Juror research

Julie Kay examines the new trend of investigating jurors here.

In last year's federal terrorism case against once-suspected "dirty bomber" Jose Padilla, a team of defense lawyers were sitting at a back table in the Miami federal courtroom with their laptops searching online all the jurors when they discovered one had lied on her jury questionnaire.
The woman, a Miami-area government employee who has not been identified, said she had no personal experience in the criminal system.
It turned out she was currently under investigation for malfeasance, according to Linda Moreno, a Tampa, Fla., solo trial lawyer who served as a jury consultant for one of Padilla's co-defendants. After the judge was informed, she dismissed the juror. See U.S. v. Hassoun, No. 0:04cr60001 (S.D. Fla.).
The Miami case was not unusual. As more and more information on people becomes available on the Internet, through posting on personal blogs, MySpace, Facebook and other social networking Web sites, the Internet has, in the last few years, become an important tool for jury consultants and trial lawyers.
Jury consultants say such sites are a treasure trove of information about potential and seated jurors that can be used in picking the right jurors, bouncing potential jurors and even influencing jurors through the trial and in closing arguments.
To mine the gold, jury consultants have begun turning to private investigators, some of whom have started niche businesses offering Internet jury research and "personality profiling" of jurors.
"If it's within the law, with peoples' lives at stake and millions and millions of dollars at stake, people will do whatever it takes to win a case," said Marshall Hennington, a Beverly Hills, Calif., jury consultant at Hennington & Associates. "The stakes are getting higher and higher, and it's becoming increasingly difficult to persuade jurors that have strong biases ... so we need information ahead of time. Everything is fair game."

One lawyer suggests it may be unethical to research jurors on the internet. I don't see the argument at all. Thoughts?

Paris in Miami

Paris Hilton has been sued in Miami federal court for not promoting a movie she was in, National Lampoon's Pledge This . The case, available here, landed before Judge Martinez. Here's the Herald article on the case. From the intro:

As if starring in the flop flick National Lampoon's PledgeThis wasn't bad enough, socialite Paris Hilton now has been sued for refusing to promote the film when it was released.
Hilton's breach of contract cost the producers of the film ''lost revenue and profits,'' according to the suit, filed in Miami federal court Tuesday.
A call to Hilton's Los Angeles attorney wasn't immediately returned.
Fort Lauderdale lawyer Michael I. Goldberg, a court-appointed receiver of the film's production company -- The Entertainment Group Fund -- filed the suit against Hilton and her company, Paris Hilton Entertainment.
The Entertainment Group Fund is an affiliate of Worldwide Entertainment Group, a one-time concert promoter that now stands accused of fleecing $300 million from investors.
Entertainment Group paid Hilton $1 million to star in Pledge This, filmed in South Florida.

This should be fun.

Terrible news

Anyone who has tried a case in Ft. Lauderdale knows Creolina's and Rosie. It closed. TERRIBLE NEWS. From the Sun-Sentinel:

Creolina’s, the New Orleans-style restaurant in Fort Lauderdale’s Himmarshee district, will reopen in Davie by September.
After 17 years, owner Mark Sulzinski closed the doors on Southwest Second Street on June 28th. His new restaurant, Creolina’s Dixie Take Out, will be located at 13150 W. State Rd. 84 in the Randal Plaza. There’s a Dunkin’ Donuts and a McDonald's in the same plaza.
“The owner of the building on Second owns the bar next door and he wanted my space to expand,” explains Sulzinski. “So he didn’t renew my lease.”
Creolina’s was on Second since 1996. It first opened in 1991 on Seventh Avenue between Sistrunk and Sunrise.
The house specialties—étouffée, jambalaya, beans and rice—will remain. But prices will be lower. Jambalaya was $8.95 a lunch and $12.95 at dinner. It will be $6.95 all day at the new Creolina’s.
The chef will also add classic Southern dishes, many of which he’s offered as specials. Look for country fried steak, chicken and dumplings, pulled pork and country-style ribs. Sides will includes corn bread, greens, black-eyed peas as well macaroni and cheese.
Fans of Creolina's can rest easy. Waitress Rosemary “Rosie” O’Neal, who has been at restaurant since it opened, will make the move to Davie.
“She’s having a nice vacation,” says Sulzinski. “ This is the longest we haven’t worked in 17 years. We’ve never taken more than a week at a time.”
Sulzinski doesn’t yet have phone service at the new location, but says the old number — 954-524-2003—will soon transfer callers.
If September can't come soon enough, Sulzinski teaches a class at Chef Jean-Pierre's Cooking School in Fort Lauderdale on August 25.

