Cuban Spy case reversed!

Huge news today from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The Court, in a 93 page opinion, reverses the convictions for the "Cuban Five" based on venue grounds. This case received quite a bit of press in Miami and was tried in front of Judge Lenard. The appeal has been pending for some time and many were starting to wonder what was going on. The defense lawyers were: Richard Klugh, Kathy Williams, Joaquin Mendez, Orlando do Campo, Phil Horowitz, Paul McKenna, William Norris, Leonard Weinglass, and Jack Blumenfeld. Richard Klugh argued the case to the 11th Circuit. Some have said this this is the first federal case to be reversed on venue grounds. I don't know if that is that case... Anyone? I haven't digested the entire opinion yet, but the last paragraph was interesting:

The court is aware that, for many of the same reasons discussed above, the reversal of these convictions will be unpopular and even offensive to many citizens. However, the court is equally mindful that those same citizens cherish and support the freedoms they enjoy in this country that are unavailable to residents of Cuba. One of our most sacred freedoms is the right to be tried fairly in a noncoercive atmosphere. The court is cognizant that its judgment today will be received by those citizens with grave disappointment, but is equally confident of our shared commitment to scrupulously protect our freedoms. The Cuban-American community is a bastion of the traditional values that make America great. Included in those values are the rights of the accused criminal that insure fair trial. Thus, in the final analysis, we trust that any disappointment with our judgment in this case will be tempered and balanced by the recognition that we are a nation of laws in which every defendant, no matter how unpopular, must be
treated fairly. Our Constitution requires no less.

Please use the comments to express your thoughts on the case. Read coverage here, here and here.

ABA awards Albert Krieger

On August 5, 2005, at the 85th annual meeting of the ABA Criminal Justice Section, Albert Krieger received the Charles R. English Award. The citation read: "Miami defense attorney Albert Krieger isrecognized for providing exceptional service to the Criminal Justice Section while exercising exemplary ethical and professional conduct. In his practice and in his bar-related activities, he has increased the stature and professionalism of lawyers practicing in the criminal justice system, and has enhanced the relationship between prosecutors and the defense bar by promoting fairness and justice over parochial defense and prosecution views." The award was presented by Neal Sonnett, a previous recipient of the award.

Metrorail riders face searches

Larry Lebowitz has this article in the Miami Herald telling us that Metrorail riders will now be subject to searches. Put aside the constitutional issues for a sec -- what a waste of resources! If a terrorist chooses Miami as a target, it seems that the rail would be low on the list of possible strikes... In any event, Milton Hirsch and I debated the profiling issue in the Champion a couple years ago. Milt takes the position that profiling is constitutional while I say that it isn't.

Judge Moreno moving on up?

Chief Justice Rehnquist spent some time in the hospital this week and the rumors are starting to fly once more about his replacement. Judge Moreno is mentioned in this USA Today article.

Miami-Dade school employees arrested for oxycontin

For those wondering who Alex Acosta is, he's our new U.S. Attorney, and he's started with a bang: 29 people -- mostly Miami-Dade school employees -- were arrested today in an oxycontin ring: "Of those charged in an 84-count federal grand jury indictment unsealed Thursday, five are Miami-Dade school bus drivers, 13 are school bus attendants and one is a former school bus driver now driving a city bus. Two school custodians, a cook and a cashier were also charged, along with a Miami doctor and five other people." Read more in this Sun-Sentinel article. The article says more arrests are coming and Acosta stated, "We felt it prudent and necessary to take action with the information we already had.'' Although no teachers have been arrested, this will be an interesting story to follow and I'm sure the teacher blogs (like South Florida Educators) will be discussing it...

No more Steel Hector?

Steel Hector & Davis has always been known as a huge Southern District powerhouse. But it looks like it won't be around for long. According to today's Business Review, Steel "is close to finalizing a deal to merge with Cleveland-based Squire Sanders & Dempsey." According to the article, Steel is going to be "gobbled up" because it has "suffered financial setbacks recently and has been plagued by partner defections amid much speculation about its ability to stay afloat."

Crystalizing the DeFede debate and a SDFLA mention

Jessica M. Walker of the Miami Daily Business Review wrote a nice piece (you need a password to access) this morning exploring the legality of the DeFede/Teele tapes. And I'm not just saying that because she mentioned this blog and my debate with Prof. Froomkin:

The 1981 act has now become scrutinized in the media, on the Internet and among attorneys in the wake of Teele’s suicide and DeFede’s almost instantaneous firing. Froomkin and Miami criminal defense attorney David Oscar Markus have been debating the legal points of the issue on their Web logs, with Markus arguing that the taping was legal. Froomkin insists that it wasn’t. . . .

Markus ag[ued] that DeFede lacked any criminal intent. “There is a well carved out exception in the law that if you do something out of necessity, you are not criminally liable for doing so,” Markus said. He cited the example of a driver exceeding the speed limit so he could quickly deliver a heart attack victim to the hospital. “If DeFede was taping for some better good, then I think he was doing the right thing and there was no criminal intent,” Markus said.

Very cool that the blog was cited! The rest of the article is excellent, citing Dan Gelber (DeFede's lawyer), Bruce Rogow, Michael Froomkin, and Thomas Julin.

Who is Alex Acosta?

So wonders the Daily Business Review this morning in a piece (you need a password to access) about the new acting U.S. Attorney in the Southern District, R. Alexander Acosta:

"Who is Alex Acosta? That’s the question South Florida attorneys are asking about the new acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

“No one knows anything about him,” said Brian Tannebaum, president of the Miami chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys.

“I haven’t met him yet.” Kathleen Williams, the top federal public defender in South Florida, said, “I have never met the U.S. attorney. He has not practiced in the area, so none of us knows him.” . . .

But what South Florida attorneys do know is causing them some concern — namely that Acosta has never tried a case and has little experience in criminal law. “The word on the street is that he has no criminal law experience,” Tannebaum said. “I would like a U.S. attorney who has experience in criminal justice … who has some working knowledge of criminal justice."

If you know anything about him, please use the notes to fill us in (you can even be anonymous if you'd like).