Over at the MJB blog, there's a lot of talk about the state judicial elections and which judges are drawing opposition. The whole election of judges thing* is amazing to me. Judges aren't really permitted to campaign, except to post lots of signs around town. There is no debating the issues. There is no platform. There is just who has the better and more electable name. Seems silly...
We have it much better over here, don't we?
*Even more amazing to me is that our state PD has to run for election. How do you campaign -- "I lost more cases than anyone else?"
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
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Unruly defendants...
Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person to be put on trial in the United States for involvement in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was ejected from a federal courtroom on Monday at the start of the jury selection process because of an outburst in which he shouted "I am Al Qaeda." He was thrown out of court a total of 4 times for his continued outbursts.
So what should the judge do? This guy shouldn't be permitted to make a mockery of the system. But there is no easy solution... Someone mentioned to me that they should muzzle him, but imagine that spectacle in Court.
Interesting contrast with Moussaoui and the Padilla defendants here in the Southern District of Florida, who have been described as courteous, respectful, and polite during court appearances. The judge in the Padilla case ordered that the defendants' shackles be removed during court.
So what should the judge do? This guy shouldn't be permitted to make a mockery of the system. But there is no easy solution... Someone mentioned to me that they should muzzle him, but imagine that spectacle in Court.
Interesting contrast with Moussaoui and the Padilla defendants here in the Southern District of Florida, who have been described as courteous, respectful, and polite during court appearances. The judge in the Padilla case ordered that the defendants' shackles be removed during court.
Friday, February 03, 2006
News and notes
Some quick Friday afternoon news:
1. Judge Marcia Cooke ordered that Jose Padilla not be shackled in Court.
2. Judge William Zloch sentenced attorney Sam Burstyn to 42 months (18 months less than the 60 month statutory cap the government was asking for and 35 months more than the credit time served sentence the defense was asking for). Burstyn scored out much higher than the 60 month cap (for a 371 conspiracy) under the guidelines.
1. Judge Marcia Cooke ordered that Jose Padilla not be shackled in Court.
2. Judge William Zloch sentenced attorney Sam Burstyn to 42 months (18 months less than the 60 month statutory cap the government was asking for and 35 months more than the credit time served sentence the defense was asking for). Burstyn scored out much higher than the 60 month cap (for a 371 conspiracy) under the guidelines.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
New FBI Chief in Miami
The FBI has announced that Jonathan I. Solomon is the new special agent in charge of the FBI's Miami division. Mr. Solomon has been with the FBI for more than twenty years and had a brief stint here in South Florida in 2004. It will interesting to see how this will affect the number and types of cases prosecuted in the Southern District of Florida.
Score!
Judge Alan Gold preliminarily approved a $1.075 billion settlement between Exxon Mobil Corp. and thousands of service station dealers who were found by a jury to have been overcharged by the company, settling a 14-year fight that went to the Supreme Court. The dealers are represented by Eugene Stearns, Mark Dikeman, and Mona Markus at Stearns Weaver. Exxon has been represented by lots of lawyers. At trial it was Larry Stewart. At the 11th Circuit, it was Howrey & Simon. At the Supremes it was Carter Phillips. And during the claims administration process it was Hunton & Williams and Burlington Weil. Fourteen years after the case was filed and after losing at every level of federal court, Exxon finally relented.
Disclosure -- Mona is my lovely wife.
Disclosure -- Mona is my lovely wife.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Our new Circuit Justice is...
... Clarence Thomas. The 11th Circuit Justice was, for a long time, Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy has been reassigned to the 9th Circuit (O'Connor's old assignment), and Thomas -- who is from Georgia -- is now assigned to us. Thomas will now be responsible for emergency motions (including death penalty emergencies) and filing date extensions.
Still no comment
Some of you have been emailing me and posting comments asking me to blog on the hearing yesterday in front of Judge Moreno regarding the Rodriguez-Orejuela brothers. I don't really feel comfortable commenting about pending cases that I'm involved with. Julie Kay did a nice job covering the hearing and so instead of commenting, I'll simply reproduce some snippets from that article:
Judge Federico A. Moreno lashed out at a federal prosecutor and deputy prison warden Tuesday, calling rules at the Federal Detention Center in Miami barring inmates from being able to meet with their lawyers in conference rooms “asinine” and “stupid.” After threatening to bring accused Cali cartel drug lords Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela to his courtroom to meet with their lawyers, prosecutors agreed to alter restrictive regulations at the Special Housing Unit of the Federal Detention Center in Miami so that lawyers can meet with their clients under better conditions. “I think this is absolutely stupid, it is asinine,” Moreno yelled. “To not use a conference room when it’s empty anyway — that makes no sense. If I have to run the SHU myself, it will take the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop me.” The outburst came during a hearing on whether the Rodriguez-Orejuelas should be released from the SHU unit and whether the government has knowledge about whether the brothers’ legal fees to their new attorney, David Markus of Miami, are clean. The judge exploded in anger after Markus and his co-counsel Roy Kahn of Miami argued that they are not permitted to use a conference room in the unit to meet with their clients — even though the room is usually empty — due to a prison rule that the room can only be used if four attorneys are present. Instead, they told Moreno, they have to meet them in a tiny room with no bathroom, air conditioning or water and share documents through a tiny slot in the glass.
