Remember...

It's hard to believe that six years have passed. I still vividly remember where I was when the first plane hit -- I was in trial in front of Judge Ungaro, along with Rick Bascuas. The courthouse was evacuated and I watched the first tower crumble in a pawn shop on North Miami Avenue. We all stood there in shock and disbelief. It is still really hard to believe...

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

The Demon Forces

That was the name of Chuckie Taylor's "Antiterrorist Unit" in Liberia. According to the AP:

The goal of the Antiterrorist Unit, according to the indictment, was to ''intimidate, neutralize, punish, weaken, and eliminate actual and perceived opponents of and threats to'' the Taylor government.

Taylor's real name is Charles McArthur Emmanuel. He pleaded not guilty to a superceding indictment today in front of Judge Altonaga. Some of the new allegations:

Many of the seven victims described in the indictment were held in below-ground pits covered with iron bars and barbed wire. In fall 1999, one victim was forced naked into a pit while members of Emmanuel's ATU allegedly ''shoveled stinging ants'' on top of him, the indictment said.

Melted plastic, hot irons, scalding water, electric shocks, beatings with weapons and iron bars, lit cigarettes and molten candle wax were all allegedly used to torture the victims described in the eight-count indictment, which covers the span from spring 1999 to late 2002.

Depressing...

The Dolphins lost. Ugly.
The Hurricanes lost. Badly.
How depressing.

Plus, my fantasy team is losing -- I need Chad Johnson, A. Boldin, and Todd Heap to have big games tonight.

If you aren't too depressed on this Monday morning and want to surf a bit before starting your day, here's Julie Kay's Justice Watch column wherein she reports that our new chief of criminal is Bob Senior, which is an excellent choice.

See ya, part deux

According to the AP, Judge Hoeveler has lifted the stay of extradition for Manuel Noriega, so it appears as though he will be headed to France...

I would post an over/under on when he'll be headed out of here, but I don't want to take any more of Rumpole's $... Now, he only wants action on the NFL. I'm happy to oblige, even if he did get lucky on last night's opener. (Note to AUSAs reading blog -- this is all in jest; there is no actual gambling occurring.)

Short stay for Noriega

Looks like Noriega's lawyers will have an all-nighter tonight -- Judge Hoeveler gave them until 9AM tomorrow morning to back up their claim that Noriega wouldn't be treated properly under the Geneva Convention.

From the AP:

A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the extradition of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega, giving his lawyers time to present "credible evidence" that he would not receive Geneva Conventions protections if sent to France.
Noriega's lawyers had asked Senior U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler to stop the extradition to France, where he will face money laundering charges after his scheduled release from U.S. prison this weekend.
Defense attorneys have argued that Noriega should be sent back to Panama because he is a prisoner of war due the protections of the Geneva Conventions. They claim that there is "substantial reason" to believe that France instead intends to treat Noriega as a "common criminal."
Noriega's attorneys have until 9 a.m. Thursday to make their case, Hoeveler said. Federal prosecutors will then have until noon that day to respond, the judge ruled.