You may remember the case of Irfan Khan. He was indicted back in 2011 to a lot of publicity about terrorism charges (mostly as a result of numerous press conferences that the U.S. Attorney's office held). His lawyers, the great Michael Caruso and wonderful Sowmya Bharathi, repeatedly said he was innocent. And yet he was detained because the prosecutors beat the terrorism drum.
Turns out, his lawyers were right -- Khan was innocent. Before trial, the government dropped all charges.
Khan sued, saying there was no probable cause and that the prosecution was malicious. He's been fighting for many many years, and the case was recently tried to the bench before Chief Judge Altonaga. She ruled for Khan, that it was malicious prosecution.
Good for him. And good for our Chief Judge, who isn't afraid to do the right thing.
Here's the press release about the victory:
Today, MLFA received an historic court ruling in the case of Khan v. United States as to government liability for malicious prosecution of an American Muslim. Irfan Khan was arrested and indicted for Material Support of Terrorism in May of 2011. He spent more than 317 days in solitary confinement while his wife and children were sleeping on floors as they were forced out of their apartment due to the false allegations of terrorism against Mr. Khan. After almost 11 months in custody, the government released Mr. Khan and dropped the charges – with no explanation or apology.
In
2015, MLFA partnered with Morgan & Morgan, the largest plaintiff’s
law firm in the country, which had brought a civil action against the
United States on Mr. Khan’s behalf to hold the government accountable
for their actions against Mr. Khan. After a twelve-year fight over
classified discovery and continuous obstruction by the government, in
February of 2024, this case finally went to trial before Chief Judge
Altonaga in Miami, Florida (1:13-cv-24366-CMA, FLSD). Over a four-week
trial, MLFA supported and participated with Morgan & Morgan’s trial
lawyers to demonstrate the government’s liability. Today, in an
historic court ruling, Chief Judge Altonaga found that the government
lacked probable cause in all stages of the prosecution of Mr. Khan, and
that the actions of the F.B.I. agents constituted legal malice. This is
the first time in more than 20 years since 9/11 that the government has
been held civilly liable for their actions in prosecuting American
Muslims. A hearing to determine the amount of financial damages awarded
to Mr. Khan will be set for late summer, 2024.
And this wouldn't be a Khan post, if I couldn't post this all-time great clip:
2 comments:
Kudos Judge Altonaga,
It's crucial for the judicial system to have judges who are fair, impartial, and understand the real-world implications of their decisions.
Unfortunately, some judges fail to demonstrate fairness and understanding of their ethical standards, this goes against the very principle they stand for.
Detra Shaw-Wilder nominated to be on SDFL
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