"We Need Cameras in Trump’s Courtroom"

This is the title of my latest piece.  Here's the intro:

Donald Trump is about to make his first appearance in federal court in Miami. It’s an historic case, and there is wall-to-wall coverage of it. And yet, the public will not see any of the proceedings from inside the courtroom; instead, we will have to rely on the few reporters who are able to get seats inside and a sketch artist, who may have all the talent in the world, but will not be able to do it the justice that a cellphone camera would.

We will not be able to see the former president’s expression when the charges are read. We won’t be able to hear him if he speaks. We won’t be able to view the judge when she releases Mr. Trump on bail. And that’s too bad. We have a right to see it all.

Forget about cameras, reporters won’t even be permitted in the courtroom with their phones, tablets or computers. That means no live reporting on Twitter and no emails to the newsrooms with updates. In a world focused on information and news as it happens, this is unacceptable.

Trump isn't the only one making news in South Florida

 Soon-to-be presidential hopeful and current Mayor Francis Suarez is under investigation.  From Jay Weaver:

The FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission have opened parallel investigations into developer Rishi Kapoor’s business dealings in South Florida, focusing separately on his hiring of Miami’s mayor as a consultant on local projects and his raising of funds from investors, the Miami Herald has learned. Sources familiar with both probes say the FBI’s criminal investigation centers on $10,000 monthly payments made to Mayor Francis Suarez from a subsidiary of Kapoor’s company, Location Ventures. Special agents with the FBI’s public corruption squad began questioning witnesses this week, according to sources, zeroing in on whether the payments constitute bribes in exchange for securing permits or other favors from the mayor for Location Ventures’ mixed-use project in Coconut Grove. Meanwhile, the SEC confirmed that it is also looking into Location Ventures in a response denying the Herald access to public records related to the agency’s inquiry. Sources say its investigators are digging deeper into whether Kapoor and his company were selling investment contracts without registering them as securities, misrepresenting potential profits to investors or misappropriating funds for personal expenses. The regulatory agency’s probe has been under way since early this year. The heightened federal interest in Kapoor’s business and his relationship with the mayor comes after the Miami Herald exposed Location Ventures’ consulting payments to Suarez and detailed internal corporate records that indicated the mayor and his office helped Kapoor overcome a significant permitting hurdle threatening his $70 million Coconut Grove development. The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics and Public Trust and the State Attorney’s Office have also opened inquiries.

Trump indictment unsealed

 Here it is.

Judge Cannon assigned to Trump case, ABC reports

 Here's the article:

The summons sent to former President Donald Trump and his legal team late Thursday indicates that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will be assigned to oversee his case, at least initially, according to sources briefed on the matter.

Cannon's apparent assignment would add yet another unprecedented wrinkle to a case involving the first federal charges against a former president: Trump appointed Cannon to the federal bench in 2019, meaning that, if Trump is ultimately convicted, she would be responsible for determining the sentence – which may include prison time – for the man who elevated her to the role.

A federal grand jury voted to indict Trump on at least seven federal charges late Thursday as part of an investigation into his handling of classified documents, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The indictment comes after more than 100 documents with classified markings were found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in August 2022.

Trump Indicted

By John R. Byrne

The shoe has officially dropped. CNN covers it here. Initial appearance will be next Tuesday. Going to be a busy courthouse. No word yet on judge assignment. 

Judge Raag Singhal shows us what real judging is like... issues sentence of time served.

 Check out the sentencing transcript below.  We need more judges like Judge Singhal, who recognizes that not every conviction requires jail or even probation:

It's the judgment the Court that on this particular

case Mr. Cherenfant not be placed in custody, be technically

sentenced to a sentence of time served.

With regard to probation, what I'll do just for record

purposes, I'm going to place him on one day probation with no

special conditions. And I'm going to automatically early

terminate it once I finish what I have to say.

So Mr. Cherenfant, the other people in this courtroom

have heard this before, but you come to me, and I'm in a

position where I've presided over just about 10,000 sentencing

hearings. That's a lot more sentencing hearings than most

people. Between being a lawyer and a judge, I've been in the

criminal court system every day since June 5th, 1990. So this

is actually my 33rd anniversary of being in a criminal court.

And you did something wrong, but I've never had a

defendant appear before me who has had such an exemplary past.

And one thing that criminal lawyers know is that you try to

take the full measure of a man when you sentence them, and you

don't judge them by their worst day. And frankly, that

argument's designed for people that have had a lot of bad days.

And so that's why they talk about the worst day. You don't

even have a lot of bad days. I mean, I'm stretching to find

another bad day. I don't think the traffic ticket's

necessarily a bad day. I mean, it caused you to make positive

changes in your life.

But, you know, you did a lot of things here to try to

help you. You worked with the government in the sense that

this case came before the Court via an information, not an

indictment, and you worked with your lawyer, and you admitted

your guilt. And I know that you and your children and your

wife will be very successful going forward. You just have to

keep doing the things that you've been doing. And, of course,

if you travel to Haiti again, you know what these requirements

are. And I do wish you the best of luck. 

Cherenfant Sentencing by David Oscar Markus on Scribd

um.... legal writing?

 

Grand jury in *Florida* to hear document case against Trump

 Interesting that the special counsel has chosen Florida instead of D.C.  From NBC:

A federal grand jury will meet this week in Florida to hear evidence in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

It is not clear how the court proceedings in Florida relate to the work of a separate grand jury in Washington, where prosecutors had been presenting evidence and witness testimony for months. The development was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Why prosecutors are using multiple grand juries, and whether they are ready to seek an indictment in either jurisdiction is unknown. The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation.