Transcript of REDEMPTION THROUGH LAW: THE VETERAN FIGHTING FOR SECOND CHANCES || DANIELLE SKRANAK || EPISODE 063

I help convicted felons restore their Civil Liberties. Those liberties include the ability to vote, to run for office, and to have firearms. Those are the three major things that people lose once they become a convicted felon, unfortunately. In 2022, Arizona made this new law where if you are a one-time felony conviction, then you can have your rights automatically restored. Doesn't include your gun rights, so you still have to petition for that separately. But if you just have one, you can get them back. If you have more than one, you still have to petition through state to get it back. They'll look at your record, see if you've committed any more felonies, if you've been a positive influence in your community, to see if they will approve your application.

When you say you help restore convicted felons rights, it doesn't matter what crime they committed?

It does.

Okay, can you How do you elaborate on that?

There's a different classes of felonies. You have your classless felonies, people who have got a DUI, or they've done something off the wall that landed them a conviction. There's also dangerous ones, which is those who Usually, it involves another weapon. Those ones are very much more stringent on who can get their application approved with those. Because normally, if your firearms rights were stored and you committed a felony with a weapon, court is not going to be as lenient as it would be with a DUI.

Listen, Danielle, I need to vote for the 48th President, whoever that may be. I want to be able to get my voice heard. What's the steps and procedure that you would take? What's the first thing we're going to go through? The code to winning insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow. This This is, again, a very unique interview. I have an amazing guest in the studio with us. We are still in the amazing state of Arizona, the 48th state. We're going to have an expert criminal law paralegal. The company that she has started and founded as well, a veteran founded, just and driven, committed to restoring your rights with honor and precision. Our amazing guest, I want to make sure I like this Czech Scandinavian last name. It's going to be Danielle Skranek in the studio. Welcome. Thank you very much. Hi.

Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having me.

Awesome stuff. Like I said, I'm very fascinated to learn. I love legal aspect of things. It's also very important that people get to understand what are their rights, because for the most part, people don't even understand what they can do, what they're entitled to knowing, what they're entitled to the right to having as well. Can you give us a brief overview of exactly what you do and what your firm or company stands for?

Yeah, absolutely. So I help convicted felons restore their Civil Liberties. And those liberties include the ability to vote, to run for office, and to have firearms. Those are the three major things that people lose once they become a convicted felon, unfortunately.

Okay. And then what's the difference? Why would they not go to an attorney? What is it that you guys do that's a little bit more unique and different?

Well, you're always welcome to consult an attorney, but it's just It's really unnecessary. This is such a cut and dry situation that you can have a paralegal or a licensed document repairer, which I'm both, help you fill out the paperwork and restore your rights at a much more affordable cost.

I noticed as well, I think We spoke about it earlier on, usually in swing states, depending on where things were. There were cases where many people were not allowed. I thought as a citizen, not a green card, as an actual citizen, I was under the impression that every single person is entitled to vote. So if you have a felony, you can't vote at all?

Correct. The day you're convicted, it has gone away. Yeah.

Can it be restored or how does that work?

Yeah, it can actually be restored. So in 2022, Arizona made this new law where if you are a one-time felony conviction, then you can have your rights automatically restored. It doesn't include your gun rights, so you still have to petition for that separately. But if you just have one, you can get them back. If you have more than one, you still have to petition through the state to get it back. They'll look at your record, see if you've committed any more felonies, if you've been a positive influence in your community, to see if they will approve your application.

And then how many cases... I mean, obviously, it's very nuanced, but how many cases... It's a case-by-case situation, they look into certain stuff, right? What's taken into consideration regarding that?

If you've been employed, if you've started a family, if you've just not... They just want to make sure that you're not going to reoffend. That's their biggest concern is they don't want to take it away again, and then you have to apply. They don't want the back and forth. They really want to restore their rights for individuals who went to prison, serve their time, pay their restitution, and have since lived a better life.

But does it also matter which... When you say you help restore convicted felons rights doesn't matter what crime they committed? It does. Okay, can you elaborate on that?

There's a different classes of felonies. You have your classless felonies, people who have, I don't know, got a DUI or they've done something off the wall that landed them a conviction. There's also dangerous ones, which is those who... Usually it involves another weapon. And those ones are very much more stringent on who can get their application approved with those. Because normally, if you're applying to have your weapons restored, your, excuse me, your firearms rights restored, and you committed a felony with a weapon, the court is not going to be as lenient as they would be with a DUI. In most cases, it's a solid no across the board. There's a list of them. If you committed murder, if you raped a child, if you did a drive-by shooting, those ones are usually the ones where they say no. And that's understandable, right?

