Jack Blumenfeld, a long-time criminal defense lawyer in Miami, who has represented Jose Battle, Sr. and one of the "Cuban spies", emailed us last night regarding the Padilla verdict and how criminal defense lawyers suffer from disease where you convince yourself that you have a shot at a NG verdict in impossible cases. With permission, we reprint his email here:
If you want to talk to some lawyers to get an idea what the defense is going through, talk to [the Cuban Spy lawyers] about the effect on us when the Cuban Spy jury came back with guilty verdicts. We may have been the only 5 people in Dade County who thought that we could win a NG for Cuban spies in Miami- and that included the defendants, all 5 of whom knew what the outcome would be. I think judge Lenard saw the devastation on our faces, as she cleared the courtroom and had the doors locked, so we could partially recover. Ironically, the defendants were consoling the lawyers. I was in a daze for a week.
These people will go through the same thing. It happens when you ABSOLUTELY know you won the trial but lost the verdict. Cuban Spies- Alleged AQ members- and we all fought our hearts out for a NG- doesn't that make you feel great you chose criminal defense? You don't have to be crazy to be a criminal defense lawyer in this town- but it helps!!!!
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
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Jose Padilla verdicts
Well, there will now be a bunch of articles from the MSM about the verdict (with the scripts depending on what side you're on).
Here is what I saw in the courtroom and my initial reaction:
1. Court security officers were insufferable. It was almost impossible to get into the courtroom. This is the biggest trial and verdict in the country right now and you can barely get in the courthouse! Silly.
2. The media is not permitted to have cell phones with them in the courtroom. After the verdicts were read, no one was allowed out of the courtroom for a couple minutes. I don't know how CNN and the AP got the articles up so quickly. It's a neat trick.
3. My cell phone crashed with all the people text messaging me and emailing me to post the verdicts. So my post was a couple minutes late, after my phone rebooted!
4. The defense lawyers' voices were all cracking as they asked for more time to file post-trial motions. I feel so bad for them right now. To put your life into a case for years and to have a 5 month trial and then to have the verdict so quickly is horrible. My heart goes out to these lawyers...
5. Sentencing is set for December 5. The defendants will be interviewed by the probation office, who will prepare a presentence investigation report for the judge. It will detail the defendants' history and the guideline ranges. Based on the verdicts, I believe the guideline range is life.
6. The appellate process. The defense has some interesting issues, which I will detail in another post. This will take time -- about a year after sentencing. We're looking at late 2008 or early 2009.
7. The government. Congratulations to the government lawyers. They fought hard and won and deserve credit for their victory. After the verdicts were read, they all shook hands and walked out of the courthouse through the back entrance to avoid the press. I'm sure DOJ will have a press conference later, but these trial lawyers deserve the credit.
8. Judge Cooke and her chambers. I'm sure they are thrilled to have this trial behind them. Oftentimes, we all forget how hard the court personnel work on these trials. Congrats to them. Go have a beer...
Here is what I saw in the courtroom and my initial reaction:
1. Court security officers were insufferable. It was almost impossible to get into the courtroom. This is the biggest trial and verdict in the country right now and you can barely get in the courthouse! Silly.
2. The media is not permitted to have cell phones with them in the courtroom. After the verdicts were read, no one was allowed out of the courtroom for a couple minutes. I don't know how CNN and the AP got the articles up so quickly. It's a neat trick.
3. My cell phone crashed with all the people text messaging me and emailing me to post the verdicts. So my post was a couple minutes late, after my phone rebooted!
4. The defense lawyers' voices were all cracking as they asked for more time to file post-trial motions. I feel so bad for them right now. To put your life into a case for years and to have a 5 month trial and then to have the verdict so quickly is horrible. My heart goes out to these lawyers...
5. Sentencing is set for December 5. The defendants will be interviewed by the probation office, who will prepare a presentence investigation report for the judge. It will detail the defendants' history and the guideline ranges. Based on the verdicts, I believe the guideline range is life.
6. The appellate process. The defense has some interesting issues, which I will detail in another post. This will take time -- about a year after sentencing. We're looking at late 2008 or early 2009.
7. The government. Congratulations to the government lawyers. They fought hard and won and deserve credit for their victory. After the verdicts were read, they all shook hands and walked out of the courthouse through the back entrance to avoid the press. I'm sure DOJ will have a press conference later, but these trial lawyers deserve the credit.
