Federal Judges Might (Finally) Get Pay Bump

Hi folks, SFL still muckin' around in here.

This is an issue near and dear to Judge Fay's heart, as we all know:

House members voted Wednesday for a $410 billion spending plan to keep the federal government running through September, and the plan includes a cost-of-living adjustment for the federal judiciary for the 2009 calendar year. According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the proposal would give judges a 2.8 percent increase retroactive to January.

Though it wouldn't bring judges close to the salaries of their friends in private practice or in deanships at top law schools, it would end their status as the only federal employees who did not get a cost-of-living adjustment this year. They have gone without such an increase in seven of the last 14 years, and Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. has made the issue a priority.

The spending plan now heads to the Senate, which has been less receptive to arguments for higher judicial pay and could amend the plan. In October, senators removed plans for the judiciary's 2009 cost-of-living adjustment from auto-bailout legislation passed by the House.

Even though I tweaked the Judge's speech on this at the recent Bench & Bar conference, in all seriousness it is a no-brainer and is long long long overdue.

Federal JNC named

SFL is doing a great job filling in. Thanks!

I just got a note about the new Federal JNC. First up for them -- the new district judgeship created by Judge Hurley going senior. Here's the list of JNC members:

John Fitzgibbons (Statewide Chair)

Northern
Linda Shelley (Chair)Jim ApplemanJohn AurellDuby AusleyMartha
BarnettWilliam "Bill" HarrisonMelanie Ann HinesDon HinkleDoug MannheimerJon
MillsDaryl ParksBuzz RitchieLeander ShawJim SmithSusan Story

Middle
Wayne Hogan (Chair)Steve CheesemanTom DukesW.C. GentryNat GloverSaundra
GreyMichael GrindstaffBen Hill IIITrudie Kibbe-ReedMike MaherMarcos MarchenaBill
McBrideSusan McCaskillHugh NormileSteve PajcicMarsha Santana RydbergBruce
SmathersBruce StrayhornBrian T. WilsonWilliam "Bill" Wilson

Southern
Kendall Coffey (Chair) Georgina Angones Reginald Clyne Gonzalo R. Dorta Al
Dotson Philip Frieden John Genovese Evelyn Greer Jillian Hasner Manny Kadre
Chuck Lichtman Richard Lydecker Tom Panza Luis Perez Danny Ponce David Prather Dennis Richard Justin Sayfie Chris Searcy Steve Zack

Looks like a solid list of members from the Southern District. I note with sadness though that there isn't one criminal defense lawyer on the committee...

Judge Garber Nixes Ochoa Bid for Retrial

SFL here.

Magistrate Judge Garber denies Ochoa motion:

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Garber denied the request by Medellín cartel leader Fabio Ochoa, whose lawyer argued that convicted codefendant Alejandro Bernal was not a truthful witness in the 2003 trial.

Attorney Paul Petruzzi cited previously undisclosed evidence showing Bernal had informed federal agents before trial that Ochoa gave $2 million to al Qaeda to help finance the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Petruzzi said the prosecution should have turned that evidence over to the defense so it could have challenged Bernal's truthfulness on the witness stand.

But the magistrate judge disagreed.

''Bernal's letter of August 2002 merely sets forth a rumor that Ochoa was involved in assisting in the planning of the Sept. 11 attacks,'' Garber wrote in a four-page order filed this week. ``Such belief was not based on any personal knowledge held by Bernal and is merely speculative without any factual basis.

''As a matter of fact, any reference to terrorist attacks was regarding speculative attacks to take place in Colombia to prevent the extradition of Ochoa to the United States,'' he wrote.

Well, which was it -- financing to conduct the 9/11 attacks, or attacks within Columbia to prevent Ochoa's extradition?

"Well Known" Motorcycle Mechanic Sentenced Before Judge Altonaga

Hi folks!

SFL here, still doin' time at David's fine place while the big man goes to court and cross-examines witnesses -- you know, the stuff we all wish we were doing right now....