Enjoy it while it lasts...

One more week of good traffic.

Then school starts.

And people forget how to drive.

Law.com - Prosecutors Change Course on Money Laundering Charges Against Prominent Attorney

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423615601

Here's some reading, sent from the road.

The case keeps getting worse for the government. It's time to drop it already, isn't it?

--David Oscar Markus
www.markuslaw.com
305-379-6667

Agent Donald Pettit, RIP

More sad news today. Customs Agent Donald Pettit was shot to death in front of his daughter. The cause of the shooting looks like road rage. Herald article here.

Prosecutors seek protection

Julie Kay reports here on the government's desire to get prosecutors more protection:

In the wake of three murders and the recent attack on a federal prosecutor in a New York courtroom, a group representing the nation's federal prosecutors is calling for stepped-up security, including home alarms, self-defense training and the right to carry firearms.Additionally, the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys, which represents the country's 5,400 federal prosecutors, wants secure parking for prosecutors, particularly those who handle dangerous criminal cases."Statistically, we are threatened more than judges," said Steve Cook, chairman of the NAAUSA security committee and a Tennessee federal prosecutor. "Security is a very important issue for us."

Hmmmm. Self-defense training? My advice -- let the Marshals do the defending for you guys. That's all we need -- [INSERT NAME HERE] going toe to toe with an armed career criminal...

According to the article, prosecutors also want to be able to carry firearms without having to wait two weeks to get approval. Oh boy.... How long till a defense lawyer gets shot?

Steve Chaykin funeral

I just got back from Steven Chaykin's funeral, which was very emotional and extremely well-attended.

I only knew Steve professionally, having worked with him on a couple of cases. But after the funeral, I felt like I've known the guy for a long long time. His brother Robert Chaykin and his sister Robin Chaykin spoke beautifully. Donna Shalala from UM spoke, as did his friends Sam Rabin, David Mandel, Dan Gelber, and Bruce Udolf.

Rumpole wrote a very nice tribute on his blog about Steve. I echo the sentiment.

Here's more from SFlaLawyer:

Steve's younger brother Robert shared tearful remembrances of growing up in North Miami Beach, and running away at age 9 to the nearby Royal Castle and 163rd Street Mall, playing in a local band, and even getting into a sibling squabble or two.Steve's younger sister Robin perhaps is a secret Dylan ranter, as she quoted the lyrics from "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go":
But I'll see you in the sky above,In the tall grass, in the ones I love,Yer gonna make me lonesome when you go.
UM President Donna Shalala ended her eloquent tribute to a huge UM booster with an invitation to Steve's ten-year old daughter Sydney -- the door is always open for you at the University of Miami.Sam Rabin -- still shocked as are we all -- told old stories, funny stories, and gave us a picture of a man that he described as a total "mensch."David Mandel choked back tears as he quietly remembered a dear friend and mentor.Dan Gelber was funny, quick, and to the point as usual, and ended with some beautiful words to Steve's daughter about a man that he said "took him under his wing and never left."Bruce Udolf shared several remarkable stories of "Diamond Steve" Chaykin and the heyday of the US Attorney's Office in the 80s and early 90s. He even said that Steve and Bruce were perhaps planning to assist in restoring public trust in the US Attorney's office, and of course everyone in Steve's orbit shared his passion for politics and for a change in the direction of the country.