We are truly at a tipping point in our Covid 19 battle. The Virus is on the ropes, like a prosecutor whose witness has admitted that maybe she didn't see exactly who robbed the bank, but the detective said they had arrested the person who did it and maybe she could just confirm that by seeing him in handcuffs.
Vaccines and masks are causing significant drops in new infections. Like a prosecutor from the Southern District of New York hiding exculpatory evidence and then lying about it, the virus is desperate- mutating to more virulent and deadly forms. But like Rumpole rising for one last cross examination to deliver the coup' de grace, bio-tech companies are developing new boosters that will protect against the new variants. In this race, we will win. We will outthink this virus with our technology until the virus has no where to go and dies an ungraceful death. Be patient. It is more than "the end of the beginning" as Winston Spencer Churchill said about the British's victory at the second battle of El Alamein (Rommel was heavily favoured, but it turns out he was nowhere near Egypt when General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery's forces routed the German Afrika Corps consisting of the 15th and 20th Panzer divisions and the 90th light Afrika division.). It is indeed the beginning of the end, so keep the faith and keep your mask on.
The DOM publicity machine rolls on. Millions of NYC straphangers yesterday plopped down on their seat on the BMT or IRT and folded over their Daily News to this OpEd by "the spokesperson for the Ghislaine Maxwell family" in which our Mr. Markus notes that Ms. Maxwell has been kept in horrific pre-trial isolation that represents significant psychological and physical punishment on a woman convicted of nothing. Ms. Maxwell is going back to court with what Mr. Markus calls "one of the most comprehensive bail packages ever offered in a US Court."
Talk about being ahead of the curve! Why spend thousands of hours preparing for trial when you can be a "spokesperson"? Genius. Our federal blogger is exploring new fields of opportunities for our profession. Imagine a person hiring a lawyer for a DUI- "I will be your attorney in Court and the fee will be $7,500.00. We also recommend you hire the DUI Spokesperson Defense Team as your spokesperson. It's the newest thing in criminal defense."
Or how about this on TV: "Have you been injured in a car accident? Has a doctor operated on the wrong foot? Have you already hired a lawyer for your lawsuit? Then call us NOW at 1-800-speak-4-u and we will be your spokesperson."
Of course the slightly small problem in the Maxwell matter is that, in our humble opinion, the best in-court lawyer for Ms. Maxwell is currently the spokesperson for her family. It's like going to Dr. DeBakey for heart surgery and finding out all he is doing is putting in the IV. It's like being Tiger Woods and renting a car but not hiring a driver.
Speaking of which, the NY Post, notorious for their bad pun headlines had this the other day: "Tiger's Worst Drive Ever". Not as cringe worthy as the infamous "Headless man found in topless bar" headline, but still in poor taste.
And finally, this comment from the Yahweh Ben Yahweh post the other day deserves the front page:
Anonymous said...The truly amazing Yahweh trial was the first one with 17 defendants in Federal court in Fort Lauderdale before Rotteger. I represented one of the defendants. It was a five month trial. I had to pass on an all expense paid two week business trip with my best client to Kauai. She was invited to record with Taj Mahal at his Hawaiian studio . That was a tough choice. But the truth is, I made the right one. The trial was as entertaining as it gets with many, many memorable moments I relive often. Didn't hurt that my client was acquitted on all counts. The defense was so strong that the state declined to charge him in state court. You all should have been there to see a truly spell binding three hour closing argument by Alcee Hastings. We all broke for lunch in the middle of his closing and 16 attorneys gave him a standing ovation when he walked into the local restaurant. Those were the days my friend!
In her latest ploy for bail, Maxwell promises she will renounce her foreign citizenship so that she is less of a flight risk.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/23/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-bail-foreign-citizenship
For most countries, including France, renunciation of citizenship is not some quick unilateral process. The country has to accept and ratify the renunciation. Maxwell only promised she would start the process of renouncing her French citizenship upon her release. Since France is the country that won't extradite citizens, that's the one that most matters. It's not as if France is going to issue a certificate saying "we promise we won't harbor this person if she flees." Maxwell could still flee and then claim she only gave up her citizenship under duress and drag out the extradition that way. And there are plenty of other countries with no extradition treaties she can flee to.
