Come Back With a Warrant

Ever wonder if cops can really do that? Or why someone would take a plea deal if they’re innocent? Come Back With a Warrant is a bold, no-BS criminal defense podcast hosted by two former courtroom rivals turned co-hosts. Monica Ishak (former public defender) and Brandon Dinetz (former prosecutor) pull back the curtain on the legal system…one real case, viral moment, and wild courtroom story at a time. With sharp insight and unapologetic wit, they break down your rights, challenge legal myths, and go where most lawyers won’t. Whether you’re law-curious, true crime–obsessed, or just want the drama without the fluff, this is your front-row seat to how criminal law actually works.

Come Back With a Warrant is a society podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 60 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts Come Back With a Warrant, a society show with 60 episodes published.

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  Come Back With a Warrant

  Ep. 60 - The Menendez Brothers: Parole Denied — What Happens Next

  Sep 29, 202647 min

   In this episode of Come Back with a Warrant, criminal defense attorneys Monica Ishak and Brandon Dinetz break down the latest in the Menendez brothers case: the resentencing that made Erik and Lyle Menendez parole-eligible, the parole board's denial, and what happens next. More than three decades after the 1989 shotgun killings of Jose and Kitty Menendez in Beverly Hills, the case is moving again. In May 2025, a judge resentenced the brothers to 50 years to life, making them immediately eligible for parole under California's youthful offender law. Months later, the parole board denied both brothers. Monica and Brandon explain what the board actually weighs — risk assessments, insight, prison conduct — and why a denial is not the end of the road. From a criminal defense perspective, they dig into the paths still open: the pending habeas petition built on new sexual abuse evidence, petitions to advance the next parole hearing, and the clemency question sitting with the governor. They also revisit how differently the abuse evidence would be treated in a courtroom today than it was in the 1990s trials, and how the Netflix series and a new generation of advocates turned a closed case into a national conversation. Topics covered in this episode include: the Menendez brothers case in 2026, Erik Menendez and Lyle Menendez parole hearings and denials, the 2025 resentencing to 50 years to life, California's youthful offender parole law, what the parole board considers, the pending habeas petition and new abuse evidence, clemency and the governor's role, sexual abuse evidence in murder trials then and now, Netflix's Monsters and public opinion, and the criminal defense perspective on resentencing and second chances. Listen to Come Back with a Warrant for legal commentary, criminal defense insight, true crime breakdowns, and real conversations about the justice system. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and sign up for our weekly newsletter for more criminal defense stories, legal insight, and unfiltered courtroom commentary.  Leave us a 5 Star Review! Follow us for legal hot takes, episode updates, and a peek into our lawyer lives.  YouTube: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Podcast   Instagram: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod   TikTok: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod Find us everywhere and join the conversation! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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  Come Back With a Warrant

  Ep. 59 - Episode 59: Luigi Mangione Part 2: The Guilty Plea With No Deal — Double Jeopardy & the December Sentencing

  Sep 22, 202635 min

  In this episode of Come Back with a Warrant, criminal defense attorneys Monica Ishak and Brandon Dinetz break down the move nobody saw coming in the Luigi Mangione case: there will be no federal trial. Instead of the two trials everyone was waiting for, on August 14 Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court to the stalking-resulting-in-death charges — an open plea to the court, with no plea deal — and his lawyers immediately used that conviction to attack the New York murder case as double jeopardy. Monica and Brandon walk through how it happened: the plea deal report that prosecutors shut down, what an open plea actually is and how federal plea practice differs from state court, and the carefully scripted allocution — the 3D-printed gun and suppressor, posing as an investor managing more than $50 billion to find UnitedHealthcare's investor conference, admitting he traveled to New York intending to shoot Brian Thompson, and tying his motive to his own experience with the healthcare system. Then why all that detail was the point: double jeopardy requires the same act, and the allocution erased any ambiguity. It's a calculated risk, because if the motion fails, his own words get used against him. The federal guidelines land between 24 and 30 years, the government is seeking life, and sentencing is set for December. From a criminal defense perspective, they dig into the statute doing the work: New York's criminal procedure law bars separate prosecutions for the same act or criminal transaction — broader than the dual sovereignty rule they covered in Part 1, and triggered only by a conviction, which is exactly what the guilty plea created. They debate the exception that will decide the motion — whether stalking and murder are statutes designed to prevent "very different kinds of harm or evil" — through their own Florida stalking and injunction practice, cover the defense's due process argument that the prosecutions were sequenced to maximize punishment, and lay out the stakes: a potentially consecutive 25-to-life state sentence versus a single federal sentence and getting out in his 50s. Plus the supporters who were already a jury problem, and the hosts' split verdict: Monica is rooting for him to see daylight, while Brandon, the former prosecutor, can't get past the family who never gets their dad back. Topics covered in this episode include: the Luigi Mangione guilty plea, open pleas, federal versus state plea practice, the allocution, the federal stalking resulting in death charges, New York's double jeopardy statute and dual sovereignty, the motion to dismiss the New York murder case, the "very different kinds of harm or evil" exception, stalking law and injunctions in Florida, the due process sequencing argument, federal sentencing guidelines, the December sentencing, the Pennsylvania case still pending, the Mangione supporters and the jury problem, and the smartest strategic plea they've covered. Listen to Come Back with a Warrant for legal commentary, criminal defense insight, true crime breakdowns, and real conversations about the justice system. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and sign up for our weekly newsletter for more criminal defense stories, legal insight, and unfiltered courtroom commentary.   Leave us a 5 Star Review! Follow us for legal hot takes, episode updates, and a peek into our lawyer lives.   YouTube: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Podcast Instagram: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod TikTok: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod  Find us everywhere and join the conversation!

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  Come Back With a Warrant

  Ep. 57 - The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 2: The Defense Case, Closing Arguments & a Deadlocked Jury

  Sep 8, 20261h 28m

  In this episode of Come Back with a Warrant, criminal defense attorneys Monica Ishak and Brandon Dinetz break down Part 2 of the Lindsay Clancy trial: the defense case in chief, the commonwealth's rebuttal experts, the closing arguments, and the deadlocked jury — recorded live on verdict watch, with a jury note landing just as the episode wrapped. The defense built its case on experts. Dr. Paul Zeisel, the clinical and forensic psychologist who saw Lindsay within days of the killings and became her treating psychologist, delivered the money quote: she was unable to conform her behavior to the requirements of the law and had no appreciation for the wrongfulness of her act. Dr. Phillip Resnick — the country's leading expert on filicide and malingering — testified by Zoom that she was frankly psychotic at the time of the killings, like a puppet with someone else pulling the strings, and that standardized malingering testing showed she was minimizing her symptoms, not exaggerating them. A psychopharmacologist walked through the 13 medications and the missed signs of postpartum psychosis, a forensic pathologist legitimized the suicide attempt the state called performative and compressed the timeline, and the lay witnesses — her mother, her sister, and her former mother-in-law, who testified she was an excellent mother who was clearly sick — put a family's grief on the defense side of the courtroom. Plus the hospital chaplain who heard about the voices before any defense doctor ever did. Monica and Brandon explain the Massachusetts criminal responsibility standard — cognitive or volitional, and the commonwealth's burden to disprove the defense beyond a reasonable doubt, a minority rule nationally — then dig into the state's rebuttal experts, who contradicted each other's diagnoses, and the mic-drop moment when the defense read the prosecution's own opening statement to the state's final expert, who admitted it really minimizes what she was going through. From a criminal defense perspective, they break down both closings — the quarters on the prosecution's table, the family photographs, the "broken toys" line the state left the jury with — the three verdict slips and the lesser included offenses, and the Tuey-Rodriguez "dynamite" charge that reminds a deadlocked jury the burden sits entirely on the commonwealth. Then they each give their own verdict — and they don't match. Topics covered in this episode include: the Lindsay Clancy trial verdict watch, the defense case in chief, not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, the filicide and malingering experts, altruistic filicide, the MMPI malingering test, the 13 medications and the missed diagnoses, the compressed timeline, the ex-mother-in-law and chaplain testimony, the commonwealth's conflicting rebuttal experts, the mistrial motion over religious testimony, closing argument strategy and theatrics, the verdict slips and lesser included offenses, the Tuey-Rodriguez dynamite charge versus Florida's Allen charge, hung juries and what happens after a mistrial, and the criminal defense perspective on whether the state met its burden. This is a heavy episode about mental illness, postpartum psychosis, and suicide. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Listen to Come Back with a Warrant for legal commentary, criminal defense insight, true crime breakdowns, and real conversations about the justice system. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and sign up for our weekly newsletter for more criminal defense stories, legal insight, and unfiltered courtroom commentary. Leave us a 5 Star Review! Follow us for legal hot takes, episode updates, and a peek into our lawyer lives. YouTube: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Podcast Instagram: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod TikTok: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod Find us everywhere and join the conversation!

