The Allergic Reaction That Ends in Handcuffs – Mike B.

About This Speaker Tape

Spring Networking 2010 - 2010

A former high-stakes criminal defense attorney in Sacramento Mike B. describes the slow-motion crash of a career that once handled death penalty cases and 100 jury trials. The turning point arrives in 1993 after witnessing a man die in the San Quentin gas chamber—an experience that shattered his arrogance and sent him spiraling into a cocktail of alcohol cocaine and methamphetamines. He details the absurdity of his bottom: stealing two-by-fours from construction sites and using jumper cables to steal electricity while still making half a million dollars a year. After two stints in prison and a brief disastrous attempt to 'manage' his drinking on parole he found a sobriety that shifted his identity from the law license he lost to the honesty he gained. Now a high-ranking corrections official he navigates the distance from his son in Texas with a quiet sober acceptance.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Mike B. recounts walking through a plate glass window while drunk.
• 2:15 Discussion of his career as a defense attorney and the volume of homicide cases.
• 4:10 The traumatic experience of witnessing a volunteer's execution in the gas chamber.
• 6:30 Laughter: The logic of switching to meth to avoid cocaine paranoia.
• 8:45 The cycle of arrests and the 'no bail' order from Judge R.
• 11:20 The 'Johnny C. of CRC' and the violence of prison life.
• 14:15 The 'half-pint' relapse on parole and the subsequent return to prison.
• 17:30 The 'Top Ramen haircut' and the interview with Senator John B.
• 20:10 The creation of the Lawyer's Assistance Program for California.
• 23:45 Discussion of his current role in corrections and his struggle with self-importance.
• 26:10 Reflection on the relationship with his son and ex-wife.
• 28:30 The 'judgment center' of the brain and the absurdity of stealing two-by-fours.