JUSTICE BUILDING SECURITY CLIFF

Good Thursday morning. It's the third day of 2013. 362 days to go. Today is the 1,444th day of the presidency of the 44th President of the United States.  No idea what Reggie Jackson (# 44) is up to today. 

While the 113th Congress is convening today at the constitutionally mandated time of 12 noon, we here in Miami have our own version of the fiscal cliff  in our own REGJB! An email from Eduardo Pereira (an FACDL big-wig) explains how we're dangling on the edge:

 I spoke with representatives from the the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) today and they are aware of the desire for attorneys to renew their IDs and the need of new applicants to begin the process. AOC is experiencing delays but would like everyone to remember that the current IDs have been extended until 1/31/2013 and that if delays persist, that they will be extended again.

There you have it: A deadline approaching; an agency in deadlock; last minute frantic negotiations to extend the deadline. Looming ahead for those affected: long lines; interminable delays; forced fraternization with the unwashed masses. Angry constituents. Stay tuned. 

Rothstein Redux: Kimberly Rothstein, the sultry wife of disgraced/convicted  Ft. Lauderdale attorney/ponzi scheme specialist Scott Rothstein, is set to plead guilty before new federal Judge Robin Rosenbaum. K-Roth was not indicted in the ponzi scheme. However, she plotted with her attorney to hide assets (diamond rings, etc) from the feds after her husband pled guilty. Her former attorney- Scott Saidel- is also set to plead guilty after K-Roth flipped against him and wore a wire for the feds. What a nice client to have. David Tucker represents K-Roth, while former REGJB regular Alvin Entin represents Stacie Weisman, a friend of Rothstein's who is also set to plead guilty.  The Sun Sentinel has the post-ponzi scheme fallout story  here. 

See You In Court next week, or so. 

IN DEFENSE OF RUMPOLE

RUMPOLE DEFENDS HIMSELF: I am surprised that based on the level of experience and intelligence of our dear readers that no one gets my point: I AM NOT DEFENDING SCOTT ROTHSTEIN. His crimes are indefensible. I am criticizing the specific sentence in this case and our overall sentencing philosophy. What better vehicle than using a despised criminal to illustrate my argument?

There are multiple problems with this sentence, and the first problem is an issue I contend has not been refuted: where is the acknowledgement by Judge Cohn of Rothstein's cooperation? You talk about sending a message for his crime? First- I don't know that there are many lawyers in Miami have a chance to steal a billion and are considering it. The crime is an aberration. But I do know lots of clients (and one billionaire that I am representing in a federal investigation in another state who currently has fled the country) who have fled or are considering fleeing. What message does this sentence send to people who want to return and "do the right thing?"

Second: What most people are saying is that Judge Cohn gave Rothstein 50 with the foresight he is going to reduce it to 30 after the cooperation hearing because what Rothstein really deserves is 30 . That is not how the system is supposed to work. There is supposed to be truth in sentencing. If Rothstein deserved 30, give him 30. If his cooperation merits a reduction BELOW what he deserves, that is the way it is supposed to work. What is our famed Federal Blogger supposed to say to the next client of his who is offered cooperation and responds that he knows the judge will just give him a higher sentence on the front end so that his cooperation will end up being meaningless? That is what happened here.

Third: The real problem is that our judicial system sentences people on average to more prison time per crime than any other industrialized nation that has a fair judicial system. Look what we do to drug users with the minimum mandatory sentences. Lately there are articles of judges refusing to impose the min man sentences for drug trafficking - the problem is that their enlightened protests are twenty years too late. In one celebrated case Judge Jack Weinstein- a legendary US District Court Judge in the Eastern District of NY refused to impose a min man for a possession of child pornography case. Click here. And that case illustrates what I am trying to do here: It is downright impossible to defend Scott Rothstein or find anything good to say about someone who gets sexual gratification from pictures of children.

It his however possible to treat the criminal with fairness. Otherwise we lower ourselves to their level- exploiting the weak for personal gratification. It made a lot of people feel good to see Rothstein get 50. That doesn't make it right.

I agree Bernie Madoff needs to be in prison for the rest of his life. His crimes truly destroyed families who placed their trust and life savings in his care. Not so with Rothstein. Rothstein's money mostly came from Hedge Funds- although I agree he did screw up one lawsuit for which he used forged judicial orders to cover his tracks. But does that merit 50 years? A famous football player killed someone in Miami Beach recently with his car and received 30 days. Rothstein did not physically kill or injure anyone. Most of the loss was from professional investors who were either greedy, didn't do their due diligence or were part of the scam. There were others who were personally hurt. A 25 year sentence would have been sufficient punishment in those cases.

We sentence people to terms of years as if they don't really mean anything. Life in prison is hard, difficult, cruel, and in many places in the US, inhumane. Female prisoners who had open cases were being raped and sexually abused at the federal holding facility in Miami. Those responsible for those crimes deserve 50 years. And we all know that type of abuse is the tip of the iceberg for what occurs in our prisons. And for that we all bear the responsibility of turning a blind eye to the outrageous abuses in our penal system. You spend one day in prison and then let me know how easy it is.

All my critics can say in response (mostly) is that Rothstein is a jerk or a pig and got what was coming to him. No- he got more than what was coming to him. If he received 25 years in 1985 and got out today would that really and truly be an injustice? Do you think he would just saunter out of prison having lost a quarter of a century of his life with a smile on his face thinking it was all worth it?

Miami Judge Harvey Shenberg sold for $50,000 cash what he thought was the name of an informant who was going to be killed, and he got less than 20 years. Which crime more tarnished our profession?

Miami Judge Roy Gelber was selling appointments as fast as he could. He cooperated and got less than ten. It was an odious sentence and Gelber deserved much more. But he was rewarded for his cooperation. The system worked.

Other countries recognize the terrible impact a prison sentence has on someone. Their sentences are rational and reasonable. Ours are neither.

It's easy to trash Scott Rothstein and throw away the key. It's harder to look in the mirror and ask what are we doing to people in our justice system. It's the cases like the one Judge Weinstein had or the Rothstein case that helps us examine our morals and calibrate what justice really is.

Rothstein got slammed. It makes us feel good for the moment.

Justice was not done in that Ft. Lauderdale courtroom the other day, and there is a price to pay for that.

50 IS WAY TOO MUCH

UPDATE= Check out the mob mentality in the comments section as the vox populi screams for more blood, more flesh, and more time for Rothstein. It's just this type of mob mentality that an independent judiciary is supposed to protect us from.

As we all know by now, Federal Judge James Cohn sentenced former attorney-ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein to 50 years in prison. Rothstein turns 48 on June 10, 2010.

This sentence is way too severe. It was ten years more than the government asked for, and twenty years more than the defense asked for, and 30 years more than former attorney-ponzi schemer Marc Dreier received for his crimes in NYC. For more on what Dreier did- which in many ways exceeded Rothstein's crimes, click here.

Cohn seemed to justify the 50 year sentence by telling Rothstein's attorney that unlike the Dreier case, Rothstein forged and fabricated judicial orders. While it is true that Rothstein did that and much more, the forged orders do not justify an additional 30 years. Rothstein forged the orders way into the end of his Ponzi scheme, and the orders, which were extremely poorly written, did little to help Rothstein in the main part of his Ponzi scheme.

We don't diminish Rothstein's crimes. Rothstein was brought down by his hubris pure and simple. And along the way he stole, and delighted in flaunting his apparent financial success in the face of the legal community when all along it wasn't success but simple fraud that allowed Rothstein to live his extravagant lifestyle.

The best way to look at a sentence is to work backwards. Starting today, what would have been an appropriate amount of punishment for these crimes in the past? If Rothstein was convicted in 1990 and was released from prison today, would that have been sufficient? Or how about if he was sentenced in 1980, when Ronald Reagan was president and when personal computers and cell phones were gleams in engineers eyes- would that have been sufficient punishment? That would have been 30 years.

Or how about if he was sentenced in 1970 when Nixon was president and color TVs were an extravagance that not many could afford. Would 40 years in a federal penitentiary have been sufficient? Not to Judge Cohn. No, Judge Cohn felt that incarcerating Rothstein from 1960 until today would be appropriate punishment. That is just ridiculous.

