Expert Details
Federal Prison Expert; Bureau of Prisons Policy; Sentencing & Re-entry Consultant
ID: 736406
South Carolina, USA
Expert has spent more than a decade as a contributing writer, editor, and book author across numerous criminal justice and legal news publications, and has authored six published books addressing federal prison systems, criminal defense, and prison education. Expert's written work has been recognized with numerous national book and journalism awards and has been cited by legal scholars in multiple peer-reviewed law journal articles. Expert also manages a publishing and media company focused on criminal justice reform, whose outreach efforts have resulted in commentary placements across numerous major national and international news outlets. Expert's legal experience includes internship work researching and drafting appellate briefs in criminal cases, complementing Expert's broader background in criminal justice policy and legal writing.
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 2022 | Degree: JD | Subject: Juris Doctor | Institution: University of California, Davis School of Law |
| Year: 2019 | Degree: Masters of Business Administration | Subject: Leadership Studies | Institution: Adams State University |
| Year: 2016 | Degree: Bachelors of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies | Subject: Legal Studies and Business Administration | Institution: Adams State University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2025 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Managing Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:Federal criminal defense and prison consulting practice. Focus areas include federal sentence mitigation, Bureau of Prisons designation and placement, sentence computation disputes, First Step Act time credits, RDAP completion issues, disciplinary hearings, administrative remedies, compassionate release, halfway house and home confinement placement, and federal reentry planning. Provides expert consultation on BOP policy interpretation and federal prison conditions. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2023 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Chairman, Board of Directors | Department: |
Responsibilities:Responsible for providing leadership and direction to the HRDC Board of Directors, including the publication of Prison Legal News, Criminal Legal News, and PLN Publishing, HRDC’s book publishing arm. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2024 to 2025 | Employer: Criminal Center LLC | Title: Managing Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:Responsible for business operations, marketing, and consulting on federal prison matters. National federal criminal defense law firm specializing in federal prison preparation, resolution of in-prison matters, and reentry success. Provided services to federal criminal defendants, federal prisoners, and federal criminal defense attorneys. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2018 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Managing Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:Boutique federal prison consultancy specializing in federal prison preparation, in-prison advocacy, and reentry success. Services include BOP facility recommendations, sentence computation analysis, First Step Act Earned Time Credit calculations, RDAP eligibility assessment, disciplinary defense, administrative remedy preparation, and release planning. Assisted hundreds of federal defendants, prisoners, and federal criminal defense attorneys nationwide. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2018 to 2020 | Employer: Law Offices of Brandon Sample | Title: Marketing Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:The Law Offices of Brandon Sample is a federal criminal defense law firm focused on pre-trial and trial, sentence mitigation strategies, federal appeals, 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motions and 28 U.S.C. § 2241 Petitions, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) Motions, clemency requests, and compassionate release petitions.During his tenure as the firm's Marketing Director, he was responsible for firm branding, website development, public relations, and other marketing and business development responsibilities. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2017 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Contributing Writer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Criminal justice and criminal court litigation reporter. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2014 to 2018 | Employer: Huffington Post | Title: Contributing Writer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Authored articles for "Crime Blog" folio. Articles focused on criminal justice topics. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2016 to 2018 | Employer: New York Journal of Books | Title: Criminal Justice Book Reviewer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Reviewed criminal justice and other legal books. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2016 to 2017 | Employer: New York Daily News | Title: Contributing Writer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Authored freelance articles about criminal justice topics. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2014 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Contributing Writer | Department: |
Responsibilities:Authored freelance criminal justice articles. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2013 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Contributing Writer, Book Author | Department: |
Responsibilities:Authored the Prison Education Guide, a book about correspondence education for American prisoners. Tasked with reporting about state and federal prisons. Currently, Chief COVID-19 reporter. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2010 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Managing Director | Department: |
Responsibilities:Criminal justice reform publishing and media company; media outreach resulting in quotes in CNN, Fox News, Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, Vice News, and other national/international outlets |
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Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| United States v. Hargobind Tahilramani, Case No. 20CR3107-WQH, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Expert witness testimony regarding Federal Bureau of Prisons policies and conditions of confinement before Westminster Magistrates' Court (London) in extradition proceedings. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) • American Bar Association (ABA) • National Alliance of Sentencing Advocates & Mitigation Specialists (NASAMS) • South Carolina Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (AILA) • Human Rights Defense Center (HRDC) • National Alliance of Sentencing Advocates and Mitigation Specialists (NASAMS) • National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA) • Federal CURE (Fed CURE) • National Lawyers Guild (NLG) • National Police Accountability Project (NPAP) • Law Review, University of California at Davis (2020-2022) • Criminal Law Association, Vice President, University of California at Davis (2019-2022) • Students Against Mass Incarceration, Vice President, University of California at Davis (2019-2022) |
| Licenses / Certifications |
|---|
| • Advanced Certificate in Paralegal Studies — Adams State University • Certificate in Paralegal Studies — Adams State University • Certificate in Employment Law — Adams State University • Advanced Certificates in Civil Litigation, Business & Corporate Law, and Criminal Law & Procedure — Blackstone Career Institute |
| Awards / Recognition |
|---|
| • Society of Professional Journalists: Mark of Excellence finalist • Foreword Magazine: Social Sciences Indie Book of the Year (3rd Place) • Next Generation Indie Book Awards: Nonfiction Award • Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Montaigne Medal Finalist • Colorado Independent Book Publishing Awards: Nonfiction Shortlist • Feathered Quill Book Awards: Nonfiction Informational Category (2nd Place) • IndieReader Nonfiction Discovery Award (3rd Place) • National Indie Excellence Awards: Nonfiction Award • Readers Favorite Book Awards: Gold Medal, General Nonfiction • Chanticleer Book Awards: Instructional & Insightful Nonfiction Award • American Bar Association's Top 100 Law Blawgs • Eric Hoffer Book Awards: Montaigne Medal • Pen America Center, Writing Awards • Witkin Award for Academic Excellence, UC Davis School of Law • Reynoso Award for Academic Excellence, UC Davis School of Law |
| Publications and Patents Summary |
|---|
| Author of six books focusing on federal prison systems. Expert has both contributed articles to, and been interviewed by, a broad selection of media outlets, including USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Elle, Huffington Post, New York Daily News, CNN, Fox News, ABC News, Detroit Free Press, Prison Legal News, Criminal Legal News, Truth-Out, Think Progress, and others. He also reviews books for the New York Journal of Books. His work has been cited in the Yale Law Journal, Columbia Law Review, New York University Law Review, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Duke Law Journal, Michigan Law Review, Public Interest Law Reporter, UCLA Law Review & Discourse, Wake Forest Law Review, American Criminal Law Review, Federal Sentencing Reporter, and a recent conference paper at UC Berkeley School of Law. |
Fields of Expertise
prison, criminal justice, criminal law, criminal defense investigation, jail, prison standard, corrections, corrections personnel, Consulting, legal consulting, Criminal justice reform, Federal prison consultant, Prison law and policy, Criminal justice journalist, Criminal defense research, Appellate brief writing, Paralegal studies, Legal publishing and media, Incarceration and sentencing policy, Criminal law and procedure