The website has been down all day. Sorry...
I tried to make up for it with a catchy (even if a little misleading) title.
Meth labs have never been big down in South Florida. But apparently this has changed, according to this Herald article.
In unrelated news, the litigation between Louis Robles' former clients and the Florida Bar has been transferred to District Judge William B Hunt, Jr., a senior judge in Atlanta. The case was filed in the Southern District of Florida and initially was assigned to Judge Huck, who recused. Chief Judge Zloch then asked the 11th Circuit to assign a judge outside of Florida to handle the case. The story was in the DBR this morning (password required).
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
Monday, April 24, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Double Agent...
The Miami Herald's Jay Weaver and Oscar Corral have this interesting story on the confidential informant in the weapons case involving Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat. Here's the intro:
A federal informant playing a critical role in a South Florida weapons case against the wealthy Miami benefactor for Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles also was sharing details about the exiles with a Cuban government official known as ''Daniel'' as far back as 2001, prosecutors have revealed.
Prosecutors also disclosed for the first time that the FBI informant, Gilberto Abascal, traveled by boat with Posada's benefactor and other friends last year to pick up the CIA-trained Posada in Mexico and bring him back to the United States illegally.
Details of Abascal's past contacts with a Cuban official and Posada's entry into the United States surfaced Friday as attorneys for the weapons-case defendants, Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat, sought to obtain more information from prosecutors that could help their clients' defense.
For months, prosecutors claimed to have no evidence that Abascal communicated with Cuban government officials. Yet the April 6 letter made public Friday acknowledges that Abascal met with ''Daniel'' and perhaps others at least six times -- an admission that could bolster claims that the defendants were set up by the Cuban government.
The explosive admission was made public just two weeks before the May 8 trial in Fort Lauderdale, a location opposed by the defendants because they maintain they cannot get a fair trial outside of Miami-Dade.
A federal informant playing a critical role in a South Florida weapons case against the wealthy Miami benefactor for Cuban exile militant Luis Posada Carriles also was sharing details about the exiles with a Cuban government official known as ''Daniel'' as far back as 2001, prosecutors have revealed.
Prosecutors also disclosed for the first time that the FBI informant, Gilberto Abascal, traveled by boat with Posada's benefactor and other friends last year to pick up the CIA-trained Posada in Mexico and bring him back to the United States illegally.
Details of Abascal's past contacts with a Cuban official and Posada's entry into the United States surfaced Friday as attorneys for the weapons-case defendants, Santiago Alvarez and Osvaldo Mitat, sought to obtain more information from prosecutors that could help their clients' defense.
For months, prosecutors claimed to have no evidence that Abascal communicated with Cuban government officials. Yet the April 6 letter made public Friday acknowledges that Abascal met with ''Daniel'' and perhaps others at least six times -- an admission that could bolster claims that the defendants were set up by the Cuban government.
The explosive admission was made public just two weeks before the May 8 trial in Fort Lauderdale, a location opposed by the defendants because they maintain they cannot get a fair trial outside of Miami-Dade.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Slow blogging
I have to apologize again for the slow blogging. I just got back from Atlanta where I had an oral argument in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel was Judges Anderson, Fay, and Siler. I always enjoy arguing appeals, as I did in this case, but I'm always amazed at how much preparation goes into a 15 minute argument. The preparation time to argument time ratio is all out of whack in the appellate court, isn't it?
And if you are a blog/law nerd, Ian Best at 3L Epiphany now has this post collecting law review articles citing legal blogs. Some recent related posts:
Judges on blogs and blogging
Blogging news and notes
The power of legal blogs
Amazing taxonomy of legal blogs
And if you are a blog/law nerd, Ian Best at 3L Epiphany now has this post collecting law review articles citing legal blogs. Some recent related posts:
Judges on blogs and blogging
Blogging news and notes
The power of legal blogs
Amazing taxonomy of legal blogs
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
"Civil" depo (UPDATED)
Check out this video clip of a "civil" depo. Hilarious.
You may also want to check out Hannity & Colmes tonight. (UPDATE -- Richard tells me that his appearance has been postponed until tomorrow night.) Friend of Blog Richard Rosenthal will be on defending his client, Basil Dalack -- a 76 year-old Korean War vet who was recently elected to the town council of the Village of Tequesta (in Palm Beach). Dalak refuses to take the oath because of his disagreement with Bush and the Iraq war. Hannity must be frothing... Here's a Sun-Sentinel article about the case.