Prison wrecks most people. Mr. Rothstein will lose his wife. His parents will die while he is in prison and he will not be able to attend their funerals. His daughter will grow up and have a life and family of her own and he will not be a part of it. And all that punishment could have been accomplished by sentencing Rothstein to 25 years. Where will you be in 2035? Mr. Rothstein will be in a federal penitentiary, half way through his sentence.

Rothstein had over 15 million dollars in cash and assets with him when he fled to Morocco, which doesn't have an extradition treaty. And yet Rothstein chose to return. What message does this sentence send? It sends a message that our justice system imposes vengeance, not justice. Rothstein cooperated with the government to the extent that the prosecutor called his cooperation extraordinary. And Judge Cohn sentenced Rothstein to a sentence guaranteeing that Rothstein will die in prison. What would Cohn have given Rothstein without cooperation? 70 years? 80 years? Like that makes a big difference.

Judge Cohn's sentence was excessive by almost any yardstick that free and enlightened societies use to measure justice and punishment. The sentence bespoke of pandering to the mob, which enraged by Rothstein's extravagant lifestyle, has been demanding "the max." Cohn sentenced Rothstein as if he felt personally offended by Rothstein forging the signature of his colleagues. This 50 year sentence has all the earmarks of vengeance, and little semblance to justice.

A sentence should be a just imposition of punishment. A sentence should not be a sham to be adjusted downward at a later time. It is improper for Judge Cohn to sentence Rothstein to 50 years with an eye towards adjusting it downward to 30 years at a later time. If Rothstein deserves 30 years, he should have received 30 years, and then later received the benefit of his cooperation. That is how the system is designed to work.

It takes a lot to make us or anyone sympathetic to a criminal scam artist's plight.

50 years is a lot of time.

See You In Court.

WICKED WEDNESDAY

Trial woes continue for the battered and beleaguered State Attorneys Office as the first Not Guilty of the week comes in from a PRO SE Defendant in a DUI trial before Judge Luise Krieger Martin.

More later.

You know it, you love it, you wait all week for it: The 3rd DCA Roundup:

A very light week at the 3rd DCA criminal cases wise. In fact all we have is an entry on the wall of shame:

Judge Soto joins the wall of shame here in Montgomery v. State.

Scott Rothstein pled guilty today. The Daily Pulp has it, and the bizarre interviews his wife Kim Rothstein has been giving here.

The juiciest piece of information that came out of the hearing came from Attorney Bill Scherer. Scherer is representing numerous victims of the Ponzi scheme. Scherer confidently told Bob Norman that in the coming weeks there will be "20 Rothstein related arrests."

Wow. That cannot bode well for the former RRA partners.

Given the events of the last two years, isn't it time we change the name of these schemes to "Madoff/Rothsteins" ?

See You in Court.

Coming soon: Rumpole gets under the skin of Justice Scalia. Exclusively here, on your favourite South Florida Legal Blog.

IS TODAY THE DAY?

UPDATE: here is the complaint in Scotty boy's case courtesy of the Miami Herald. Judge Cohn gets the case. He could have done a whoooooollllle lot worse in Ft. Lauderdale Federal Court which is a veritable mine field. I was somehow expecting that Judge D would have pulled the case. Just a guess.

UPDATE: YES IT IS. CBS 4 and reporter Jim Defede have reported that Scott Rothstein surrendered to the FBI and was in custody at 7:45 am today.

Various local news outlets including the Miami Herald (motto: "If it's news, we'll get around to it at some point") , The Daily Pulp, and most importantly, the Justice Building's "Captain" are reporting that disgraced Fort Lauderdale Attorney Scott Rothstein will be taken into custody sometime Tuesday afternoon to faces RICO charges (but not driving without shoes).

The Sun Sentinel via Mike Mayo is reporting that Rothstein has said he will NOT turn himself in. Mayo's article is a good read on just how obnoxious Rothstein can be.

Good move there Scotty boy. You stole about a billion bucks, impersonated a

Federal Judge, flew off to Morocco (but did come back which also wasn't the brightest thing to do) and now you're shooting your mouth off and refusing to surrender.

