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
The blog will be very slow over the next two weeks.
Judges, check out this order. We hope you agree!
I'm not sure I can say it any better than the excellent Federal Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison.
— Raffi Melkonian (@RMFifthCircuit) December 19, 2023
I too do not want anyone to work the next two weeks, and hope that you can spend as much time as you can with family and friends. pic.twitter.com/LoS4uU3SAL
Well this will be a Merry Christmas for Alex Saab.
He was indicted before Judge Scola in a sprawling indictment alleging FCPA and other violations. He was sitting at FDC. But Venezuela struck a deal with the U.S. to return up to 10 Americans in custody in exchange for Saab. From the AP:
The Biden administration has released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a swap for jailed Americans, The Associated Press has learned.
Alex Saab, who was arrested on a U.S. warrant for money laundering in 2020, was released from custody Wednesday. In exchange, Maduro will free some, if not all, of the at least 10 U.S. citizens who remain imprisoned in Venezuela, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The White House declined to comment.
On Friday and again on Monday, two docket entries were filed under seal in the long-dormant criminal case out of federal court in Miami, an indication that a behind-the-scenes deal was in the works.
The U.S. has long accused Saab of being a bag man for Maduro. Saab’s release would be seen as a major concession to Maduro, an authoritarian leader who is himself the target of a $15 million U.S. reward for anyone bringing him to New York to face drug trafficking charges.
The deal is also likely to anger the Venezuelan opposition, who have of late criticized the White House for standing by as the leader of the OPEC nation has repeatedly outmaneuvered the U.S. government after the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign failed to topple him.
Chief Justice John Roberts begins his tribute to Justice O'Connor: "It has been said that the Supreme Court is like a family, a family composed entirely of in-laws." #SCOTUS pic.twitter.com/q4E01hJjdI
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 19, 2023
Well, I wrote this post about the oral argument, and then the Court decided the case. That was quick! Here's the opinion by Chief Judge Pryor, denying Meadows removal claim. The intro ends this way: "Because federal-officer removal under section 1442(a)(1) does not apply to former federal officers, and even it it did, the events giving rise to this criminal action were not related to Meadows's official duties, we affirm."
Judge Rosenbaum concurs and describes a "nightmare scenario" (not protecting former federal officers from state prosecutions) that "keeps [her] up at night."
Both opinions are worth your read -- two of our best writers on display. And both were podcast guests, if you want to hear more about their writing styles! :)
***
The original post about oral argument:Politico covered the argument here:
A federal appeals court panel took a skeptical stance Friday toward an effort by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to have a federal court take and potentially dismiss the state charges pending against him for allegedly trying to tamper with the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
All three members of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals panel raised sharp questions about Meadows’ argument that his role as Donald Trump’s chief of staff requires federal courts — rather than the courts in Fulton County, Ga. — to oversee the case in which he, Trump and 17 others were charged in an alleged racketeering conspiracy.
During a 50-minute oral argument session in Atlanta, the appeals judges expressed particular skepticism about Meadows’ effort to claim that his work to help Trump secure a second term even after states had certified his defeat — conduct at the heart of the charges against him in Georgia — were part of his official chief-of-staff duties.
“That just cannot be right,” said Judge Robin Rosenbaum, an appointee of President Barack Obama. She specifically cited “electioneering on behalf of a specific political candidate” and “an alleged effort to unlawfully change the outcome of the election” as examples of what would fall outside a government official’s duties.
...17.
Woweee.
He's now your friendly neighborhood D.A.
More from the ABA:
Park’s father brought up the idea of attending law school when Park was only age 13, the younger Park told the Washington Post. Park’s father had discovered that his son could apply to law school in California without an undergraduate degree if he passed the College Level Examination Program tests.
Park began studying, He passed the CLEP exams while he was still in eighth grade and began applying to law schools.
Park enrolled in the four-year online program at the Northwestern California University School of Law at the same time that he was beginning high school. Park was able to graduate high school in 2021, at the end of 10th grade, by taking the California High School Proficiency Exam. Then he was able to devote full time to his law studies.
After Park passed the bar, his father self-published a book called Fast-Track Attorney: Passing the Bar at Age 17.
Park’s sisters are 16 and 13, and they are enrolled at the Northwestern California University School of Law. Park says the older sister plans to take the bar exam in July, and if she passes, she will surpass his age record.
Park told the San Francisco Chronicle that others could also follow in his footsteps.
A while back, the blog covered the 60 million dollar verdict entered against City of Miami commissioner Joe Carollo based on his actions related to the Ball & Chain restaurant/bar. But there's also a lawsuit against the City itself for the same conduct. In an order entered Tuesday, the City lost its motion to dismiss.
Thorough discussion in Judge Altman's opinion on constitutional claims, including Substantive Due Process and Equal Protection. Will be interesting to see if the City continues to fight the case.
City of Miami Order by John Byrne on Scribd
The NY Times has the interesting story here about how the Special Counsel, now led by Michael Dreeban in the Supreme Court, has asked SCOTUS to take Trump's appeal directly and bypass the court of appeals.
In other SCOTUS news, the High Court has turned away the Esformes cert petition, setting up the potential retrial before Judge Scola.
One of the main trial lawyers for DOJ, Allan Medina (son of beloved court reporter Barbara Medina), has left the government and joined Goodwin.
Marty was an associate at Kirk Caldwell and clerked for Judge Bloom.
Congratulations!
