Back Your Blue

Daniel Matalon, CEO of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds, and host Tug Cowart bring you Justice Unfiltered. Real conversations with real people from every side of the justice system.

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You can take the plea and go on probation. Or you can spend a year with Judge Hill. She will make it hard on you. On purpose. Because she likes you.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Kellie Hill runs Excel Restorative Court, a year-long youth diversion program for nonviolent offenders ages 17 to 25. No conviction. No record. Just accountability, mentorship, and a judge who holds you to a higher standard than the system usually does.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#RestorativeJustice #SecondChances #CobbCounty #YouthJustice #JusticeUnfiltered

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"Spending a Year With Me Is Worse Than Probation" — Judge Hill's Tough Love That Works

March 24, 2026 8:49 am

He came into the program with a mugshot. He left with a job offer from the Cobb County Clerk of Court, on the exact same day his case was dismissed.

Judge Kellie Hill shares the story of one of the first graduates of what was then called Project Pinnacle. He went from working on a garbage truck to the clerk's office without a single day in between. That is what a real second chance looks like.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#SecondChances #RestorativeJustice #CobbCounty #CriminalJusticeReform #JusticeUnfiltered

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From Mugshot to Job Offer — Hired the Same Day His Case Was Dismissed

March 24, 2026 8:49 am

The plan was big law, a Gulfstream, and closing deals around the world.

Judge Kellie Hill graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, home of the Wharton School, went straight into big law in New Jersey, and realized almost immediately that the money was not worth it. Nobody told her she would end up spending the majority of her career as a prosecutor. Life had other plans. And so did she.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#WomenInLaw #LegalCareer #CobbCounty #JudgeLife #JusticeUnfiltered

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She Planned to Jet-Set and Close Deals. Instead She Became a Career Prosecutor and Judge

March 24, 2026 8:48 am

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She Prosecuted the 2005 Atlanta Courthouse Shooting. It Took 10 Years Off Her Life.

March 24, 2026 8:47 am

John Hays has personally tested GPS monitoring devices more than 50 times trying to find a way around them. His conclusion? If it's hard for the experts to beat, that's a good sign. But it's the people trying to outsmart alcohol monitors who have been the most creative — and the most wrong. Chicken skin. Bologna. You heard that right. And none of it works.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#AnkleMonitor #GPSTracking #ElectronicMonitoring #AlcoholMonitoring #JusticeUnfiltered

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Wild Attempts to Beat Ankle Monitors – Shocking Hacks Experts Tried, and Why They Fail

March 17, 2026 8:45 am

The continuous alcohol monitor strapped to your ankle takes a reading every 30 minutes — basically a breathalyzer for your leg. Some people look up ways to block it. They try slipping things between the device and their skin. Baloney strips. Chicken skin. Aluminum foil. John Hays has seen it all. And here's what every single one of those people failed to account for: A 2nd Chance Monitoring is constantly tracking. There is nothing new under the sun.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#AlcoholMonitoring #SCRAM #AnkleMonitor #ElectronicMonitoring #justiceunfiltered

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The Crazy Tricks People Try to Beat Alcohol Monitors: Bologna. Chicken Skin. Foil.

March 17, 2026 8:30 am

GPS ankle monitors don't guess where you are. They pull signals from 3 to 15 satellites, triangulate your exact position, and route that data through cell networks or Wi-Fi — all within about 15 to 20 feet of where you're actually standing. Sometimes within 3 or 4 feet. A 2nd Chance Monitoring captures one data point every minute. High-risk clients get that transmitted every minute. Everyone else, every 10. The technology is more precise than most people realize.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#GPSMonitoring #AnkleMonitor #ElectronicMonitoring #CriminalJustice #JusticeUnfiltered

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How Accurate Is a GPS Ankle Monitor? Closer Than You Think.

March 17, 2026 8:15 am

When the court order ends, most people can't wait to get the device off. But A 2nd Chance Monitoring has had dozens of clients ask if they can keep wearing their alcohol tether after the case is closed. Because for some of them, it's the first time in 50 years they've been sober. Their kids are back in their lives. They're working again. The accountability didn't feel like punishment. It felt like a lifeline.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#ElectronicMonitoring #AlcoholMonitoring #SecondChances #CriminalJusticeReform #JusticeUnfiltered

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Clients Are Asking to Keep Their Alcohol Tethers. Here's Why That's a Big Deal.

March 17, 2026 7:58 am

Lyndi Schmidt walked out of her interview at A 2nd Chance, called the recruiter, and said four words: "I want this job." The recruiter warned her it was a bail bond company. She said she didn't mind. Week one was 12 hours. Week two was 12 hours. Then 30. Then 40. Then it never stopped growing because she was good at it, and the need kept expanding. She shadowed Jesse Fellabaum, learned every part of the operation, and eventually built out the entire monitoring division from the ground up. That is what happens when you stop doing what is comfortable.

Justice Unfiltered with Daniel Matalon of A 2nd Chance Bail Bonds and Tug Cowart.

🎧 Full episode: https://www.thepodcastpark.com/justiceunfiltered/

#CareerGrowth #WomenInLeadership #SecondChances #JusticeUnfiltered #BailBonds

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She Came In for 12 Hours a Week. Eight Years Later She Runs the Show.

March 10, 2026 7:45 am

Justice Unfiltered Episodes

Geoff Duncan on Bipartisanship, AI, and His Vision as Georgia Governor

Geoff Duncan, former Georgia Lt. Governor and Democratic candidate for governor, breaks down bipartisanship, AI policy, Medicaid, and his plan for Georgia.

March 31, 2026

How Judge Kellie Hill Is Changing Lives Through Restorative Justice in Georgia

Judge Kellie Hill built a youth diversion court in Cobb County that has dismissed charges for 34 young people. Here is how restorative justice in Georgia actually works.

March 24, 2026

John Hays Podcast / electronic monitoring best practices

Electronic Monitoring Best Practices: Why Standards Matter More Than the Device

Electronic monitoring companies face zero industry oversight. Learn how JSG Monitoring and A 2nd Chance are working to change that with national standards.

March 17, 2026

Electronic Monitoring and Bail Bonds: What You Actually Need to Know

Learn how electronic monitoring and bail bonds work together in Georgia. A 2nd Chance explains GPS tracking, accountability courts, and real success stories.

March 10, 2026

Cobb County Solicitor General Makia Metzger on Second Chances, Smart Justice, and Fixing a Broken System

Cobb County Solicitor General Makia Metzger talks youthful offender programs, mental health in jails, and why smart justice saves lives and tax dollars.

February 17, 2026