Empathy for the Accused with Attorney Mike Cavalluzzi

Episode 92 : Media Mayhem

Episode Synopsis

Mike Cavalluzzi takes his extensive experience in the criminal justice system to detail the problems and misconceptions people have in the courts. Michael has a particular empathy with people that are accused and he addresses the question of “How can you defend those people?”

He also exposes the difficulty of finding yourself needing to go to trial as a member of the middle class ineligible for a public defender, and is not reticent to say where the criminal justice system is failing its citizens.

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Guest Bio

Michael “Mike” Cavalluzzi is one of the best criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles County. He has been described by judges and prosecutors as aggressive, uncompromising, and relentless in his pursuit of justice for his clients. Having defended clients in courts throughout Los Angeles, Ventura, and Orange Counties, Mike Cavalluzzi has cemented a reputation as a top trial attorney.
Michael Cavalluzzi began his legal career in 1992 as a civil litigator for State Farm Insurance, the largest insurance company in the United States. After winning several jury trials, Mr. Cavalluzzi decided to leave State Farm and focus on the practice of criminal defense. He joined the Public Defender’s Office and quickly established himself as a fearless, creative trial attorney, defending clients in all types of cases, ranging from misdemeanor battery to homicide. Mr. Cavalluzzi is also actively involved in civil litigation, successfully representing a number of personal injury cases.
Having practiced extensively throughout the juvenile justice system, Mike Cavalluzzi is well known in many juvenile courts, where he is on a first-name basis with judges, prosecutors, and probation officers. As a member of the gay community, Mike Cavalluzzi is also an outspoken advocate for the rights of the entire LGBT population.

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Episode Breakdown

00:01 Coming up on Media Mayhem.
02:17 Michael Cavalluzzi’s background in criminal law and the bad rep of defense attorneys.
07:45 The shifting perception of the justice system from the inside.
11:33 Explaining ‘enhancements’ and additional legal penalties.
16:43 Reasons for reluctance to go to trial.
20:40 An attorney’s obligation to be capable in trial.
25:26 Television biases in covering trials.
28:15 Representing people who’ve been mistreated in police custody.
34:21 Is Sheriff Lee Baca to blame for police mistreatment?
36:24 Working with different ethnic communities as a public defender.
37:28 “How do you defend ‘those’ people?”
40:06 Defending sex offenders.
45:20 The middle class can’t afford a lawyer and reality of the system.

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Hosted By

Allison Hope Weiner was a Century City entertainment litigator before she began writing about Hollywood as a journalist. A graduate of Columbia University and the University of Southern California Law Center, she joined the legendary firm of Wyman, Bautzer—where she represented entertainers and corporate media clients.

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