Artwork for podcast Trial Lawyers University
John Demas’s $32,000,000 One Day Wrongful Death Speed Trial
Episode 11018th May 2026 • Trial Lawyers University • Dan Ambrose, Trial Lawyers University
00:00:00 01:18:23

Share Episode

Shownotes

Two big-data studies predicted a verdict between $13 and $16 million. John Demas trusted his instincts and walked out of a Sacramento courtroom with $32 million. The case: An on-duty city detective swerved onto the freeway shoulder and killed two brothers, leaving two children without a father. John joins host Dan Ambrose to break down how he turned down a $15 million pre-close offer, spent 95% of voir dire on an "outside the box" damages framework, and opened with a Fleetwood Mac montage that had half the jury in tears.

Train and Connect with the Titans

☑️ John Demas | LinkedIn

☑️ Demas Law Group | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube

☑️ Trial Lawyers University

☑️ TLU On Demand Instant access to live lectures, case analysis, and skills training videos

☑️ TLU on X | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

☑️ Subscribe Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

2026 Programming

☑️ TLU Beach, June 3-6, Huntington Beach, CA

Episode Snapshot

★ John’s family emigrated from Greece to Sacramento in the early '70s; his earliest memories are selling fruits and vegetables at flea markets every weekend and summer through law school.

★ His parents steered him toward dental school so he could eventually practice in Greece, but a constitutional law class in his second year of undergrad flipped a switch.

★ After being laid off nine months into his first job, John opened his own firm at age 24 with a law school buddy.

★ The $32 million verdict was against the City of Sacramento after an on-duty police detective swerved from a freeway lane onto the shoulder, killing two brothers.

★ John ran an in-person focus group of 12 people to practice voir dire, recording it to get reps on the "outside the box" framework and the core wrongful death issues before setting foot in the courtroom.

★ In voir dire, John drew a physical box on an easel labeled "full value of the loss," then walked jurors through every outside-the-box concern — city impact, the officer's job, making kids rich, money not bringing anyone back — and addressed each one head-on.

★ In rebuttal, after the defense called the loss "immeasurable," John wrote that word on his easel and revealed that the city's suggested damages worked out to $1.50 an hour. “This is what the city thinks this loss is worth,” he told the jury.