A hundred %. Yeah. A hundred %. And so the whole DUI thing, the reason why... I don't drink alcohol at all, but at the same time, I feel like crimes are different. So it's hard to really judge somebody who perhaps took a few sips, a few ounces of alcohol, driving down a 48th stay, and then somebody that murdered or killed a family or killed somebody. But the fact that felon is a felon, you know what I'm saying? Yes. How do you walk somebody through the process? Let's say now I have done that. I was caught. I drove down from Phoenix to Mesa or whatever it may be. And I got caught, and now I have a DUI. Do you serve jail for that sometimes, depending on the situation?

Yeah, it depends on the situation. We're a zero-tolerant state. We are one of the worst states in the country when it comes to DUIs. So we're much harsher on our penalties here for sure. So it's a possibility. I know dozens of people who have a DUI, where it's an aggravated DUI, and they did serve time. They also had to pay thousands of dollars for a lawyer, and had to pay thousands of dollars for court fees and 10 to mad classes, Mothers Against Destructive Driving. Those are mandatory in our state now, too, for, I think, almost every DUI. But yeah, so we're just a little bit harsher here in Arizona, unfortunately.

That's crazy. I mean, like I said, I don't drink, obviously, because of my beliefs and all that. But I say for somebody to go and serve time, I guess they have the perception to try and avoid people from doing so by having such harsher repercussions and consequences regarding that as well. However, to serve time, it's the same thing with the whole thing I had, personally in my beliefs, with the whole people that were, I don't know, distributing and selling marijuana, getting a 10-year jail prison. I'm like, What about those, actually? What about that in Arizona? If you were selling marijuana, can you get off from that? Is that a little bit more different?

Yeah. Well, I can't give you legal advice, but I can definitely tell you at my time at the US attorney's office, it's not something what we normally prosecute for marijuana. That's more of a stateside. Okay. So I don't really know. I know that we do offer marijuana expungements in the state. So if you're previously convicted of an offense with that involved marijuana, you can have that expunged from your record, which is fantastic now that we've legalized it here in our state. But I don't know if you'd serve time for it or not. Okay.

Then Again, I got caught. So now I can't vote. I can't bear arms. I'm just a citizen, but I can't even run. Obviously, you can't run for public office if you can't vote. So now I'm coming into your office right now and I'm like, Listen, Danielle, I need to vote for the 48th President, whoever that may be. I want to be able to get my voice heard. What's the steps and procedure that you would take? What's the first thing we're going to go through?

Yeah, I want to look to see what your conviction would be first and foremost. Like I said, there is a list of felonies that they just will not allow it. And that, again, makes sense. We were talking about the heinous crimes. Just to see if you're eligible. If you're eligible, then we'll go through what are your goals? Is your goal that you want just your civil rights restored, which is the voting and running for office? Do you want to have your firearms restored? And then again, we'll look at the list to make sure you're not in those classes, that dangerous or serious offenses. And then I just help you prepare the packet. There's a packet that's standardized across the state. And there's a checkbox situation where it's just like, have you reoffended since then? Do you have a job? Where do you live? And are you an outstanding citizen? Is basically what you want to display to the judge. Because once you submit your packet, it will go before a judge or a prosecutor. I believe it's a judge, yes. And they will look to see if you're likely to reoffend or not.

But then so it's not like a thing where I just got a DUI yesterday. I got or out of prison. It's one of those things where you'd recommend they probably go get a job, find something to do, at least fill out a 1099, a W2 tax form, be an upholding citizen. And I think just naturally by seeing that, even regardless of your job or not, you can see there's a trajectory that someone seems to be following and they're trying to uphold and be in good standing with their community as well.

Exactly, yeah. There's a waiting period, too. If you want to apply for your firearms rights, you have to wait at least two years from the date of your absolute discharge, which is either your last day in prison or your last day of probation. So, yeah, there's a waiting period for it for sure. And it works out great because in those two years, you should be able to show that you've excelled better in life since your imprisonment.

I love that. My perception of paralegal, I don't know, I'm a big fan of suits. I just thought it was...

Yes, I always get called Megan Markle. I love it. I love to be the Prince of England one day.

Yes. So that was my perception of that. Then the code broke it down. I'm Well, that's very interesting because I feel like people deserve to know what their rights are because I feel like, what's the point of being a citizen if you aren't exercising your rights to be a citizen? You know what I'm saying? And I think it's important everyone has their voices heard to actually add to the community because you're being led by people and you have the right to vote who you want to be led by you. So what made you start this?

