From Christopher Goffard, the Los Angeles Times reporter and host behind the hit podcasts Dirty John and Detective Trapp, comes a new eight-episode true crime podcast, The Trials of Frank Carson. The Trials of Frank Carson is a story of power, politics and the law in California’s Central Valley. Frank Carson was Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, a wizard with juries and a courtroom brawler with an unapologetically caustic style. He racked up legal wins for decades. He was the terror of police and prosecutors, often accusing them personally of corruption. When a small-time thief disappeared, police — some of them Carson’s longtime adversaries — launched a massive investigation into a spectral underworld of street hustlers, junkies and snitches. Carson was charged with murder, accused of masterminding a conspiracy. It would be one of the longest criminal trials in California history, with the flinty veteran of so many courtroom wars on trial for his life.

Introducing Frank Carson, Stanislaus County’s most controversial defense attorney, famous for his high-profile courtroom victories and take-no-prisoners style. A longtime nemesis of local law enforcement, he is representing homicide defendants in the very courthouse where he is on trial for murder himself. 

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

When a young scrap-metal thief named Korey Kauffman vanishes, local police do not immediately show great interest. Then a parolee named Big Mike Cooley tells a story that gets their attention: Kauffman was last seen venturing onto Frank Carson’s property to steal some pipes. Authorities confront Carson and work to build a case against him.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

The discovery of Korey Kauffman’s remains gives the investigation new impetus, and a man named Robert Woody offers a methamphetamine-fueled “confession.” Threatened with the death penalty, he cooperates — and becomes the government’s star witness. But his story changes again and again.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

After a three-year investigation, Frank Carson and his co-defendants are arrested, accused of a complicated murder-and-coverup conspiracy. Among the accused are three men who worked for the California Highway Patrol. How did an attorney famous for his distrust of local cops stand accused of conspiring with three of them?

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

Frank Carson and his co-defendants confront the charges against them. The government cites years of Carson’s supposedly authority-hating behavior and his “behavioral control issues.” Interviews and wiretap recordings explore how Carson’s wife and stepdaughter, an art student, came to be wrapped up in the case. And former California Highway Patrol Officer Walter Wells endures jail.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

As a marathon preliminary hearing continues, the defendants face mounting pressure to climb aboard “the witness bus” and cut a deal. Frank Carson hits rock bottom, and offers his co-defendants a way out. The prosecution belatedly reveals a cache of undisclosed evidence — with major consequences.

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!

Defense attorneys offer alternate theories to explain Korey Kauffman’s death, and the trial becomes an endurance test. As Frank Carson’s health deteriorates, he wonders whether he will live to see a verdict. After more than a year in trial, defendants fear that the jury might give up, forcing a mistrial — and that this is exactly what the DA wants. 

If you like podcasts like Dirty John, Detective Trapp and The Trials of Frank Carson, subscribe to the L.A. Times. Subscribers will get exclusive bonus episodes of The Trials of Frank Carson that share the story behind this podcast. We will share interviews with experts who will weigh in on the case and play extra tape that sheds light on important parts of our story. Subscribe today to listen. Go to latimes.com/exclusive-podcasts. Thanks!