Further proof that AUSAs read this blog. The ridiculous legal reasoning gives it away.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but even lawyers in private practice seem to repeat such "ridiculous legal reasoning."
ReplyDeleteNeama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Newsweek: "It's a legal stretch and its not going to work.
"On the judge's part he denied her bail twice. By statute here, the offences she's charged with carry a presumption that she's a danger to the community.
"Bail is based on two primary factors: risk of flight and danger to the community. So there's a presumption based on these charges that she should be detained.
"Then there's her international ties, her citizenship in two other countries, her wealth and her lack of ties to the United States.
"Frankly, when she was arrested she was hiding in a compound in New Hampshire."
"Especially after what happened with Epstein and the victims not getting the justice they deserved. With someone like this, you grant bail and she's gone."
The former prosecutor added: "I don't even know whether the renunciation would be effective.
"It's based on the law of the country. France may consider her a citizen not withstanding what she says."
...
Georges Lederman, of international law firm Withersworldwide, told Newsweek Maxwell's application was designed to stop her using the fact France does not extradite its citizens to escape justice.
The former New York prosecutor and special counsel said: "Should she jump bail and leave the country, by giving up her citizenship in France she would not be able to, for example, return to France and then claim citizenship because France does not extradite its citizens.
"The famous case of Roman Polanski is the one we think about. France refused to extradite Roman Polanski based on his dual citizenship, French and Polish."
He added: "I don't think this will be successful. Should she somehow evade the U.S., she would have to escape in the middle of the night in some manner other than air travel—because part of any deal would be that she would have to surrender her passport.
"There are many other places she could go where there are no extradition treaties with the U.S., many nations in South America, she could go to China, so I'm not sure it's a winning strategy."
https://www.newsweek.com/why-ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-bail-bid-not-going-work-1571944
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-05/covid-complicates-in-person-trials-la-courthouses
ReplyDeleteIn other news, a former gymnastics coach associated with Larry Nassar was arrested and charged. However, that coach subsequently decided to spare the courts any need for litigation or trial.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wlns.com/news/michigan/michigan-ag-to-announce-results-of-lansing-area-criminal-investigation-expected-to-announce-charges-against-olympic-gymnastics-coach/
Instead of the long drawn-out cycle of arrest, trial, conviction, appeal, we now have a faster, more efficient system of arrest and then suicide.
Hopefully his attorneys got the retainer up front.
Vaccine optimism:
ReplyDeletehttps://capitolism.thedispatch.com/p/its-time-to-start-being-optimistic
As suspected, Maxwell's promise to renounce her foreign citizenship to prevent flight was a bunch of bullshit.
ReplyDelete“The defendant’s claimed ‘willingness to renounce her citizenship in both the United Kingdom and France is little more than window dressing,” a trio of assistant US attorneys wrote to Manhattan federal Judge Alison Nathan.
The prosecutors noted in the letter that it would not even matter if Maxwell — who is also a naturalized US citizen — gave up her French citizenship because she committed the alleged crimes when she was a citizen of that country.
They added that their office contacted the French Ministry of Justice “to understand the impact of the defendant’s offer to renounce her French citizenship on France’s categorical unwillingness to deport its own citizens for crimes they have committed.”
The French Ministry of Justice responded that Maxwell’s “offer to waive her French citizenship will not make her eligible to be extradited from France because, for purposes of extradition, nationality is assessed as of the time the charged offense was committed.”
The letter states that Maxwell’s “renunciation of her French citizenship in 2021 would not change the fact that she was a French citizen at the time she is alleged to have committed the charged crimes in the 1990s and 2016.”
https://nypost.com/2021/03/10/prosecutors-slam-maxells-offer-to-give-up-citizenships-for-bail/
So much for renouncing citizenship to convince the court. Guess the third time wasn't the charm.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-maxwell-bail-bid-denied-20210322-xb3o4h5ujfhppmzc5kwcnfzvxq-story.html