Oh, man. Really, I grew up in such an unconventional household. My mom remarried And so I'm growing up in this biracial family. My stepfather, he got a DUI, and it was a felony DUI, unfortunately. And it completely changed our world. You could see just how difficult it makes an American to be able to fulfill his role as a father and to be able to put food on the table. It was harder for him to get a job. People didn't want to rent houses to us. So it just made it extremely more difficult. And he did four months in prison. And when he got out, he wasn't a better person. He didn't drink anymore, and he really changed his life around. But yet we were still struggling really hard. And I felt like it shouldn't be a lifetime sentence, essentially, to be a felon. And so eventually, I was able to get him his gun rights back and his Civil Liberties restored, and has significantly better. It's wild how much we put this stigma on individuals who have a past conviction. I used to be also a military police officer at the infamous Fort Levinworth Prison. And one of the biggest things that we were told in our training is that it's not our responsibility to uphold their punishment.

They're already punished by being in prison, and so we shouldn't be negative or, again, have that stigma or be biased towards them because they're felons.

It's interesting. I recently... One of my best friends is from Australia, and there was an episode that was released right now because he had two immigration attorneys. What happened is that his paperwork... It's a little different, obviously, but I'm going to talk about the experience that he faced. There was something that was not renewed on time, and he was given misinformation. But to cut the long story short, because you overstate a certain time with your visa, with the whole ICE thing that end up occurring, which is understandable because at the end of the day, it's the laws you do understand there. However, he was in a detention facility just recently recently in Nevada for two, three weeks. Oh, wow. He was beyond traumatized because you have this guy just attending, obviously, at Christian University, which we attended, just getting all this exposure in these detention facilities and just coming out of that. You could see the trauma that is being faced. Why I'm talking and mentioning that story is the fact that obviously it's felons and people that are convicted, depending on whatever the crime may be, you're still in a facility that can end bringing emotional damage, whether you're inside there as well.

And then the last thing you want is coming out and then figuring out, Hey, listen, this is a damping image on your record. You're pretty much doomed. Because first of all, getting a job when you have a felony or whatever it may be, it's hot enough. But now trying to not even get your voices heard. I wonder why that even started. Do you know the historical context behind why that happened?

I don't. I wish I did. That's such a great question. But yeah, it is extremely extremely debilitating to leave prison and one, to have to start your life all over, especially. I mean, two or three weeks is a long period of time. But even for the individuals who've been there for months or years, they have to readjust. There's certain things that they're going to have to get back. They're going to have to find a place to live and a job. And like you said, it's really hard to find a job when you have a felony. And yeah, so that's one of my goals is really, and I've seen it in my practice already is once I restore these Civil Liberties, I do see a sense of hope in their again. And that's the main goal here is, again, we're not trying to... I don't think our judicial system should be punishing you for the rest of your life. I will do the best I can to help you get these rights restored, and hopefully you're able to get to that next step that you need to go to make your life more successful.

And I know that we did stress a lot on the DUI. What other ones in your practice have you guys helped people get their rights restored?

If you don't mind sharing. Yeah, I've done manslaughter before, vehicular manslaughter. And I've done- What is that? So vehicular manslaughter, this man in particular, he unfortunately went hunting. It was about 1998. He went hunting up in Flagstaff, him and his buddy, his best friend, actually. They went to a bar in Flagstaff before they got to their hunting post, and they were driving back from Flagstuff to the hunting post, and he, unfortunately, the driver took a too harsh of a turn, landed in a tree, and it instantly killed his best friend. Yeah, spent eight years in prison, but I was able to get him his civil rights and his gun rights back, so now he can go hunting with his son.

You see, it's already stuff like that. That's what I was talking about, no way did he have any intention to try and kill his friend. No, in fact- And so I'm glad you explained that because sometimes we hear the term manslaught. Sorry, continue.

No, no. I was just going to say, in fact, the family was totally against the prosecution, knew that it was a mistake on his part, that he never would have actually intentionally killed their son. And so, yeah, that story still gives me chills. But, yeah, it's a mistake. And I do agree that the heinous crimes we talked about, they should not have their rights restored. Killing people intentionally is obviously very gruesome and horrible. But for the individuals who have this DUI or have the vehicular mansletter charges, I feel so deeply for them because it was a mistake when they were super young, and I know that they did not intentionally mean to do that.

And of course, that's what I was referring to as well earlier on is the fact that, can you imagine the traumatic experience that he already faced? Like one of your best friends, and you were responsible for this as a driver. It was not intended. And then it's already like it's going to be a depressing state. It's going to be a place where they're going to be just feeling that emotional distress. And I think that's a little crazy. And then what's the process? How long is it for them to get that when it starts?

