Chief Judge Altonaga issues new CARES Act Order

 You can read it here.

Basically it allows for video and telephonic hearings, but only for out of custody clients.  It does not continue jury trials.  The order is good for the next 90 days.

Congrats to your newest Magistrate Judge, Melissa Damian

Woohoo! This is great.

 

SDFLA Cert Grant

 This morning I posted some Supreme Court news, but I missed the big cert grant from this District.  Congrats to Andy Adler and Michael Caruso.  The case is Kemp v. United States. 

 The issue presented is: "Whether Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(1) authorizes relief based on a district court’s error of law."

The 11th Circuit opinion ruling against the defendant is here.   

This isn't their first trip to SCOTUS.  Adler argued last term in Terry v. United States.

Justice Sotomayor calls for Sentencing Commission to be formed

 She does so (joined by Justice Barrett) in this statement respecting the denial of certiorari. 

It is the responsibility of the Sentencing Commission to address this division to ensure fair and uniform application of the Guidelines. Cf. Braxton v. United States, 500 U. S. 344, 348 (1991). In March 2021, I wrote concerning an unresolved Circuit split over the proper interpretation of a Guideline. See Longoria v. United States, 592 U. S. ___. The Sentencing Commission lacked a quorum of voting members then, and it still does today. At this point, the Sentencing Commission has not had a quorum for three full years. As the instant petition illustrates, the resultant unresolved divisions among the Courts of Appeals can have direct and severe consequences for defendants’ sentences. I hope in the near future the Commission will be able to resume its important function in our criminal justice system.

Best wishes to JJO

 Magistrate Judge John O'Sullivan officially retired today, after serving on the bench since 1999 (before that, he was a prosecutor, where he led the Court Broom case).  

One of the good guys on the bench, that's for sure.  Despite COVID, there was a nice reception for him at the Ferguson building this afternoon.  Judge O'Sullivan was drinking from a huge mug of beer with ice. 

My selfie game wasn't on point though:

Lend A Helping Hand

BY MICHAEL CARUSO

 

As David’s loyal readers know, Judge Seitz (and Judge Ungaro and now with Judge Reid) has presided over the district’s CARE Court for the last several years. The “Court Assisted RE-entry” program recognizes that the transition from prison to the community is challenging. The program’s mission is to ensure returning citizens’ successful reentry into the community, reduce recidivism, and enhance public safety. CARE works to achieve these goals by educating the community on the complex issue of returning citizen reentry and by forming collaborative partnerships with service providers. The program seeks to address the many complex barriers returning citizens face when reentering society in such areas as employment, housing, education, medical and mental health, substance abuse, family reunification, and social networks.

Work and employment are crucial to success. Returning citizens need work for the same reasons as everyone else: to support themselves and their loved ones, pursue life goals, and strengthen their communities. To this end, many try to start their own businesses. 

Over the holidays, I came across this cookie company started by a person who honed his baking skills in prison. My order—Nutella Chocolate Chip—was fantastic. Many other companies were founded or employ returning citizens. In the new year, consider patronizing these businesses and lend a helping hand. 

Also, in the new year, you could do worse than following this advice from the late Joan Didion:

“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that’s what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it.”

 

For the Defense, Season 4, Episode 2: Mark Geragos for Susan McDougal

 

FOR THE DEFENSE SEASON 4, EPISODE 2
MARK GERAGOS (left) FOR SUSAN McDOUGAL (center)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Season 4 of For the Defense continues today with Mark Geragos for Susan McDougal.  You can check it out on all podcast platforms (including Apple, Spotify and Google. All other platforms can be accessed on this website.)  We launched a few weeks ago with Bruce Rogow (2 Live Crew and Luther Campbell) 

We will have new episodes every other Tuesday.  Upcoming episodes include:

• Juanita Brooks (John DeLorean)
• Gerry Goldstein (Deep Throat)
• Geoffrey Fieger (Dr. Jack Kevorkian)
• Brian Heberlig (Ali Sadr)
• Ed Shohat (Carlos Lehder)
• John Gleeson (Holloway Project)

Please send me your feedback -- and of course, subscribe, like and comment!  If you have a friend that would like to receive these updates, please have them sign up here. Or if you are tired of getting these updates (I hope not!), then there is a link to unsubscribe at the bottom of this email.

Thank you! --David

Hosted by David Oscar Markus and produced by rakontur

CONTACT: info@rakontur.com, dmarkus@markuslaw.com

A new hope.

 The Chief Justice issued his year end report here.  It starts with a feel-good story about the judiciary and former Chief and President Taft. Then, Justice Roberts discusses 3 areas that the judiciary is focused on for 2022: 1) financial disclosure and recusal obligations; 2) inappropriate behavior in the judicial workplace; and 3) judicial assignment and venue for patent cases.  I wonder how many of you were waiting on pins and needles for that third one!  I bet it keeps you up at night, doesn't it?

 Meantime, we have lots of work to do in the criminal justice system.  As an example, 10 years is certainly better than 110.  But 10 years for an accident is still obscene.  From CNN:

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is commuting the sentence of a truck driver who was sentenced to 110 years in prison for an interstate wreck that killed four people, he announced Thursday, calling the sentence "highly atypical and unjust."

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos will now serve a 10-year sentence and will be eligible for parole on December 30, 2026, according to a clemency letter Polis wrote to him.

Rogel Aguilera-Mederos will now serve a 10-year sentence and will be eligible for parole on December 30, 2026, according to a clemency letter Polis wrote to him.

Aguilera-Mederos was convicted in October on four counts of vehicular homicide and 23 other charges related to the fiery crash, according to Colorado's First Judicial District Attorney's Office.

He was driving a semi tractor-trailer in April 2019, traveling at 85 mph, when the brakes failed, he told investigators at the time. He tried to pull over to the shoulder to avoid stopped traffic, but another semi had already stopped there, according to an arrest affidavit.

The crash led to a 28-car pileup that left four dead, the Lakewood Police Department said at the time. Killed were Miguel Angel Lamas Arellano, 24; William Bailey, 67; Doyle Harrison, 61; and Stanley Politano, 69.

"The length of your 110-year sentence is simply not commensurate with your actions, nor with penalties handed down to others for similar crimes," Polis wrote in the clemency letter.

The lengthy sentence had drawn national scrutiny, with celebrities like Kim Kardashian West calling for a lesser penalty. More than 5 million people signed a petition asking the governor to reduce Aguilera-Mederos' sentence.

In his letter, Polis wrote the "arbitrary and unjust" sentence was "the result of a law of Colorado passed by the legislature and signed by a prior Governor and is not the fault of the judge who handed down the mandatory sentence required by the law in this case."

During Aguilera-Mederos' sentencing hearing earlier this month, Colorado District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones said he was bound to the mandatory-minimum sentencing laws in the state, according to CNN affiliate KMGH.