8. Judge Cooke and her chambers. I'm sure they are thrilled to have this trial behind them. Oftentimes, we all forget how hard the court personnel work on these trials. Congrats to them. Go have a beer...
In the courtroom
2:15
No verdict yet.
Buzz in the air.
Packed courtroom.
I was lucky to get in.
Stay tuned.
--David Oscar Markus
www.markuslaw.com
305-379-6667
No verdict yet.
Buzz in the air.
Packed courtroom.
I was lucky to get in.
Stay tuned.
--David Oscar Markus
www.markuslaw.com
305-379-6667
Fair settlement?
$1.6 million to the attorneys; a pair of socks to the class members. Hmmmmm. Fair?
Mike Tein (of Lewis Tein) and a bunch of attorneys general say no way.
Judge Altonaga will hear the dispute in the Sharper Image Ion Purifier class action case today. Here's Julie Kay on the case.
Mike Tein (of Lewis Tein) and a bunch of attorneys general say no way.
Judge Altonaga will hear the dispute in the Sharper Image Ion Purifier class action case today. Here's Julie Kay on the case.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Michael Caruso closes for Jose Padilla
I wasn't able to attend the closing arguments today, but reports back tell me that Padilla's lawyer, Michael Caruso, was incredible.
The initial AP coverage here.
I like the strong start:
"For five years, Jose Padilla has waited for this day," defense attorney Michael Caruso told jurors. "The day we could stand before you and ask for justice."
Then jabbing the government, while trying to humanize Padilla:
Some of his argument was delivered in front of a large screen featuring bright pictures of a smiling Padilla with two of his children, in stark contrast to the dark photo used by prosecutors of Padilla wearing a traditional Arab headdress.
Padilla's mother, Estela Lebron, looked on from a back row in the courtroom.
"They picked this picture to scare you, to instill fear," Caruso said.
And the theme, simple but strong:
"His intent was to study, not to murder," Caruso said.
What about the form:
The critical piece of physical evidence is a "mujahedeen data form" Padilla allegedly filled out in July 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. The form bears seven of Padilla's fingerprints, but Caruso said they are only found on the first page and the back of the final page - consistent with Padilla simply handling the form, rather than writing on it.
"It raises more questions than answers," Caruso said.
Similar defenses from the co-defendants' lawyers:
"Dr. Jayyousi wasn't buying bullets. Dr. Jayyousi wasn't buying ammunition. Dr. Jayyousi wasn't sending fighters over there," Swor said. "Dr. Jayyousi was providing relief."
Similar arguments were made Monday by lawyers for Hassoun, a Palestinian born in Lebanon who overstayed his U.S. visa and could be deported if found innocent or after his release from prison.
"Their passion was relief," Hassoun lawyer Kenneth Swartz said.
Now it's in the jury's hands. This is the worst time for trial lawyers, no? As soon as there is a verdict, we'll let you know.
BTW, what's with good reporters still referring to Padilla's lawyer as Andy Patel? He hasn't been Padilla's lawyer in a long time...
UPDATE -- more from Caruso's closing via the NYTimes and Reuters.
The challenge is issued:
“I defy the government to somehow argue that Jose had the intent to commit cold-blooded murder,” Mr. Caruso said.
It was important throughout the trial to distance Padilla from the other two defendants:
On Tuesday, Mr. Caruso sought to disassociate Mr. Padilla from the other defendants. The government secretly recorded thousands of their phone conversations from 1993 to 2001.
Mr. Padilla participated in seven wiretapped conversations presented at trial.
Prosecutors say Mr. Hassoun and Mr. Jayyousi used code words like “football” and “zucchini” to discuss plans to help violent jihad in places like Chechnya, Kosovo and Somalia. But, Mr. Caruso reminded jurors, they never said Mr. Padilla used such code.
Mr. Caruso also made a point of contrasting Mr. Padilla with the other defendants, emphasizing that he was younger, had less education and was a recent convert to Islam who did not speak fluent Arabic.
He even described Mr. Padilla as “slow” and reminded the jury that Mr. Padilla had worked at a Chicken Plus fast-food restaurant in Broward County before leaving for Egypt.
