MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

UPDATE:  REVENGE OF THE JEDI: 

THE JURY FOOUND ANDREW GILLUM NOT GUILTY ON THE FEDERAL 1001 LYING TO A FEDERAL AGENT COUNTS AND IS HUNG ON ALL REMAINING COUNTS 

IT WAS DAVID MARKUS'S RIPPING CROSS ON THESE COUNTS THAT RESULTED IN THE NG 

 

HE'S BACK!

 In Confessions of a Story Writer (1946), author Paul Gallico wrote "It's only when you open your veins and bleed a little on the page that you establish contact with your reader."

From 1978-1988 New York Yankees player turned manager Billy Martin was hired and fired five times, including once for a memorable fight with a marshmallow salesman (which if you're thinking of resigning from the bench would be a great second career). 

In 1960 Richard Nixon lost one of the closest presidential races. In 1962 he ran for the Governor of California and lost, prompting him to hold a famous press conference in which his bitterness towards the press overflowed to the point where he said he was retiring from politics and it would hurt the press the most because "you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore because gentlemen (there were few is any female reporters in 1962) this is my last press conference." Nixon was subsequently elected president in 1968. 

In summary, there are second acts in life, which leads us to everyone's favourite federal blogger- David "Podcast" Markus. He's back baby! In a regular DOM-type post today, listing the finalists for the federal magistrate's job in WPB ("I promise to grant pre-trial detention when asked") he slipped in a brief note that he missed blogging and would be re-taking command of the Famous SDFL blog- the blog that started it all in the South Florida legal community. 

Much like when media people like Larry King retired with the promise that he would be back with specials (and never appeared on CNN again) DOM promised that his coterie of bloggers would remain and fill in often, however it remains to be seen whether that will be so. 

So it's SDFL 2.0- bigger and better than ever!  And we for one are glad. While the fill-in bloggers were good and thought provoking, no one goes to French Laundry to eat food not cooked by Thomas Keller. No one goes to Tampa Bay Bucs games to see the back-up QB play. No one went to see Othello on Broadway to watch anyone other than James Earl Jones play the role. There were the Three Tenors, not the three and the backup three. No one wanted to see anyone other than MJ take the final shot, and Frazier-Oscar Bonavena did not sell like Frazier-Ali. 

As for us? They will have to pry this blog out of our cold-dead hands (or we win Powerball, whichever comes first. and hopefully those two events do not occur at the same time). 

BTW- if you haven't done so, you MUST watch the Ken Burns documentary on Muhammad Ali. Nothing groundbreaking, but the stories you know are told in exquisite detail with amazing pictures and video and thought-provoking commentary. The arc of Ali's life encompasses the second half of the 20th Century US history. It is Ali in the raw, the good and the bad, the elite athlete that made the sweet science beautiful, and the ugly side of boxing as he beat Ernie Terrell bloody, taunting him to call him his name (Terrell had refused to call Ali anything other than Clay). Ali was all too human, and yet worthy of his self-appointed title "The Greatest". He was brave (taking on and beating the US government in his refusal to be drafted), strong, fast, innovative, angry, not a great father, not loyal to his wives, not a great business man, an icon, stubborn, brilliant, flawed, cruel,  inspiring, a civil rights leader who at times used crude race-baiting tactics against his opponents , and yet a man who ended up rising above the civil rights struggle to speak for all oppressed humans throughout the globe. In the  end Ali became perhaps THE iconic figure of the second half of the 20th century as well as the most famous human being in the world. He risked prison for his religion, was suspended and unable to work during the most productive years of his career, and grievously  injured his health by fighting too long.  

 Do not miss this  documentary. 

FEDERAL BLOG EARTHQUAKE

Nothing is forever, and that includes the second best legal blog around.  We are speaking of course, of David Markus's SDFL Blog, which was the first widely read legal blog in this community. We 100% admit that DOM gave us the idea to start our own blog, and for that we are grateful, along with his support over the years. We hear that David is stepping back, being a big Hollywood-podcaster, as well as a sought after criminal defense attorney, he just does not have the time to blog as much anymore. UPDATE: He will blog at times, when certain  federal issues catch his fancy. 

So the bad news is David will not be blogging  very much anymore. No more in depth analysis of the 1982 committee notes about the proposed changes to the Jenks Act, that we have all come to rely upon on those late nights when sleep will not come. 

But the good news is that a new generation of bloggers has stepped up and will be blogging on DOMs platform. Click the same link, but read a cornucopia of blog posts by new blood. It sounds exciting. To quote DOM- he wanted "some new blood". 

Over the years we have come to know David in our real life, as a friend, and fellow lawyer. There is no one better. He always has a smile, and when he is in court he has a steely glint in his eye- the kind of look, attitude, and preparation you want as a client in your lawyer. His wins, along with his wife Mona,  and his partner Margot Moss,  are legendary, and a bit envy-inspiring; if only we could get a case where the government acted so stupidly. But that is not really true. David and his team apply the pressure, the other side cracks.

This is not (thank goodness) a eulogy for DOM; we come to praise him and his ground breaking blog, not to bury him. He will still be practicing law and pod casting and winning impossible trials and appeals. 

He is just apparently tired of being AVIS to the HERTZ of blogs (vague 1970s reference). 

Well done DOM. Well done indeed. 

HIRSCH RULES FOR RUMPOLE

 With all do respect to his learned colleague Judge De La O (a phrase sure to send Mr. Markus and his cohort Judge De La O into a paroxysm),  Judge Milt Hirsch writes an opinion for Rumpole in his battle for the soul  of the legal profession. 

As you may know, Judge De La O weighed in on Twitter, ruling for Mr. Markus. We had no idea the case had been assigned to him. But the battle is not over. As Judge Hirsch has written an opinion as well and we include it here. Judge Hirsch could have been recused. For a period of time he shared space with Mr. Markus. But we trust his judgment and filed no motion.

De La O wrote:  Comes now the Court to rule. You are a great lawyer, Rumpole. You put up a strong fight in a losing battle. O'Marcus is not only right, he made his case succinctly. You were more entertaining, but he wins handily.

Judge Hirsch responds with his own (brilliant) opinion in the matter: 

On “opinion day,” some Supreme Court justices read their opinions aloud from the bench.  

That wasn’t Chief Justice Earl Warren’s practice.  

He just filed his opinions with the clerk, and that was that.

Except on May 17, 1954.  

On May 17, 1954, Chief Justice Warren read aloud to a packed and hushed courtroom

 every word of his opinion in a case called Brown v. Topeka Board of Education.

  nd he read with particular emphasis the four words appearing at the end of that opinion:

“It is so ordered.”

Of course those four words add nothing to the content of the opinion.  They do not alter or 

add to its import or analysis.  In that sense – and only in that sense – they could be dismissed

 as the sort of “legalese” the value of which the two of you are debating.  

But to anyone who has, as the two of you do, a sense of history;

 an ear for rhetoric; and a feeling for that indefinable but invaluable thing called 

“the majesty of the law,”  those four words sounded forth the trumpet that can 

never call retreat.  They were a clap of silent thunder that we still struggle to hear.

Of course you’re right: there are few judges of the stature of Warren, and few cases of the

 stature of Brown.  

Bad judges lard their orders, and bad lawyers lard their motions, with “legalese” in an 

effort to compensate for a lack of scholarship and prose style.  

But that is not a criticism of the language of the law.  

It is a criticism of the work-product of the judges and lawyers.

Rumpole says: It's now 1-1. Who will cast the deciding vote? 

JUDGE MATTE BELLE DAVIS

Judge Matte Belle Davis was the first woman to preside in the REGJB, but very little is remembered about her by our Starbucks swilling millennial readers. 

We asked former Judge Ted Mastos to write something, and this is what he remembered: 

I believe Mattie Bell Davis was a lawyer, Ruth Sutton was the woman who succeeded her husband who was a Justice of the Peace. When he died she replaced him. When the Florida Constitution did away with the Justice of the Peace system all those who had been Justices of the Peace were grandfathered in as County Court judges. That is how Ruth Sutton became a County Court Judge. She had the best Mango tree in South Florida.

Mattie Bell Davis was a champion for the County Court judiciary. She somehow had the ear of Governor Ruben Askew and worked tirelessly for improved salaries for the judges. County judges were making $32,000 back in the 70's. She was a great lady and an early pioneer for women in the law. Back in that era there were only a few woman lawyers working in the State Attorney's Office. One of them was the mother of David Markus who looked at me as some green kid from Wisconsin who needed a Jewish mother. She was my mentor in those early years.

Because he is a long time and careful Blog Reader, David S Markus* responded: 

 David S. Markus said...

Ted's mention of my mom brought a smile to my face. She was an ASA in 1973. There were only 3 women in the office at that time-mom, Barbara Schwartz (who became an AUSA for many years) and one other who I cannot recall. Janet Reno was my mother's intern.
I was in high school, but I already wanted to be a prosecutor. I thought it was the coolest job on earth. She taught me how a prosecutor could make a difference in someone's life (both victim and defendant) and how important it was to exercise that power wisely. Mom would bring the files home and I would look through them and we would discuss the cases and argue about them. Mom would talk about the lawyers she interacted with and it was interesting to meet them years later when I became a prosecutor, and to see if my view of them matched hers. She always talked about "Ted" with a big smile on her face.
I also learned how difficult it was for women in the legal profession not so long ago. Mom graduated UM law school in 1955 at the top of her class and was on law review, but could not find a job because she was a woman. She pursued other interests and returned to the law in 1973 to work in the State Attorney's Office. Life had gotten better for women in the law, but they were not treated as equals. Male lawyers would ask her why she was working at all since she had a husband. Judges and lawyers who did not know her personally assumed she was a secretary. She was once held in contempt for wearing pants to court. But mom loved the job, and she passed on that love to me. Mom was so proud that I chose to follow in her footsteps. I have been on the defense side for 39 years, but I still think of myself as a ex-prosecutor more than a defense attorney.

Well said David. Thank you for that. 

Judge Davis was born in 1910 and died in 2004. According to her Wikipedia page, she was admitted to the Bar in 1939, although at the time women could not sit on juries in Florida. She was instrumental in the formation of FAWL- the Florida Association of Women Lawyers which has an award named after her.  which, if they were smart, would name an award after her to be presented to a female member of the bench for outstanding work of some sort or another. She was president of FAWL from 1957-1958. 

Judge Davis was the first woman to sit on the Metropolitan Court of Dade County,  in which old timers like former Judges Lenny Glick and Ted Mastos actually practiced in. Judge Davis started on the bench in 1959. It is not clear how long she served.  

Prior to becoming a Judge, Matte Belle Davis was in practice with her husband Troy Davis. After he died in 1948, she became a single parent to two step-daughters. During her time in private practice she successfully argued two cases before the Florida Supreme Court.  We have researched the issue  and found those two cases: 

Abercrombie v. Eidschun, 66 So. 2d 875, 876 (Fla. 1953):
Petition for writ of certiorari be and the same is hereby granted, and the order dated the 7th day of May, 1953, denying petitioners' motion for a summary final decree be and the same is hereby quashed, with directions to proceed further in accordance within this opinion.

Spark v. Canny, 88 So. 2d 307, 311–12 (Fla. 1956):
We hold, therefore, that where a joint bank account with right of survivorship is established with funds of one person, as here, a gift of the funds remaining in the account at the death of the creator of the joint account is presumed; but such presumption is rebuttable and may be overcome by clear and convincing evidence to  the contrary. 

In 1987 Miami Dade County designated March 3 as Judge Matte Belle Davis day. 

There are a lot of female judges serving in Miami-Dade County. Two new ones were just appointed. They enjoy the shade of Oak Trees, whose acorns were planted by those who came before them. Every now and then, it is appropriate to remember who blazed the path we trod on. 

* Miami is blessed with TWO superstar attorneys named David Markus. David O runs the federal blog and can be found downtown tying federal prosecutors up in knots. He also works on top of a garage across from the courthouse. 
David S, who spent decades sharing space with the great Sy Gaer, can be found in the REGJB, walking clients out the door and leaving state prosecutors in his dust. He currently concentrates on Death Penalty cases. 

While David O has won cases in state court, and David S has kicked some federal butt from time to time, each is known primarily for his sphere of battle- State for S, Feds for O. 
What would have been nice is if, a long time ago, in a court far far away, Judge Stanley Marcus (with a C)  presided over a trial in which co-defendants were represented by Mr. Markus and Mr. Markus. 

POINT COUNTER POINT

Everyone's favourite federal blogger (and these days that includes President Trump) is at it again. This time facing off in the pages of USA today against an erstwhile but overmatched USA Today editorial board debating the General Flynn contretemps. 

