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WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

twelve 12 XII

BREAKING. BROWARD COUNTY COURTHOUSE CLOSED!
Gas leak. The main jail is closed as well.
The Broward courthouse....too much gas....sometimes it's just not fair how lucky we are.

This is important: The NY Times article on the horrors of minimum mandatory prison sentences. 

Today is December 12, 2012. Or 12-12-12.  The last of these numerological thought-provoking dates that started with 1-1-01, through 7-7-07, and ending today.

Here's a reprint from a NY Times article on 12-12 1912: Interesting. 

A group of twelve things is called a duodecad. The ordinal adjective is duodenary, twelfth. The adjective referring to a group consisting of twelve things is duodecuple.

Twelve is a composite number, the smallest number with exactly six divisors, its divisors being 12346 and 12.

Twelve is a super factorial , being the product of the first three factorials. Twelve being the product of three and four, the first four positive integers show up in the equation 12 = 3 × 4, which can be continued with the equation 56 = 7 × 8.

The importance of 12 in Judaism and Christianity can be found in the Bible. The biblical  Jacob  had 12 sons, who were the progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, while the New testament describes  twelve apostles  of Jesus.


The Daily Business Review handed out their annual awards for the Most Effective Lawyers, in 2012.   Paul Calli,  Stephen (The Iceman) Bronis and  Michael Menchel won in the criminal defense category.  Congrats to all. From the DBR article:
Paul Calli, Stephen Bronis and Matthew Menchel gained acquittals in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act sting.
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lanny Breuer called it the most significant Foreign CorruptPractices Act lawsuit brought by the Justice Department, calling it a “game changer.”
Twenty-two executives and employees of weapon manufacturers throughout the nation were charged with bribing
foreign officials to grease a $15 million deal for guns and security gear to the African nation of Gabon.

The government employed old-fashioned sting techniques used primarily in drug trafficking cases to attract the executives, meeting some of the defendants at the Miami Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

But after a series of acquittals and mistrials, federal prosecutors conceded they had been bested and dropped the entire case. Three of those attorneys came from Miami: Matthew Menchel, Stephen Bronis and Paul Calli.
Menchel’s examination of the lead agent in the first trial set the table for the second, where Bronis and Calli were successful.
There never was another trial. Prosecutors dropped all charges, even against three defendants who were awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty. 



Calli said Bronis was able to expose informant Richard Bistrong, who was 
prosecuted for his own FCPA violations.
“I think by the end of Steve’s cross, people understood that Bistrong wouldn’t know the truth if it 
bit him in the backside,” Calli said.


Rumpole notes: The awards are well deserved. Those guys are big time. 




14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who said lawyers can't do numbers??

Anonymous said...

Calli wins one case. So what. Have they ever really had to deal with that guy? What an abusive jerk!

Anonymous said...

Why didn't I win Most Effective Lawyer for the nolle prosse I obtained on a LSA?

Anonymous said...

You got honorable mention in a footnote in the article.

Anonymous said...

bronis was the expert on legal fees who said that lawyers should do due diligence bf getting paid on drug cases. he was constantly quoted on the herald. never ever mentioned 1957f. he was wrong..

being big time in this town is a popularity contest.


Anonymous said...

As a young defense lawyer, less than a year out of the State Attorneys Office, I had an issue that I needed to appeal.

I researched my issue and the leading case out of the DCA had been litigated by Paul Calli, who I had never met, and, in all honesty, never heard of.

I called Paul, and he took my call. He spoke with me about my issue, and emailed me all of the briefs he had filed in his case.

So yes, 7:11, I have dealt with Mr. Calli, and he was a complete gentleman and a true professional.

Anonymous said...

If your firm advertises in the DBR and one of its 27 "special" issues it puts out each year, you can be named Lawyer of the Week, Year, Decade, Millennium. They'll give you all the plaques, awards, newsletters and all the other promotional bullshit you can afford.

It's about as prestigious and exclusive as being at the top of a Google search.

Anonymous said...

Can we ever just be happy for a member of our professional community?

Anonymous said...

It's after 3. It's less than two weeks before Christmas. I'm calling the Shumie. Screw it,

Anonymous said...

shumie shumie cocopuffs shumie shumie shumie.

Anonymous said...

2:53 - Clearly, some people have a serious case of sour grapes. But while they're taking the time to comment about Calli and Bronis are outlawyering them.

Anonymous said...

Calli is putting a hurt on the Lewis Tein haters.

Anonymous said...

I note the Shumie guy has again bubbled up from his tar-laden ooze. Truly pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Incorrect anonymous at 1:22. the Most Effective Lawyer awards are researched and then judged by editors. It has absolutely nothing to do with advertising. To prove it, Jeremy Alters bought a full page ad and was a sponsor and did not win anything.