The Herald reports that Judge Gold dismissed David Ranck's case yesterday. I will post the opinion when I get to the office. (UPDATE -- Here it is) I'm sure Rumpole will have more. In the meantime, here's the Herald's summary:
A veteran prosecutor Tuesday lost his free-speech lawsuit against State Attorney Katherine Fernández Rundle, who had suspended him last year for posting on a blog his own internal memo criticizing her handling of a controversial fatal police shooting.
U.S. District Judge Alan Gold found that Miami-Dade prosecutor David Ranck had a constitutional right to post the memo on the Internet, but he couldn't pursue the First Amendment case against his boss.
The reason: His 30-day suspension without pay was also based on other employment violations -- including unprofessional conduct during a murder case in which he called a defense attorney an ''a--hole,'' leading to a mistrial. ''[Ranck] has not established he was deprived of his constitutional rights when he was suspended by his employer,'' Gold wrote in a 28-page ruling.
In a statement, Fernández Rundle said she was ``gratified by the court's comprehensive decision dismissing this case.''
But Ranck's attorney, Allan Kaiser, said the judge's decision was ''almost a vindication'' for his client.
''The crux of the case was that he had a constitutional right to alert the public through his memo on a blog, and the judge agreed with him,'' Kaiser said.
Whether you get a favorable ruling or not from Judge Gold, you gotta love him -- he treats you fairly and he rules quickly. A 28-page order within a week of the hearing...
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
Showing posts with label ranck lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ranck lawsuit. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
“They were high-fiving each other at the office.”
That's Allan Kaiser talking about the State Attorney's Office after David Ranck's recent arrest for battery on the pizza girl. Long before his arrest (and subsequent firing), Ranck brought a whistle-blower lawsuit in federal court before Judge Gold. The State, represented by Oscar Marrero, has moved to dismiss, and Judge Gold heard argument last Friday. This case is all drama, drama, drama, no?
From the DBR:
Lawyers representing Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle urged U.S. District Judge Alan Gold today to discard a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by suspended prosecutor David Ranck.
Ranck, who questioned the actions of a Miami-Dade police officer who fatally shot a teen-age burglary suspect in 2004, claims his office retaliated against him.
His lawsuit claims Rundle’s office violated his free-speech rights after taking him off investigations involving police shooting after the shooting, and improperly reprimanded him last year for posting internal memos and e-mail related to the justifiable-force investigation.
Coral Gables lawyer Oscar E. Marrero, who is representing Rundle, countered the office was within its rights to discipline Ranck for his comments to the police.
“There is no First Amendment protection if speech owes its existence to your professional responsibilities,” Marrero told Gold.
Ranck’s Miami lawyer, Allan Kaiser, argued by Marrero’s logic, no whistle-blower claims could ever succeed.
“The chilling effect would be obvious,” he said.
Kaiser argued the state attorney’s office didn’t act against Ranck for weeks after he posted his comments and documents related to the shooting on a blog that has since been shut down. Ranck wrote some of the documents and obtained them from the state attorney’s office through a public records request.
Gold appeared inclined to deny Marrero’s motion for summary judgment. “It’s not an everyday occurrence where an assistant state attorney makes a public records request to an office for a memo he wrote, is it?” Gold asked rhetorically. He said Ranck’s supervisors probably should have realized his intentions when he made the request.
Ranck was suspended last month after he was arrested by Miami Beach police on a misdemeanor battery charge after a confrontation at his condo with a pizza- delivery woman. Kaiser represents Ranck in the battery case as well.
“For all intents and purposes, he’s been fired,” Kaiser said. “What they wanted to do is suspend him in never-never land until they decide they want to fire him.”
After Ranck’s arrest, Kaiser said, “They were high-fiving each other at the office.”
When asked if the alleged assault affected his client’s credibility, Kaiser said, “It has absolutely no relation whatsoever.”
From the DBR:
Lawyers representing Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle urged U.S. District Judge Alan Gold today to discard a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by suspended prosecutor David Ranck.
Ranck, who questioned the actions of a Miami-Dade police officer who fatally shot a teen-age burglary suspect in 2004, claims his office retaliated against him.
His lawsuit claims Rundle’s office violated his free-speech rights after taking him off investigations involving police shooting after the shooting, and improperly reprimanded him last year for posting internal memos and e-mail related to the justifiable-force investigation.
Coral Gables lawyer Oscar E. Marrero, who is representing Rundle, countered the office was within its rights to discipline Ranck for his comments to the police.
“There is no First Amendment protection if speech owes its existence to your professional responsibilities,” Marrero told Gold.
Ranck’s Miami lawyer, Allan Kaiser, argued by Marrero’s logic, no whistle-blower claims could ever succeed.
“The chilling effect would be obvious,” he said.
Kaiser argued the state attorney’s office didn’t act against Ranck for weeks after he posted his comments and documents related to the shooting on a blog that has since been shut down. Ranck wrote some of the documents and obtained them from the state attorney’s office through a public records request.