Well, the court system is always very long. It's really up to them. I would say They just estimate between 90 to 120 days is usually the rough period of time.

That's better than being that forever. Right.

Yeah, because a lot of people don't realize, too, that this is something that they can do. That's one of my biggest goals, too, is education, is getting felons to understand that this is something that they can do. I often talk to felons through the community, and especially when I work at the US attorney's office, and they had no idea that this was possible for them.

That's my next question. Do you work with law firms, attorneys' office, on stuff like that in of outsourcing? Because I think sometimes in cases like law firms, I've noticed, they can end up delegating other cases that they don't want to take and stuff like that. Is that very common in your- Well, I just opened.

It is my goal, but I just opened, so not yet. That's exciting. Yeah, because I agree. A lawyer is really view this as paralegal work, which is great, because it definitely is. You don't necessarily need a lawyer to help you through this. This is very much just paper pushing and getting you to fill out all the forms correctly, because that's one of the biggest mistakes, too, that felons have, is they don't fill out all the paperwork and they don't do it correctly, so then it gets rejected. But yes, that is my goal, to work with defense firms to outsource this type of work.

And then obviously, primarily the state of Arizona.

Yes.

Would there be cases? Sorry, continue.

No, I was just going to say, although other states have adopted the same model, so I have helped people in the state of Washington and Minnesota, too.

I was about to say, when you say that I've noticed sometimes with law firms, they end up not necessarily partnering, but keeping tabs of, Hey, listen, try and help this person do the same thing. Is that your plan as well in the long term? To try and do that across many states?

Yes. And then Trump, too, is getting ready to reintroduce felons being able to get their felon rights, or excuse me, felons to get their firearms rights back to at the federal level, which hasn't been done since 1992, thanks to Chuck Schumer. But yes, I want to be able to do that, too.

You're a big Chuck Schumer fan? No.

I'm not a big fan of- He was called Crying Chuck by Trump.

He's got a name for everyone.

I'm not a big fan. There are cases with the Supreme Court that we really shouldn't even be legally allowed to take firearms weapons away. So I just did not agree with this 922G stuff.

So you're a big Second Amendment- Yes.

Huge gun rights advocate. I think that this is something that we as Americans, are entitled to for the Constitution and our Second Amendment rights. So I don't agree that we should be taking this away from people unless they're mentally ill or they have committed felonies with weapons in the past.

And it's hard to obviously track it down because obviously me, I'm right now a permanent resident of the United States, and learning the historical context behind it and the American Revolution, Second Amendment, being in place to try and ensure that the government cannot be a tyranny and try and overthrow its people as well like that. So historically, everything makes sense. And also, obviously, I told you earlier on, my father-in-law had multiple guns as well. So recreational activity, all that thing. And also in situations where I want someone that I care and love about to be able to defend myself in case I may not be there as well. So there's a lot of reasons behind it. At the same time, there probably needs to be a bit more like control to make sure the right people have the guns. What are you say in situations like that? I don't want to go off topic with that, but I know you're passionate about it. So I had to try and let you know I agree with a lot of stuff, but I also understand why the other side is getting super crazy. But I don't want extreme stuff happening.

I think everything happens in order. What's your opinion on that?

Oh, man, that's such a loaded question. I truly agree with our Constitution that it is everyone's right to bear arms if you're a United States citizen. I agree, like I said earlier, that if you're mentally incapacitated or you are a dangerous individual because you've committed crimes in the past, then you shouldn't have it. But I think generally, everyone should be able to own a weapon, own a gun. I think it's imperative in fact, as a part of our Constitution.

All righty. Now, just to go more into this, where do you see your... I know you just thought it right now, but I can see the ambition and the excitement, and you're knowledgeable in this field. Where do you see yourself going in the next five years with this?

Yeah. So I am trying to get into law school for next year, and I want to take this to the next level, still be able to provide affordable services for individuals who want to have their gun rights back, but just really advocating at a policy level to make sure that this happens. So I talked earlier about the Supreme Court case. I really want to see where that goes and be a part of that momentum as we continue to go with this administration.

Just promise me don't go in turn by Pearson Specter lit.

Such a good show. Really inaccurate about everything, but it's a really good show.

No, the reason I say my dad's an attorney back at home. Oh, very nice. He's been practicing for over 20 years. So he got his own law firm as well doing super well. But he does law in the South Africa is very different to law in the United States, obviously. We don't like no jury and stuff, but he's- Oh, no jury? Wow. No, no jury. No No jury, no jury, a judge. So remember, we had that famous case in 2010 with Oscar Pistorius, the one with no... Yes. Yes. So a judge decides. And so it was a criminal case. Also very, very beautiful lady that was one of our top models in my country, blonde, gorgeous girl, that he ended up shooting thinking it was an intruder. So he says, I'm not going to talk about what I believe, but that's a story for another day. But obviously, got a five-year imprisonment, but that was it. And that obviously gave shockwaves. But our law system is so different there, whereas I like both. I like both. I like the whole trial and jury and there because I feel like you're allowing people rather than one person to decide someone's fate.

