing. The client was looking at a prison sentence of between 2 1/2 and 3 years. I pre-filed a very extensive sentencing memorandum with the court setting out my argument for a probationary sentence. Following an hour of argument, the court agreed with me. To place my client on probation, the court varied downward by 10 offense levels. What a glorious day for everyone involved. On Friday, in another federal social security fraud case, ... Keep Reading »

A Case of Murder or the Death of the State's Case

Posted by Michael P. Hanle  //  January 25, 2009

What a couple of weeks it has been. Trial work has to be some of the most exhaustive work that an attorney can handle. The mental and emotional toll on the body is beyond description. Knowing that your clients' future is in your hands is enought to scare some lawyers away. However, the truely great lawyer (not me) relish the chance to champion the case to the jury. In my recent murder trial, I tried to convince the State that they were dealing with bad facts and even worse witnesses. Did they listen? Not one little bit. After the Judge shot down all of my suppression issues (identification) we started into the State's witnesses. One after the other, I was able to get them to shot holes in the State's theory of the case -... Keep Reading »