American Animals, a movie that was released in theaters in June, focuses on a former Cox & Mazzoli client who in 2005 was convicted of stealing rare and extraordinarily valuable books from a Kentucky college library. A co-defendant who was with our client used a stun gun on the librarian in charge of the rare books to incapacitate her while the theft took place.
Mike Mazzoli wrote a lengthy sentencing memorandum in support of a reduced sentence for our client. The first paragraph read as follows:
SR is an artist who committed a crime against art and hurt a woman whose life is devoted to caring for art. In ways both tragic and redemptive, art is central to the crime and punishment in this case: it explains SR's participation in the offense, and it offers a profound reason for the Court to mitigate SR's sentence.
It is important in every federal criminal case that defense attorneys research and draft sentencing memoranda to support the most lenient possible sentence for their clients.
