The following cases represent a small fraction of the state and federal cases Mr. Kousouros has handled over his thirty years as a criminal defense attorney. Some involved trials in which he achieved a not guilty verdict on all or some of the counts, and some involved pleas of guilty that were made unavoidable due to the strength of the government’s case.

A note on pleas of guilty.

When a state case necessitates a plea of guilty, Mr. Kousouros and his team evaluate each charge filed and then conduct an independent investigation to ascertain which of the charges can be proven. Mr. Kousouros then crafts arguments — based on the client’s role in the offense and the personal circumstances of his or her life — to wrest an offer from the government for the most minimal charge possible. This charge will, in turn, give his client the lowest sentence possible.

In the federal system, a plea of guilty involves a much more laborious process. First, Mr. Kousouros undertakes an intricate analysis of both the criminal charges and the United States Sentencing Guidelines to determine the applicable sentencing range. Next, he conducts extensive negotiations with the prosecutor on these issues to ensure that those legal issues are resolved in a fair and reasonable manner. Thereafter, Mr. Kousouros analyzes both the evidence and the client’s role in the crime to ascertain any and all arguments that could be used to substantiate a reduction in the client’s guidelines. This approach has been successful in multiple instances, including in many fraud cases where Mr. Kousouros has successfully argued — using empirical and statistical evidence — that the guidelines significantly over-represented the monetary loss and the defendant’s criminal culpability. Once accepted, this argument opens the door to the possibility of a vastly reduced sentence for his clients.

Following this analytical stage, Mr. Kousouros shifts his focus to the identification of mitigating factors — both with regard to the client’s role in the offense and with regard to the personal circumstances of his or her life. During this phase it is critical that the court understand precisely who the client is, and how the client came to stand before it. The goal here is to move the judge toward leniency, and the only way to do that is to move the judge toward compassion. James Kousouros does this by applying his precision, creativity, and passion to produce a compelling presentation — corroborated by sound evidence — of all the positive and mitigating factors in his client’s life. It is here that Mr. Kousouros gives full voice to his client’s humanity by highlighting all positive contributions the client has made to his or her family and community, and by explaining any personal, family or societal challenges his client has faced.