Mr. Markus's piece is here. 

The rag's editorial's musings are here. 
Once finished reading,  they make a good fish-wrap. We always endorse recycling. 

Our view is this: we have never seen a US District court seek a third party's opinion about the government's decision to bring a case. Why does a judge need to stick his unbiased nose into the decision to abandon charges? Absent unusual circumstances like, say...an out of control president who views the DOJ as his own personal law firm, the decisions of the executive branch are not subject to sua sponte review by a disgruntled robe wearer. 

SOME GOOD NEWS:
Noma, a 4x winner of World's Best Restaurant, has opened for take out! A small bit of bad news-- Noma is in Copenhagen, but a wee bit of 12 hour travel for a Noma meal is well worth it. We've dine it before. What is the world's best restaurant serving for take out? Why of course Cheeseburgers! Freshly ground grass fed beef, organic onions, potato rolls baked fresh daily... we are checking airline schedules. At 125 Danish Kroners ($18.25 U.S), we are clearing our Amex for several days of bliss. 

ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER JOA

Not quite a JOA, but another Not Guilty for everyone's favourite federal blogger and a damn good criminal defense attorney: 

PRESS RELEASE REGARDING NOT GUILTY VERDICT OF MEDICAL DOCTOR MICHAEL BAHRAMI

      

            After a three day trial, a federal jury unanimously found Dr. Michael Bahrami not guilty today in Federal Court before Judge Cecilia Altonaga.  Dr. Bahrami was charged in a one count indictment with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to accept kickbacks and bribes in exchange for referring patients to home health agencies.  The jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding him not guilty.

Dr. Bahrami fled Iran when he was 17 years old.  He taught himself English working as a bus boy.  He then put himself through medical school and did his internship at Mt. Sinai hospital.  He is 61 years old and has a successful cardiology practice.  He is married with two small children, 7 and 9 years old.  Throughout the trial, the courtroom was packed with his patients who all support him and say he is the best doctor around.  He, his wife, and his patients wept after the trial. 

THE SYSTEM FAILED BUJU BANTON

BY DAVID OSCAR MARKUS- Appearing in The Jamaica Gleaner

Last week, the same judge who presided over Buju Banton's two trials and sentenced him to 10 years in prison found that one of the jurors, Terry Wright, committed egregious misconduct and found her guilty of criminal contempt of court for conducting research during jury deliberations in direct contravention of the court's orders.

Despite this extraordinary decision, which would cause any reasonable person to doubt the integrity of the verdict, Buju will get no relief. This is a tragedy because the juror's misconduct sent an innocent man to jail.

With all the talk of the misconduct, many have forgotten that this case is about how a con-artist named Alex Johnson set up a recording artiste named Mark Myrie, who performs as Buju Banton.

Johnson, a career criminal who was paid over US$3.3 million by the government, relentlessly pursued the Grammy-award-winning reggae star with no prior convictions. He vowed never to stop trying to turn Buju into a drug dealer even though his target repeatedly said no.

Using every trick and pressure point he had learnt to use over his lengthy career of crime, Johnson became frustrated that he couldn't get Buju Banton to do anything other than talk. So he tricked Buju into a warehouse of cocaine, telling him that they were going to have some fun on a boat and to discuss how Johnson could help Buju with his music career.

End Of Relationship

Even though Buju realised at that point that Johnson was not for real and broke off contact with him, Buju was arrested two days later after Johnson did a deal (unbeknown to Buju) with Buju's friend, Ian Thomas, while Buju was home in bed across the state.

Buju never invested one penny into the drug deal and was never supposed to make one penny out of it. Alex Johnson, on the other hand, made thousands of dollars from the United States government for getting this deal done.

After hearing these facts, the first jury in Tampa (one of the most conservative jurisdictions in Florida) voted 7-5 for acquittal. In a drug case in Tampa, this is just about unheard of as prosecutors convict over 97 per cent of drug defendants.

Ultimately, the judge declared a mistrial because the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Even though it was pretty clear that Buju was no drug dealer, the Federal government was undeterred. It proceeded with a second trial against a person with no prior record, a person with no history of involvement with the drug trade, and a person who was not even present when the informant drug dealer sold cocaine to another individual.

