Big congrats to Ariana Fajardo Orshan on her confirmation as U.S. Attorney for the best District in the country—the Southern District of Florida.
She takes over one of the busiest and certainly most exciting districts. Good luck to her!
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
13 comments:
Let's hope she starts by draining the swamp.
The misconduct cases are nonstop.
914
Why don't you and all the anonymous complainers name the ausas you want fired and then we can have a real discussion about actual facts, rather than bs generalized whining.
@702, I don't think the problem is bad apples that should be called out by name (although there may be some of those). The problem is cultural and bleeds in to the practice of all of the office's lawyers. In fact, its not really a problem with the SDFla USDA as much as its a cultural problem that persists throughout law enforcement and can be characterized by "team" mentality where "team government" plays to win rather than serving the interests of justice. Its human nature to play to win, and it takes generational leadership with real strength of character and consistency to push back.
And I can imagine that its especially frustrating for prosecutors to see that the "other team" gets to engage in one-sided "team play," but the government is told that they can't do the same. But it doesn't change the fact that prosecutors must first serve the interest of justice before "representing their client" in the adversarial proceeding.
Has the new US Attorney ever tried a criminal or civil case to a jury?
518 she was an ASA for 5 years
5 years long enough to claim being a prosecutor....what a joke... probably did misdemeanors and juvenile cases....
No, after 6-12 months she would have been handling murder and armed rape cases. She will have been far more seasoned as a trial lawyer than most 10-year fed lawyers in the office by her 3rd year. Look at the best trial lawyers in the us attorneys office. They all have state backgrounds.
Does it matter how many cases Fajardo Olshan has tried to a jury? The U.S. Attorney is a de facto CEO, not a government trial lawyer. The most important qualification for the job is common sense and good judgment, neither of which come from trial experience. In fact, I'd argue the less time spent as a government lawyer the better.
Only a lawyer who has never tried a case would write that gaining common sense and good judgment in criminal cases doesn't come from trying a case.
I agree rumpole but 924´s last sentence is spot on
Rumpole, you're wrong. The three most important things a U.S. Attorney does is (i) set enforcement priorities; (ii) oversee sensitive and complex investigations (from a very high level); and (iii) ensure that prosecutors are exercising their discretion appropriately on a case-by-case basis. U.S. Attorneys do not shepherd line prosecutors through a trial. And U.S. Attorneys do not nitpick trial strategy. Trial experience is almost completely unnecessary. The only caveat to that is a U.S. Attorney with little trial experience may garner less respect than he/she otherwise would. Would love to hear your thoughts on why you would disagree with any of the above. As I said, common sense, good management skills and sound judgment are the three most important characteristics of a U.S. Attorney candidate. Give me that person over a superstar trial lawyer any day.
@315: The word Rumpole is looking for is "context." Without trial experience, the USDA lacks the context to understand the implications of his/her decisions. No one is saying that the USDA must be a super star trial attorney. But practical experience is definitely needed before he/she has any chance of understanding the nuances of the office being managed.
Said another way, a USDA that doesn't have solid trial experience lacks the wisdom required to exercise sound judgment.
Can I just point out, again, that this conversation is interesting, but entirely academic...fajardo has tried many cases to a jury. This conversation started with 518's idiotic and likely misogynistic comment.
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