The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Another holiday NG
A few posts ago, I told you about Steve Bronis and Paul Calli taking on the feds up in DC. Well today, the judge (Richard J. Leon) entered a Rule 29 for their client in a large FCPA case after a twelve week trial. Very sweet win for these guys who have been working very hard out of town for a long time. Congrats.
Getting to Not Guilty
Well, Judges Kathy Williams and Bob Scola have their first federal trials under their belts. The jury in both cases came back with not guilty verdicts across the board. Nice holiday presents to the defendants!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Paul Calli takes on the feds in DC
More misconduct in a high profile trial. Main Justice covers the story, but you need to be a member to access the content:
UPDATE -- MAIN JUSTICE CALLED ME AND SAID I NEEDED TO TAKE DOWN THE CONTENT THAT I POSTED. OH WELL...
Monday, December 19, 2011
DBR's year in review
It's a fun read. And it's been a typical Miami year, and that means craziness. From Rothstein to Nevin Shapiro to Lewis Freeman... the "only-in-Miami" list goes on and on.
Other than the Rothstein depo, I think everything else is pretty much shut down for the next two weeks.
If anything is going on, email me!
Other than the Rothstein depo, I think everything else is pretty much shut down for the next two weeks.
If anything is going on, email me!
Friday, December 16, 2011
Miami's new magistrate
Congrats to Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes, our newest magistrate. She was Judge Highsmith's career law clerk, from 1991-2002. She currently works at Legon Ponce & Fodiman. Excellent news during the holiday season!
All quiet...
Nothing really going on here in the Southern District, so we'll see you on Monday. In the meantime, use the comments to predict Barry Bonds' sentencing, which is today. He is asking for house arrest and the government is asking for 15 months. Talk to me.
UPDATE -- No jail time. 2 years house arrest.
UPDATE -- No jail time. 2 years house arrest.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Exploding federal criminal code
The Wall Street Journal is doing a nice job (here and here) covering how ridiculous the federal criminal code has become. (Previous coverage of the Maple Syrup proposal on this blog here). From the WSJ:
The federal criminal code has grown so large it ensnares everyday citizens who have no idea they are violating the law, a bipartisan group of legal experts told a House panel Tuesday.
There are about 4,500 criminal statutes, said Edwin Meese, attorney general under President Ronald Reagan and now with the conservative Heritage Foundation. "This is in addition to over 300,000 other regulations that don't appear in the federal code but nevertheless carry essentially criminal penalties including prison," he said. "So the vast array of traps for the unwary that lurks out there in federal criminal law is more extensive than most people realize." The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts figures some 80,000 defendants are sentenced in federal court each year.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R., Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's panel on crime, terrorism and homeland security,and several panelists cited an article in Monday's Wall Street Journal, part of a yearlong series about the expansion of the federal criminal code and the erosion of "criminal intent" requirements. The article chronicled the conviction of one Maryland man for actions prosecutors said weren't intentional. It explained how Lawrence Lewis ended up with a federal criminal record while trying to deal with clogged toilets at a military retirement home in Washington, D.C.
"He was subject to the same law that [would apply to] somebody who knowingly, willingly dumped toxic materials into a navigable water," said Mr. Sensenbrenner, who has introduced a bill to shrink the federal criminal code by a third and to define the level of criminal intent necessary to break the law.
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