***
Finally, Moreno threatened to make his courtroom available for meetings between the Rodriguez-Orejuelas and their lawyers if the prison did not accommodate them. “I don’t want to do that,” he said. “But we have bathrooms here. I can be very innovative at resolving conflicts. I have to give people access to their lawyers.”
***
Under assault, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Axelrod, after a quick private consultation with Wombacher, agreed to change the regulations and allow the conference room to be used by any attorneys. “The policy will change,” he said. Axelrod had argued that the prison has reasons for its rules regulating the use of the conference room. He said contraband had been found in the bathroom when lawyers were allowed to use it. He also said that the policy of only allowing groups of four lawyers to use the conference room was instituted because other inmates complained that the Rodriguez-Orejuelas were meeting with their lawyers daily and monopolizing the room.
***
Moreno also sought to resolve the issue of whether legal fees Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela paid Markus are clean. Markus has asked the government to review his files and inform him if they have knowledge that the fees are derived from illegal gains, but prosecutors have refused. Rodriguez-Orejuela’s previous attorney, Jose Quiñon of Miami, said he could not satisfy himself that the fees were untainted and withdrew from the case. The issue is being closely watched by other local defense attorneys.
***
Moreno pressured the government to state whether it had knowledge whether the fees Markus accepted were dirty and if he could be charged with money laundering. After much questioning, Axelrod said he had no such knowledge. Moreno said neither the government nor he want to get involved in the issue because it would set policy and a precedent for future cases. “If they did it for you they’d have to do it for everyone,” he said. “You go to Washington or the appellate court to set policy. I don’t think I should meddle in the attorney-client relationship.” But he gave the government a subtle message when he told Markus, “If you were ever charged with anything, you’d have a perfect defense. You should feel good about this, confident and relaxed. You think the government would want to be the recipient of the government’s wrath? This is not a blessing, but almost.” He also said he did not think taxpayers should be footing the bill for the Rodriguez-Orejuelas’ defense. After the hearing, Markus said that he is more comfortable with his fee and will continue representing Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela. “I’m pleased that Judge Moreno required the government to say that no crime has been committed and that no conflict exists,” he said. “It’s now on the record.”
Judge Federico A. Moreno lashed out at a federal prosecutor and deputy prison warden Tuesday, calling rules at the Federal Detention Center in Miami barring inmates from being able to meet with their lawyers in conference rooms “asinine” and “stupid.” After threatening to bring accused Cali cartel drug lords Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela to his courtroom to meet with their lawyers, prosecutors agreed to alter restrictive regulations at the Special Housing Unit of the Federal Detention Center in Miami so that lawyers can meet with their clients under better conditions. “I think this is absolutely stupid, it is asinine,” Moreno yelled. “To not use a conference room when it’s empty anyway — that makes no sense. If I have to run the SHU myself, it will take the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to stop me.” The outburst came during a hearing on whether the Rodriguez-Orejuelas should be released from the SHU unit and whether the government has knowledge about whether the brothers’ legal fees to their new attorney, David Markus of Miami, are clean. The judge exploded in anger after Markus and his co-counsel Roy Kahn of Miami argued that they are not permitted to use a conference room in the unit to meet with their clients — even though the room is usually empty — due to a prison rule that the room can only be used if four attorneys are present. Instead, they told Moreno, they have to meet them in a tiny room with no bathroom, air conditioning or water and share documents through a tiny slot in the glass.
***
Finally, Moreno threatened to make his courtroom available for meetings between the Rodriguez-Orejuelas and their lawyers if the prison did not accommodate them. “I don’t want to do that,” he said. “But we have bathrooms here. I can be very innovative at resolving conflicts. I have to give people access to their lawyers.”
***
Under assault, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Axelrod, after a quick private consultation with Wombacher, agreed to change the regulations and allow the conference room to be used by any attorneys. “The policy will change,” he said. Axelrod had argued that the prison has reasons for its rules regulating the use of the conference room. He said contraband had been found in the bathroom when lawyers were allowed to use it. He also said that the policy of only allowing groups of four lawyers to use the conference room was instituted because other inmates complained that the Rodriguez-Orejuelas were meeting with their lawyers daily and monopolizing the room.
***
Moreno also sought to resolve the issue of whether legal fees Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela paid Markus are clean. Markus has asked the government to review his files and inform him if they have knowledge that the fees are derived from illegal gains, but prosecutors have refused. Rodriguez-Orejuela’s previous attorney, Jose Quiñon of Miami, said he could not satisfy himself that the fees were untainted and withdrew from the case. The issue is being closely watched by other local defense attorneys.
***
Moreno pressured the government to state whether it had knowledge whether the fees Markus accepted were dirty and if he could be charged with money laundering. After much questioning, Axelrod said he had no such knowledge. Moreno said neither the government nor he want to get involved in the issue because it would set policy and a precedent for future cases. “If they did it for you they’d have to do it for everyone,” he said. “You go to Washington or the appellate court to set policy. I don’t think I should meddle in the attorney-client relationship.” But he gave the government a subtle message when he told Markus, “If you were ever charged with anything, you’d have a perfect defense. You should feel good about this, confident and relaxed. You think the government would want to be the recipient of the government’s wrath? This is not a blessing, but almost.” He also said he did not think taxpayers should be footing the bill for the Rodriguez-Orejuelas’ defense. After the hearing, Markus said that he is more comfortable with his fee and will continue representing Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela. “I’m pleased that Judge Moreno required the government to say that no crime has been committed and that no conflict exists,” he said. “It’s now on the record.”
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