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For the Defense with David Oscar Markus — True Crime
For the Defense with David Oscar Markus

David Oscar Markus, a Miami trial attorney, has been called “a reincarnation of the old school criminal defense lawyer” and has represented clients from the head of the Cali Cartel to Fortune 500 companies and their CEOs. David has partnered with rakontur, the lauded storytellers behind Cocaine Cowboys, The U and 537 Votes, on the podcast, For the Defense.

The podcast focuses on the work of the least-respected but perhaps the most important profession in America: the criminal defense attorney. In each episode, Markus will interview a top criminal defense lawyer about one of their most gripping trials.

Sadly, the criminal defense trial lawyer is a dying breed. The Feds have manipulated the system — which was founded on the idea of trial by jury — to force almost everyone (occasionally including the innocent) into pleading guilty to avoid trial. If you dare to go to trial, you risk going to prison for decades longer than had you surrendered and pleaded guilty. The system has shifted from valuing and encouraging trials to punishing those who dare exercise their constitutional right to have a jury decide their guilt. In the 1980s, over 20% of cases went to trial — now less than 3% do so.

Having tried cases all over the United States, Markus is well-positioned to speak to other leading criminal defense lawyers in the country and explore with them the decision they made in a high-profile case to proceed to trial, including their trial strategy, the risks involved, and the clients themselves.

The podcast is currently in Season 6. It has broken news, achieved industry-wide accolades, and is the go to listen for trial lawyers around the country.

CONTACT: info@rakontur.com, DMarkus@markuslaw.com

Copyright: © Copyright 2024 rakontur

Latest Episodes:

Lisa Wayne for New Orleans DA Jason Williams Jul 18, 2023

Show notes

David Oscar Markus interviews Lisa Wayne, the executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, on her most recent trial win, for New Orleans district attorney Jason Williams.

Progressive prosecutors have been pretty controversial around the country. The recently elected district attorney in New Orleans was no exception as he was indicted in federal court on 10 counts of tax fraud. Even prosecutors need criminal defense lawyers, and this one turned to one of the greats in Lisa Wayne. Listen to her and David Oscar Markus discuss how race, politics, and the media all played into this high profile case – Lisa’s last before taking the reigns of NACDL.

Gerald Lefcourt for Abbie Hoffman (Chicago 8) Jul 04, 2023

Show notes

David Oscar Markus interviews legendary Jerry Lefcourt about one of the most important trials in American history, the Chicago 8 case.

Jerry Lefcourt had recently been fired as a legal aid lawyer in the late 1960s when he got a call from Abbie Hoffman. They spoke all night at Hoffman’s apartment. Hoffman told him “I'll start a revolution; you keep me out of jail.” And Jerry did just that. Take a listen to this fascinating discussion about Jerry’s start to an awe-inspiring career. You'll hear about his battles with the judge, including getting sent to jail. Jerry is a wonderful storyteller and he and David have a lot of fun talking about this historic case.

Todd Blanche for Paul Manafort Jun 27, 2023

Show notes

David Oscar Markus sits down with former President Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, who has not yet spoken in detail with the media.

Todd Blanche was a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, prosecuting violent criminals in federal court. He then left for the oldest law firm in New York – Cadwalader. There, he quickly developed a reputation for being able to handle hot button cases, like Paul Manafort’s and Igor Fruman’s. Now, on his own, he is representing the former President of the United States. Although he is very reluctant to speak with any press, he sat down with David Oscar Markus for an hour in this entertaining back and forth to discuss the difficulties in representing a defendant in a politically charged case.

Milton Hirsch for Pedro Guerrero Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

Season 5 starts off with a grand slam – Milton Hirsch, one of the country’s finest trial lawyers, current judge, and David Oscar Markus’ former partner, represented World Series MVP Pedro Guerrero in his federal trial in Miami.

Too dumb to do the drug deal? That defense could never work, right? Wrong -- if your lawyer is Milton Hirsch, who beat the odds and won a federal criminal drug trial with the most unique of defenses. David Oscar Markus sits down with his former law partner to discuss the curveballs of this case that led to Guerrero walking.

One note — the audio on this episode isn’t great and we apologize. Other episodes don’t have this issue.

Douglas Brooks for Harvard Fencing Coach Peter Brand Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Well-known Boston lawyer Douglas Brooks sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss the Harvard Fencing Coach case, an off-shoot of the Varsity Blues prosecution.

The college admissions process gives all applicants – and their parents! – stress. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Boston charged over 50 defendants in the biggest college scandal of our time, which they dubbed Varsity Blues. Only a handful had the guts to go to trial, including the fencing coach at Harvard, who turned to Douglas Brooks to help him. In this bonus episode, David Oscar Markus speaks with Doug, his old college and law school buddy, about the incredible trial tactics that led to this amazing acquittal.

Barry Pollack for Ric Blake (Chicken Antitrust) May 31, 2022

Show notes

DOJ’s antitrust division has gotten crazy aggressive in recent months, bringing criminal cases with new theories never tested before in federal court. These new cases haven’t done well, however. In a recent case alleging that 10 defendants agreed to fix prices for chicken, all defendants proceeded to trial. The jury hung as to all the defendants. In trial number 2, yet again the jury hung. Should the government get a third chance? The head of the antitrust division says yes because he is not part of “chicken shit club.” In this bonus episode, David Oscar Markus discusses these two lengthy trials as well as DOJ’s aggressive tactics with Barry Pollack, one of the nation’s top trial lawyers, who tried the first two cases.

Ed Shohat for Carlos Lehder Mar 29, 2022

Show notes

The 1980s was the wild west of drug trials. And there was no bigger cocaine cowboy than Carlos Lehder, who co-founded the Medellin Cartel. Lehder turned to Edward Shohat to represent him in a 7-month trial in which the prosecutor, nicknamed Mad Dog, called 29 snitches. In this episode, the finale of Season 4, David Oscar Markus takes Ed through the sprawling trial and the crazy turn of events after the trial ends.

John Gleeson for the Holloway Project Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

John Gleeson has done it all. He’s been a federal prosecutor. A federal judge. And now he’s a criminal defense lawyer. Having seen the injustices in the criminal justice system, Gleeson started the Holloway project in which he and a team of lawyers are trying to free defendants who have been crushed by the system and minimum mandatory sentences. In fact, Holloway himself was a defendant that Gleeson sentenced when he was a judge. Gleeson and David Oscar Markus discuss this project, prosecuting John Gotti (who was represented by Albert Krieger), presiding over the Wolf of Wall Street case, and other fascinating stories.

Brian Heberlig for Ali Sadr Mar 01, 2022

Show notes

There's prosecutorial misconduct and then there's what happened in the case of Ali Sadr in the Southern District of New York. Sadr's lawyer, Brian Heberlig, sits down with David Oscar Markus at his White Collar Law seminar at the University of Miami School of Law to discuss the absolutely insane misconduct committed by federal prosecutors in this trial and what -- if anything -- can be done about it.

Geoffrey Fieger for Dr. Jack Kevorkian Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Dr. Jack Kevorkian, also known as Dr. Death, was the center of debate at every dinner table – should a doctor be permitted to assist a patient in committing suicide if that’s what the patient wanted because of excruciating pain and a terminal illness. Prosecutors in Michigan said no and went after Dr. Kevorkian, who turned to Geoffrey Fieger to represent him. Fieger sits down with David Oscar Markus to discuss the fascinating criminal cases and the moral implications of Kevorkian’s actions.

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