Compassionate release for man serving life, by Mikayla Espinosa

GUEST POST BY MIKAYLA ESPINOSA*

Last week, Judge Altonaga granted Luis Cano’s request for compassionate release, reducing his life sentence to a term of time served.

Mr. Cano, who suffers from severe hypertension and thus is at an increased risk from COVID-19 complications, was sentenced twenty-four years ago under the continuing criminal enterprise statute. He was serving his sentence at USP Terre Haute, a BOP facility experiencing a massive COVID outbreak.

In September, Mr. Cano filed a pro se motion for compassionate release, which Judge Altonaga denied in a lengthy order. Andrea Lopez and Sam Rabin then took on the case with the unenviable task of filing a motion for reconsideration.

They were successful: Judge Altonaga found that potential legal flaws with Mr. Cano’s sentence, disparities in sentencing, the BOP’s failure to provide adequate medical treatment for Mr. Cano, and the 3553a sentencing factors all supported Mr. Cano’s release­. She also found that her earlier denial of Mr. Cano’s pro se motion had resulted in manifest injustice that justified granting the motion for consideration.

As a central part of her analysis, Judge Altonaga revisited her earlier ruling and determined that the First Step Act allows courts to consider whatever grounds for release they deem extraordinary and compelling, regardless of whether those grounds were identified by the Sentencing Commission. Although the Eleventh Circuit has not yet decided the issue, Judge Altonaga was moved by the decisions and reasoning of other circuits. This significant opinion gives real power to the First Step Act by empowering courts to go beyond limitations previously imposed on compassionate release by both the Sentencing Commission and the Bureau of Prisons.

Andrea and Sam did exceptional work. Their brief (which Judge Altonaga acknowledged to be cogent and well supported) is a goldmine for any defense attorney advancing an argument for compassionate relief.

The case is United States v. Cano, 95-00481-CR-ALTONAGA.

*DOM note: Thank you to Mikayla for her guest posts, which are great content for the blog.  If you are also interested in writing guest posts, please feel free to email me.

Don't shush opposing counsel during depos.

And definitely do NOT insert bad haikus into pleadings. 

If you do, the 11th Circuit will affirm sanctions against you:

Peter, a member of the Florida bar who holds himself out as a bankruptcy attorney, argues that the district court abused its discretion in sanctioning him. The conduct that led to the sanctions included, among other things, his repeated “shushing” of opposing counsel during a deposition; his submission of lengthy and superfluous filings, one in which he wrote a nonsensical haiku; his argument that the bankruptcy court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to preside over a dispute explicitly provided for in the Bankruptcy Code; and his assertion that he did not know what a privilege log was despite being a barred attorney. 

I mean, it might be nonsensical to you, 11th Circuit, but come on... art is in the eye of the beholder:

Peter then filed a 153-page motion for reconsideration of the bankruptcy court’s order denying him summary judgment, including in it accusations of domestic violence against Howard, as well as other immaterial details about family life. The filing concluded with what the bankruptcy court would later describe as “pointless poetry”—the haiku, which read: “All know: talk is cheap; Liars can claim anything; No evidence?! Balk!” The bankruptcy court denied the motion for reconsideration.  

Nonsensical?

Pointless?

How dare you!

Here's a New York Times article explaining what "art" is and whether it's "good."

Meantime... it's not easy to write 153 pages that includes poetry...

 

SDFLA to start live-streaming hearings

Well, this should be interesting! SDFLA is one of 13 pilot districts to try it out. This is a no-brainer in my book (especially after Covid), so I love the move.

From Courthousenews.com:

In announcing Tuesday it will give the public access to noteworthy cases via audio livestream, the federal court system will move a few rungs closer to the 21st century — at least in 13 districts.

These livestreams will be available on the courts’ designated YouTube channels in real-time, the U.S. Courts said Tuesday.

“While the pilot temporarily suspends a prohibition on broadcasting federal court proceedings in the designated courts, the livestreams may not be recorded or rebroadcast,” the federal judiciary said. The Judicial Conference of the United States adopted a prohibition against “broadcasting, televising, recording, or taking photographs in the courtroom and areas immediately adjacent thereto” in 1972 for both criminal and civil cases.

U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig chairs the courts’ national policy-making body, which authorized the test program earlier this year. Its purpose, she said in a statement, is to study the livestreaming civil proceeding audio from policy, technical, operational, budgetary and administrative perspectives.

The pilot is also a nod to the federal judiciary’s commitment to transparency and increasing public access to court proceedings, Fleissig said, noting this is “an issue that has taken on even greater importance in the last year” as many courts have been forced to restrict in-person public access to courthouses due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“At the same time, we want to develop the best practices for the process and ensure that any new practices do not compromise the integrity of federal court proceedings. That is why we are taking a measured and deliberative approach by working with volunteer pilot courts,” Fleissig said.

The move is a big one for reporters across the country who will have a much easier time covering high-profile cases, said Genelle Belmas, an associate journalism professor at the University of Kansas. The Kansas Federal Court is participating in the program.

“This is a big step in the right direction for making material available, making content available to reporters,” she said in a phone interview, adding that federal courts are just beginning to “dip a toe in the water” when it comes to expanding virtual proceedings in line with the appellate courts.

“Journalists complain a lot about not having sufficient access and this makes it so that there are fewer excuses,” Belmas said.

11th Circuit affirms dismissal of Parkland shooting case

 Here's the opinion (which affirms Judge Bloom) by Chief Judge Pryor.  The intro:

This appeal requires us to decide whether the district court erred when it dismissed a civil-rights action filed by students present at the Parkland school shooting. The students sued Broward County and five public officials on the theory that their response to the school shooting was so incompetent that it violated the students’ substantive rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The district court dismissed this claim with prejudice because it was an impermissible  shotgun pleading and, in the alternative, because it failed to state a claim and leave to amend it would be futile. On the merits, the district court reasoned that because the students were not in a custodial relationship with the officials and failed to allege conduct by the officials that is “arbitrary” or “shocks the conscience,” the students could not maintain a claim that the officials violated their substantive right to due process of law. The students appeal this decision, but settled caselaw makes clear that official acts of negligence or even incompetence in this setting do not violate the right to due process of law.
Because we agree with the district court that the students failed to state a claim of a constitutional violation and that leave to amend would be futile, we affirm.

“Social media is mightier than Gov. DeSantis's guns“

 That’s the title of this piece I just wrote for The Hill.  You can read the whole thing here: https://thehill.com/opinion/criminal-justice/529939-social-media-is-mightier-than-gov-desantiss-guns

From the introduction:

You would think we’ve all gotten used to seeing crazy things caught on camera and posted to social media. But, no… it seems every day there’s something more outrageous and jaw-dropping than the day before. The insane video for this week shows law enforcement officers pointing guns at a scientist’s husband and two small children inside their home.

That’s right — a battery of police officers in bullet proof vests drew their guns at Rebekah Jones’s house on Monday morning while executing a search warrant to seize her electronics.

Jones, a former employee of Florida’s Department of Health, must have been suspected of some pretty bad stuff to necessitate this drastic action, right? Murder? RICO? Robbery?

Nope.

She has been accused of sending an unauthorized email to the State Emergency Response Team that said: “Speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don’t have to be a part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late.” Jones denies sending the email. But even if there were irrefutable proof that she had, this “investigation” involved a non-violent “crime” and a non-violent “suspect.” I put those words in quotes because… come on. This doesn’t seem like a real investigation into a real crime. It seems a lot more like pay back (more of which in a moment). Even a high-ranking and life-long Republican stepped down from his political post because of this “case.”

Who will be the next U.S. Attorney in the SDFLA? (UPDATED)

 The rumors are already swirling around town.  But there doesn't seem to be any procedure in place for applying or for vetting.  And it's unclear how Sens. Rubio and Scott will work with the Biden White House on the U.S. Attorney (and on judges for that matter).  In any event, the names I've heard so far for for the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida:

1.    Jackie Arango, partner at Akerman (former AUSA)

2.    David Buckner, partner at Bucker + Miles (former AUSA).

3.    Markenzy Lapointe, partner at Pillsbury (former AUSA).

4.    Curt Miner, partner at Colson Hicks (former AUSA).

5.     Andres Rivero, partner at Rivero Mestre (former AUSA).

6.     Joan Silverstein, current AUSA (chief of the criminal division).

UPDATED -- 7. Marianne Curtis, partner at Berger Singerman (former AUSA). 

I think that's a really good slate.  All extremely smart, respected, and qualified, with lots of experience.

Have you heard any other names?

11th Circuit makes quick work of election lawsuits

 Here’s one that was published over the weekend. Judges that were appointed by three different Presidents (including Trump SCOTUS short-lister Barbara Lagoa) ruled unanimously. Chief Judge William Pryor, another previous Trump short-lister for SCOTUS) wrote the majority. It starts like this:

This appeal requires us to decide whether we have jurisdiction over an appeal from the denial of a request for emergency relief in a post-election lawsuit. Ten days after the presidential election, L. Lin Wood Jr., a Georgia voter, sued state election officials to enjoin certification of the general election results, to secure a new recount under different rules, and to establish new rules for an upcoming runoff election. Wood alleged that the extant absentee-ballot and recount procedures violated Georgia law and, as a result, his federal constitutional rights. After Wood moved for emergency relief, the district court denied his motion. We agree with the district court that Wood lacks standing to sue because he fails to allege a particularized injury. And because Georgia has already certified its election results and its slate of presidential electors, Wood’s requests for emergency relief are moot to the extent they concern the 2020 election. The Constitution makes clear that federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, U.S. Const. art. III; we may not entertain post-election contests about garden-variety issues of vote counting and misconduct that may properly be filed in state courts. We affirm

Greatest lineup ever

One of the fun parts of doing the podcast For the Defense is hearing follow-up stories about the lawyers and cases. I've received a lot of feedback on the Roy Black interview about the Luis Alvarez case.  

Here's one bit of information I did not know before the interview -- there was a photo lineup conducted where witnesses were asked to identify the shooter (Officer Alvarez).  Alvarez had a mustache, so the folks putting together the lineup got a bunch of pictures of police officers and others with mustaches.  But they needed one more (Alvarez is #4) and couldn't find a usable picture.  So they asked a familiar face to join the lineup in picture # 6 below:

Any guesses?  I'll put the answer in the comments so it's not spoiled here.