Addict in possession of a firearm?

 While everyone debates whether the charges against Hunter Biden are too aggressive or too lenient, I was wondering if anyone had ever seen a similar charge -- addict in possession of a firearm -- in our district before.  I have not.

Meantime, Justice Alito took to the WSJ opinion pages in an attempt to preempt this ProPublica story:

In early July 2008, Samuel Alito stood on a riverbank in a remote corner of Alaska. The Supreme Court justice was on vacation at a luxury fishing lodge that charged more than $1,000 a day, and after catching a king salmon nearly the size of his leg, Alito posed for a picture. To his left, a man stood beaming: Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire who has repeatedly asked the Supreme Court to rule in his favor in high-stakes business disputes.

Singer was more than a fellow angler. He flew Alito to Alaska on a private jet. If the justice chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 one way.

In the years that followed, Singer’s hedge fund came before the court at least 10 times in cases where his role was often covered by the legal press and mainstream media. In 2014, the court agreed to resolve a key issue in a decade-long battle between Singer’s hedge fund and the nation of Argentina. Alito did not recuse himself from the case and voted with the 7-1 majority in Singer’s favor. The hedge fund was ultimately paid $2.4 billion.

Alito did not report the 2008 fishing trip on his annual financial disclosures. By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts.

Experts said they could not identify an instance of a justice ruling on a case after receiving an expensive gift paid for by one of the parties.

“If you were good friends, what were you doing ruling on his case?” said Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law professor and leading expert on recusals. “And if you weren’t good friends, what were you doing accepting this?” referring to the flight on the private jet.

FOR THE DEFENSE, SEASON 5 PREMIERE: MILTON HIRSCH FOR PEDRO GUERRERO

We're back!  Season 5 of For the Defense launches today and I'm very excited. For those of you who are new followers, For the Defense is a podcast that I started with Rakontur about three years ago with the idea of conducting in depth interviews with the best criminal defense lawyers about their most fascinating trials.

This season starts with Milton Hirsch for World Series MVP Pedro Guerrero. When he was trying cases, there was no better trial lawyer than Milt Hirsch (that's him with the books below).  Now, he's a sitting trial judge in Miami.  You're going to love the stories Judge Hirsch tells about his defense, which included arguing that Guerrero was too dumb to have entered into the drug conspiracy. 

  Season 5 will continue with new episodes every other Tuesday, and there are some wonderful guests coming up, including Jerry Lefcourt, Lisa Wayne, Barry Scheck, Matt Menchel, Craig Albee, and others.  

 As always, you can catch these episodes on all podcast platforms including Apple, Spotify and Google,  All other platforms can be accessed on this website. 

 

Please send me your feedback -- and of course, subscribe, like and comment!  If you have a friend that would like to receive these updates, please have them sign up here. 

 Thank you! --David

 

Hosted by David Oscar Markus and produced by rakontur
 

CONTACT: info@rakontur.com, dmarkus@markuslaw.com 

Transcript from Trump's initial appearance

 Here.

There's also been some reporting on the number of trials Judge Cannon has had: 4 out of a little more than 200 cases (or about 2%).  Folks are criticizing the low number of trials.  That's fine, but it shouldn't be a criticism of Judge Cannon.  That's the percentage of cases that go to trial nationwide.  Judge Cannon is no different.  So feel free to criticize our system (which is fair!), but the low number of cases that have proceeded to trial before Judge Cannon is not a fault of hers.  

Trump's bond paperwork

 Here's the ROR bond paperwork.

 And the signature page:

Two orders issued in Trump's case

1. The first is by Magistrate Judge Goodman, who will be handling the initial appearance.  He denied a motion by a bunch of press organizations who wanted to take pictures insider or outside the courtroom.  Here's the order, written in Judge Goodman's style -- including this line: "I follow the 'stay in your lane' philosophy."  I understand why Judge Goodman denied the motion, but I wish the public had greater access to the courtroom.  In fact, I wrote this piece today saying we should have cameras in the courtroom.

2. The second is by Chief Judge Altonaga, who issued an order saying that journalists cannot bring their cell phones into the courthouse.  Wow, it's going to be a very long day for them inside waiting for the 3pm hearing.  I love the Chief, but I don't think this is right.  We rely on our cell phones. We need to be in touch with our families, our offices, and so on.  Journalists are people too!