You may also want to check out Hannity & Colmes tonight. (UPDATE -- Richard tells me that his appearance has been postponed until tomorrow night.) Friend of Blog Richard Rosenthal will be on defending his client, Basil Dalack -- a 76 year-old Korean War vet who was recently elected to the town council of the Village of Tequesta (in Palm Beach). Dalak refuses to take the oath because of his disagreement with Bush and the Iraq war. Hannity must be frothing... Here's a Sun-Sentinel article about the case.
Monday, April 17, 2006
STATE COURT JUDGE LINDA DAKIS SERIOUSLY ILL
Hi Federal Court blog readers. Rumpole here. I am sorry to always be the harbinger of sad news (and I promise that I have a humorous Federal Court post on the way) but I am sad to report that State Court Administrative Judge for the Civil Division Judge Linda Dakis suffered a serious stroke over the weekend and is in intensive care at Baptist Hospital. The outlook is not good.
I know that many members of the Federal Judiciary and Federal Court practitioners know and respect Judge Dakis and I thought this is an appropriate way to let everyone know about her illness.
I know that many members of the Federal Judiciary and Federal Court practitioners know and respect Judge Dakis and I thought this is an appropriate way to let everyone know about her illness.
News and notes
Julie Kay's column, Justice Watch, in the DBR has lots of interesting notes today:
1. It describes in much further detail Alex Acosta's talk last week at the Federal Bar Association lunch. Here's one passage:
[Acosta] announced two new deputies in the major crimes division: Barbara Martinez and Ben Greenberg. They will join Chuck Duross, who Acosta named a deputy several months ago. Deputies play key roles, mentoring and supervising new assistant U.S. attorneys, who all start out in major crimes. Martinez, 34, joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami in 2000, after serving three years in the fraud section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Last year, Martinez received the second-highest honor given to federal prosecutors around the country, the Director’s Award, which is awarded by the Department of Justice. She received the award for her work on a child pornography case involving 100 victims. The defendant was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 100 years in prison. Greenberg, 35, joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2000. A skilled litigator, he is currently overseeing two of the office’s most high-profile cases — the prosecution of Z’ev Rosenstein, an alleged Israeli organized crime figure who is charged with a massive Ecstasy drug ring, and the fraud retrial of former Hamilton Bank chairman Eduardo A. Masferrer. Acosta related how Greenberg proudly “claims to have indicted 42 cases in one month” — a record for the office. He is the son of Miami-Dade County Attorney Murray Greenberg. Duross, 35, has worked at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami since 2001. He previously worked at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C., for 4 1/2 years. Last year, Duross was named Federal Prosecutor of the Year by the Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police Association. He was honored for his work on Operation Check-Mate, in which 23 defendants were convicted in a massive counterfeit check writing scheme. In addition to announcing his new deputies, Acosta also said he would ask the Department of Justice for bonuses and raises for AUSAs in an effort to stem a high turnover rate. He declined to state how much he would request. With a new AUSA in Miami earning about $70,000, it is virtually impossible for them to afford a home in South Florida’s pricey real estate market, he said. By comparison, starting salaries for new associates at major Miami law firms are between $105,000 and $125,000. And since they cannot earn more than members of Congress, even more senior AUSAs are capped at a salary of $140,000 a year. “We’ve seen turnover similar to patterns seen in New York and California,” Acosta said. “The cost of housing is inordinately high here. Rather than hire a few more prosecutors, I’d rather use the money to reward the ones we have.” Former federal prosecutors later applauded Acosta’s plan. “The pay for federal prosecutors should be increased,” said Peter Prieto, managing partner of the Miami office of Holland & Knight and a former federal prosecutor. “They work very long hours and do highly sophisticated work.” Acosta said he’s also taking steps to replace the 30 or so prosecutors who have left in the last year. He reported that, after months of interviewing, he has hired six new prosecutors. Another initiative Acosta plans to start is a mentoring program to pair up senior litigation counsel, such as Richard Gregorie and Caroline Heck Miller, with younger attorneys. “All the big [USAO] offices have formal training programs, and it’s time Miami does too,” he said. According to several sources, Acosta found out he was chosen as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida about two weeks ago. The White House is expected to forward his nomination to the Senate next month, said the sources who spoke on condition that they not be named.
2. The Hamilton Bank trial starts today. It's take two. Last trial was hung. Defense lawyers are the Srebnick bros.
3. The other big bank case, the Bankest case "was abruptly postponed on April 5 when one of the defendants, former bank president Eduardo Orlansky, underwent emergency gall bladder surgery." His lawyer is Ed Shohat. Prosecuting is Caroline Heck Miller, Matthew Menchel and Ryan Stumphauzen. Hector Orlansky is represented by Bruce Lehr.
4. In non-DBR news, the comments to the last post are fun and are not meant to make anyone upset. I hope everyone took them in that spirit.
1. It describes in much further detail Alex Acosta's talk last week at the Federal Bar Association lunch. Here's one passage:
[Acosta] announced two new deputies in the major crimes division: Barbara Martinez and Ben Greenberg. They will join Chuck Duross, who Acosta named a deputy several months ago. Deputies play key roles, mentoring and supervising new assistant U.S. attorneys, who all start out in major crimes. Martinez, 34, joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami in 2000, after serving three years in the fraud section of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Last year, Martinez received the second-highest honor given to federal prosecutors around the country, the Director’s Award, which is awarded by the Department of Justice. She received the award for her work on a child pornography case involving 100 victims. The defendant was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to 100 years in prison. Greenberg, 35, joined the U.S. attorney’s office in 2000. A skilled litigator, he is currently overseeing two of the office’s most high-profile cases — the prosecution of Z’ev Rosenstein, an alleged Israeli organized crime figure who is charged with a massive Ecstasy drug ring, and the fraud retrial of former Hamilton Bank chairman Eduardo A. Masferrer. Acosta related how Greenberg proudly “claims to have indicted 42 cases in one month” — a record for the office. He is the son of Miami-Dade County Attorney Murray Greenberg. Duross, 35, has worked at the U.S. attorney’s office in Miami since 2001. He previously worked at Kirkland & Ellis in Washington, D.C., for 4 1/2 years. Last year, Duross was named Federal Prosecutor of the Year by the Miami-Dade Chiefs of Police Association. He was honored for his work on Operation Check-Mate, in which 23 defendants were convicted in a massive counterfeit check writing scheme. In addition to announcing his new deputies, Acosta also said he would ask the Department of Justice for bonuses and raises for AUSAs in an effort to stem a high turnover rate. He declined to state how much he would request. With a new AUSA in Miami earning about $70,000, it is virtually impossible for them to afford a home in South Florida’s pricey real estate market, he said. By comparison, starting salaries for new associates at major Miami law firms are between $105,000 and $125,000. And since they cannot earn more than members of Congress, even more senior AUSAs are capped at a salary of $140,000 a year. “We’ve seen turnover similar to patterns seen in New York and California,” Acosta said. “The cost of housing is inordinately high here. Rather than hire a few more prosecutors, I’d rather use the money to reward the ones we have.” Former federal prosecutors later applauded Acosta’s plan. “The pay for federal prosecutors should be increased,” said Peter Prieto, managing partner of the Miami office of Holland & Knight and a former federal prosecutor. “They work very long hours and do highly sophisticated work.” Acosta said he’s also taking steps to replace the 30 or so prosecutors who have left in the last year. He reported that, after months of interviewing, he has hired six new prosecutors. Another initiative Acosta plans to start is a mentoring program to pair up senior litigation counsel, such as Richard Gregorie and Caroline Heck Miller, with younger attorneys. “All the big [USAO] offices have formal training programs, and it’s time Miami does too,” he said. According to several sources, Acosta found out he was chosen as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida about two weeks ago. The White House is expected to forward his nomination to the Senate next month, said the sources who spoke on condition that they not be named.
2. The Hamilton Bank trial starts today. It's take two. Last trial was hung. Defense lawyers are the Srebnick bros.
3. The other big bank case, the Bankest case "was abruptly postponed on April 5 when one of the defendants, former bank president Eduardo Orlansky, underwent emergency gall bladder surgery." His lawyer is Ed Shohat. Prosecuting is Caroline Heck Miller, Matthew Menchel and Ryan Stumphauzen. Hector Orlansky is represented by Bruce Lehr.
4. In non-DBR news, the comments to the last post are fun and are not meant to make anyone upset. I hope everyone took them in that spirit.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Why I practice in federal court
By now you all have heard about the Sean Taylor prosecutor. Apparently this guy moonlighted as a DJ, tried to promote this night gig by saying he was the Taylor prosecutor on a MySpace account (in which he also posted what Taylor's defense lawyer (Richard Sharpstein) has called pornographic pictures). Are you kidding me?!
Say what you will about AUSAs, but can you imagine any of them doing this, especially the DJ part? Actually, this is great -- we have fodder for a new poll: which SDFLA AUSA is best suited for moonlighting as a DJ?
For the best state court coverage, check out Rumpole and the accompanying comments, which are always fun to read... Also, here's the AP report, the Herald and the CBS4 video.
Say what you will about AUSAs, but can you imagine any of them doing this, especially the DJ part? Actually, this is great -- we have fodder for a new poll: which SDFLA AUSA is best suited for moonlighting as a DJ?
For the best state court coverage, check out Rumpole and the accompanying comments, which are always fun to read... Also, here's the AP report, the Herald and the CBS4 video.
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