Here's what's happening in Judge Altonaga's courtroom:

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that defendant Jimmy A. Soto, of Miami Lakes, was sentenced on February 24, 2009, for his participation in a $5.4 million health care fraud and money laundering scheme. U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Soto to 140 months' imprisonment.

In December 2008, after a week long trial, a Miami jury convicted Soto of a series of related health care fraud and money laundering charges. The evidence at trial established that Soto conspired with Leonardo Lozada, Eliades Diaz, and Jose D. Claro to defraud Medicare through the fraudulent submission of $5.4 million in durable medical equipment ( DME ) claims during 2005 and 2006. The claims concerned a Hialeah-based DME company operating as Med-Pro of Miami, Inc ( "Med-Pro" ). Medicare paid Med-Pro approximately $1.3 million based on the bogus claims, which were for DME items that were neither prescribed by doctors nor delivered to Medicare patients, most of whom resided in the Treasure Coast area of Florida.

Soto, a well known motorcycle mechanic, was also found guilty of laundering more than a $1million in monies stolen from Medicare. At trial, it was established that Soto recruited his customers and friends to cash several hundred thousand dollars worth of checks for Med-Pro during 2006.

Question -- can someone be a "well known motorcycle mechanic"? The only one I know is that guy from California with all the tattoos (new book cover pictured above), and even he's not that well-known.....

More Complications in the UBS Case

SFL here, still filling in while David does his "trial lawyer" thing.

More on UBS --

Now Judge Gold has a Swiss federal court to possibly contend with:

UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.

The lawsuit accuses UBS and Switzerland’s financial regulator, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or Finma, of violating Swiss bank secrecy laws and of conducting what Swiss law considers illegal activities with foreign authorities. It also named Peter Kurer, the chairman of UBS, and Eugen Haltiner, the chairman of Finma, as defendants.

The suit, filed by a lawyer in Zurich, Andreas Rued, on behalf of nearly a dozen American clients, underscores the growing clash between Swiss banking secrecy laws and those of the United States. Tax evasion is not considered a crime in Switzerland. Disclosing client names under Swiss law is a criminal offense and can expose bank executives and officers to fines, prison terms and other penalties.

Oh no -- foreign law possibly impacting our legal process again? Remember that whole Supreme Court controversy a few years back?

Me neither, but Judge Scalia probably does.

Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley...

...is taking senior status.

We are losing a gem of a judge. I recently tried a case with Judge Hurley and he loves being a judge and trying cases. That's evident from being in trial for a month with him. He is courteous to the lawyers and treats both sides with complete respect -- and he is a thoughtful judge. He calls em right down the middle.

We all wish him well.

So, any bets on who President Obama will appoint for that spot?

Ho Hum -- The Princess, A Sex Sting, and UBS

Hey, can you tell it's SFL here?

Yep, still foolin' around while David tries another big case.

So I told you all this UBS thing was big. Here's an update on what went down in Judge Gold's courtroom yesterday:

U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold set a July 13 hearing on the IRS lawsuit, unless an agreement is reached first. UBS claims that turning over the account names would violate Swiss privacy law and jeopardize the bank's license to stay in business.

"Such violations would expose these (UBS) employees to substantial prison terms, as well as fines, penalties and other sanctions," the UBS lawyers said in a court filing last week. "There is simply no reason to have, nor equity in having, such an expedited process here."

The IRS had sought an accelerated timetable, but Justice Department tax attorney Stuart Gibson and UBS lawyers told Gold at a brief telephone hearing Monday they had agreed on a lengthier process. Gold also set a series of deadlines for court filings.

"I would appreciate the continued efforts to discuss this matter, to narrow down what the legal issues are and the factual issues are," Gold said.

Most judges probably would appreciate that.

What do you know -- the feds bust a Miami Beach sex ring:

Bernabe-Caballero, 34, remained without bond in Miami's Federal Detention Center Monday night and was scheduled for a 10 a.m. hearing Tuesday about extradition to Michigan, where the grand jury in the case had convened.

Bernabe-Caballero's attorney, Rene A. