Welcome to Original Jurisdiction, the latest legal publication by me, David Lat. You can learn more about Original Jurisdiction by reading its About page, and you can email me at davidlat@substack.com. This is a reader-supported publication; you can subscribe by clicking here.
It isn’t easy being a criminal-defense attorney. Your clients are counting on you, often with their liberty on the line. You work your heart out for them. And in the end, at least once your client has been charged, the odds are high that they’ll end up convicted—whether through pleading guilty or losing at trial. In the federal system, fewer than one percent of defendants get acquitted.
But some defense lawyers manage to beat the odds, time and time again—like David Oscar Markus, founding partner of Markus/Moss PLLC. Over his almost three decades in practice, he has scored numerous trial victories. In 2023, he and his partner Margot Moss secured an acquittal for Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee and Florida gubernatorial candidate, after nearly three weeks of trial. (The jury acquitted Gillum of making false statements to the FBI; it hung on other counts, which the prosecution later dismissed.)
And just last month, David and his partner Lauren Krasnoff won an across-the-board acquittal for businessman Diego Sanchez, in a complex case involving allegations of a $65 million healthcare fraud. The trial lasted for almost a month—and in the end, the jury found Sanchez not guilty on all seven counts.
How did David pull off this challenging win? What does he view as the most important skill for a trial lawyer? When does he put his client on the stand? How does he handle the media in a high-profile case? David and I tackled all of these topics and more, in a wide-ranging and candid conversation.
Thanks to David for joining me, and kudos to him on his recent trial victory—far from his first, and definitely not his last.
Show Notes:
David Oscar Markus bio, Markus/Moss PLLC
Southern District of Florida Blog, by David Oscar Markus
For the Defense, by David Oscar Markus
Miami Jury Returns Defense Verdict in $36M Health Care Fraud Case, by Tommaso Baronio for Law.com
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