KABOOM!

Judge Gold's full 50 page order, which should be required reading for every prosecutor every year they work in a prosecutor's office, is here. 

Here is a summary of the order:  1) The lead agent lied at the motion to suppress and during the sanctions hearing. 2) The lead prosecutor Cronin lied during the sanctions hearing and acted in a vindictive manner based on one of the defense team beating his butt in a previous case. 3) The supervising prosecutor Gilbert probably lied during the sanctions hearing and did nothing to supervise this case. When she was caught in not turning over Brady material, her explanation was probably a lie. 

4) The US Attorneys office might well have a culture of win at any cost, and when caught, they lie. As a Judge this bothers me. 

That is the sum and substance of 50 pages containing details of lie after lie. It is just shocking what went on here. 

Here is the DBR article:

Judge orders U.S. to pay more than $600k in legal fees for misconduct

April 09, 2009 By: John Pacenti

A federal judge today ordered the U.S. government to pay more than
$601,000 in legal fees and costs for secretly taping the defense team
for a Miami Beach physician who was prosecuted and acquitted by a jury
for illegally prescribing narcotics.


U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold of Miami entered a public reprimand
against U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta and his senior staff members for
failing to properly supervise the trial attorneys, Sean Cronin and
Andrea Hoffman, as well as their supervisor, Karen Gilbert.

The judge reprimanded the two trial prosecutors, saying that along with
Drug Enforcement Administration agent Christopher Wells, they "acted
vexatiously and in bad faith" in prosecuting Dr. Ali Shaygan. Also
reprimanded was assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert, the narcotics
section chief.

Gold called the secret taping of phone calls to Shaygan's attorney and
defense investigator by two informants was "profoundly disturbing." He
raised the specter of the recent dismissal of a conviction against
former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, because prosecutors in that case
withheld key evidence.

The $601,795 covers court fees and lawyer costs dating from a
superseding indictment filed by prosecutors in September.

"The order speaks for itself. We regret that any of this ever happened
in the first place but we are grateful that Judge Gold took it seriously
and did the right thing," said Miami criminal defense attorney David O.
Markus, the lead counsel for Shaygan. "Thank goodness that the conduct
did not distract the jury from finding Dr. Shaygan not guilty of all 141
counts against him.

Miami attorneys Marc Seitles and Robin Kaplan served as co-counsels for
the defense.

In his order, Judge Gold acknowledged that the U.S. Attorney's office
admitted its mistakes and that Acosta referred the matter for
investigation by the Department of Justice Office of Professional
Responsibility. Gold concluded Acosta was not aware of the secret taping
of phone calls on what turned out to be a specious allegation of witness
tampering by the defense.

In a statement, the U.S. attorney's office in Miami reiterated that it
regrets the mishap and has taken action to ensure it does not happen
again. Alicia Valle, spokeswoman for the office, said from the start
Shaygan was offered compensation "even though it was our belief that
these mistakes were not intentional."

"Our attorneys are lifelong public servants who are committed to the
pursuit of justice," Valle said. "One event should not taint the nearly
300 hard working attorneys in the Southern District of Florida."

Even before Gold issued his order, Gilbert, the office's top narcotics
prosecutor, requested reassignment. Cronin was reassigned out of the
criminal division.

Gold said he could issue further sanctions depending on the outcome of
the internal investigation by the Justice Department. He said Cronin had
allowed his personal feelings to affect the case against Shaygan.

Cronin told the defense that there would be "seismic shift" in the case
if Shaygan pursued a motion to suppress a statement he made to Wells.
After the defense filed its motion, Cronin filed 100 more counts against
the doctor.

"The various deficiencies in Cronin's conduct constitute unethical
behavior not befitting the role of a prosecutor," Gold wrote.

The judge said he plans to forward his 50-page order to The Florida Bar
and request that it take appropriate disciplinary action against Cronin,
Hoffman and Gilbert.

John Pacenti
Federal Courts Reporter
Daily Business Review