RIP Steven Chaykin

I just got terrible terrible news. All around great guy Steve Chaykin died today in Aspen rescuing his wife. This article reports:

ASPEN - A Florida man has died after jumping into a river on Wednesday while trying to save his wife near Aspen.
The Pitkin County Sheriff's Department says the man, Steven Chaykin of Florida, and his wife, who has not been identified, were near the Roaring Fork River 10 miles east of Aspen up Independence Pass.
Deputies on scene say the woman slipped into the river, then Chaykin jumped in to rescue her, but hit his head on a rock.
Bystanders pulled Chaykin from the water and started CPR, but he later died at the Aspen Valley Hospital.

More from the Aspen paper:

A 57-year-old Florida man died at the Grottos on Independence Pass near Aspen on Wednesday.The man, whose name has not yet been released, slid into a pool to rescue his wife, who had fallen in before him at about 1:30 p.m.The women hit her head and injured her leg, but was otherwise OK, authorities said.The man, however, suffered a severe head injury in the slide then fell over a 15-foot fall into the pool below, witnesses said.A few groups of day hikers at the nearby ice cave jumped into action when they heard screams from the waterfall, but it took five minutes to get the man out of the pool, where he floated face-down.One witness ran to her vehicle and drove toward Aspen, dialing 911 as soon as she was within cell phone range. Others performed CPR until Aspen firefighters and Pitkin County sheriff’s deputies arrived.CPR was stopped at 2:37 p.m.Rescue crews transported the injured woman on a backboard to the trailhead and by ambulance to Aspen Valley Hospital.The Grottos is a popular summertime spot east of Aspen, off Highway 82 as it climbs toward Independence Pass. The Roaring Fork River tumbles over waterfalls and through pools formed in the smoothed stone, creating an enticing spot to take a dip.

The whole community will be mourning Steve's untimely death. Our condolences to his family.

You gotta know when to hold em...

They say that the best trial lawyers are good gamblers.

Well, Bill Barzee and Joel Denaro took a huge gamble today, which almost paid off big. After a week of trial before Judge Jordan, the jury was deadlocked. Barzee and Denaro decided to ask for a majority-wins verdict. Jordan said that if the prosecutor, Frank Tamen, would agree the Court would accept the non-unanimous decision. Tamen said no. So mistrial.

What was the vote, you ask.

7-5 for acquittal...

Conventional wisdom from the defense bar is to always require a unanimous verdict; never agree to majority wins. Typically, it's the government, not the defense, that requests such a jury decision.

Dear readers, what do you think about the conventional wisdom? About the Barzee/Denaro gambit? Better to live to fight another day? Or take the verdict with the first trial, your best shot at victory?

Here's some of the Herald article on the case:

Federal prosecutors in Miami have failed to secure a conviction of a man who -- according to his own lawyers -- smuggled enormous amounts of cocaine into the United States from Colombia.
The reason: The feds were unable to prove to the jurors' satisfaction that the crimes of Hernan Prada occurred within the statute of limitations.
As a result, jurors split 7-5 on Tueday in favor of acquittal, forcing U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan to declare a mistrial in the trial of Hernan Prada.
Prosecutors are expected to retry Prada, who authorities said once ran an international enterprise that pulled in hundreds of millions of dollars a year, as soon as next month.
During the seven-day trial, it was never in dispute that Prada at one time oversaw shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. Even his lawyers conceded that point.
However, that was not enough for a conviction. The underlying issue of the case was this: Did the alleged Colombian drug-cartel kingpin plan or execute any deals after July 2, 1999, when the statute of limitations in his case would have expired?
When it became clear that a unanimous verdict was unlikely, the defense took an enormous chance.
At Prada's urging, attorneys William Barzee, Joel Denaro and Jelani Davis petitioned the court for a rarely used provision: a non-unanimous verdict. At the time of the proposal, it was not known which side had the most jurors in its corner.
All that was needed to declare guilt or innocence in such a case was a simple majority.
Jordan considered the proposal. Assistant U.S. attorney Frank Tamen dismissed it immediately. Later, it became clear that Prada would have walked if the prosecution had agreed.
''Our instinct was right,'' Denaro said. ``It would have been spectacular if they had agreed. It was really intense.''

News and Notes

1. Congrats to my friend, Jonathan Kasen, on his victory today in federal court before Judge Ungaro in his first federal trial.

2. Justice Building to 1000 posts.

3. Interesting post here about probation and PSI's. Isn't it time that someone filed a motion about the probation office practicing law without a license?

4. Go see the Dark Knight. Loved it.

5. Vanessa Blum is all over the federal courts.

6. Above the Law Idol, trying to find a new David Lat. Good luck with that.

7. No more Scabulous on Facebook. How depressing.

8. Cocaine Cowboys II came out. My copy just arrived in the mail. Can't wait to watch it.

The DBR's new blog

is here. Looks like it should be pretty good.

Should I take it personally that they don't link to me even though I'm a "DBR affiliated blog"?

Is it me...

...or is summer flying by?

Life for Archer...

Kirby Archer pleaded guilty today, agreeing to life in prison for his role in the Joe Cool murders.

Guillermo Zarabozo is proceeding to trial. The government announced that the death penalty is also off the table for Zarabozo. When Judge Huck heard this, he moved the trial date up to August, and discharged the court-appointed death penalty lawyer, Bill Matthewman.

Here's the Sun-Sentinel coverage, the AP's and the Herald's.

"Suit: Contractors caused mold that killed magistrate Klein"

That's the headline for the DBR article here.

"The son and daughter of the late U.S. Magistrate Judge Theodore Klein have filed a wrongful death suit against contractors who handled projects at the courthouse where he worked alleging they created the conditions that killed him."

"These individuals had it all--success, money, and the admiration of their community."

"But they have tarnished their good names and reputations because they wanted even more than they already had, and they wanted it the quick and easy way."

That's Alex Acosta discussing Carlos de Cespedes, 58, and Jorge de Cespedes, 55, co-owners of Pharmed Group Corp.

The brothers were charged by way of two separate informations (read them here and here).The tax case went to Judge Jordan and the health care fraud case went to Judge Altonaga. Usually when individuals are charged by information that means that they have already worked out deals. I wonder why they did two separate cases though....

From the Herald article:

In a Tuesday afternoon court appearance, the brothers pleaded not guilty, and a federal magistrate ordered their release on $250,000 personal surety bonds.
Their attorneys, Alan Ross and Dennis Kainen, dodged questions about how the brothers ultimately would resolve the case. ''Carlos and Jorge, who are both honorable and charitable men, will be resolving these charges with the same commitment and enthusiasm'' they have shown in this community for many years, the attorneys said in a joint statement.

***

Tuesday's charges signify a huge fall for the brothers, who in 2003 earned a profit of $48 million. They often showed up in matching Bentleys at Chispa, their restaurant in Coral Gables, which is now closed. They went to basketball games at the Pharmed Arena on the campus of Florida International University. The Pharmed name has since been removed.

The Sun-Sentinel coverage is here. Credit to the Miami Herald for the photo above.