It is at this second trial that the juror committed misconduct by conducting Internet research about Buju himself, the jury instructions, and the law. The prosecution argued that the research was harmless, but interviews of the jury after the verdict revealed that the initial vote was 10-2 in favour of acquittal.

One of the two jurors favouring conviction was (you guessed it) Terri Wright. After the tainted jury convicted Buju, the judge was required under the law to sentence him to a minimum mandatory 10 years in federal prison. Ten years! This is more than the big-time supplier of the cocaine received, more than the co-defendant who had a gun received, and more than the purchaser of the cocaine received.

Unfair Punishment

Buju Banton received the highest penalty in the case, by a lot, because he went to trial and fought for his innocence.

Terri Wright, who calls herself a "passionate" juror and wished she could make jury service her profession, didn't just commit misconduct in the jury room. She did so before and afterwards. During voir dire (the part of the trial where jurors "speak the truth" about their background), she told the court that she had only served previously "on a civil case", when, in reality, she had served on seven prior criminal and civil cases.

When all of her misconduct was discovered, she lied under oath about her actions and even produced a fraudulent computer hard drive to the court to be inspected. It gets worse - even after all of this came to light, Terri Wright sat on another jury and did not disclose that she was the subject of a criminal contempt proceeding for her misconduct as a juror.

US District Judge James S. Moody, rightfully outraged that a juror would disregard his instructions, found Wright guilty of criminal contempt and even ordered her to write a report about the cost of Buju's expensive six-day trial.

Although Wright will never get to fulfil her dream of being a professional juror, she will get to move on with her life. She won't have to do one day in jail. Buju, on the other hand, isn't set to be released from federal prison until 2019. Our system failed him.

NOT GUILTY

There are a few rules in federal court, and one of them is this- 

David O Markus and Margot Moss are  going to kick your ass if you are a federal prosecutor and want to go to trial. 

Just ask the FED who got his ass kicked this week in a trial in  front of Scola. 

Not Guilty. 

And the fed tried to be fancy but DOM out maneuvered him. 

And we hear the case was as good as over after Margot gave her opening statement. 

Well done DOM and Margot.

Well done indeed. 

IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST

It takes a lot to turn down a plea offer of probation when facing decades in prison. 
It takes courage and intestinal fortitude of another magnitude to turn down such a plea offer ana go to trial in Broward County, where punishing a defendant for going to trial isn't just a natural result, it's considered a sport  for the judges and prosecutors who work in Broward. They lurk in the shadows up there, like a Lion in the tall grass, just waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting lawyer/client foolish enough to go to trial. 

But credit and congratulations are due to David O Markus and Bill Barzee who defended a client on multiple charges of aggravated battery and on Thursday were rewarded with a Not Guilty on all counts. Two very sweet words. The Sun Sentinel Article is here. 

While David and Bill are superb lawyers, neither of them are old enough to remember the good old days in Broward when your client was rewarded with an acquittal with (we are not making this up) a revocation of their bond, and being remanded to custody, ostensibly to check for open warrants.  It happened to us, more than once. And the dialogue went something like this "The jury sir, having found you not guilty, I will adjudicate you not guilty. Congratulations. Your lawyer did a great job. The sheriff is directed to take the defendant into custody for processing. Have a nice day." 

Eventually, Broward paid a few million dollars in a class action for incarcerating individuals who had just been acquitted (even when you read it, it's hard to believe they actually did it), which just caused a group of judges to revoke your client's bond the day before trial. And on and on it goes. Anyway, a hearty Well Done Mr. Markus and Mr. Barzee. Well Done Indeed!

Sean Taylor Murder Trial: Herald Ace David Ovalle has been tweeting all week the trial of Eric Rivera, the alleged shooter of Sean Taylor. There is no trial today and the rumor is the trial should wrap up next week.  Here's a tweet from this week:

David Ovalle ‏@DavidOvalle3052h

Lawyers getting snippy w/ each other over witness list. "Excuse me, Lee County," prosecutor Reid Rubin sniped. Defense hails from Ft. Myers.

First cold day of the year arrives today. Enjoy a beautiful fall weekend. See You In Court. 

PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE?

OR WAS THIS JUROR STRUCK FOR CAUSE LATE WEDNESDAY EVENING?

Only Judge Andrea Wolfson - who got high praises from the putative juror here-  knows for sure. 

