Michael Avenatti, the brash lawyer whose bombastic defense of pornstar Stormy Daniels brought him to prominence, was sentenced for 30 months in prison for a scheme to extort Nike. The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe was substantially below the low end of the relevant guidelines — meaning Gardephe was arguably lenient, compared to the nine years sentence that would have been “straight guidelines” — and was what the government was seeking.
There’s a lesson here for any defendant facing sentencing, and the message is that remorse and contrition matter.
“I alone have destroyed my career, my relationships and my life. And there is no doubt I need to pay…I am truly sorry for all of the pain I caused to Mr. Franklin and others,” Avenatti said. And not only did he say it, he delivered it tearfully and with apparent conviction.
In passing the sentence, Judge Gardephe said, “Mr. Avenatti has expressed what I believe to be severe remorse today.”
Defendants facing sentencing and their families need to understand that the system is set up to reward acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and contrition. A good attorney will fight for you but also guide you to make the wise decisions that ultimately get you the best possible outcome. Sometimes that means fighting, and sometimes that means convincing the court you now you made a mistake, you’re learned from that mistake, and you will never do it again.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/08/michael-avenatti-sentencing-nike-extortion-case.html