But at the same time, what if they can be very not okay and very biased? We've seen a lot of bias cases, O. J. Simpson, all There's many different stuff, you know what I'm saying? But I just had to share that. So would you go to undergrad? Where did you go undergrad?

I went to ASU. I'm hoping to be a devil alum, too.

You want to try and do law school yet?

Yeah. I've lived in all different kinds of states. I've lived here, Kansas, DC, Washington, Oregon. I've lived everywhere. On the same way. Yeah. And I enjoy that. It was one of the great things about our country is that we can go to all these different places. But Arizona really has my heart. I have invested so much time and energy into this community that I really just want to stay here and continue to do that.

And there's so much potential with everything. Every time I come here, I'll spend a few weeks, a month here. It's the most unique community. I've traveled like 48, no, no, no, like 45 States. Oh, wow. But I've only lived in, I think, seven or eight because I did an internship in New York, Wall Street. Oh, nice. Very nice. Yeah.

I love New York.

I love, love New York.

I wish I could live there, honestly. I really do. But it's It was too much for me. Too many people.

The reason I liked it, first of all, I... Growing up, I used to watch Gossip Girl. I don't know if you're familiar with it.

I've actually never seen it. As girly as I am, I've never seen that show.

I can't believe I told you that. But no, no, just all it says. So even when I proposed to my wife, it was like... Oh, very cute. It was in New York. It was the Empire State Building thing as well. Very cute. But from being so traveled and all that, every time I come to Arizona, even the gentleman I brought down here was one of the biggest wholesalers as well. But the community, everyone is willing to be able to express, learn, and grow with each other, which I've never experienced in any single state. Yes. So I don't blame you when you say you want to stay in ASC, you want to become like a double alumni and all that. But it's just there's a unique community here. Yeah.

And everyone's the same way. We all want to invest in each other. Even the other small business owners that I've come in contact with so far, my journey with Pro Paralegal Az. I mean, everyone's just so uplifting and encouraging, and I really do enjoy that. Like you said, you don't really find that in many other places.

Then what's your... In terms of social media, what's the trajectory in terms of marketing and branding? Because this is a very... The nice thing is that it's not as saturated. It's so new because people aren't even aware of it. It's almost like a film of damnation. I can't do anything. I'm screwed. What's your plan regarding that, too?

Oh, my gosh. I don't have a plan. As a millennial, you think I would be better with social media, but there's just something about it that I just can't... I'm not a big poster. I'm What do they call it? Like a ghost, posting ghost. I just- Last post, first of January, 2016.

Yeah.

No, but thankfully, I have some really good people and a good team behind that that are really trying to give me the best ideas and help me sit down and record stuff. I really appreciate that, too.

Okay. And so if you're going to go to law school and end up taking to the next step, what's your goal? I'm trying to incorporate now with your legal background already that you currently have, how are you to bring the two together?

I think, again, like I said earlier, just really honing in on the gunright advocacy. A lot of, like we've talked about, people are really pushing for reform. I don't believe in reform. I don't believe reform is necessary. And so I really want to use my law degree to be able to stand up for what I believe in and what I think the Constitution and how I interpret it, as well as millions of other people, the way they interpret it.

Have you applied already?

I have not. I take the LSAT in August, actually. So soon. I have everything ready to go. I just need to take the test. That's exciting. Yeah, I'm really excited. It's been a long time coming. I've been doing this for 10 years. Wow. Yeah.

And obviously, it's a practice. When you've been doing this for 10 years, we were doing this in Minnesota before then, right?

No, I've always done it here. Well, yeah, I would say I've always done it in Arizona.

But you opened your own firm? Yes. Recently? Yeah. Okay. That's why when you're telling all those stories, I was previously when you were in- At the US attorney's office or DC.

Yeah. It's a combined experience of being a paralegal from across country.

I noticed. I was telling my dad this actually the other day. I think there are certain professions that I don't think people should ever worry about AI and being an attorney is one of them, I personally feel. Yes. Can you add on that, too?