One thing is clear- unlike his client @billycorben  - Mr. Markus refrained from tweeting during his jury service. Wise move. 

See you in court- we would have taken him. 

A BRILLIANT VICTORY

"NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER GIVE UP"*
Winston Churchill, October 29, 1941, Harrow School, U.K. 


David O Markus never gave up. It took him eight years, a few trips to the 11th Circuit, and multiple court appearances. One of the lawyers he shares office space with also mentioned plenty of sleepiness nights. But in his post conviction relief advocacy for Yuby Ramirez, David never gave up. 


Ramirez was convicted at trial and sentenced to life in prison for what has been described as a "bit part"  in a Wille Falcon and Sal Magluta plot to murder a federal witness. 
On Monday US District Judge Joan Leonard found a reasonable probability that but for the flawed advice of her attorneys at the time of her trial Ramirez would have accepted a plea offer (which was as low as five years at one point) and that the mis-advice of counsel as to her maximum prison exposure (ten years) led her to reject the Government's plea offer. 


David took the case on pro bono eight years ago and he litigated his heart out, never giving up on his client who was serving a life sentence while the two Colombian brothers who orchestrated the plot received six year prison sentences. 


The Miami Herald article is here. 


Well done DOM. Well done indeed!


* The PM was not talking about the lines to get into the REGJB. but he could have been.

AN AGE OLD QUESTION

Did you ever wonder why.......

Why we do what we do as Criminal Defense Attorneys

Presented by Attorney

David Oscar Markus

David Oscar Markus will provide a motivational lecture on the moral, legal and ethical obligations of our noble responsibilities as criminal defense attorneys.  David will share some of his insights and strategies in preparing and defending criminal cases.

Tuesday February 28^th, 2012

12pm to 2pm at the Public Defender’s office in Room 110

RVSP to Maria PH at 305-545-1902 or  mprovostheron  at pdmiami.com  by February 24th 2012.

There is absolutely no truth to the rumor we will be heckling Mr. Markus...

DOM DOES IT AGAIN

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: FLIP-FLOP-A-DOLPOLIS: First actually voted for the funding before he voted against it. Sound familiar? No, it's not some erstwhile Massachusetts Senator running for president, it's Florida's own President of the State Senate who is running for Senator in 2012. In 2009 Mike Haridopolos (R-wishy-washy) voted to accept 2.4 billion dollars in federal funds to support a high speed rail train in Florida. Now- with Governor Rick Scott against the dollars- a Scott and a Florida Tea Party outlet pressured Haridopolos to reverse his support for the rail network, as per the Herald this morning.

And guess what? Haridopolos wants to go to Washington as our Senator much more than he wants to put Floridians to work, help reduce traffic and move Florida into the 20th century to join Japan and France, who have had high speed railroads since the 1980s.

No word on whether Flipodopolos will be supporting the use of horse and buggies for Floridians as gas prices approach $4.00 a gallon. Just as long as we can afford to fly him to DC.

Longtime and careful perusers of these electronic pages know that Rumpole's Fourth Rule of Trials ( (c)2011 Rumpole, all rights reserved) is

4)AVOID FRIDAY VERDICTS AT ALL COSTS!!!

Longtime and careful readers of the blog will remember that the last time our hero went to Tampa to defend Buju Banton, David Markus endured a tense Friday only to have deliberations halted for the weekend and resume on Monday, wherein the jury eventually announced they were hung.

Well David has done it again. He closed Thursday, endured an entire day of deliberations on Friday, only to have the jury call it quits for the weekend. This being a three day weekend, we think-but we're not sure- that jury deliberations will not resume until Tuesday.

Clearly, whatever David is doing is working, and we wish him the best. Having avoided the dreaded Friday verdict, it can only get better from here. We hope.

THE EMAS INVESTITURE.

Getting past all the "don't forget to turn out the lights"* comments to David Rothman, the investiture of Judge Kevin Emas at the 3rd DCA was a great one, as our Captain reports:

The Captain Reports:

Emas Investiture ......

The first three loaded the bases. Thornton. Rothman. And Moreno, were all spectacular. Then, of course, Emas knocked it out of the ball park. Funny, witty, compassionate, respectful, and honorable all rolled into one great speech.

Truly a memorable and amazing event for those that were present. Great to see the circle completed with Goderich swearing Emas in.

Cap Out ....

*Moreno, Rothman and Thornton were all in practice together at one time.

PROSECUTION MOVES TO RECUSE JUDGE ROSA RODRIGUEZ

The trial of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence Jones is set for Tuesday. The Dade SAO's public corruption unit (Motto: "eventually we nolle prosse everything") has moved Judge Rosa Rodriguez to remove herself from the case over the charges that were filed against her (and dropped) over the funding of here election campaign in 1998.

The Herald article is here.

THREE DAY WEEKEND! GET OUT AND ENJOY IT AND WE'LL SEE YOU TUESDAY or at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

BUJU JURY JAMMIN

UPDATE: ON TO MONDAY. DOM keeps the jury out Friday and through the weekend!! Well done Mr. Markus!! The jury was dismissed for the weekend today and deliberations will resume 8:45 am Monday. We'll keep our fingers crossed all weekend.

Well, Mr. Markus kept the jury out Thursday in the trial of Reggae Star Buju Banton.

The jury returns Friday, and while we wish Mr. Markus and his client the very best, we loathe Friday verdicts.

Earlier DOM put his client on the stand to testify that he was just jammin...the tapes were just talk. "I was trying to impress this guy (the informant). I wasn't going to let him outtalk me" said Buju.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ACCUSED:

USA today has done an analysis of the DOJ and found a "glaring pattern of misconduct" in criminal cases, usually revolving around discovery violations.

The article is here.

Rumpole notes: What do expect with the Jenks act that doesn't require disclosure of most relevant documents until your client has served one year in prison? Or something like that. Actually most state prosecutors and clients are amazed and astounded to learn that the Jenks act doesn't require disclosure of the most routine documents, like prior statements, testimony, and reports, until after (and we are not making that up) the witness testifies on direct examination. Who in the world thought up that ridiculous procedure? The question is, "what is the government afraid of"? If you want to fix the federal criminal justice system, start with amending the Jenks act.

In other news, perhaps the Captain can keep an eye on the internet and post the verdict. We are actually across the pond...on the continent....long story about a client and a ship. But internet access is spotty, and it might be awhile before we update.

See ya back in the states.

GO DAVID GO

Nobody is rooting harder for our fellow blogger and brother in arms than we are for David O Markus as he begins his defense of international reggae star Buju Banton in Tampa.

The title of the post links to the St. Pete Times article on the start of the trial.

From the article:

"The evidence will establish the defendant's clear intention to engage in drug trafficking," said Assistant U.S. Attorney James Preston Jr. "His other occupation aside from entertainment."

Defense attorney David Markus said his client may be heard talking about drug smuggling — but didn't do it.

"Yes, he talked a lot. Yes, he tasted, but he's not a drug dealer," Markus said. "He was not a part of that deal."

....

Prosecutors argue there was a side to Banton besides his music — trafficking drugs. And while on a flight from Madrid in July 2009, Banton divulged this to an informer named Alexander Johnson.

"Myrie said he was involved in a smuggling venture from Venezuela, to St. Maarten to Europe," Preston told jurors.

Over the next five months, the informer and Banton talked on the phone several times about drug dealing, Preston said. Many of the conversations were taped.

A deal came to a head on Dec. 8, when Banton and Ian Thomas, his driver at the time, met with Johnson at a warehouse in Sarasota. There, prosecutors say, they have Banton on video tasting cocaine.

Over the next two days, Johnson, Thomas and a Georgia man named James Mack are accused of brokering a deal with undercover agents to purchase 11 pounds of cocaine.

Mack and Thomas were arrested Dec. 10 while attempting to finalize the deal. Banton was arrested at his Broward County home later that day.

Defense attorney Markus argued his client was not directly involved in the drug buy. It was Mack, not Banton, who put up $125,000 for the cocaine, Markus said.

Mack and Thomas have agreed to a plea deal.

Markus also questioned Johnson's credibility.

Johnson, a native of Colombia, has been employed by the government since 1996 after being released from prison for drug smuggling. Prosecutors verified that Johnson has received about $3.3 million in government money for information.

Johnson, who lives in South Florida, faces a dispute with the IRS over taxes.

"Alex Johnson has never held a job, instead he's been setting people up and been paid for it," Markus said. "When you make that kind of money you're supposed to pay taxes. He has a million dollar home, credit card debt and he's filed for bankruptcy."

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