ClubQPrime

Pinnacle –

Pinnacle
Pinnacle is a monthly Q and A membership providing case-specific guidance from our top experts. Designed for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones, this is the only monthly program of its kind.

Included each month:

1.25 hours with our research, paralegal, or investigator team
1 hour with a senior attorney or principal advisor
Additional time billed at 25 percent discount ($95/hour team, $185/hour senior)
Cancel, pause, or restart any time

Pinnacle does not include full ClubQ services. It is intended for consultation and research access only.
Bundle Bonus: Prime members can add Pinnacle for 10 percent off the combined rate.
Monthly Membership: $249
Launch Date: June 1, 2025

R | B is Restoration | Bridge

Restoration | Bridge focuses on strengthening relationships between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. This program includes weekly family coaching, emotional support, and communication tools.

What’s included:

• Daily coaching for families and support for incarcerated individuals
• Personalized problem-solving for emotional, logistical, and daily prison life stress
• Inspirational Sunday messages for families, loved ones and incarcerated members – each and every week
• Tailored communication tools and advocacy guidance – hands on tools for you and your prisoner to get through the day
• If you need personal attention beyond our standard services, we will charge only $20 for each 15-minute session of Q&A

Keys to Successful navigation of the day to day lives of prisoners and loved ones:

• Communication that is meaningful and frequent – we give you the actual words and experiences
• Core values that are clear and shared – how to keep cohesive unity while culturally and geographically so far apart
• Hope that is real and sustainable – meaning how to convert daily baby steps into longer term belief systems
• See our Q|Nav website for more information
• Fee is $29 per month with a June 1, 2025 launch date

8. More gusto! Our management team headed up by Ryan and Melissa has brought new data, information, updating, and overall top shelf management tools to help us do more for you. Our present CRM system will be markedly enhanced by the time you read our next newsletter and inmates and loved ones alike will enjoy even better service and new capabilities for tracking our work and achievements on your behalf.’

9. More ways to reach out. We have arranged for our receptionist to pass all calls from you first to Will, then to Melissa, and finally to Ryan. If none of us are available (pretty rare), our office will take your message and have been trained to request the best times to expect your next call and what the topic is about so we can be better prepared.
10. Our pop-up chat bot. We now have an online chat feature to help and answer questions right on our website. It’s really amazing how powerful this tool is and loved ones with internet capabilities can open any page and get right to our emails!

11. Other advancements include

A. Melissa’s data input, management, and output management – every day your circumstances change and Melissa is there on our front lines to lead the charge for communication and consistent interaction with your records and Ryan for getting the work done. [Mel, please refine and put here what you are really doing and how your position is growing for LO and inmates alike.]

B. Ryan’s caring, diligence, and smarts is earning him and all of us high marks for getting important tasks done.

C. This month’s Topics

How we are using AI to make everything better for you (Ryan)

D. This is the Q|Nav, ClubQ dream come true:
E. A true story of success merged from complementary achievements:

R | The Story of D.R.

A peak at the relationship. As is often the case, our Q|Nav client becomes a ClubQ member at their earliest possible ability. In the realm of the tag wagging the dog, this mom and son team joined forces to make a difference, not just for the two of them but a couple of others (that we know of, might be more).

DR is a state DOC defendant of a major midwestern state system. Due to the nature of his charges and plea deals with his codefendants, DR was immediately transferred from one state DOC to an adjoining state DOC for the duration of his lengthy sentence. Q|Nav was retained to fight his charges and sentencing scheme, with virtually no consideration whatsoever to his residency issues, which – as we dug deeper were incredibly unjust. The tail wagging the dog metaphor shouts loudly for DR in that the early wins for sentencing reductions actually came due to ClubQ Prime’s time comp, programming, earned time and granted time analysis and negotiations (at the very top of the “sending” DOC state with acceptance from the receiving DOC state). In fact, we had no delusions that the sentencing scheme (byproduct of the wrong statutory charging and two enhancements which we believed early on were wrongly applied), handed down by the district court would somehow be magically corrected because of our civil complaint filed in the sentencing county and state court.

This is where it gets really interesting. We tried for months to remedy a serious problem for DR. First, the receiving state barely knew that DR even existed. Their intake records were seriously wrong in the most vital areas: min/max sentencing, PED, classification, etc. Really sloppy and nobody cared one hoot. It was so bad that anyone inquiring on the inmate locator website or calling the facility (receiving state) was run down the rabbit hole. They had just about everything wrong including his adopted DOC number and actual charges; most disturbing, DR’s minimum and maximum statutory sentence.

The Moderate problem fixed the BIG problem. At first, we tried to do everything administratively without involving lawyers and courts. The receiving state didn’t offer any of the programs which DR needed to accelerate his progress (sound all too familiar?) and secure major earned time credits. Ironically, the first thing we did was the skeleton drafts of the postconviction motion for the sentencing court. The motion was/is A+ and incorporated a novel theory about how the court sentenced DR inclusive of how the PED was calculated by the state and defense counsel at sentencing; significantly the big impact of post sentencing unauthorized placement, classification and actual residency with virtually ZERO of a cumulative 8 years of accelerated available release time.

As time marched on, the executive director of the sentencing date decided to play hide the ball. One assistant after another responded to our comprehensive arguments and claims for relief which the director – according to state statutes could fix with the stroke of his pen. Their strategy was basically to ignore and defer. Well, we had had enough. We filed a detailed civil claim in the county courts of both the sending and receiving states.
Fast forward. We submitted the postconviction action to the prosecution and court. In this state, the AG gets a copy too. We made a big stink about how illegally DR was treated and that due to this, his due process and equal protection rights were obliterated.

The state habeas actions worked. The receiving state deferred to the sending state DOC and discovery was ordered by the court. All lost earned time credits were granted and a punitive award was banked for the behavior missteps of the sending state DOC and particularly the executive director’s negligence causing a loss of liberty interest to our client.

Fast forward. The sentencing court regained jurisdiction, and while the speedy remedy really had nothing to do with our statutory claims, we won on the basis of gross disproportionality and counsel ineffectiveness with the ability to refile the key meritorious claims without prejudice.
End Result. DR’s PED was shortened by almost 8 years and his controlling felony sentence (by plea) will almost certainly be reduced significantly once the bundle of claims are docketed in the supplemental post conviction filing. Expectation: 16 – 36 years to a new range of 8 – 12 years. With DR’s newly credited earned time awards, he could be home as early as next year.

Advancing with AI

ClubQ is now integrating advanced artificial intelligence to enhance research, document preparation (for client and counsel review), and case analysis. These tools allow our team to access and compare vast legal databases to find the most relevant solutions for our members. AI enhances our efficiency—it does not replace the care and attention we bring to every case.

Meet the Team: Ryan and Melissa

Melissa manages data, records, and client communications. She ensures everyone stays connected, informed, and supported.
Ryan oversees administration, legal strategy, and case development. He ensures every client receives reliable guidance, filings are completed, and advocacy is strong and consistent.
Together, we are committed to service, diligence, and hope. And, we are able to tap into all of Q|Nav’s expertise and associates on an as needed basis.