Produced and Powered by LawPods

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube

More Episodes
110. John Demas’s $32,000,000 One Day Wrongful Death Speed Trial
01:18:23
109. Humanity, Habitability, and Heart: How Eric Castelblanco Battles Slumlords for Million-Dollar Verdicts
00:54:56
108. Outlaw Roots, Record Verdict: The Road to $126,000,000, The Chris Hammons Journey
01:20:31
107. Are You Limiting Your Deposition Evidence? Get More from Every Witness
01:21:37
106. Advanced Deposition Training with Author and Inventor of the “Miller Mousetrap,” Phillip Miller
00:15:17
105. Susie Injijian — Who Needs an Army to Become an Eight-Figure Trial Lawyer When You're Willing to Do the WORK?
01:00:14
104. Brandon Yosha and the New Generation of Trial Lawyers Winning 8-Figure Verdicts
01:07:09
103. George Moschopoulos — Minimal Employment, Maximum Verdict
01:32:52
102. Ted Wacker – Litigation Is a Civil War. Here’s How I Win
01:05:32
101. Ryan Medler – Born to Be a Trial Lawyer: A Lifelong Quest to Be the Best
01:04:13
100. Orlando De Castroverde - From Las Vegas Billboard Lawyer to Trial Lawyer: My 8-Year Journey with TLU
01:14:23
99. Tim McKey — From CPA to Law Firm Consultant; Fixing the Leaks Costing You Millions and Adding Value to your Firm
00:39:53
98. Building Finch: First Hires, First Customers, First Wins
00:44:55
97. Sagi Shaked - Rejecting the Lowball Offers: Two Trials, Two Verdicts, and Lessons Learned
00:59:05
96. Russell Pate - Island Justice in the U.S. Territories: $6.3M & $113M verdicts
01:30:13
95. In the Trenches with Melissa Scartelli – The Making of a Medical Malpractice Warrior
01:12:27
94. Przemek Lubecki - Strategy, Skills, and Confidence from more than 100 Civil Jury Trials
01:06:55
93. Andrew Pickett – Learning from the Greats, and Making It My Own
01:28:20
92. Jeremy Babener – Helping Plaintiffs Keep More of Their Hard-Won Cash
00:55:55
91. Reflections from Cabo – Next Level Performance and Connection Training in Paradise
01:16:21
90. Kimball Jones - Case Framing: Six Trials, $700+ Million in Results
01:29:38
89. Sach Oliver - From Cowboy to Trial Titan with a “Magical Place” for Learning
00:45:08
88. Mohamad Ahmad — Overcoming Self Doubt, Fear and Insecurity To Get a $51,000,000 Verdict
01:03:55
87. Alex Ivanov - From Belarus KGB to Dallas Courtrooms
01:16:25
86. Will Meekins and Ryan McCollum - What We Got Out of the Joe Fried TLU Trucking Bootcamp: Practice, Practice, Practice
01:49:38
85. Eric Oliver - Bringing 41 Years of Experience to the Trial Story Bootcamp
01:40:46
84. John Martin — From Debt Collection to Million-Dollar Wins
01:24:37
83. George Moschopoulos -- From Engineer to Employment Lawyer; Six-Figure Offer to $3 Million Verdict
01:44:50
82. Joe Fried – Trucking Bootcamp and the Future of TLU
00:40:56
81. Bobby Taghavi – Trial by Fire: From Prosecuting Evil to Leading Sweet James
01:02:33
80. Conal Doyle – Born Different, Built for Trial Greatness
00:47:13
79. Ash Mohamadi – No Plan B
00:58:06
78. Randy Calvert – Designing the Perfect Focus Group
01:08:12
77. Tim Felice – From Back-to-Back Defeats to a $92 Million Verdict
01:24:20
76. LEADERSHIP and PASSION in DISCOVERY and TRIAL: BE ALL YOU CAN BE!
01:31:36
75. Kurt Zaner – Trial losses: They Make You or Break You. You Decide
01:39:17
74. Kenny Berger – How to Fight Tort Reform & Win
01:04:33
73. Stephen Burg – From Columbine to the Courtroom, Overcoming Hurdles in the Pursuit of Justice
01:05:41
72. Moses Kim – From Missionary Kid to Medical Malpractice Maverick
01:41:23
71. Monte Tynes – From Dreams of Being a Fighter Pilot to Battling in the Courtroom
01:02:46
70. Sagi Shaked - Inside the TBI Case: How to Spot, Build, and Win Brain Injury Lawsuits
01:09:07
69. Greg Prosmushkin – The Mental Shift that Makes the Difference, Applying NLP to Trial Lawyering
01:09:56
68. Eric Wilson - From Second Chair to Lead Trial Lawyer, My Journey
01:17:58
67. Daniel Rodriguez – From Cotton Picker to Grape Picker to Toiling in the Vineyards of Justice!
01:08:34
66. Patrick Salvi Jr. - Life Lessons for Big Verdicts
01:34:05
65. Deena Buchanan – From 20 Years of Billable Hours to Finding My Purpose in the Courtroom
01:19:08
64. Ben Rubinowitz – Expert Cross-Examination Masterclass
01:10:59
63. Scott Frost - Mastering the Mindset of a Trial Lawyer
01:17:47
62. Andrew Robb – How Turning Down Record-Breaking Offer Turned Into 100M
01:05:14
61. Al Foeckler – From Wisconsin State Supreme Court to Wisconsin's Top Trial Lawyer
01:14:02
60. Mike Karp – Fast Tracking Your Way to Eight Figures
01:15:51
59. Patrick Kang - Learning from Adversity: My Evolution to Becoming a Winning Trial Lawyer
01:15:41
58. Jason Waechter – Learning Your Way to Your Eight-Figure Verdict
00:58:06
