REQUIEM FOR A FEDERAL JUDGE

 Judge Altman went to Colombia and Yale. (So did Rumpole. We visited, didn't get in, and left). He had a cup of coffee as an AUSA, did a stint in private practice- realized no real person could bill 2200 hours a year, and was appointed by you know who to the Federal Bench.  Once on the bench he has received very good reviews as an intelligent and thoughtful jurist. He threw himself into his job, mastered the learning curve quickly, and basically has done everything right. 

Then Hamas attacked Israel, a Yale law professor tweeted on X "Settlers are not civilians. This is not hard" (@zareenagerwal) and also posted a video of the attack and X'd (tweeted?) "It's been an extraordinary day". 

 Judge Altman, a Yalie, found himself writing a thoughtful response as to why under international law the people butchered and murdered were not settlers, why Hamas's bloody attack had no basis in law (or humanity for that matter),  and then he pondered pressing the send button. 

To send or not to send, that is the question. Whether tis noblier in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of a dopey Yale law professor/apologist for brutal Hamas murderers, or to take arms against idiocy and wade into the singular most contentious issue of the day.

 Careers larger than Judge Altman's have cratered upon the rocky shoals of the Symplegades Clashing Rocks of the Israeli/ Hamas conflict (including Rumpole's blog, where we dared to speak up for the innocent Palestinians being bombed before Obama weighed in and agreed with us). 

Eventually Judge Altman decided, like Theodore Roosevelt that he did not belong with "those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat",  and he spoke his piece and sent in his article. The backlash was swift, expected, and vitriolic. 

Critics (see the Roosevelt quote above from "The Man in the Arena") weighed in that a federal judge has no right to criticize a Yale Professor and seemingly take Israel's side in the conflict. Judge Raag Singhal SDFL (and another you know who appointee) weighed in in defense of his friend and colleague, and (and you knew this was coming) so did Judge Milt Hirsch. 

Judge Altman's response was not political, but legal. The Yale professor was wrong on the law- no surprise to Rumpole who chews up and spits out Yalie lawyers as a hobby ("Not accept me in your law school? Well I'll show you..."). 

Here is Judge Altman's article in the National Review with the title The Israeli's Slaughtered By Hamas Were Not Settlers. 

DOM covers is all on his blog, including the national newsletter naming Judge Altman "federal judge of the week" (who even knew there was such a thing? We should have thought of that) and Judge Singhal's defense of his friend and colleague. 

All in all just another week in South Florida. The only thing more controversial Judge Altman could have done was defend embattled Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh. But he wisely left that contretemps alone. 

GAYLES BLAST US ATTORNEYS FOR SPYING ON DEFENSE

UPDATE WE HAVE THE ORDER- SCROLL DOWN- to use a phrase from the very first or second blog post we ever did, "it's a barn burner".  

You don't tug on Superman's cape

You don't spit into the wind

You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger 

And in the SDFL - if you're a prosecutor you do not F with David Markus. 

Judge Gayles blasted AUSAs Ron Davidson and Elijiah Levitt (formerly of the county court bench in Miami) for lying to the court about what they knew and when they knew it about a cooperating defendant who the government used to spy on defense attorneys during strategy sessions where the defense attorneys had signed a Joint Defense Agreement. 

The Herald article is here. If someone has the order, please send it and we will post it. The most insidious part of the actions of the federal prosecutors is their initial pleadings in which they downplayed what the informant did and what they knew about it. Which- because federal judges do no think prosecutors or police officers ever lie- caused Judge Gayles to first not grant relief in the case. 

That ended today when Gayles granted the defense motion for a new trial. 

In this latest round it is DOM 1- USAO 0. 

Pisoni Order Granting New Trial by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

LIFE GOES ON

Life goes on and so do we.

There is death and tragedy and suffering and waiting to be called for a case and waiting to get into FDC...

And there is life and art and literature and beauty and decency and caring and concern for others. 

So in the face of heartache and pain of losing a good friend, we do what he would have wanted. We go on. Living our life as best we can. Blogging like no one else can. And winning cases....

Speaking of winning cases...

DOM scored another win this week in federal court. 

A nasty EPA , dredging behind a home   without all the permits case in the Keys case.  The feds came after his client like he was Pablo Escobar caught with a thousand keys....or like a Biden supporter in Georgia tinkering with the voting machines. 

But it didn't matter. Justice prevailed and David and his team head into the new year with a nice Christmas win. 