Gold appeared inclined to deny Marrero’s motion for summary judgment. “It’s not an everyday occurrence where an assistant state attorney makes a public records request to an office for a memo he wrote, is it?” Gold asked rhetorically. He said Ranck’s supervisors probably should have realized his intentions when he made the request.
Ranck was suspended last month after he was arrested by Miami Beach police on a misdemeanor battery charge after a confrontation at his condo with a pizza- delivery woman. Kaiser represents Ranck in the battery case as well.
“For all intents and purposes, he’s been fired,” Kaiser said. “What they wanted to do is suspend him in never-never land until they decide they want to fire him.”
After Ranck’s arrest, Kaiser said, “They were high-fiving each other at the office.”
When asked if the alleged assault affected his client’s credibility, Kaiser said, “It has absolutely no relation whatsoever.”
Sunday, April 05, 2009
"He left behind a watch collection that Prince Charles would be envious of."
Mike Tein has gotta be the most quotable lawyer in the District. The watch collection belongs to Won Sok Lee. The Palm Beach Post has the story:
After four years as a fugitive, alleged hedge fund swindler Won Sok Lee was in U.S. District Court on Friday morning; having been arrested in his native Korea in February as he tried to board a plane to Argentina.
Lee faces more than 30 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with KL Financial Group, which swindled wealthy Palm Beach residents out of almost $200 million.
Tein was the receiver in the KL case.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple of you have emailed me the story about the federal lawsuit by ASA David Ranck against State Attorney Kathy Rundle. The Herald had an editorial about the case here. And Jay Weaver has been covering the case -- here's a snippet from the latest article:
The original prosecutor on the case, David Ranck, had similar misgivings about Espinosa's shooting of the teen. Ranck was taken off the case by Fernández Rundle after he told the Miami-Dade lead detective it was "not a good shoot" early in the investigation."The deceased was found unarmed, and no firearm was found around where he fell nor on the codefendant when he was captured, " Ranck wrote in an office memo a month after the January 2004 shooting, noting that homicide detective Charles "Buck" McCully told him that no gun was ever found.Also in the memo, Ranck alleged an "appearance of impropriety" because a Miami-Dade police major, Angus Butler, had called the state attorney's office to have him removed from the case. Ranck, who said he was taken off the case for "diplomatic reasons, " raised doubts about the "independence" of Fernández Rundle's office.Last August, Ranck sued Fernández Rundle and her top two assistants after she suspended him without pay for 30 days because he posted his memo on the Justice Building Blog, a Miami-Dade legal community website. Ranck said he posted it in May 2008 only after he had been assured by prosecutor Richard Scruggs that the case would be closed. A key hearing in Ranck's federal lawsuit is set for June. For his part, Llanes pleaded guilty in 2005 to burglary and second-degree felony murder charges, being held responsible for the officer's fatal shooting of Barquin. Llanes received a six-year probationary sentence as a youth offender.
There's Rumpole making news again. The case raises some interesting questions -- can a prosecutor be suspended for speaking out about the handling of a case?
After four years as a fugitive, alleged hedge fund swindler Won Sok Lee was in U.S. District Court on Friday morning; having been arrested in his native Korea in February as he tried to board a plane to Argentina.
Lee faces more than 30 counts of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering in connection with KL Financial Group, which swindled wealthy Palm Beach residents out of almost $200 million.
Tein was the receiver in the KL case.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A couple of you have emailed me the story about the federal lawsuit by ASA David Ranck against State Attorney Kathy Rundle. The Herald had an editorial about the case here. And Jay Weaver has been covering the case -- here's a snippet from the latest article:
The original prosecutor on the case, David Ranck, had similar misgivings about Espinosa's shooting of the teen. Ranck was taken off the case by Fernández Rundle after he told the Miami-Dade lead detective it was "not a good shoot" early in the investigation."The deceased was found unarmed, and no firearm was found around where he fell nor on the codefendant when he was captured, " Ranck wrote in an office memo a month after the January 2004 shooting, noting that homicide detective Charles "Buck" McCully told him that no gun was ever found.Also in the memo, Ranck alleged an "appearance of impropriety" because a Miami-Dade police major, Angus Butler, had called the state attorney's office to have him removed from the case. Ranck, who said he was taken off the case for "diplomatic reasons, " raised doubts about the "independence" of Fernández Rundle's office.Last August, Ranck sued Fernández Rundle and her top two assistants after she suspended him without pay for 30 days because he posted his memo on the Justice Building Blog, a Miami-Dade legal community website. Ranck said he posted it in May 2008 only after he had been assured by prosecutor Richard Scruggs that the case would be closed. A key hearing in Ranck's federal lawsuit is set for June. For his part, Llanes pleaded guilty in 2005 to burglary and second-degree felony murder charges, being held responsible for the officer's fatal shooting of Barquin. Llanes received a six-year probationary sentence as a youth offender.
There's Rumpole making news again. The case raises some interesting questions -- can a prosecutor be suspended for speaking out about the handling of a case?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)