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  Come Back With a Warrant

  Episode 56: The Lindsay Clancy Trial Part 1: The State's Case, Postpartum Psychosis & Premeditation

  Sep 1, 202658 min

  In this episode of Come Back with a Warrant, criminal defense attorneys Monica Ishak and Brandon Dinetz break down Part 1 of the Lindsay Clancy trial: the state's case in chief, how the insanity defense actually works, and the question at the center of it all — was she criminally responsible? Lindsay Clancy, a 36-year-old labor and delivery nurse, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three young children at their Massachusetts home. Nobody disputes that she caused their deaths — this trial is about criminal responsibility: whether postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, worsened by a cascade of psychiatric medications, left her unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her conduct or conform it to the law. Monica and Brandon explain how the insanity defense works in Massachusetts — once the defense raises it, the commonwealth must prove criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt — and why pleading it is anything but risk-free: it requires the client's actual consent, because the outcome is either prison or potentially decades in a psychiatric institution. They walk through the commonwealth's 14-day, 71-witness case piece by piece: the digital forensics timeline built from Apple Watch data and internet searches, the takeout order and CVS run the state says was a plan to get her husband out of the house, the providers who testified she showed no psychosis at 20-minute telehealth visits, the toxicology report, and the state's claim that a suicide attempt that left her paralyzed was contrived. From a criminal defense perspective, they call out what worked, what backfired — playing the 911 call, the jury view of the house, the courtroom theatrics — and the strategic gamble they cannot explain: the state resting its case in chief without a single mental health expert. Plus the motion for a required finding of not guilty, the mistrial motion, and why closings — and maybe a verdict — are just days away. Part 2 covers the defense case, the rebuttal, and the verdict. Topics covered in this episode include: the Lindsay Clancy trial in Massachusetts, three counts of first-degree murder, postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, the insanity defense and criminal responsibility, who really bears the burden of proof, Apple Watch data and digital forensics evidence, premeditation versus psychosis, HIPAA and why her medical records became fair game, the state's no-expert gamble, the contrived suicide argument, the 911 call and courtroom theatrics, the required finding of not guilty motion, the mistrial motion, and the criminal defense perspective on trying a mental health case. This is a heavy episode about mental illness, postpartum psychosis, and suicide. If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Listen to Come Back with a Warrant for legal commentary, criminal defense insight, true crime breakdowns, and real conversations about the justice system. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and sign up for our weekly newsletter for more criminal defense stories, legal insight, and unfiltered courtroom commentary. Leave us a 5 Star Review! Follow us for legal hot takes, episode updates, and a peek into our lawyer lives. YouTube: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Podcast Instagram: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod TikTok: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod Find us everywhere and join the conversation!

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  Come Back With a Warrant

  Ep. 55 - Michael Jackson: The Verdict — The 2005 Trial & the Netflix Docuseries

  Aug 25, 202651 min

  In this episode of Come Back with a Warrant, criminal defense attorneys Monica Ishak and Brandon Dinetz break down Michael Jackson: The Verdict, the Netflix docuseries revisiting the 2005 Michael Jackson trial, and the criminal defense strategy that ended in a full acquittal on every count. The 2005 trial put the biggest star on the planet in front of a California jury on child molestation and conspiracy charges. After a trial that dominated worldwide media coverage, Michael Jackson was acquitted on every count. With the Netflix docuseries reigniting the debate and the billion-dollar Michael biopic bringing a new generation into the story, Monica and Brandon look at what actually happened inside that courtroom, not what the headlines said — including the cross-examination where a key witness swore by a magazine printed years after he ever saw Jackson. From a criminal defense perspective, they examine how the defense dismantled the prosecution's case through the accuser family's credibility problems, why superfans lying their way onto celebrity juries is a real risk, and how reasonable doubt works when public opinion has already convicted the defendant. Then they turn to the fight that is still alive: Wade Robson and James Safechuck's civil lawsuit against Jackson's companies heading to trial in 2028, why the civil burden of proof is lower, why there is no right to remain silent in a civil case, and the estate's legal war that pulled Leaving Neverland from HBO. Topics covered in this episode include: Michael Jackson: The Verdict on Netflix, the 2005 Michael Jackson trial explained, child molestation and conspiracy charges, the cross-examination that broke a key witness, jury selection and superfans on celebrity juries, reasonable doubt and the full acquittal, the Wade Robson and James Safechuck civil lawsuit and 2028 trial, civil versus criminal burdens of proof, no Fifth Amendment in civil court, the estate's fight over Leaving Neverland, and the Michael biopic's renewed interest in the case. Listen to Come Back with a Warrant for legal commentary, criminal defense insight, true crime breakdowns, and real conversations about the justice system. Subscribe, leave a five-star review, and sign up for our weekly newsletter for more criminal defense stories, legal insight, and unfiltered courtroom commentary. Leave us a 5 Star Review! Follow us for legal hot takes, episode updates, and a peek into our lawyer lives. YouTube: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Podcast  Instagram: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod  TikTok: @ComeBackWithAWarrant.Pod Find us everywhere and join the conversation!

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