All things Trump

 From the SDFLA clerk's office:

First Appearance in this case will be held at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Courtroom 13-3 of the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse, 400 North Miami Avenue Miami FL 33128. Entry into the courtroom will be permitted on a first come, first served basis. Overflow viewing will be provided.

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Southern District of Florida Local Rule 77.1 and Administrative Orders 2018-79 and 2019-87A limit the use of electronic devices in buildings housing federal courthouses. If authorized, news reporters are limited to use their electronic device inside the District’s courtrooms only in text function mode consistent with these Administrative Orders. News reporters are not authorized to record or transmit in any way audio, still photography, or video from anywhere inside courthouses nor from inside courtrooms, including any lobby areas, of any building housing a federal court, and agree to not transmit a live feed of any of the aforementioned at any time. Nor may reporters create a verbatim record of any proceeding. This applies to hearings held telephonically or using any video platform such as a live feed, Zoom or WebEx. A knowing or willful violation of the agreement will result in contempt of court.

District and Magistrate Judges retain the discretion to maintain order in their courtrooms should the entry and exit of news reporters become disruptive in a particular proceeding.

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Court security will begin allowing members of the press and the public into the Wilkie D. Ferguson Courthouse at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. All individuals planning to attend the initial appearance scheduled to take place in courtroom 13-3 at 3:00 p.m. will be directed to the central jury room on the 5th floor. Rows will be reserved for the public. There will be open seating for all media. The central jury room will serve as overflow space where the proceedings will be available for viewing.

The 13th floor will be sealed until the U.S. Marshals Service opens courtroom 13-3. Anyone attempting to access the 13th floor will be turned away. Seating for approximately 20 people will be reserved in the courtroom for media and members of the public. Once the U.S. Marshal advises that courtroom seating is available, press outlets will be selected to occupy those seats. Please be mindful that other Court proceedings may be taking place in the Ferguson Courthouse.

"We Need Cameras in Trump’s Courtroom"

This is the title of my latest piece.  Here's the intro:

Donald Trump is about to make his first appearance in federal court in Miami. It’s an historic case, and there is wall-to-wall coverage of it. And yet, the public will not see any of the proceedings from inside the courtroom; instead, we will have to rely on the few reporters who are able to get seats inside and a sketch artist, who may have all the talent in the world, but will not be able to do it the justice that a cellphone camera would.

We will not be able to see the former president’s expression when the charges are read. We won’t be able to hear him if he speaks. We won’t be able to view the judge when she releases Mr. Trump on bail. And that’s too bad. We have a right to see it all.

Forget about cameras, reporters won’t even be permitted in the courtroom with their phones, tablets or computers. That means no live reporting on Twitter and no emails to the newsrooms with updates. In a world focused on information and news as it happens, this is unacceptable.

Trump isn't the only one making news in South Florida

 Soon-to-be presidential hopeful and current Mayor Francis Suarez is under investigation.  From Jay Weaver:

The FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission have opened parallel investigations into developer Rishi Kapoor’s business dealings in South Florida, focusing separately on his hiring of Miami’s mayor as a consultant on local projects and his raising of funds from investors, the Miami Herald has learned. Sources familiar with both probes say the FBI’s criminal investigation centers on $10,000 monthly payments made to Mayor Francis Suarez from a subsidiary of Kapoor’s company, Location Ventures. Special agents with the FBI’s public corruption squad began questioning witnesses this week, according to sources, zeroing in on whether the payments constitute bribes in exchange for securing permits or other favors from the mayor for Location Ventures’ mixed-use project in Coconut Grove. Meanwhile, the SEC confirmed that it is also looking into Location Ventures in a response denying the Herald access to public records related to the agency’s inquiry. Sources say its investigators are digging deeper into whether Kapoor and his company were selling investment contracts without registering them as securities, misrepresenting potential profits to investors or misappropriating funds for personal expenses. The regulatory agency’s probe has been under way since early this year. The heightened federal interest in Kapoor’s business and his relationship with the mayor comes after the Miami Herald exposed Location Ventures’ consulting payments to Suarez and detailed internal corporate records that indicated the mayor and his office helped Kapoor overcome a significant permitting hurdle threatening his $70 million Coconut Grove development. The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and the State Attorney’s Office have also opened inquiries.