Rumpole's rules of trials #7: Schedule your toughest cases for the weeks before Christmas and New Years. 

Congratulations to Team Markus for a great win. Alex Michaels would be proud. 

SHOULD PROSECUTORS BRING A CASE THEY HAVE LITTLE CHANCE OF WINNING?

 Before we get to the main topic, we feel compelled to report that on Tuesday. November 1, QAnon supporters gathered in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, to await the return of John F. Kennedy, Jr., the son of the late president. In QAnon/Republican beliefs, 11/1 was the day JFK Jr was going to return. The former president of the United States would then make JKF Jr his running mate in 2024. And if we take the story to it's QAnon/Republican fullest, once President again, POTUS 45/47 would resign to become...we kid you not..."King of Kings." 

The Scene at Dealey Plaza Tuesday

Alas, none of this came to pass, probably because of the intervention of Vampire/Pedophile/Pizza Restaurant owners, who once again thwarted the former president. 

SHOULD THE DOJ BRING A CASE THEY CANNOT WIN? 

In Miami this past week there was the ABA White Collar Criminal Defense meeting. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco gave a speech in which she indicated that her department would bring a case they had little chance of winning. 

Into this contretemps stepped none other that our own David O Markus who wrote this piece in the Hill disagreeing with the position of Ms. Monaco. Mr. Markus rightly pointed out the collateral consequences of just being indicted, including loss of job, loss of income, an enormous financial undertaking in hiring a defense team, and the personal stress of going through trial prep and a trial.

While we tend to agree with Mr. Markus, there is another side here. Right is right. Criminals should be prosecuted, and no lawyer, not even a prosecutor, should walk away from a tough fight. 

What say you? With whom do you agree? 

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OF COVID 19 AND MORE

 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!

Wednesday, February 24, 2021 10:30:00 PM

 

Indeed they were the days. Who was the spokesperson for the defense? 

COMMING FRIDAY : Diamond Joel Hirschorn and the amazing win at the 3rd DCA this week. 

THE PESKY FIRST AMENDMENT

Update: Does the SAO run a slush fund? See below.

Those pesky amendments keep biting the government in the butt. 

Right to bear arms? Load us up with automatic rifles so we can shoot some deer into swiss cheese while swilling beer and eating pork rinds from the Piggly Wiggly. 
Establishment Clause? Prayer in school baby for this Christian Nation. 
Right to not wear a mask during a pandemic? Amendment three or nine...it's gotta be in there some where. 

But when it comes to the right to assemble? Send in the Fed Storm Troopers (our post on the US invading Portland is coming soon!)

And that right to free speech bullcrap? Only if you say MAGA. 

So check out DOM's piece in the Hill about a federal judge being a mite out of sorts because a federal probation officer revoked the release of Michael Cohen because Cohen was   (let's play the blog multiple choice game!)

A) Dealing drugs

B) Arming the Iranians 

C) Buying oil from Venezuela

D) Writing a book about the President. 

David's post is here. 

The opening salvo:

Federal district judge Alvin Hellerstein was rightly outraged that a probation officer acting on behalf of the Bureau of Prisons had Michael Cohen arrested because he was writing a book about President Donald Trump and because Cohen would not agree to give up his First Amendment rights as part of his supervised release. The judge found that “the purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory, and it’s retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others."

Also this week: The Dade County State Attorneys Office and head investigator Martin Dardis (who passed away in 2006) played an oft overlooked role in Watergate. Now comes word the SAO has their own Nixonian Slush Fund.  (Click for the WLRN Article). 
We will have all the slushy details. 

YOU CAN'T WIN A PLEA

David O Markus, everyone's favourite federal blogger speaks Friday at lunchtime at the PDS office on the secret sauce he employs in trials that results in Not Guilty verdicts.  
You should attend. 
DOM is like that old E.F Hutton commercial: "When E.F Hutton talks, people listen." 







BUT YOU CAN BE NICE
Here's the consent agreement for former Broward Judge John Contini to be disbarred for five years. What is notable about the agreement is that one of the reasons why Contini was disbarred is because during his three years as a circuit court judge, he admits that he "could have been more sympathetic toward some litigants, lawyers, and court personnel." 

WELL...if that's the standard in Broweird, how does any judge there keep their robes? 

2018-1493 Petition 70752 Petition2dconditional20guilty20plea by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd