Showing posts with label Chief Judge Moreno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chief Judge Moreno. Show all posts

Friday, April 05, 2013

"He's smart, witty, compassionate, good-looking, nice."

That's Chief Judge Federico Moreno about his former law clerk and current Bachelorette contestant Mike Garofola.

 Rafael Olmeda from The Sun-Sentinel has more in this article:

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Fordham Law School, Garofola worked at the firm of Davis Polk and Wardwell for two years before becoming a clerk with U.S. Chief District Court Judge Federico Moreno in Miami.
"He's smart, witty, compassionate, good-looking, nice," Moreno said Friday. "He's a great lawyer. He was a great clerk. And he's a great prosecutor."
Would Moreno let his daughter date Garofola? "I can't answer that!" the judge said. "My daughter knows him. And she's a federal prosecutor."
Moreno declined to say what he thought of Garofola's venture into reality television, reflecting that at age 60, the judge is not part of the show's target audience.

You gotta love Judge Moreno for being a good sport here. 

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Chief Judge starts letter writing campaign for Kathy Williams and Bob Scola

Congrats to Bob Scola, who received a unanimous voice vote today getting out of the judiciary committee.

Now, Chief Judge Moreno has written letters to Senator Mitch McConnell and Senator Harry Reid urging confirmation by the full Senate of Kathy Williams and Bob Scola before the August recess. The intro from the letters:


As Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, I urge you to expedite the Senate's confirmation of Kathleen Williams and Robert Scola to the positions of district judges in our district. I understand that the Judiciary Committee has sent both nominations by unanimous voice vote and is awaiting a vote by the full Senate. Ms. Williams, our district's Federal Public Defender, has been awaiting confirmation for the longest period of any present nominee to the district court in the entire country. State Judge Robert Scola's nomination is of a more recent vintage but the litigants are eagerly awaiting his confirmation.

The judgeship Ms. Williams has been nominated to fill has been vacant for two years! At the present time, our district has three vacancies. Unfilled positions in our Court present an undue hardship on the citizens residing in the Southern District of Florida, particularly those with cases pending in the affected division of the Court. Our district is huge and heavily populated. It includes the most populous counties in Florida, Miami-Dade, Broward (where Fort Lauderdale is located) and Palm Beach Counties. The district also includes Monroe, St. Lucie, Highlands, Okeechobee, Martin, and Indian River Counties.

Now it's our turn. Please follow Judge Moreno's lead and send letters now to get Williams and Scola confirmed.

Monday, January 31, 2011

John Pacenti knocks it out of the park

He's got two interesting stories in the DBR this morning:

1) Lew Freeman's emails from prison and 2) the age of our district's judges.

Here's a part of the Freeman article:

Other reports from Freeman dispel any notion of a "Club Fed" where white collar criminals enjoy the comforts of home.

He spins a story of when 11 "new spa members" showed up late one night and there was a shortage of mattresses. Inmates learned there were 300 new mattresses at the prison storage but couldn't be touched because they were to be used in case of a hurricane.

The temperature in the prison also fluctuates wildly, he relates. A cold snap in the fall was made even more brutal for inmates by an air conditioner still blowing. Freeman said he bought a wool cap for five tunas and another inmate loaned him a long-sleeved shirt.

"I was petrified of waking up one morning and urinating ice cubes from the freezing," he said.

Then when temperatures returned to normal, the air conditioning unit broke, and Freeman said he stripped down to a T-shirt and shorts at night to stay cool.

He also relates a time when three urinals broke and the hot water was turned off forcing inmates to take cold showers.

"If you wanted a warm shower it was up to you to supply it. No I didn't pee in (the) shower," he wrote.

Freeman spins a lot of bathroom humor. Not a big change from his days on the outside. He revels in the fact that there are private shower stalls, but adds he doesn't think he's in too much danger if he drops the soap: "I am too old and undesirable to this population."


And the age issue article has some interesting comments from our judges. Here's Judge King:

King didn't shy away from the issue. In a 45-minute interview, he talked about telling fellow judges and established attorneys in the community — the old lions of the bar, as he calls them — to alert him or Moreno if he starts to slip. King was articulate and entertaining. He said he takes no medication and seemed chagrined that he had to run to the eye doctor to update his eyeglass prescription.

King, who has been on the bench 40 years, still routinely travels to Key West for trials in the southernmost point of the district and is overseeing multidistrict litigation involving debit card fees. He still does some things old school. He will not sign an order electronically and keeps a paper printout docket of all the cases before him on the corner of his desk.

The judge said he also watches how his rulings hold up on appeal. He said if he is only reversed a couple of times a year among the numerous decisions he makes, he believes he still has what it takes to keep on the bench.

King said another reason judges don't readily retire is because they see the position as a calling.

"The philosophy is that this is sort of like becoming a priest or a rabbi or a minister," he said. "It is a life commitment."


Judge Moreno has a good quote: "Getting older, as in many things, is a good thing. Judges are like good wine, the older they get, the better they get."

Monday, April 26, 2010

“These two judges are fed up with the government’s efforts to clean up the Everglades.”

Nothing like a good Guy Lewis quote on Monday Morning. He's talking about Judges Moreno and Gold. He continues: “You’ve got two of the finest judges in the district, and both are as patient as Job, and they have come to the conclusion that enough is enough.”

The DBR article covering the Everglades cleanup is here. Some more:

Lewis said Gold and Moreno have drawn a line in the sand after giving government agencies the benefit of the doubt for years. “They want to believe their orders are going to be complied with and the government in good faith is going to clean up our backyard, and it’s not happening,” Lewis said. “It’s a shame it’s gotten to the point the tribe and others have to go in and say, ‘Please, judge, force government to live up to its lawful obligation.’ It’s extraordinary.” Everglades restoration has been slow going, but a $7.8 billion restoration plan signed by President George W. Bush and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in 2003 shows limited success. “Rule No. 1 in politics is the big dogs eat first,” Guest said. “There is a lot of talk and not much walk. … Everglades restoration entered into a Dark Ages under the Bush administration. The projects didn’t get funded even though they were spending money on all sort of things. They built up this giant budget deficit, and it didn’t go to Everglades restoration, and it could have.”

***

Lehtinen said Everglades water quality has been somewhat improved thanks to a judiciary that wants to see the cleanup project through. “If you beat them about the head and shoulders enough with court orders, you do see some progress,” he said. “These judges are critical.”

Friday, October 30, 2009

"I needed a defibrillator."

That was Chief Judge Federico Moreno on how he reacted when he realized that Roberto Martinez was asking for an $11 million bonus, and not $1.1 million. Vanessa Blum has all the details here.

From the intro:

Then Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno first read the final fee request for the Mutual Benefits fraud receivership, he thought lawyers were seeking $1.1 million, not $11 million. Then he realized there was no decimal point, the judge recounted Thursday at a hearing in Miami. “I needed a defibrillator,” he joked. “We’re talking about a lot of money.” It is up to Moreno to resolve a simmering dispute over how richly to compensate lawyers for five years of work on one of the largest scams in South Florida history. Roberto Martinez, the court-appointed receiver, is seeking the $11 million bonus to split between his law firm, Colson Hicks Eidson, and primary counsel Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. To date, the two Coral Gables firms have jointly collected about $4 million. Moreno did not say when he would rule on the request. Robert Levenson, regional trial counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission, argued against any fee enhancement, saying it would reduce payments to bilked investors and award lawyers a windfall equivalent to more than $800 per hour.
Receivers should be viewed as public servants and be paid moderately in fairness to victims, he said. “The investors are only going to recover a fraction of their losses,” Levenson said. “These aren’t corporate, market-rate clients.”

Apprently the investors weren't happy either:

No investors spoke at the hearing. In an Oct. 15 letter to Moreno, one investor said he was “appalled” by the receiver’s request. “Please, let’s get these funds back where they belong — in the hands of the investors — and away from greedy hands,” wrote Ronald Meyers of Sanibel Island.

But there is a strong counter-argument:

But Michael Hanzman, of counsel with West Palm Beach-based Ackerman Link & Sartory, who represented defrauded investors in class action litigation, told Moreno the receivership lawyers “deserve a significant fee enhancement.” He did not specify an amount. “If you want to attract the best and the brightest people to take these cases, you have to pay a reasonable fee,” Hanzman said. “This is not a pro bono case.”

That might be overstating it a bit -- the lawyers made an average of $265/hour. The question is whether they should be paid about $800 hour (which is higher than their typical hourly rates) for what everyone agrees was excellent work or whether receivers should make less than their hourly rates because the goal is to return money to the victims.

What say you dear readers?

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

1-0

C-A-N-E-S

Okay, now that that's off my chest, back to business.

The Chief has formed a committee to look at building a new Broward courthouse. From the DBR:

With its maze-like corridors, dead ends and multi-level pools, the Fort Lauderdale federal courthouse is outdated in the post 9/11 world. The chief judge says it's high time for a replacement. Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno said the courthouse fails to meet the upcoming — and even the current needs — of the Southern District. There are security issues, the courtrooms are small and undignified, and there is a lot of unused space on the tiered floors. But most importantly, Moreno said there is a need to expand. The district’s caseload is shifting north from Miami, and the next federal judge in South Florida will sit in Fort Lauderdale. Moreno has appointed a 16-member committee including judges, magistrates, mayors and a number of high-profile law firm partners, and they plan to hold their first meeting Sept. 15.

Lots of pithy quotes in the article...

George Platt, a Shutts & Bowen partner in Fort Lauderdale, is the committee chairman. He said the current courthouse was built in the mid-1970s. The front entrance features a sun-worshipping tiered staircase, pools and fountains edged with palm trees. But for security reasons, the public must enter through a narrow, dark rear door walled off by a chain-link fence around a ramp. “I would describe it as sort of going into a gulag. It’s a very unpleasant experience,” Platt said. “I guess it was a wonderful idea in someone’s imagination when it was created originally, but once we got into a situation where a courthouse had to be more secure and more efficient, this building has been a disaster.” In recent years, the most prominent feature at the front of the building, the fountain pools, were drained and left empty.

I agree that the building is a disaster, but the actual courtrooms aren't that bad. I like trying cases there: you are close to the jury and to the judge (unlike the Ferguson building). And the acoustics aren't awful like they are in the Tower building in Miami.

For those that are interested, we had the blog Fantasy Football draft last night. I got saddled with the first pick. Here's my (championship) roster:

Philip Rivers
Anquan Boldin
Brandon Marshall
DeSean Jackson
Adrian Peterson
Steve Slaton
Jeremy Shockey
Willie Parker
Knowshon Moreno
Matt Schaub
Chris Henry
Chris Chambers
James Davis
Justin Gage
Kevin Boss
Patrick Crayton
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Mason Crosby
Tennessee Defense
New York Jets Defense

Monday, July 27, 2009

Great piece on the Chief

John Pacenti covers Judge Moreno here

From the intro:

When socialite Paris Hilton came to town for a civil trial, she was upstaged by none other than Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno.

Pragmatic, smart and funny, the Miami jurist stopped seasoned attorneys who were litigating the question of whether Hilton adequately promoted her film box office bomb "Pledge This!," to ask incisive questions. Since it was a bench trial, Moreno was serving as a jury of one and had no need for rote legal arguments.

Despite his good humor, Moreno is a stickler for proper courtroom decorum. He gently chastised an out-of-town attorney representing Hilton repeatedly for failing to stand up when addressing him. He prompted an out-of-town attorney in another case to borrow a tie before speaking at the courtroom lectern. Given the judge's jocularity and ready smile, the attorney asked if he was kidding.

The judge wasn't.

Moreno said his insistence on decorum is based on respect for the institution.

"I think a federal courthouse, or any courthouse for that matter, is a secular temple," he said. "We dress in robes because it's a secular temple. People dress in suits, and I think people behave better when they are dressed better."

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Update on Judge Moreno's Adminstrative Order

I have confirmed that the Order applies to attorneys as well as reporters (background here). No one is permitted to text, email, twitter, post, etc from inside the courtrooms...

Monday, March 23, 2009

New administrative order on text messaging, emailing, twittering, typing, and cellular phone use

Judge Moreno issued a new administrative order today allowing reporters to bring their cells into the courthouse, but:

prohibit[ing] text messaging, emailing, twittering, typing, and any cellular phone use from inside courtrooms. These actions by persons inside the courtroom violate the sanctity of the courtroom and disrupt ongoing judicial proceedings.

Judge Moreno went on to explain:

The Court, however, must balance the interests of preserving the conduct of judicial proceedings against the public's right to know what happens inside courtrooms. Accordingly, it is

ADJUDGED that emailing, text messaging, twittering, typing, and using cellular phones
shall continue to be prohibited inside the District's courtrooms. It is also

ADJUDGED that to balance the interest in preserving the sanctity and conduct of judicial
proceedings against the public's right to know what occurs inside the District's courtrooms, this Order amends Administrative Orders 2006- 16 and 2008-07 to allow news reporters to bring cellular phones, Blackberries, iPhones, Palm Pilots, and other similar electronic personal digital assistants (PDAs) into the courthouse consistent with what is permitted of attorneys, as long as the news reporters agree in writing not to email, text message, twitter, type, or use their cellular phones or other electronic device inside the District's courtrooms. A violation of the agreement will result in contempt of court. The Clerk of Court shall keep the list of reporters who have signed such agreement and make that list available to Court security personnel assigned to each courthouse. The Clerk of Court shall also make space available in each courthouse for those listed reporters to use their cellular phones and other electronic devices outside of the courtrooms. Of course, District and Magistrate Judges retain the discretion to maintain order in their courtrooms, which includes the right to lock their courtrooms should the entry and exit of news reporters become disruptive in a particular proceeding.


I applauded Judge Moreno for the last administrative orders on cell phones, allowing jurors to bring in their phones and allowing lawyers to have cells with cameras (as long as they weren't used) and his propensity to have an open courthouse with a free flow of information, but this order doesn't get it all right. True, the part of this order allowing reporters to bring in their cells is right on.

But not allowing anyone -- even lawyers in the gallery -- to email or text doesn't fit with all of Judge Moreno's recent efforts to catch the court up with technological advances. Does it disturb the courtroom more to write a note to an associate to go outside to call the secretary to bring over a certain file into the courtroom during trial or to shoot over a quick email (or text) asking for the file to be sent over electronically? Is it better for a reporter to scratch notes on a legal pad, run outside to make a phone call and then run back in to hear more of the witness or to simply send an email without getting up?

Plus, the administrative order says that the use of blackberries by lawyers shall continue to be prohibited inside the courtroom. In every single courtroom I have been in, there are lawyers emailing -- A LOT. (In fact, I spoke to a lawyer yesterday who had a cortisone shot in her thumb for typing so much.) So this sounds like a new prohibition to me.

And let me ask this -- does the email prohibition inside the courtroom apply to judges and staff as well? Sorry, but there is always an awful lot of typing going on from everywhere inside the courtrooms, not just counsel table.

Well, the Chief has made a lot of advances with cell phone usage, so it's hard to criticize this order too harshly. And I do love that Judge Moreno knows what Twitter is...

UPDATE -- did I jump the gun? An emailer points out that the order prohibiting emailing, texting, etc may only apply to reporters, not to lawyers. Hmmmmm... It seems more broad than that, but I'd like to be wrong. Thoughts?

SECOND UPDATE -- I was right.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Busy!


Each one of these items probably deserves its own post, but I've fallen behind on interesting stories and am going to include them all here in one post. Thanks to all the tipsters and commenters who have been sending me juicy items.

1. The jury is still out in the night vision goggle case. The prosecution gave a 90 minute closing today and Sharhazad Gholikhan gave a 90 minute closing in her own defense. The jury went out around lunchtime and were discharged for the day at 5pm. Vanessa Blum has the details here. Some of my favorite lines from her closing: She said her only crime was a "conspiracy of marriage." She explained she came to the U.S. voluntarily because she was innocent: "I came. Why? Because I'm clean."

2. No COLA increase for federal judges. Tony Mauro at BLT writes it up here. (HT: Captain). “Wrong time. Wrong place,” Sen. Claire McCaskill, (D-Mo.) exclaimed on the Senate floor Dec. 11. “We have families all over this nation that are scared today, that aren’t buying Christmas presents. Federal judges get lifetime appointments and they never take a dime’s cut in pay. They die with the same salary they have today.” To counter: Federal judges are the only federal employees who will begin 2009 without a COLA. James Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, acknowledged that these are “challenging times” for the economy, but he added in a statement, “That is no reason for Congress to treat federal judges differently than all other federal employees, including members of Congress.” Our prior coverage on this subject is here.

3. Judge Zloch wrote an 82-page blockbuster order finding the Sex Offender and Registration Act (SORNA), which is part of the Adam Walsh Act, unconstitutional. Here's the Order. It's worth a read. It's hard to summarize such a lengthy opinion here, but it basically says that the Act violates the commerce clause because there is no link with registration and commerce. Here's the conclusion:

While providing Congress with the power to regulate sex
offenders in the manner attempted by SORNA would admittedly aid
Congress in its goal to protect the public, it is not has not among
Congress’s enumerated powers. Congress has never been accorded the
general police power it has sought to exercise in SORNA. See
Lopez, 514 U.S. 596-98 (Thomas, J., concurring); Cohens v.
Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) at 426. Cases are legion that note
that the federal government does not have the residual power held
by the states. E.g., Lopez, 514 U.S. at 584-602 (Thomas, J.,
concurring).
With statutes like those at issue here, Congress’s desire to
aid in the protection of society against sexual predators is
understandable and laudable. However, “the powers of the
legislature are defined, and limited; and that those limits may not
be mistaken, or forgotten, the constitution is written.” Marbury
v. Madison, 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 175 (1803). Specifically, the
grant of power made under the Commerce Clause is limited. Lopez,
514 U.S. at 552-553 (citing Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) at
189-95). Therefore, the statutes challenged herein cannot be
upheld. Section 16913 transgresses entirely the limits set on
Congress by the Commerce Clause. It cannot be defended except by
adulteration of the text of the Constitution and controlling
caselaw. Section 2250 also exceeds that grant of power made to
Congress under the Commerce Clause. It is in no way a regulation
of persons in interstate commerce but an exertion of a general
police power through an illusory and impermissible jurisdictional
nexus. Thus, the Court declares that § 16913 is unconstitutional
in that Congress lacks the power to enact the same under the
Commerce Clause. Because an unconstitutional law is no law at all,
Defendant Edward Myers shall go hence without day.

And for you grammar nerds, check out footnote one of the opinion:

Many courts and commentators, especially in the passages
quoted herein, render the possessive of “Congress” as “Congress’.”
For clarity as to the number of congresses being referred to and
staying faithful to the traditional rules of grammar, the Court
will employ the natural construction “Congress’s” when referring to
the possessive singular of our national legislature. See William
Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style 1 (4th ed. 2000).

4. The Broward chapter of the Federal Bar is big time. Check out its inaugural 16-page newsletter. The most fun part is the interview with Chief Judge Moreno. His first job in college: working as a janitor at Notre Dame during summers. Favorite Movies: Rudy and Remember the Titans. Favorite Songs: Notre Dame Victory March and God Bless America. (I was sort of with you on the movies, Chief, but those are really your favorite songs?) Favorite Hobbies: Golf, Travel, and Food.

Tons of other fun stuff in the interview. Some good quotes: "When you're a judge you rule your own fiefdom, as Chief you are accountable for the whole kingdom." Courthouses should be like "secular temples" to inspire respect in the community just as cathedrals were built on a grand scale to capture the feeling of a divine presence. "I love jurors and lawyers, and the back and forth of trial and legal arguments."

5. Speaking of Judge Moreno, he sentenced Dr. Ana Alvarez-Jacinto to 30 years in prison today, 8 years more than the sentence recommended by federal prosecutors in this medicare fraud case. Jay Weaver's article is here.

Monday, June 16, 2008

For real?

If this GamePolitics post is to be believed, the following occurred:

1. Jack Thompson hand-delivered a letter to Chief Judge Moreno.
2. That letter said in part: "We find yesterday that enemy combatants at Guantanamo are to get more due process from federal judges than what I am to have. I guess my "mistake" was not killing 3000 people to make my point... I demand a hearing."
3. After receiving the letter, Moreno sent U.S. Marshals to Thompson's house.
4. Thompson then wrote this letter to Moreno, which said in part:
I was visited today by two U.S. Marshals who were nice gentlemen, and very professional and courteous in their dealings with me. My complaint is not with them...

I have been asking the Justice Department simply to meet with me about [the video game industry's] criminal targeting of me for harm... Our US Attorney here has obstructed that effort... Instead of being afforded the Justice Department investigation to which I am entitled, I get today harassment from that same Justice Department...

When you and the Justice Department dispatch U.S. Marshals to my home because of a letter I wrote you last week complaining about misconduct by District Court Judges here in the Southern District, the purpose of that visit was to intimidate and harass me...

The notion that I pose some sort of physical threat to you or to the judiciary or to anyone else down here is a cruel joke. The two Marshals said, “If you had actually hand-delivered the letter to Judge Moreno, we would be concerned.” To that I said, “But I did. I did that last week because the gentlemen at the metal detectors would not deliver it, and THEY TOLD ME TO DELIVER IT TO YOU. I buzzed into your inner offices on the thirteenth floor, and I politely handed the letter to your clerk, who politely took it.

If I were a danger to anyone, that would have been the time for me to have proven it, right? In fact, I have never threatened anyone in my entire life, and you know that, and the Marshals said they knew that. They were apologetic about being dispatched to my home. This is outrageous, Judge. Simply outrageous.

5. Thompson then sent this letter to the House Judiciary Committee.

Is all this for real?

Thompson always manages to weave in to his letters and motions the current event of the day and then somehow make those events about him. He has material from the Supreme Court Guantanamo case, the Kozinski stuff, and other current events. Sorry for ruining the next half hour of your day as you go read this stuff. You won't be able to turn away....

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Chief Judge Moreno allows cell phones for jurors

Big kudos to the Chief!

From Julie Kay's National Law Journal article:

Jurors and witnesses in South Florida federal trials will no longer have to bury their cellphones in the ground before entering the courthouse. U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno, chief judge for the Southern District of Florida, issued an order last week expanding the use of cellphones in the courthouse to prospective jurors, seated jurors and witnesses. The cellphones may have integrated cameras, he stated.

The issue of cellphones in federal court has been somewhat controversial in South Florida. Previous chief judges refused to even allow lawyers to carry cellphones into the courtroom, both for security concerns and to prevent photographs from being taken. Cameras are not allowed in federal courts nationwide, however a movement is now afoot to change that rule.

Since 2006, lawyers, judges, courthouse employees and federal agents have been allowed to bring cellphones into federal courthouses throughout South Florida, including in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. But jurors, reporters and others have complained about the rule. Sometimes unaware of it, visitors to the courthouses have been forced to bury their cellphones in the ground outside the courthouses and retrieve them when leaving.

In his order, Moreno noted that judges may need to contact jurors during recesses and attorneys may need to contact witnesses on short notice.

Because U.S. marshals will inspect all cellphones, security is not a concern, he stated.

"In today's modern world, security concerns are paramount," stated the order. "Yet these security concerns are satisfied by airlines, the White House, and the majority of courthouses in the United States where cellular telephones are permitted. Expanding the list to include these individuals will not diminish the security provided to the occupants of the courthouse, while at the same time enhance the availability of jurors and witnesses to participate in our court proceedings." Moreno did not extend the privilege to the use of laptops.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Joking at the Supreme Court

The WSJ Blog points out funny exchanges at the Supreme Court. I reprint their fun post here (by the way, our funniest judge -- according to the poll at the right -- is Chief Judge Moreno, by a wide margin...):

The Law Blog’s Laugh-In At the Supreme Court: Wow

Posted by Peter Lattman

The big news out of the Supreme Court yesterday concerned what they didn’t do. The justices declined to hear an appeal of a D.C. Circuit ruling that terminally ill patients who have run out of medical options have a constitutional right to try experimental drugs that have not yet received FDA approval. Here’s the NYT story and prior Law Blog coverage.

On the lighter side, let’s bring back a Law Blog feature in very low demand — The Law Blog’s Laugh-In At the Supreme Court! The decidedly unfunny issue on the docket yesterday: federalism. The question, as stated by the Times: What happens when a state chooses to give criminal suspects more protection than the federal Constitution requires?

Leave it to Justice Scalia to make federalism funny. Yesterday, he asked Stephen McCullough, a lawyer for the state Virginia, about the line between valid and invalid state searches. With that, an avalanche of laughter ensued. Get ready to giggle, Law Blog readers!

Justice Scalia: Mr. McCullough, the proposition that you’re arguing, does it apply at the Federal level as well? Suppose — suppose I think that my neighbor next door is growing marijuana and I have probable cause to believe that, all right? So I go in and search his house; and sure enough, there is marijuana. And I bring it to the police’s attention, and they eventually arrest him. Is that lawful search?

McCullough: If there is State action –

Justice Scalia: I’m a State actor, I guess. You know –
(Laughter.)

McCullough: If you have State actors –

Justice Scalia: You know, a Supreme Court Justice should not be –
(Laughter.)

Justice Scalia: — should not be living next door to somebody growing marijuana. It doesn’t seem right.

McCullough: That’s not a smart neighbor.
(Laughter.)

McCullough: If you have State action and you enter into someone’s home, then the Constitution affords a heightened level of protection. But –

Justice Scalia: Don’t dance around. Is it — is it rendered an unreasonable search by the fact that I’m not a law enforcement officer at all?

McCullough: I don’t think the fact of — no. The fact that –

Justice Scalia: So any Federal employee can go crashing around conducting searches and seizures?

McCullough: So long –

Justice Scalia: So long as he has probable cause?

McCullough: That’s correct.

Justice Scalia: That’s fantastic.
(Laughter.)

Justice Scalia: Do you really think that?

McCullough: I think if there is State action, it doesn’t matter that you’re wearing a badge or that you’ve gone through the police academy.

Justice Scalia: Or that you are an administrative law judge at the, you know, Bureau of Customs? It doesn’t matter?

McCullough: I think that’s right. That if you have — if the State -

Justice Scalia: What about a janitor? You’re a janitor, a federally employed janitor.

McCullough: Your Honor –

Justice Scalia: His neighbor is growing marijuana, and he’s just as offended as a Supreme Court Justice would be. Can he conduct a search?

McCullough: I think if he’s doing it on behalf of the State, the answer is yes.

Justice Scalia: Wow.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Mold and explosions

I feel bad for Chief Judge Moreno...

He has inherited two big problems -- he has to deal with mold in the old Dyer Building and a recent explosion in the new Ferguson Building. The over on the January 1, 2008 opening is looking pretty good right now.

Julie Kay details in the DBR today (yes, I thought she had left too) that Ervin Gonzalez is investigating the mold issue in the Dyer Building that we covered previously here. And she goes through some of the issues with the new building, including a recent explosion that has disabled the electrical system. (It was supposed to open in July 2005 and is $78 million over budget!) The good news is that a certificate of occupancy has been issued for the building.

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Sick (court)house



Julie Kay reports today on the serious mold problem at the David Dyer Building. The whole article is worth reading.

The intro:

Two studies performed at the historic David W. Dyer federal courthouse in downtown Miami show there are significant mold and air safety issues at one of Miami-Dade County’s oldest courthouses and suggest parts of the building are beyond repair.

The studies, which were obtained by the Daily Business Review, were commissioned by the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida after U.S. Magistrate Judge Ted Klein became ill and died last year of a mysterious respiratory illness, and his fellow magistrate judges raised concerns about the building’s environment.

Employees believe that Judge Klein became sick and died because of the problem:

A healthy man who skied and jogged, Klein contracted a respiratory infection and died in September 2006. At the time, his family worried that something in the courthouse caused his illness. Shortly after Klein became ill, the court commissioned the first fungal contamination assessment, which was never made public. According to the report dated July 2006, “Magistrate Judge Theodore Klein has recently developed adverse health effects that could be attributed to exposure to molds. The assessment was performed to determine if fungal contamination was present in areas that he frequently occupies including his courtroom and his office areas.” The study showed fungal spores were present “in significant numbers” in samples. However, the study concluded these spores were not likely to cause health problems unless someone was in an immuno-compromised state. Still, the study recommended fungus on the plaster walls and courtroom wallpaper be removed. After Klein’s death, his courtroom was closed off and remains unused. His chambers are occupied by Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres, who recently transferred from Fort Lauderdale. “Why would they close off his courtroom if it’s not dangerous?” asked one employee who did not want to be identified. It is still not known what caused Klein’s illness because, in keeping with Jewish law, his body was not autopsied.

Chief Judge Moreno has taken steps to make sure employees are safe:

In an Aug. 27 memo, Chief Judge Federico A. Moreno said a new study is being commissioned by a company that performed mold remediation at the West Palm Beach federal courthouse. That courthouse, damaged by Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances, was closed for a year and a half while mold was removed.

“Our intention is to have the consultant review prior testing results, conduct additional on-site testing and then render conclusions about whether occupancy in limited areas of the building is likely to cause adverse health effects in occupants to a more serious degree than exposure to fungal levels,” Moreno said. “Please understand that I, who began his federal judicial service in the East Courtroom of the Old Courthouse, share your concern about your work environment in the Dyer Building.” Through a clerk, Moreno declined comment and said he preferred to let his memo speak for itself. In the memo, he encouraged any employees who have been in the “sealed document vault” — a basement area heavy with mold — to consult their doctors. Additionally, he mandated that no new sealed documents be taken to the basement, which is being “air-scrubbed,” and that anyone handling records coated with what appears to be mold use masks and gloves.

Read the whole memo from the Chief here.

The employees are understandably scared:

Klein is not the only federal employee in the building to fall sick. According to several courthouse sources, the law clerk for Magistrate Judge Barry L. Garber is very ill and has received permission to work at home. Garber declined to discuss the issue until the new study is completed. Another courtroom deputy who recently retired said she is very ill and recently had double pneumonia. “I’m scared to even go to my doctor to see what the heck is wrong,” she said. “They are keeping everything hush-hush,” said a judicial assistant who did not want to be identified. ”Everyone is scared. You don’t know how much your immune system can handle.” Another judicial assistant said she had no idea her chair was mold-infested until she saw a photo of it in the report, which labeled it “mold-infested.” She quickly found another chair in the office to use. Magistrate Judge Peter R. Palermo, who has worked in the Dyer Building for 37 years, is not sick but is concerned about his employees. “Who knows if there are health problems because of the mold,” he said. “We just want to know if it’s safe.” Palermo attended the Aug. 9 meeting held by representatives from Clerk of the Courts Clarence Maddox’s office to discuss the report. Neither Maddox nor Moreno or any other federal judge was present. However, Moreno has met with every employee to discuss the situation and is getting high marks for his concern. “He’s here in Miami and seems to care about us, whereas the previous chief judge was in Fort Lauderdale,” said one clerk.

Yikes.

Chief Judge Moreno is a people person and is a very practical judge -- he will do everything he can to fix this problem and make sure no one is subject to unhealthy conditions. I'm sure of that.

But I'm also sure that courthouse staff is wondering what the deal is with the brand new courthouse just sitting there. Why do they have to work in what they believe is an unsafe courthouse when a sparkling new one is built across the street. We need to sue those jokers who can't get the building ready to open. It's a bad joke already. The over/under is still January 1, 2008, but the smart money is on the over.