Amici support Cuban 5

John Pacenti covers the amicus briefs filed in support of the Cuban 5:

Nobel laureates, scholars and international organizations have flooded the U.S. Supreme Court with legal briefs in support of five convicted Cuban spies, arguing the defendants were sandbagged from the start because the Miami trial took place in a city defined by decades of anti-Castro fervor.
A dozen amicus briefs focus mainly on U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard’s denial of a defense motion to move the trial 25 miles north to Fort Lauderdale.
Her refusal "guaranteed that jurors would be drawn from a cross-section of a community inflamed by passion, warped by prejudice, awed by violence and menaced by the virulence of public opinion," according to a petitions filed by the Civil Rights Clinic at Howard University School of Law in Washington.
The Howard brief has particularly offended the Cuban-American community, said Roland Sanchez-Medina, president of the Cuban American Bar Association. If the Supreme Court decides to hear the case, he said his organization would respond with an amicus brief of its own.
"They obvious did zero actual research to do with anything about the Cuban-American community," he said. "It’s unbelievably inflammatory, ignorant and completely baseless."

Supreme Court stud Tom Goldstein is heading up the Supreme Court litigation for the five:

Tom Goldstein of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Washington, who is handling the Supreme Court appeal for the convicted spies, noted support for the defendants has come "from people from all over the world."
Judge Lenard ruled anti-Castro hostility related "to events other than the espionage activities in which defendants were allegedly involved," and any partiality could be vetted during jury selection.
"This was a serious injustice, and it sent all the wrong signals to the world about our commitment to a fair and impartial trial," Goldstein said.

Interesting article, but Pacenti should have given a little more pub to Richard Klugh, who has been guy writing the legal papers throughout these proceedings.

"Unequal Justice"

That's the title of this riveting Miami New Times piece about prison rape at the Miami FDC. We blogged on this issue before here. Below is the intro to the in depth article that is worth a read:

On the fifth floor of the Federal Detention Center in Miami, a short and stocky inmate stood sweeping the floor. Her name was Shonda Ross, and in her 32 years, she had seen the inside of more than a few prisons like this one — Tallahassee, Raleigh, and Danbury, Connecticut, among them. She had learned to survive in prison; she knew how to make friends with people who could protect her and get her the things she needed, such as the girlfriend in Tallahassee who smuggled in drugs from the back fence. But nothing prepared her for this place.
Built in 1995, the prison featured a Depression-era Art Deco exterior that was a cheery nod to South Beach, but other than that, everything was standard: a white-washed concrete shell for a room, a metal bunk with a thin mattress, a toilet made of steel. There were television sets in the common area, a rec room with Ping-Pong tables, and a place to smoke and get a bit of fresh air. But here in her room with the metal door shut, she was blocked off from all of that. She couldn't hear the traffic humming outside on NE Fifth Street; she couldn't feel the muggy summer heat or hear the music from cars going to the beach. She was sealed off, a stark fluorescent bulb above her, alone with her thoughts.
She churned her broom, picking up dust bunnies off the gray linoleum floor. She was an attractive woman, with disarming, fawn-like brown eyes that had attracted both men and women. The name of one lover decorated her right arm; a tiny red heart adorned her left breast.
She heard the door click open. Through the reflection of the stainless-steel plate that served as her mirror, she could see the figure of a large black man entering her cell.
He sported the uniform of a federal corrections officer: crisp white button-down shirt, neatly pressed gray slacks, sharp black tie, and shiny black shoes. He stood five-foot-nine — four inches taller than her — and carried 200 pounds of taut, sinewy muscle. She recognized him right away. He'd been here before, and every time it was the same thing.
As he moved closer, she could feel his hot breath on her neck. He unbuttoned her jumpsuit, pulled it off her soft shoulders, and let the red cotton garment fall to the floor. He led her to the bottom bunk and sat her down. He didn't have to say anything. They both know why he was there. She leaned back, closed her eyes, and waited for it to end.

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!!!