57. Ryan Skiver – Training to BE a Trial Lawyer, Reps, Reps, Reps
01:35:49
56. Frank Fratello – Applying TLU Vegas Lessons to Secure $2.12 Million Verdict
00:40:06
55. David Sugden – Teaching that Confidence Is a Byproduct of Competence
01:00:48
53. Phillip Miller – Building Landmines to Secure $140 Million Verdict Against Kroger
01:21:00
54. Darryl Isaacs – Leveraging Marketing Techniques to Build a Long-Standing Firm
00:45:47
52. Nick Rowley - Mentors, Connecting with Clients, and Saving Oceans
00:51:59
51. Alicia Campbell – Knowledge Is Power; Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Can Access It
00:52:00
50. Spencer Lucas – Pursuing Justice for Sexual Abuse Survivors, Securing $135 Million
01:28:57
49. Kimball Jones – Thirty Days, Three Verdicts, One Exceptional Team
01:05:14
48. Robert Glassman — How Leveling with Jurors Helped Win an $11 Million Verdict
00:59:10
47. Mike Morse — Securing $75 Million in Wrongful Death Poisoning Case
00:41:44
46. Sean Claggett – Forget What You Learned in Law School. Juries Are Predictable
01:43:42
45. Joe Fried – Embracing the TLU Platform to Teach Trucking Law
01:19:19
44. Rahul Ravipudi – Injured Client, Signed Waiver, $46 Million Verdict
01:34:10
43. Sach Oliver – Turning Early Losses into a Methodology for Success
01:34:59
42. Michael Alder - Don’t Fear Obstacles in Your Case. They’re a Gift
01:36:18
41. Randall Sorrels – Foiling a “Nuclear Verdict Defense” to Win $353 Million
00:58:10
40. Randi McGinn – Being a Trial Lawyer Is Storytelling on Steroids
01:08:05
39. Jesse Wilson – Juries Are Persuaded by Victors, Not Victims
00:55:30
38. Harry Plotkin – Think Your Case Is Airtight? This Jury Consultant Is Here to Burst Your Bubble
00:44:52
37. Charla Aldous – A Masterclass in Facing Down Corporate Defendants
01:16:48
36. David Ball - The Science of Winning: Insights on Trial Strategy
01:39:08
35. Dirk Vandever – Mastering Wrongful Death Cases
01:28:54
34. David deRubertis – Achieving Record-Setting Employment Jury Verdicts
02:26:02
33. Lloyd Bell – Trial is a Performance
01:25:37
32. Dale Galipo – Roadmap to Winning Civil Rights Cases
01:32:39
31. Great Trial Lawyers are Built not Born — the Origins of Trial Lawyers University
01:56:54
30. Bruce Broillet - Trial Strategies From the Erin Andrews Case and More
01:09:43
29. Nick Rowley – Brutal Honesty and Standing Up to Bullies in the Courtroom
01:20:34
28. Michael Hill – Empowering Juries to Deliver Justice to Elder Abuse Victims
01:10:58
27. Sean Claggett – Great Trial Lawyers Are So Prepared, It’s Unbelievable
01:01:06
26. Steve DeBosier and Chad Dudley – Strategies For Increasing Injury Firm Profitability
00:54:20
25. Kurt Zaner–Courtroom Drama: Performance as a Tool for All Aspects of Trial
01:20:44
24. Ben Cloward – Getting a Law-Changing Verdict
01:05:44
23. Bob Simon–Keep It Simple (and Real) for the Jury
00:48:12
22. Ron Johnson – Take Control on Cross, Anchor When Asking for Punitives
01:10:32
21. Jon Teller – Getting Your First Eight-Figure Verdict
00:57:47
20. Craig Peters – If You Don’t Believe Your Number, the Jury Won’t Either
01:26:46
19. Michael Cowen – Motivate The Jurors To Be The Heroes of The Story
00:53:35
18. Steven DeBosier – The Verdicts Are What Keep the Settlements High
01:03:40
17. Michael Hill – Practice, Learn to Sell, and Get Over Your Fears to Become a Great Trial Lawyer
01:15:10
16. Wesley Ball – Alex Jones, Mitsubishi, and “How To Do You” as a Trial Lawyer
01:00:05
15. Mark Kosieradzki - The Role of Curiosity, Analysis, and Courage in Trial Practice
00:56:24
14. Ed Ciarimboli – A Desire to Succeed as a Trial Lawyer Requires a Willingness to Fail
00:52:11
13. Keith Mitnik – Clearing Hurdles, Managing Fear, and Connecting with the Jury
01:26:47
12. John Uustal – Try the Case in the Courtroom, Not the Case in the File
00:32:13
11. Ben Rubinowitz – Tough, But Worth It: Becoming a Great Trial Lawyer and Unforgettable Moments
00:50:41
10. Jakob Norman – Discipline, Self-Awareness and Navigating Trial Against a Corporate Giant
00:51:47
9. Dino Colombo – Trial: The Ultimate Likeability Contest
00:55:00
8. Zoe Littlepage – You Can’t Persuade Someone Who’s Not Listening
00:33:26
7. David Christensen – The Best Storytellers Win the Case
00:53:10
6. Chris Finney – Trust Your Gut and Know Your Case’s Worth
00:38:18
5. Jack Cook – Mastering the Art of Trial Storytelling
01:12:10
4. Lloyd Bell – Win More, Win Bigger with These Keys to Success
01:03:34
3. Sach Oliver – Connecting with Juries Through Humble, Abiding Truth
00:58:57
2. Brian Panish – The Winner’s Guide to Being a Trial Lawyer
00:44:13
1. Joe Fried – Emotional Mastery: Using Neuroscience to Influence, Persuade, & Win Big
01:01:28
trailer Welcome to Trial Lawyers University
00:00:32