Judge Graham to receive prestigious award

Congrats to Judge Donald Graham who is receiving the William M. Hoeveler Award for ethics and leadership in the legal profession from the University of Miami School of Law Center for Ethics & Public Service. The reception is at 4pm on March 25th and the ceremony is at 4:30. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP to Susan Nelson at 305-284-3934.

Google Mistrial

The NY Times has an article about the mistrial in Judge Zloch's courtroom last week after jurors did internet research:

Last week, a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida admitted to the judge that he had been doing research on the case on the Internet, directly violating the judge’s instructions and centuries of legal rules. But when the judge questioned the rest of the jury, he got an even bigger shock.
Eight other jurors had been doing the same thing. The federal judge, William J. Zloch, had no choice but to declare a mistrial, wasting eight weeks of work by federal prosecutors and defense lawyers.
“We were stunned,” said the defense lawyer, Peter Raben, who was told by the jury that he was on the verge of winning the case. “It’s the first time modern technology struck us in that fashion, and it hit us right over the head.”
It might be called a Google mistrial. The use of BlackBerrys and iPhones by jurors gathering and sending out information about cases is wreaking havoc on trials around the country, upending deliberations and infuriating judges.

Anything judges can do to make sure jurors don't hop on the internet, or is this going to happen in every case?

Judges dispute goes public

Many of you have seen on the email rounds the Zloch-Moreno memos that went back and forth. We made the decision not to blog about it for the reasons Judge Palermo articulated in this Julie Kay article. But now that it's in the DBR, we post the article for your review. I am in Court this morning, so I will have more soon.

Thanks South Florida Lawyer!

Well, after a month of working around the clock, I'm back. It was almost impossible to blog during the trial, so thankfully South Florida Lawyer agreed to step in. He was fantastic and kept the blog alive. Thanks! You are welcome here anytime!

So let's get right back to it. The new courthouse is busy with lots of trials. (As for trying a case in the new courthouse, I thought the technology was great and the layout of the courtroom wasn't as bas as I thought it would be. I think the downsides of the courthouse so far are: 1) no cafeteria and 2) cramped security checkpoint to get in.)

The highest profile case is USA v. Helio Castroneves before Judge Graham. Jay Weaver had a Sunday report in the paper here:

Helio Castroneves was born with a car-racing gene.
He sped from go-karting to Formula Three to IndyCar, his big break coming in late 1999 when Penske Racing signed him. He won the Indy 500 two years straight and finished second in 2003 -- milestones for the celebrated race.
''He had the ability to do things that human beings can only dream of,'' his powerhouse lawyer, Roy Black, told a jury in Miami earlier this month. ``This has taken him to the heights of athletic stardom.''
Now the Brazilian driver's soaring career, fueled by the fame of also winning the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars, is at risk of crashing in the most unlikely place: a federal courtroom. Castroneves, 33, stands accused along with his sister and business manager, Katiucia Castroneves, and his Michigan sports lawyer, Alan R. Miller, of cheating the IRS.
In a seven-count indictment, Castroneves is charged with conspiring with them to evade paying taxes on more than $5 million from a Penske contract dating back a decade. Ironically, Castroneves, who owns a Coral Gables mansion decorated with his trophies, has yet to receive any of that income from Penske.
But that's the point of the U.S. government's case against the trio, because prosecutors say Castroneves should have already paid taxes on that income -- regardless of whether he has actually received it. The three defendants are accused of masterminding a tax dodge across two continents so that Castroneves wouldn't ever have to pay the IRS -- especially if he were to move to a tax haven such as Monaco for retirement.
How the 12-person jury will view the charges amid a crumbling economy remains to be seen. But for Castroneves -- a fun-loving guy known for leading cheers with racing fans -- the outcome could not be more serious.

Next up is the penalty phase in the case of the killing of the Escobedo family along Florida's Turnpike. Here's Vanessa Blum's article:

The prospect of history will hang over a West Palm Beach federal courtroom Monday as 12 jurors weigh whether two men should receive the death penalty for executing a family of four along Florida's Turnpike.The same jury found Daniel Troya and Ricardo Sanchez Jr. guilty on March 5 of armed carjacking resulting in the deaths of Luis Escobedo, 28; his wife, Yessica Guerrero Escobedo, 25; and their sons, Luis Julian, 4, and Luis Damian, 3.No federal defendant in Florida has been condemned to die since Congress reauthorized capital punishment in 1988. However, this case could be different because the deaths of young children tend to sway juries, attorneys said.

And of course, here's the obligatory Helio picture, with Julianne of course.

HOORAY!

You know who here, still...oh hail let's get right to John Pacenti's delicious write-up of the big man's big win:

“This verdict restored my faith in our justice system,” said David O. Markus, one of Shaygan’s attorneys. “It shows win-at-all costs takes a back seat to justice.”

