Brandon Sample is an attorney, author, and criminal justice reform activist.

PRACTICE AREAS

Brandon’s law practice is focused on federal criminal defense, federal appeals, federal post-conviction relief, federal civil rights litigation, federal administrative law, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Specific areas of Brandon's federal criminal practice include:Presidential Pardon and Commutation Petitions

  • Pre-trial and Trial
  • Sentence Mitigation Strategies
  • Federal Appeals
  • 28 U.S.C. § 2255 Motions and 28 U.S.C. § 2241 Petitions
  • 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) Motions
  • Federal Prisoner Treaty Transfer Requests
  • Federal Cooperation Assistance
  • BOP Compassionate Release
  • Presidential Pardon and Commutation Petitions
  • Motions to Amend Supervised Release Conditions
  • Early Termination of Supervised Release

PUBLICATIONS

brandon sample habeas citebook
Pardons & Commutations of Sentences

Brandon Sample is the author of The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, first published in 2010.

The Habeas Citebook is an easy to use reference book that was written for state and federal prisoners. The book focuses on the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel, one of the most common claims raised by prisoners in state and federal post-conviction proceedings.

A second edition of The Habeas Citebook, co-authored with Alissa Hull, Esq., was published in 2016. The Habeas Citebook is available for purchase from Prison Legal News, a monthly magazine that covers prison and criminal justice issues across the United States.

Brandon is also the co-author of Pardons and Commutations of Sentences: The Complete Guidebook to Applying for Clemency. Published in February 2019, Pardons and Commutations of Sentences is available for purchase through Amazon.com.

Brandon has also authored over 100 different articles on criminal justice topics for Prison Legal News.

In addition, Brandon has co-authored several articles for the Huffington Post on criminal justice issues.

Brandon is also a columnist for Criminal Legal News, a monthly publication that covers criminal court decisions from across the United States.

 

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

prisology

In 2013, Brandon formed Prisology, a national tax exempt non-profit organization committed to reforming the U.S. criminal justice system.

In 2014, Prisology helped motivate tens of thousands of individuals to support retroactive drug relief for federal prisoners. The change in law, commonly called "drugs minus two," is expected to save U.S. taxpayers over $4 billion in incarceration costs.

Brandon appeared before the U.S. Sentencing Commission in June 2014, and gave testimony in support of retroactive application of "drugs minus two." Brandon's testimony, among others, was instrumental in convincing the U.S. Sentencing Commission to apply "drugs minus two" retroactive.

Prisology remains actively involved with different criminal justice initiatives, including litigation against the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

 

MEDIA APPEARANCES

stateside-michigan

Brandon Sample has been a featured guest on Stateside, a Michigan NPR program.

Brandon has also participated in discussions and interviews on XM/Sirius satellite radio and other online radio shows.

 

EDUCATION

Juris Doctor, magna cum laude, Vermont Law School

B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, summa cum laude, Adams State University

 

COURTS ADMITTED TO

  • Vermont Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
  • U.S. District Court – S.D. of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court – C.D. of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court – N.D. of Illinois
  • U.S. District Court – S.D. of Indiana
  • U.S. District Court – E.D. Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court – W.D. Wisconsin
  • U.S. District Court – Colorado
  • U.S. District Court – North Dakota
  • U.S. District Court – N.D. of Texas
  • U.S. District Court – W.D. of Texas
  • U.S. District Court – Vermont
  • U.S. District Court – District of Columbia

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

VTLAI-01
  • American Bar Association
  • National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
  • Federal Bar Association
  • Vermont Trial Lawyers Association