Who is giving you advice, Tiger Woods? (Tiger will be charged with driving without shoes).

The Captain asked people to speculate about bond. Here's Rumpole's predication: NO BOND. Risk of flight (check); Danger to the Community (check); Dumb beyond all measure(double check).

Updates all day as we watch Scotty boy run. And a quick memo to the FBI- check those "orders" Scotty boy may have, supposedly signed by a local Magistrate, a partial copy of which we obtained at considerable expense and reprint for your enjoyment:

"That this court is shocked by the government's contumacious behavior.

That because of the government's misconduct, all police agencies are ordered not to arrest one Scott Rothstein, and if he is arrested, he is to be released forwith.

That due to the government's malfeasance, the US Treasury is directed to released one hundred million dollars forth with to one Scott Rothstein.

That the government, through their misconduct has waived their right to appeal- those who seek equity must have clean socks.

Done and other stuff this day in Ft. Laudedale, Florida....."

(yes, we know Scotty boy misspelled Fort Lauderdale and forthwith)

DOLPHINS PLAY TONIGHT

In a rare Thursday night game, the Dolphins play the Carolina Panthers. Go Fins.

Bob Norman's Daily Pulp here seems to allude to the fact that Scott Rothstein is being sequestered by the Feds as he cooperates with agents and prosecutors over the others who assisted him in stealing what some have speculated could be upwards of a billion dollars. But even at at level, I guess he gets three points off for super acceptance, right?

Rothstein surrendered his Bar license yesterday. If he had ever bothered to look on the back of his Bar card he would NOT have seen anything indicating that it was a license to steal.

Not all lawyers are crooks, and David Markus's blog here has a link to a story where an attorney in Georgia was acquitted on all 36 counts. It's not often the Feds go down in flames like that.

Contrary to the story we ran yesterday, the Broward Blog has a piece here on how Miami County Courts treat DWLS and NVDL cases much better than North of the Border. Miami Judges are more reasonable than Broward Judges. When you get a "man bites dog" story lets us know. For now there's nothing unusual about that headline.

The newest "hottie" to emerge from the Scott Rothstein scandal is the woman who sold him suits. Romina Sifuentes is rumoured to have sold Rothstein upwards of $500,000.00

worth of Tom James suits a year. We had a run in once with those Tom James salespeople.

And once they get their foot in the door they never leave.

But they never looked like Romina Sifuentes.

Lets see..... Its still snowing here in Truckee. Thanksgiving is next week. Anybody trying cases?

MORE ON YOU KNOW WHO

FRIDAY THIRTEENTH EDITION.

Do you suffer from Triskaidekaphobia?

Before we begin, this guy is our kind of client. Click here. If he doesn't have any money, then he REALLY is our kind of client, unfortunately.

And this REALLY is our kind of lawyer. We'd co-counsel with her anytime. This is her honest to goodness picture up on the Texas Bar website.

Speaking of unlucky lawyers....

The media is chasing reports that Scott Rothstein falsified the election results in Florida and as a result John McCain is actually president. Al Gore called McCain to commiserate.

Speaking of Rothstein, lawyers with Bar Complaints are lining up to get them in front of his committee. Yup, Rothstein was the chair of a Bar Grievance committee. Really. Sort of like Dick Cheney being appointed to the Board of Amnesty International.

Rothstein was also applying to be on the Judicial Nominating Commission (you just can't make this stuff up. Like the emails of the Miami Judges, it's gold.) .

This way Rothstein could have ample opportunity to examine the signatures of potential judges. Never know when you're going to have to forge a signature. The mark of a successful lawyer has always included forgery. We got a 96 in forgery in law school. How did you do?

Speaking of the Miami Judges, just how happy are Judges Diaz and Faber that Rothstein has knocked them from the front pages?

The answer is Famous Miami Chef Michelle Bernstein, Ed Morse, and Scott Rothstein.

......

Name a Cook,. a Schnook, and a Crook.

Have a great weekend!

Suicide pool goes into week ten, plus football picks on Sunday.

We're getting swamped with spam comments so for a few days we're going to use the word verification to see if that stops it.