Marc Seitles and Robin Kaplan also represented the doctor.

Seitles was hollering “not guilty” outside the courtroom after the verdict was read in front of U.S. District Court Judge Alan S. Gold.

U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta has said the secret taping of Markus and a defense investigator was wrong, and Cronin and Hoffman violated office policy. The matter has been referred to Justice Department’s Office of Professional Regulation for review.

...

Markus, [Robin Kaplan,] and Seitles said in court documents that Cronin threatened the case would take “a seismic shift” if Shaygan challenged a claim by a Drug Enforcement Administration agent that the doctor failed to invoke his right to counsel when questioned.

Prosecutors promptly filed 100 more counts after Shaygan filed the motion to suppress, which eventually was won by the defense.

Nice quote, David! I also like this exchange from the Sun-Sentinel:

Several jurors lingered outside the courtroom to congratulate Shaygan and his defense team.

"The jury did the right thing," said David O. Markus, Shaygan's lead attorney. "This sends a message that justice prevails."

But Shaygan said he is unsure he will return to practicing medicine.

"I know 100 percent that I want to continue helping people," he said. "That's the most important thing."

Helping people.....has a nice ring to it.

Waiting For the Man.

SFL here, waiting like everyone else for the jury to come back in the big man's trial:

"Addicts sometimes lie to get their drugs and doctors are going to get fooled," defense attorney David Markus said. "But that doesn't make them drug dealers."

Shaygan is charged with 141 counts of unlawful prescribing. He is accused of causing the 2007 overdose death of a West Palm Beach man.

The jury begins deliberations today. If convicted, Shaygan, who lives in Miami Beach, could face more than 20 years in prison.

During the three-week trial, jurors heard from former patients, medical experts and undercover police who went to Shaygan's office posing as pain patients.

Shaygan also took the stand, insisting he did his best to care for his patients. To convict, prosecutors must show Shaygan prescribed medication without "legitimate medical purpose."

In his closing argument, Cronin called Shaygan's medical practice a "charade" and his medical degree "a license to deal drugs."

But Markus said Shaygan gave patients random urine tests to screen for illicit drugs and dismissed several he suspected of abusing narcotics, proving he was no pill pusher.

I'll let you all know as soon as I hear anything.

UPDATE: Rump calls it for the big man!!!

Closing Arguments in the Shaygan Trial

Hi kids, SFL still in da' house (to paraphrase rap artist/Congresswoman Bachmann), while the big man does that thing trial lawyers do, what is it again, oh yeah:

Prosecutors and defense lawyers will make closing arguments today in the trial of a South Florida physician accused of acting as a drug dealer.

Dr. Ali Shaygan, 36, faces 141 counts of improper prescribing and is charged with causing the 2007 overdose death of a West Palm Beach man.

If convicted, he faces at least 20 years in prison.

I see David put his client on the stand:

"Have you ever just sold [prescriptions] for cash?" his attorney asked.

"No, never," Shaygan answered.

The trial, which has lasted almost four weeks, has been contentious, with aggressive lawyering on both sides.

Last week, Shaygan's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Alan Gold to throw out the case because government agents secretly taped phone calls between the defense team and trial witnesses.

Prosecutors have said the taping "was not handled as well as it should have been," but that the charges should stand.

GOOD LUCK DAVID!!

Shaygan Trial Cross-Examination

SFL here, because David is there:

'These people there said, `Tape-record the defense,' '' defense attorney David O. Markus declared, pointing to prosecutors Sean Cronin and Andrea Hoffman. ``When I called you, you tape-recorded me.''

The government witness, Trinity Clendening, agreed, admitting he recorded Markus on his home phone two times in December.

The strained exchange marked the second time that the defense lawyer got an opportunity to cross-examine Clendening, a Drug Enforcement Administration informant who inadvertently revealed on the witness stand last month that he had taped their conversations before the trial.

Markus said those recordings, along with a second government witness' taping of his private investigator, may have improperly given prosecutors a window into the defense strategy.

Markus attacked Clendening during the cross-examination for asking for money on the phone, suggesting the solicitation was meant to set him up as a lawyer who would pay for information. Markus is seeking to have his client's indictment thrown out.

U.S. District Alan Gold has the authority to dismiss the indictment, declare a mistrial or allow the trial to be completed. He also could instruct the jury on how to weigh the two government witnesses' testimony.

The U.S. attorney's office, though admitting it made a ''mistake'' by failing to follow policy, opposed a dismissal or mistrial. Last week. U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the case supervisor, Karen Gilbert, should have sought approval from him and two other senior officials before having the two government witnesses place recording devices on their phones.

Ok, that speaks to (but doesn't answer, in my mind) the authority to record question. What about the disclosure issue?

Oh hail, I'm going back to civil litigation.