Stay Silent, Stay Free: A Guide to Guarding Your Liberty
Introduction: In the realm of criminal defense, one of the most fundamental and powerful rights bestowed upon individuals is the right to...
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Joel Chorny
- May 7
- 5 min
The Quirks of Arizona's Criminal System: A Closer Look at Mandatory Sentencing
In Arizona, criminal defendants often find themselves facing harsh consequences. It's become a dark joke among the defense bar that when...
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Joel Chorny
- Apr 29
- 6 min
It's about avoiding a blood feud!
Let me set the scene: you are a caveman emerging from your shelter as the sun rises and you look around and notice that your daughter is...
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Joel Chorny
- Apr 13
- 2 min
There are some really nice sentiments on the faces of buildings
I recently got back from a trip to our nation's capital with the family. It was a lot of fun showing my kids the various monuments, the...
24 views0 comments
Joel Chorny
- Mar 14
- 5 min
How attorneys come up with their fees (or more accurately, how I come up with mine)
After more than a decade of working as a public defender and receiving a salary that was completely independent of the nature or number...
75 views0 comments
Joel Chorny
- Mar 3
- 3 min
Actually, Your Honor, today is about my client
A few weeks ago, I had a sentencing for a client that I first met about 5 years ago. I eventually had to withdraw from his case due to a...
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Joel Chorny
- Feb 10
- 4 min
Have you heard the one about the green tongue?
There are certain lies that law enforcement officers tell because they are trained to. Among people in the defense community, we joke...
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Joel Chorny
- Jan 28
- 2 min
A word on the duty attorneys have of confidentiality
As an attorney, one of the most important aspects of the job is maintaining confidentiality with clients. This means that any information...
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Joel Chorny
- Jan 12
- 3 min
No, my job is not what it looks like on "The League"
In the very first season of FX's excellent comedy series "The League," there is a scene where one of the characters who is a defense...
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Joel Chorny
- Dec 21, 2022
- 4 min
How important is it for me to believe in my client's innocence?
Throughout my career, I have gotten a number of questions time and time again that used to feel like they are meant as attacks: "How can...
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Joel Chorny
- Dec 6, 2022
- 6 min
Plea bargaining: I don't think that means what you think it means
Unless you have had the benefit/misfortune/privilege to be involved with the criminal system, your impressions of how that system works...
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Joel Chorny
- Dec 2, 2022
- 4 min
A rant about incarceration
I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell's book, "David and Goliath." The whole book is about how the mythos of the story of David's...
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Joel Chorny
- Nov 22, 2022
- 5 min
How does Double Jeopardy work?
Let me start off by thanking my brother for reminding me of what it felt like to first learn about Double Jeopardy in law school. I had...
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Joel Chorny
- Nov 9, 2022
- 5 min
No, you aren’t going to get the alleged victim to pay your attorney's fees after an acquittal
I had a client ask me if he would be able to force the alleged victim to pay his attorney's fees after he got acquitted at trial. The...
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Joel Chorny
- Nov 4, 2022
- 2 min
Why is my DUI being charged as a felony?
Here in Arizona, a felony DUI is called an aggravated DUI. As the name implies an aggravated DUI is a regular DUI plus some...
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