No. I've experimented with my friends who are lawyers already and just asking ChatGPT certain questions, and they're always just like, That's not it. And then we'd go to legal research, and it's not right. Chatgpt is good, I think, at like- Summarizing. Yes, but definitely don't rely on it because laws change constantly. Chatgpt is a good researcher, but it's not a good legal researcher., which are two totally different things. Legal research is one of the top things taught in law school, and ChatGPT has not gone to law school, never will. So there's just no way it can do legal research like we can.

And also the critical thinking. Thinking on top of your head, trying to know your facts so that you can try and articulate it to try and get the best case scenario because it can give you everything in an automated way. But yes, AI can only take you so far, but you do need an actual person to represent you on your behalf.

Law is a chess game, and you really need to be two steps ahead of your opponent in order to win. And ChatGPT, it can't guess, one, what your opponent is going to do, and two, how you should be able to structure your argument around it.

Okay. Right now, it's not a nonprofit, it's an actual practicing thing. So customers end up like, is it like a retainer thing? How does that work?

It's a flat fee. I charge everyone the same rate, no matter what. It's a flat fee. And And as soon as we fill out the agreement, I'll get to work. And then within 90 to 120 days, you have your rights back.

I'm glad. That's one thing I notice as well when people give the time frame. It's like saying within. In other words, it can come earlier, but you don't want people just calling nonstop because, oh, my gosh.

Yes. When I used to work for private practice law firms, clients would call a lot, and it is a lot. And I do enjoy talking with them because it's not something lawyers typically do. That's another reason why you should hire a paralegal. It's lawyers usually spawn off the calls to the paralegals. So you might as well just work with me anyways.

I was about to say paralegals actually know it in-depth. It's not like one of those. Because think about paralegals in a firm, being a firm, they actually go back to the lawyers. And please correct me if I'm wrong, you know it way better than I do. But they do the research research. They do in-depth analysis and all the stuff, finding it out, and then going to go let the lawyer know by their... The lawyer is ChatGPT, pretty much.

Yeah. I would never work in private practice again because of the amount of work that I do compared to what the attorney does. And I don't mean to discredit attorneys at all. I think attorneys are great. I love all my friends who are attorneys. But we just do a lot of work as a paralegal for very low pay. So attorneys are charging clients for, I would say, $300 to $500 an hour. They're charging paralegals at $125 an hour. A paralegal is the one doing all the work by paying for the attorney.

And have you ever thought about trying to even go the path after you get your law degree in business attorney, branding attorney, all these different stuff? Or are you just so passionate about this gun rights.

I really love criminal justice. It is so fascinating. My time at the US Attorney's office, I get to work at 8: 00, and by four o'clock, I just couldn't believe that it was 4: 00 because I'm just having so much fun. It is It's fascinating to read about all of these different crimes that people commit, how defense counsel is working in on their end, meeting with the criminals, meeting with our agents, which I love and adore. It's just such a fascinating aspect of our society that I don't think people get to really delve I'm involved in, too.

What's the best part of your job?

At Pro Paralegal ASE, or when I was working for the federal government. Both. I think working for the federal government is working with the agents and hearing about the things that they get to do and what they're investigating and and how their mind is operating as the investigation is ongoing. I think that part was really cool. It's very criminal minds-esque, if you will. At Pro Paralegal ASE, I just love that I get to meet different people within my community. Before, I was working mostly with agents and with prosecutors, but now I actually get to work with individuals who have already committed the crime and help them restore that life now that the prosecution is over.

I think one thing you get to realize is that they're actual human beings, and whether it was a mistake or whether they did something like people just want a second chance. And I think what you provide is hope. And I think it's such an important thing knowing that, Hey, listen, you can go practice and gain the amount of guns you want to get, but more importantly, also you can vote, you can do all these different stuff. I think hope is such an important thing because we just end up giving people a level of a damnation, where you can't progress. You're just stuck in a certain thing. And I think hope is such an important thing.

Wouldn't you No, I agree. I have met so many individuals who have committed crimes, who regret it, and who are trying to do the best they possibly can to provide food on the table, to start a family, to start their own businesses. Again, I don't think that one mistake should limit them from being able to do those things.

I couldn't agree more. But for somebody out there that may be watching this, let's say now they're out of jail, and I know you said be an outstanding citizen, doing the best part you can do, what advice would you give somebody right now that's just had their life shattered, they can't even get a job? What's the first step you think they can do right now to try and get their life back in order?

I think just have faith. We have so many misconceptions about the judicial system, and I get it. Wow, I cannot talk today. The judicial system just convicted them, sent them to prison. And I totally get it and makes them have some serious doubts about whether or not it's there to actually help them. But I really just want them to have hope that it does and that this avenue gives them that hope that they are going to need and they should definitely use, if they can, to restart their life. One past mistake does not define the rest of your life. We all make mistakes. They might think that their mistake because it landed them in prison is more serious, but I would tend to disagree. There's people that do things all the time and they're never convicted. So, yeah, just have faith.

