by: Marc David Seitles
In United States v. Faust, the Eleventh Circuit did not find a constitutional problem with enhancing a sentence based on acquitted conduct. While the Eleventh Circuit is not the only circuit to hold the same, it does seem to run contrary to the whole point of why we have trials in the first place. Indeed, I would bet that if you asked 100 people (non lawyers!) whether they could be sentenced for conduct where a jury concluded that he/she was "not guilty," 99 of those folk would say "no way, that's impossible." What do you think?
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
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
News and notes
Quick notes:
1. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is having their annual meeting here in Miami Beach. It started tonight and it goes through Saturday. The focus is on cross-examination. Tomorrow, legendary defense lawyer Larry Pozner is lecturing. On Friday, we tap the local talent: Albert Kreiger and Jeff Weiner.
2. The Miami 7 "terror" defendants were in Court today before Judge Lenard for the first time. She set trial for March 2007, with discovery to be exchanged by this fall. She also told the parties not to leak to the press.
3. Magistrate Judge Ted Klein's cases have been reassigned temporarily to Judge Torres. The order can be found here on the court's website. Judge Klein is in all of our thoughts.
1. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is having their annual meeting here in Miami Beach. It started tonight and it goes through Saturday. The focus is on cross-examination. Tomorrow, legendary defense lawyer Larry Pozner is lecturing. On Friday, we tap the local talent: Albert Kreiger and Jeff Weiner.
2. The Miami 7 "terror" defendants were in Court today before Judge Lenard for the first time. She set trial for March 2007, with discovery to be exchanged by this fall. She also told the parties not to leak to the press.
3. Magistrate Judge Ted Klein's cases have been reassigned temporarily to Judge Torres. The order can be found here on the court's website. Judge Klein is in all of our thoughts.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
"Vamos a Cuba" back on school shelves
Judge Alan Gold in an 89-page order said the School Board in banning 24 books "abused its discretion in a manner that violated the transcendent imperatives of the First Amendment.'' Here's the Herald article. And here's Matthew Pinzur's blog post covering the story and a teacher's take before the opinion came out.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Padilla lawyers home...
... according to this DBR article:
"Three defense attorneys in a Miami terrorism case who were trapped in war-torn Beirut while interviewing witnesses got tired of waiting for the U.S. Marines to evacuate them. So they hitched a ride on a Norwegian freighter. The attorneys — Orlando do Campo of the federal public defender’s office in Miami, Andrew Patel of New York City and William Swor of Detroit — along with an Arabic-speaking interpreter they hired arrived in Cyprus last Wednesday and caught flights home the next day."
"Three defense attorneys in a Miami terrorism case who were trapped in war-torn Beirut while interviewing witnesses got tired of waiting for the U.S. Marines to evacuate them. So they hitched a ride on a Norwegian freighter. The attorneys — Orlando do Campo of the federal public defender’s office in Miami, Andrew Patel of New York City and William Swor of Detroit — along with an Arabic-speaking interpreter they hired arrived in Cyprus last Wednesday and caught flights home the next day."
Friday, July 21, 2006
"Ally of ringleader in Liberty City terrorist plot stalled group's plans"
I missed Vanessa Blum's article yesterday about the Miami 7 terror case with the headline above. Here's the intriguing intro to the article:
The arrival in South Florida of a Chicago man linked to the ringleader of a group accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI building in Miami spoiled the FBI's plans to follow the group longer, according to investigative records.Narseal Batiste, charged with conspiracy to support terrorism and wage war on the United States, summoned his spiritual leader, Sultan Khanbey, to South Florida in early April. His visit occurred just as the FBI prepared to introduce an undercover informant posing as an explosives expert from Europe.At the time, a separate FBI informant posing as an al-Qaida agent already had infiltrated the group and asked Batiste and his followers to participate in a fictional al-Qaida plot to bomb FBI buildings in five cities. Instead of accelerating those plans, Khanbey's arrival led to infighting that disbanded the group before the FBI could gather additional evidence about their willingness to carry out an attack.
The arrival in South Florida of a Chicago man linked to the ringleader of a group accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and the FBI building in Miami spoiled the FBI's plans to follow the group longer, according to investigative records.Narseal Batiste, charged with conspiracy to support terrorism and wage war on the United States, summoned his spiritual leader, Sultan Khanbey, to South Florida in early April. His visit occurred just as the FBI prepared to introduce an undercover informant posing as an explosives expert from Europe.At the time, a separate FBI informant posing as an al-Qaida agent already had infiltrated the group and asked Batiste and his followers to participate in a fictional al-Qaida plot to bomb FBI buildings in five cities. Instead of accelerating those plans, Khanbey's arrival led to infighting that disbanded the group before the FBI could gather additional evidence about their willingness to carry out an attack.
What is it good for?
The DBR's Julie Kay reports today on 3 defense lawyers who were trapped in Lebanon. (UPDATE -- THE DBR HAS MADE THE ARTICLE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE HERE). Here's the intro:
Three defense attorneys in a Miami terrorism case who were trapped in Beirut by the conflict between Israel and Lebanon have been evacuated safely to Cyprus.Miami Assistant Federal Public Defender Orlando do Campo and two private lawyers, William Swor of Detroit and Andrew Patel of New York, traveled to Lebanon about three weeks ago. They were there to do research and take depositions in preparation for the scheduled federal trial in September of accused dirty bomber Jose Padilla and four other defendants before U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke.The lawyers were stuck at a Beirut hotel, according to Swor’s secretary. They had departed for Beirut on July 2 and were supposed to return on July 14. But war broke out July 12 when Israel began its campaign to recover two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the airport, trapping the lawyers and thousands of other Americans and Europeans in Lebanon.The lawyers had no choice but to stay on at the hotel while the U.S. and other governments made plans to evacuate their citizens.While he was trapped at the hotel, Swor sent daily e-mail updates to a list of colleagues from his laptop computer. A local lawyer who was on the e-mail list described some of Swor’s dispatches.“Day 1: We’re sipping piña coladas by the pool. The staff is wonderful.Day 2: We’ve moved into one room. The French got out. This is like Hurricane Katrina all over again — Bush can’t seem to coordinate these things.”At one point, Swor was at a local church while a priest was praying and a bomb went off nearby. The priest didn’t pause, he just prayed faster, Swor reported.Do Campo and Patel represent Padilla. Swor represents Kifah Jayyousi. Padilla, Jayyousi and Adham Hassoun — along with two co-defendants who are in the Middle East and will be tried in absentia — are charged with conspiring to commit terrorism and funding terrorist groups in Bosnia and the Middle East. All have pleaded not guilty.The three attorneys were rescued Wednesday and put on a cruise ship chartered for the rescue effort. They were taken to nearby Cyprus. From there they are expected to fly back to the United States.Sources said the three men may have been rescued by the Swedish government, along with a group of Swedes who also were trapped at the hotel.
Three defense attorneys in a Miami terrorism case who were trapped in Beirut by the conflict between Israel and Lebanon have been evacuated safely to Cyprus.Miami Assistant Federal Public Defender Orlando do Campo and two private lawyers, William Swor of Detroit and Andrew Patel of New York, traveled to Lebanon about three weeks ago. They were there to do research and take depositions in preparation for the scheduled federal trial in September of accused dirty bomber Jose Padilla and four other defendants before U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke.The lawyers were stuck at a Beirut hotel, according to Swor’s secretary. They had departed for Beirut on July 2 and were supposed to return on July 14. But war broke out July 12 when Israel began its campaign to recover two kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Israel bombed the airport, trapping the lawyers and thousands of other Americans and Europeans in Lebanon.The lawyers had no choice but to stay on at the hotel while the U.S. and other governments made plans to evacuate their citizens.While he was trapped at the hotel, Swor sent daily e-mail updates to a list of colleagues from his laptop computer. A local lawyer who was on the e-mail list described some of Swor’s dispatches.“Day 1: We’re sipping piña coladas by the pool. The staff is wonderful.Day 2: We’ve moved into one room. The French got out. This is like Hurricane Katrina all over again — Bush can’t seem to coordinate these things.”At one point, Swor was at a local church while a priest was praying and a bomb went off nearby. The priest didn’t pause, he just prayed faster, Swor reported.Do Campo and Patel represent Padilla. Swor represents Kifah Jayyousi. Padilla, Jayyousi and Adham Hassoun — along with two co-defendants who are in the Middle East and will be tried in absentia — are charged with conspiring to commit terrorism and funding terrorist groups in Bosnia and the Middle East. All have pleaded not guilty.The three attorneys were rescued Wednesday and put on a cruise ship chartered for the rescue effort. They were taken to nearby Cyprus. From there they are expected to fly back to the United States.Sources said the three men may have been rescued by the Swedish government, along with a group of Swedes who also were trapped at the hotel.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
The Hokey Pokey
More wet-foot/dry-foot stuff going on in Miami re the 28 migrants who were attempting to get to the United States. Remember that last week the U.S. charged 3 people with smuggling. At their initial hearing, Assistant Federal Defender Bill Barzee asked that the 28 migrants be kept here as witnesses. The judge said yes. But the U.S. had a problem -- if they brought the Cuban migrants ashore, then they got to stay. So the government kept them on a boat a couple feet out... Today, that changed. According to the AP story:
In an unusual move, 28 Cuban migrants were brought to U.S. soil so they can serve as witnesses in a criminal case against the men accused of organizing their deadly smuggling voyage. The decision announced Thursday also means the migrants can stay permanently in the United States.
U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the "unique circumstances" of the case led prosecutors to bring the group ashore under material witness warrants, which could require them to testify before a grand jury or in a trial.
"Smugglers often treat migrants as if they were human cargo," Acosta said. "This must stop."
The 28 migrants were brought to Key West early Wednesday after being detained aboard a Coast Guard cutter at sea since the July 8 chase, which resulted in the death of one Cuban woman. They were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and brought to Miami early Thursday, officials said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow agreed Thursday to allow all the Cuban migrants in U.S. custody to be released to their relatives in Miami under the guarantee that the families will pay $25,000 per person, if they do not appear in court when necessary.
In an unusual move, 28 Cuban migrants were brought to U.S. soil so they can serve as witnesses in a criminal case against the men accused of organizing their deadly smuggling voyage. The decision announced Thursday also means the migrants can stay permanently in the United States.
U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the "unique circumstances" of the case led prosecutors to bring the group ashore under material witness warrants, which could require them to testify before a grand jury or in a trial.
"Smugglers often treat migrants as if they were human cargo," Acosta said. "This must stop."
The 28 migrants were brought to Key West early Wednesday after being detained aboard a Coast Guard cutter at sea since the July 8 chase, which resulted in the death of one Cuban woman. They were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and brought to Miami early Thursday, officials said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow agreed Thursday to allow all the Cuban migrants in U.S. custody to be released to their relatives in Miami under the guarantee that the families will pay $25,000 per person, if they do not appear in court when necessary.
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