SDFLA USAO: Please Snitch

 The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida has a new "Whistleblower Non-Prosecution Pilot Program":

The Whistleblower Program is designed to encourage voluntary self-disclosure by individual participants in certain types of non-violent criminal conduct involving corporations, to include financial crimes, corporate crimes, health care fraud, and public corruption. 

In exchange for self-disclosing, fully cooperating with authorities, and paying any applicable victim compensation, restitution, or forfeiture, including returning any ill-gotten gains, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida (USAO-SDFL) will enter into a non-prosecution agreement (NPA) where certain specified conditions are met. One of those conditions is that the government was not previously aware of the criminal conduct that is the subject of the disclosure. The Whistleblower Program provides transparency regarding the circumstances in which the USAO-SDFL prosecutors will offer NPAs to incentivize individuals (and their counsel) to provide original and actionable information. Incentivizing the disclosure of information will: (i) help law enforcement investigate and prosecute criminal conduct that might otherwise go undetected or be difficult to prove; and (ii) encourage companies to create compliance programs that help prevent, detect, and remediate misconduct.

Congrats to Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein on her investiture

 Here are some pictures (courtesy of Judge Stuzin, pictured below with our newest magistrate judge). 

Meet the Newest District Judges

By John R. Byrne

Yesterday our three newest district court judges were interviewed by Judge Ruiz at the Four Seasons. The event was very well received. As you can see from the picture, the Four Seasons opted for a new presentation format, dumping the typical panel table setup for something more casual. The three judges each commented on the challenges of their first six months as a “DJ” (as Judge Ruiz short-cited it) and provided insight into the inner workings of their chambers and pet-peeves. The people who attended said Judge Ruiz led a fun and lively discussion about judging. To quote one prominent lawyer in attendance, “We are clearly in great hands with these three ‘new’ judges.” 

 Photo credit to Judge Robert Watson!

For the Defense: Former A.G. Alberto Gonzales

 

FOR THE DEFENSE, SEASON 6, EPISODE 8:
Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

We haven't had a prosecutor on the podcast before.  But there's been a lot in the news about prosecutorial independence.  Should a governor, for example, have the power to remove an elected state attorney?  What if the state attorney says he or she is not going to enforce a particular law?  Alberto Gonzales, the former United States Attorney General, joins the podcast to discuss these interesting issues and others. Gonzales is the current dean of Belmont Law School and is also a former judge, so he has an interesting perspective.  Gonzales is friendly, engaging, and pretty transparent about his time as AG.  I think you'll enjoy the episode.

As always, you can catch this and other episodes on the web or on every podcast platform, including Apple and Spotify. 

And in light of the presidential debate tonight, check out this clip of the former Attorney General discussing the rhetoric in politics and whether he is ready to make an endorsement in the election.  Here's one more of him discussing the role of White House counsel, using the Aschroft/Comey incident as an example.
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Thank you! --David

 

Hosted by David Oscar Markus and produced by rakontur

Welcome back to the 3-0-5, KBJ!

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is on her book tour ("Lovely One"), and this weekend brought her back to her hometown Miami.  On Saturday morning, she spoke at the University of Miami and was interviewed by Stephen Rosenthal.  

And for the evening event, she packed the Arsht Center with about 2,400 people.  Judge Gayles interviewed her, and it was a really lovely event.  

She spoke about her childhood in Miami, how her parents raised her to believe in herself but also to be humble.  She spoke about her time at Palmetto Senior High and her debate coach Fran Berger.  And so much more.  She showed how dynamic and engaging she is... and why she is so likeable.  

Speaking of dynamic and engaging -- did you see Judge Roy Altman made Professor Ilya Shapiro's short list of Supreme Court nominees if Trump is elected?  I'd be all for another Miamian headed to SCOTUS.

The Meaning of Restrained

By John R. Byrne 

It happens enough in real life that we've all seen it playacted on T.V. or in the movies. Man (or woman) walks into a convenience store, pulls a gun on the cashier, demands money, gets money, and walks out. Question: in such a situation, has the cashier been "physically restrained"? Because if the answer is "yes," under the federal guidelines the man (or woman) in this hypothetical should receive a two-level enhancement under USSG § 2B3.1(b)(4)(B). 

Under current Eleventh Circuit precedent, the answer is "yes,” the idea being that the threat with a weapon is sufficient to freeze the person in place. That’s something that Judges Rosenbaum, Newsome, and Abudu think should be revisited by the Eleventh Circuit as a whole. That's what they discussed yesterday in US v. Delon, which we excerpt below. Judge Newsome even turned again to ChatGPT and other AI-powered language models for their thoughts on the phrase "physically restrained." Interesting take. 

Opening weekend for the Dolphins. Let’s go Fins!

Deleon by John Byrne on Scribd

Fort Lauderdale Policing on Trial

By John R. Byrne

The City of Fort Lauderdale is going to stand trial in a high-profile police brutality case. The blog covered this case, which has generated nationwide media coverage, back at the motion to dismiss stage. Now, after Judge Ruiz denied motions for summary judgment filed by Fort Lauderdale, the City will be defending its policies, procedures, and officer conduct in front of a jury. It wasn't a total victory for the Plaintiff, LaToya Ratlieff, as the individual officers were able to prevail on qualified immunity grounds. The Sun Sentinel covers the order, which is excerpted below, here. Wonder if the City will try to settle before trial.

22-61029 - Ratlieff v. FTL Et Al. - Order on Cross Motions for Summary Judgment by John Byrne on Scribd

KBJ has a new book out

It's called "Lovely One" and Justice Jackson is releasing it today.

The Miami native is making the rounds, including this interview on CBS.

She will be speaking at a sold out event at the Arsht this weekend.

From the CBS interview:

The justice who was nominated by President Biden has said she cannot "label" her judicial approach as liberal or conservative. Since being named to the court in 2022 as the 116th associate justice in U.S. history, she has joined the majority in 78% of cases. She told O'Donnell she's working to become a better consensus builder — a skill for which her mentor, retired Justice Stephen Breyer, was known.

"No one can match Justice Breyer in that skill…" Jackson said. "But I think that's aspirational. I would like to be better at forging consensus."

Jackson quickly found her voice on the Bench, issuing several solo dissents in her first term. The court's newest member doesn't shy away from sparring with some of the more senior justices.

She notably tangled with Justice Clarence Thomas over affirmative action last year, when the court struck down race-conscious admissions policies at U.S. colleges in a pair of cases involving the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard College. (Jackson recused herself from the case involving Harvard, her alma mater.)

In a concurring opinion, Thomas wrote that Jackson believes "we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of Black Americans still determining our lives today."

Jackson told O'Donnell she does not agree with Thomas' characterization of her views. Jackson said her dissent pointed "out that we still exist in a society in which the gaps that were initially created as a result of slavery, as a result of Jim Crow, exist and that affirmative action, for example, was really a response. It was remedial to try to do something about the gaps that exist in wealth, in education, in health."

Rest in Peace, Bob Rust

By John R. Byrne

Robert “Bob” Rust passed away over the weekend. He served as US Attorney in our district from 1969 to the mid 1970s (he and Willy Ferrer our are longest serving US Attorneys). Rust had a significant impact on the office, hiring lawyers like Pat Sullivan, who went on to prosecute Noriega in the early '90s.

 

Before becoming US Attorney, Bob was an AUSA. In that role he helped foil the assassination of then President-elect John F. Kennedy on December 15, 1960 in Palm Beach. The story is wild and worth a read. For his efforts, he received the Award of Merit from the Chief of the U.S. Secret Service. 

 

Rest in peace, Bob. You will be missed.