Jury picked in Liberty City case

Openings to begin Friday.

Members of Bloods gang indicted

14 of them to be exact. With RICO.

So, their pictures are better than mine...

From yesterday's dedication ceremony of the Atkins' building (via the DBR).

Gag order lifted in part

Judge Lenard held a hearing today on my motion in the Liberty City Seven case regarding the gag order that extended to acquitted defendant Lyglenson Lemorin, his lawyer Joel DeFabio, and DeFabio's agents (me).

On January 12, we filed a motion for clarification of her order, asking how far the gag order reached and who was covered. Then on January 24, Scott Srebnick and I filed a writ of mandamus with the Eleventh Circuit attacking the gag order.

Today, Judge Lenard clarified the earlier gag orders. Lemorin's wife is now free to speak. And all of us can speak about Lemorin's immigration case, so long as we don't touch on the facts of underlying criminal case. Query how we will do that since the immigration case is based on the same facts. We still cannot discuss the facts of the first trial that led to Lemorin's acquittal. Accordingly, we will proceed with our appeal in the 11th Circuit.

Judge Lenard indicated she will be writing an order to memorialize her oral findings today, which I will post.

What struck me most about the hearing was the Government's repeated discussion about trying to protect the rights of the six men still on trial. As Srebnick and I argued in court today, none of those charged men objected to Lemorin speaking to the press. Lemorin has been detained for almost 19 months since the Government issued a press release calling him an agent of al Qaeda who wanted to blow up buildings. He should be permitted to respond to those false allegations in the media to restore his reputation and to shine light on the allegations in his immigration case.

I generally do not blog about cases with which I'm involved, but this is an exception because the gag order affected the blog. So I feel that it's okay to discuss these issues here.

Here's an article from the DBR in today's paper setting out what had occurred up till today. They'll be a bunch more in the paper tomorrow, which I will post.

UPDATE -- here are articles from the DBR, Herald, Sun-Sentinel and the AP about yesterday's proceeding.

C. Clyde Atkins renaming ceremony

It was a beautiful day for a beautiful ceremony this morning, renaming the Tower Building the C. Clyde Atkins United States Courthouse (at 301 N. Miami Avenue).

Here's a picture I took with my cell phone of Chief Judge Moreno presiding over the events. Speakers included:

Senator Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Nilda Pedrosa (for Mel Martinez), Frank Angones, and Judy Korchin.

Atkins' wife and daughter also spoke.

All of the federal judges and magistrates were there and they were retelling stories about Atkins. I never practiced before him, but from what everyone was saying he seemed like a truly good person.

"Thank goodness for courts and judges who know the Constitution and follow the law."

That's the concluding sentence from a glowing editorial about Judge Cooke's handling of the Padilla sentencing. Here's more:

The punishment that Jose Padilla and two codefendants will get for conspiring with Islamic jihadists is both measured and fair. U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke could have given Padilla a life sentence, but instead sentenced him to 17 years and four months in prison. That is less time than prosecutors asked for and more than defense lawyers hoped for -- but it is entirely commensurate with the crimes for which the three men were convicted.
This judgment and trial have been good illustrations of how the U.S. justice system should work: an impartial and fair assessment of the facts and evidence, followed by a correct apportionment of punishment, or if the case warrants, relief for the defendants.

And Vanessa Blum describes the jail where Padilla will likely serve this time. Certainly no cake walk:

Within the super-maximum security federal prison in Florence, Colo., rumors tell of a unit for terrorists called "Bombers Row." If it exists — and the Bureau of Prisons isn't telling — that is where Jose Padilla, the man once dubbed the "dirty bomber," will likely serve his 17-year prison term alongside many of the country's most notorious and dangerous criminals. The fortress-like facility outside Colorado Springs, formally ADX Florence, is known to prison experts as the "Alcatraz of the Rockies" and to its roughly 500 inmates as "The Tombs."
ADX is government shorthand for Administrative Maximum U.S. Penitentiary. Lawyers for Padilla use a simpler moniker to describe his possible jail: "hell."

And here's Curt Anderson on the chances of a government appeal:

U.S. prosecutors face steep legal hurdles if they appeal the prison terms imposed on Jose Padilla and two other men convicted of terrorism conspiracy and material support charges because of the broad powers federal judges enjoy in deciding sentences.Only a few years ago, judges were required to more closely follow federal sentencing guidelines and deviations were difficult. But with its 2005 U.S. vs. Booker decision, the U.S. Supreme Court began a series of rulings handing judges far more discretion to vary sentences based on individual circumstances.It was this authority that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke relied upon Tuesday when she rejected a sentencing guideline range of between 30 years and life for Padilla and his two co-defendants, settling instead on much lesser prison terms for all three. Prosecutors had argued for life.

And finally, here's Jay Weaver on Padilla's mom's reaction:

After Tuesday's sentencings, Padilla's mother, Estela Ortega-Lebron, shouted ''Praise the Lord'' and ''Hallelujah'' as she left the courthouse.
Ortega-Lebron, who lives in Plantation and attended most of the three-month trial, said the judge's decision not to give Padilla life was proof that her son was not a terrorist.
''He's not a terrorist,'' she said. ``He's not an enemy combatant. He's not al Qaeda or the Taliban. He's a human being.''
Ortega-Lebron, who called the government's treatment of her son ''insane,'' said he has suffered psychologically from his time in isolation in the military brig and in federal detention. ''Mentally, he won't be like me and you,'' she said.

Padilla defendants convicted because of "Obama bin Laden"

That's according to the Daily Business Review today. The entire quote:

"Their attorneys blames their conviction on the numerous times prosecutors used al Qaeda and its leader Obama bin Laden in trial. Cooke also allowed jurors to see a videotape of Obama bin Laden."

WHOOPS!

UPDATE -- on reflection, I'm sorry I posted this. The article is actually very good and has some interesting points and quotes. We all make typos and mistakes. It was mean of me to point it out.

Thoughts on Padilla sentencing

• Many news outlets are referring to the 17 year sentence as "lenient." Since when did 17 years become a lenient sentence? Think about where you were 17 years ago.

• Some commenters are wondering why Padilla's sentence was the longest of the three defendants when his role was arguably the least serious. Answer: He had the worst criminal history. He is a career offender under the sentencing guidelines, while the other two defendants are not.

• Will Padilla get credit for time he served in the naval brig?

• Will the government appeal the sentences? They would very likely lose after the recent Supreme Court cases, Gall and Kimbrough, which gave very wide latitude to district judges in sentencing defendants. If they know they will likely lose, will they still appeal just to make a point?

• Thank goodness for the Supreme Court's Apprendi line of cases. It lets judges judge again at sentencing.