“These men are more different than they are alike,” Mr. Caruso said.
More re the form:
He conceded that seven of Mr. Padilla’s fingerprints were on the document, which the C.I.A. recovered in Afghanistan in 2001. But the fingerprints are on just the first page and the back of the last page, suggesting, Mr. Caruso said, that Mr. Padilla had merely handled the form, and had not filled it out.
He also pointed out that a palm print was found next to the signature line on the form, but that the government never requested Mr. Padilla’s palm print to see whether it matched.
“They were not trying to find the truth,” Mr. Caruso said. “They were trying to create a case.”
And finally, don't convict because of security:
"We don't achieve security by bringing these types of charges on this type of evidence."
The initial AP coverage here.
I like the strong start:
"For five years, Jose Padilla has waited for this day," defense attorney Michael Caruso told jurors. "The day we could stand before you and ask for justice."
Then jabbing the government, while trying to humanize Padilla:
Some of his argument was delivered in front of a large screen featuring bright pictures of a smiling Padilla with two of his children, in stark contrast to the dark photo used by prosecutors of Padilla wearing a traditional Arab headdress.
Padilla's mother, Estela Lebron, looked on from a back row in the courtroom.
"They picked this picture to scare you, to instill fear," Caruso said.
And the theme, simple but strong:
"His intent was to study, not to murder," Caruso said.
What about the form:
The critical piece of physical evidence is a "mujahedeen data form" Padilla allegedly filled out in July 2000 to attend an al-Qaida training camp in Afghanistan. The form bears seven of Padilla's fingerprints, but Caruso said they are only found on the first page and the back of the final page - consistent with Padilla simply handling the form, rather than writing on it.
"It raises more questions than answers," Caruso said.
Similar defenses from the co-defendants' lawyers:
"Dr. Jayyousi wasn't buying bullets. Dr. Jayyousi wasn't buying ammunition. Dr. Jayyousi wasn't sending fighters over there," Swor said. "Dr. Jayyousi was providing relief."
Similar arguments were made Monday by lawyers for Hassoun, a Palestinian born in Lebanon who overstayed his U.S. visa and could be deported if found innocent or after his release from prison.
"Their passion was relief," Hassoun lawyer Kenneth Swartz said.
Now it's in the jury's hands. This is the worst time for trial lawyers, no? As soon as there is a verdict, we'll let you know.
BTW, what's with good reporters still referring to Padilla's lawyer as Andy Patel? He hasn't been Padilla's lawyer in a long time...
UPDATE -- more from Caruso's closing via the NYTimes and Reuters.
The challenge is issued:
“I defy the government to somehow argue that Jose had the intent to commit cold-blooded murder,” Mr. Caruso said.
It was important throughout the trial to distance Padilla from the other two defendants:
On Tuesday, Mr. Caruso sought to disassociate Mr. Padilla from the other defendants. The government secretly recorded thousands of their phone conversations from 1993 to 2001.
Mr. Padilla participated in seven wiretapped conversations presented at trial.
Prosecutors say Mr. Hassoun and Mr. Jayyousi used code words like “football” and “zucchini” to discuss plans to help violent jihad in places like Chechnya, Kosovo and Somalia. But, Mr. Caruso reminded jurors, they never said Mr. Padilla used such code.
Mr. Caruso also made a point of contrasting Mr. Padilla with the other defendants, emphasizing that he was younger, had less education and was a recent convert to Islam who did not speak fluent Arabic.
He even described Mr. Padilla as “slow” and reminded the jury that Mr. Padilla had worked at a Chicken Plus fast-food restaurant in Broward County before leaving for Egypt.
“These men are more different than they are alike,” Mr. Caruso said.
More re the form:
He conceded that seven of Mr. Padilla’s fingerprints were on the document, which the C.I.A. recovered in Afghanistan in 2001. But the fingerprints are on just the first page and the back of the last page, suggesting, Mr. Caruso said, that Mr. Padilla had merely handled the form, and had not filled it out.
He also pointed out that a palm print was found next to the signature line on the form, but that the government never requested Mr. Padilla’s palm print to see whether it matched.
“They were not trying to find the truth,” Mr. Caruso said. “They were trying to create a case.”
And finally, don't convict because of security:
"We don't achieve security by bringing these types of charges on this type of evidence."
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