I know you You're talking about the... Can speeding fines prevent people from voting and stuff?

Speeding fines? No. Traffic violations are completely separate.

That's interesting. But... Yeah, no. No, Are you sure? Or maybe it's just a different state of Florida. Because I know Florida, people that had speeding fines had to pay off the fines that they had before they could vote. Really? I could be wrong. Because I remember the case. It was a 2020. Michael Bloomberg, I think, went down to Florida, and they were just trying to help everyone pay off their fines that they could try and vote because they couldn't vote. Maybe it could be a thing. Really? I could be wrong. Please don't quote me on that or anything. But I think that was the situation.

Well, anything's possible. I wouldn't put it past me. Anything's possible. But that would be very surprising to me.

Yeah. Like I said, I'm not 100% sure on that. I just remembered them just spending millions of dollars trying to pay people's fines off. I don't know, because I'm like, I've never, ever... I don't even hear of that. Maybe it was just eavesdropping it. It could be 100% inaccurate, but I'll check it after the podcast as well.

Yeah, I will, too. That's very interesting. I hope.

Okay. Thank you.

Do we get confirmation that it's true? Wow. Florida is different. Well, Altogether, Florida is different. But yeah. So that's why I specialize in the certain states that I do. Did it. Wow. It says states like Alabama. Well, but Arizona is on here, too. So it says states like Alabama, Arizona, So is it Arkansas, Florida, and Tennessee, specifically require payments of all fines and fees. Fines and fees of what, though? Court fines and fees? I don't know. It just says, If you have felony conviction, paying fines, fees, costs, and restitution- Yes. So that's different than traffic. Yeah. That is a part of the requirements, too, to have your rights restored. It's all your restitution and court fees have to be paid.

Okay. All right. Maybe that's what the thing was.

I think that's probably what it was. That makes much more sense. Traffic fines are different.

So what are court fines or court fees? What are those?

They're court-ordered. Usually, when you're sentenced of the fees that you have to pay, at the US attorney's office at the federal level, we'll have a victim's fee. This helps us be able to provide victims where certain services, like flying them If they're not from the States, we need to fly them here. Those kinds of things or court fees or if you file something, you never paid it, those types of situations. Or you have, I don't know. There's fees associated with sentences, too. So if you serve 10 years, you might be sentenced to pay restitution of five grand. I don't know. It just depends. Also depends on your crime, too.

Now, 10 years of paralegal, you definitely... I've noticed, even with my dad had a paralegal as well, you end up just... It becomes second nature in just even resolving stuff super quickly because the amount of stuff that I just given to you. I've seen files dropped off on a desk. I've seen so many different stuff. That was even pre-AI summarized. That was good.

We can't use AI in court either. I love that. Yeah. I love that. But it's pretty much, gosh, I hate to say cut and dry, but once you see one of a certain type of case, manslod, or murder, second degree rape or whatever it is, you understand, Okay, this is what I'm in discovery and stuff. This is what I should be asking for. And you have such a great relationship to the federal public defender's office that you know. You know exactly what you need to get from the other side and to get this case going. So it's great. And I also work with attorneys who love teaching. They were teaching me all the time. I was constantly going to court with them, constantly trying to learn. I asked all the time why they're doing certain things and why they don't do others. It was just such a great learning experience, and I am so thankful for the attorneys I got to work with.

That's amazing. And you provide, obviously, consulting in person, which makes it super... Do they come to the office or is it over the phone?

We do everything over the phone or over Zoom.

Oh, okay. You don't provide the in-person consulting?

No, I don't. Just because I'm doing it, it's not brick and mortar yet. So once I get to that place, I will. But at this point, everything's over the phone or Zoom. And really, we're just We're going over questions to make sure you're eligible. That's really all we have to do. Oh, okay. Yeah. So you don't have to come in. A lot of times, too, my clients are just super busy. They're blue collar workers. And so they just don't have the time to come up to where I'm at in Cape Creek to do it.

We had a mastermind here, one of the owners, Jason. He holds a mastermind here because because I was doing podcasts here, everyone inside their 90% were blue collar. And even coming to this thing, they have to put in their schedule because they're constantly always It's such a demanding thing. Although I'm a little different. I'm one of those. I'm an in-person person. Are you? Yeah. I've never, ever done a podcast over Zoom. I've had people even in England that I reached out to. I had one guy from England that actually came to Vegas from the Grand Cardo 10X conference. I'm like, Perfect. Let's go sit down. I have a nice Airbnb that we rented out in Vegas, and we had a nice view of the waterfalls and stuff like that. I was like, You know what? You're here. I'm the same way. I come to Az, Miami, blah, blah, blah. Because it's just for me, I don't know. I zone out over Zoom and stuff. Really?

