Jimmy Johnson in Court...

...for jury selection.

Judge King cut him loose -- after figuring out who he was:

A third fellow stepped forward and said his name was James Johnson. He knew the importance of jury duty, he said, but he had a special houseguest and, please, if he wasn't really needed, could he be excused?

Besides, he said, he'd been a defendant in a few minor civil suits, so maybe the lawyers wouldn't want him anyway.

'I said, `What's your business?' '' King recalls. Fox Sports analyst, he said.
King looked at him funny. ''Did you coach?'' ``Yes.''
''Where?'' King asked. Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, University of Miami, Oklahoma State. He rattled off others -- Iowa State, Wichita State.

''That's enough,'' said King as folks in the courtroom laughed. By then, the judge realized it was Jimmy Johnson.

King, 79, joked about his lousy hearing and wisecracked: ``Now I've proven that I can't see very well, either. I should have recognized you.''

Johnson, 63, an Islamorada resident, told King his houseguest was Bill Parcells, who recently retired as Dallas head coach. He planned to take the Big Tuna fishing.

King excused Johnson, but not before asking him to predict the Gators' record for next season.
Johnson recalls that exchange. 'I said, `I have no idea. I'm the worst in the world at picking games.' ''

King may not have recognized him, but others did. As Johnson sat on the courthouse steps at 7:30 a.m., waiting for the building to open, he got waves from passersby and requests for autographs.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Daniel, assistant federal public defender Hector Flores and Key West attorney Charles Milligan say Johnson appeared smaller than on TV. Daniel: ''A very humble guy.'' Flores: ''Very charming.'' Milligan: ''Didn't have his hair as bouffant-ed up.'' Defense lawyer Albert Levin got an autograph.

Coincidentally, Johnson received a summons for state jury duty in Marathon that same day. He was excused from that, too -- after the feds called on his behalf to say he had already reported in Key West.

King says he had no problem putting Johnson on waivers. ``We accommodate people.''

Back to work

Sorry for the slowwww blogging, but I was at my ten year law school reunion in Boston this weekend. This guy seemed to get all the attention for attending his 25 year reunion...

Don't mess with Judge Cooke

Apparently a reporter from CBS radio tried to bring in a transmitting device to the overflow media room in the Jose Padilla trial to broadcast jury selection. Judge Cooke issues a rule to show cause as to why CBS should not be held in contempt of court.

From the Order (proving that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction):

On Tuesday, April 24, 2007, AT&T representatives presented themselves at this
Case 0:04-cr-60001-MGC Document 1018 Entered on FLSD Docket 04/25/2007 Page 1 of 3
courthouse with a work order to install an ISDN feed in the press overflow room. An ISDN feed
is a circuit-switched telephone network system designed to allow digital transmission of voice
and data over ordinary telephone lines. The United States Marshals Service contacted this Court to confirm authorization for the work order. The Court had not granted such authorization, and was unaware of any such work order having been issued to AT&T.
Further investigation revealed that a request had been made to the Clerk of Court for an
ISDN feed to be installed, but that request had been denied. It was then discovered that the
contact on the AT&T work order was Peter King, from CBS Radio, Orlando. Thus, it appears
that Peter King of CBS has violated this Court’s Order Regarding Media Conduct and Press
Media Room. [DE 979] . As Mr. King holds himself out to be an employee of the CBS network,
and not simply a local affiliate, it would also appear that CBS, through Mr. King’s actions, has
violated the Order as well.

"This strategy of ‘shaking down’ defendants with nightmarishly expensive litigation in pursuit of attorney fees must not be rewarded.”

All sorts of fun stuff in the Review this morning, including an article about attorney's fees. That quote above is from Judge Moreno from a 2003 case and the article discusses a recent Judge Zloch case where a six figure fee was requested in a relatively minor case.

The cover story is also interesting -- it's about Judge Middlebrooks ruling on trade dress infringement in the energy drink world. Everyone wants small 8 ounce bottles with vertical lettering, but that's not enough for an infringement case: "The notion that a company can appropriate a standard 8-ounce bottle, utilize vertical lettering of its product name, and preclude competitors from using that bottle with their own lettering . . . seems to be nothing but a thinly veiled effort to stifle legitimate competition." Attorney fees in that case to American Body Building (to be paid by Vital Pharmaceuticals --VPX) of $360,000.

If energy drinks aren't your thing and you are more into ice cream, then read this Sun-Sentinel story about Carvel's niece wanting to dig him up to study the body for foul play.

Posting Plea Agreements?

I'm quoted in the DBR article this morning criticizing the new policy in this District of not making plea agreements available online. Every other document in a criminal docket is available (unless it's sealed) except for plea agreements. Instead, you have to go down to the clerk's office to make a copy the old-fashioned way. This is a silly policy, which is only in place in this District (as far as I know). Hopefully it will be changed soon (the local rules committee is studying it).

If there are safety concerns for cooperating witnesses, then those concerns should be addressed in that particular case, but to have a blanket policy making it more difficult to get these documents.... Haven't we learned from the State scandal involving secret docs?

Dehumanization

Prosecutors in every trial try to dehumanize "the defendant." And defense lawyers always try to humanize "Mr. Defendant." So far, it appears that the Government is doing its job in the Wilk case. Check out this Sun-Sentintel article about what the jurors have seen so far:

The murder case against Kenneth Wilk has been one of disturbing images.The photo of a dark puddle of blood on the floor. That's where Broward Sheriff's Deputy Todd Fatta fell after a bullet pierced his chest while serving a federal warrant at Wilk's home. The autopsy photos. They showed the damage wreaked by the fatal shot that tore through Fatta's liver and severed his spinal cord. And the sordid images of child pornography. Prosecutors say Wilk and his partner possessed dozens of them on their personal computers.

No thanks

As posted yesterday, Louis Robles was supposed to plead guilty this morning in front of Judge Gold. The parties had agreed to 10 years in prison.

Well, not so fast. Judge Gold did not accept the deal today and rescheduled it in a month. Judge Gold has rejected plea agreements before, notably in the Al Gutman case.

At last week's symposium on ethics at the University of Miami, there was a panel discussion with 5 judges who were asked if they ever rejected agreed to pleas. They all responded that they did not. Should judges reject plea agreements? Comments?

Pretty pleas(e)

Lots of pleas being reported today. Former asbestos lawyer Louis Robles is taking ten years. And the Hollywood cops are pleading to a min/man ten years, with the hope of a cooperation reduction.

Think about where you were *ten years* ago. I think all of us forget how freaking long that is.