I don't mind it. I wasn't a big proponent of Zoom meetings during COVID and stuff. I understand the necessity for it, but I'm like you. I like in-person. But I'm trying to cater towards the blue-collar workers who are about 90% of my clientele base. I'm just trying to help them get all the information I can from them. They'll hang up on the phone, and I just finish up everything that I need to get it over to the court.

I think that's what people need to understand is the fact that you're trying to see if you can get pre-qualified or if it actually would work and make sense for you in your scenario as well. Because that's why it's one of those things. There's no need for you to drive two, three hours. If it's just a few questions, like 30 minutes or an hour of Zoom. It's convenient. That's beautiful. It's just convenience. I think in that situation, I would do the same thing. I was just saying, Gosh, sometimes I don't know. I get a little embarrassed. I'm like, Can I just see you in person? I committed this crime. I may have taken, I don't know, bread from the grocery store, and I prefer just saying in front of you, I don't know. You just feel like you're recorded. I don't know. That's just personally me.

My mom is always just like, Should you be meeting with felons in person? And I'm like, No, they're regular people, mom. They're totally fine. I feel safe with every person I've ever met. They're just the most thankful people, and I love that. Again, blue-collar workers who are probably cleaning your pool or building your roof or helping you change your tire off the side of the road. It's those type of people that I'm trying to help.

Blue-collar workers are the heartbeat of America.

Oh, yes, especially in this heat. Oh, my gosh, I could not do what they do.

120 degrees, and it's just do the same thing every day, and they do it with a smile on their face. You know what I'm saying? It's about just people that just embrace it. I know everyone deserves a voice to be heard. I think sometimes things can be a little unfair where it can be a little harsh. The circumstance is obviously a little bit more different. But the fact that there's people representing and allowing it, and a veteran started and owned is such a big thing because veterans do so much as well. Just standing in the front lines and just providing, whether it be service or combat, doesn't matter. You're still serving your country.

Yeah, I agree with that.

Awesome stuff. What other things you want to share and talk about as well as we conclude? Because I only have two, three more questions.

I think we've got it all. I just really want to emphasize that this isn't available to anyone convicted of a felony in this state. And I really truly do hope that they get the... Excuse me. I really, truly hope that they get what they need. Because like I said, one mistake should not define your entire future.

I love that so much. So we have a Mrs. Harvey Specter here as well. So I hope you prepared. What was Megan Markle's name? I forgot her name. I know Mike Ross and-Oh, my gosh.

Rachel. Yes, Rachel.

Rachel Zane. Now, I'm grateful. These are my favorite kinds of podcast, where it's just straight conversation. It's not like a rehearsal, where do you see yourself? I love conversations. I'm grateful you came in the studio as well. I always ask people this, especially as we approach to conclude as well, because it's called the Coat Winning Insights You Need Today to Seize the World Tomorrow. If you were to define just the term winning, what does it mean for Danielle?

Oh, gosh, that's a great question. I think winning is just any time that I am happy. That's one of the biggest reasons why I started my own business was because I just wanted to be happy. And I wasn't finding that, busting my butt day in and day out for somebody else. I really wanted to work for myself and work with the vision that I have. Ever since I've started, I've been happy.

I've interviewed over 90 people, even though I only have 40 episodes, and that was my definition as well. That's the best answer that I've gotten. I'm not saying the answer that they gave great... Everyone has given great answers. Everyone has elaborated and gave their mantra and their motto, their for life and all that. But I think at the end of the day, with so much of heartache, sadness, depression that we all experience, if you wake up every single day and you're like, Listen, I'm making a difference in this world. I'm interviewing an amazing paralegal right now. It's changing the world on my time that I decided to have. That is winning. Thank you so much. Daniel, if you could let our viewers know where they could get a hold of you. Website, if you have a office number or whatever, if you can let them know where to get a hold of you as well, if they want to try and reach out and try and find out a bit more about what you do.

Yeah, absolutely. If you are a felon trying to restore your civil rights and your firearms rights, Please reach out to me at proparalegalaz on social media. You can also go to proparalegalaz. Com.

The link will also be in the description section for both and all our platforms as well. If you want to know what she said, it's going to be right in the description section to just click the link below as well. The quote-winning insights you need today to seize the world tomorrow. The amazing Danielle came in the studio. Thank you very much.

Thank you so much for having me.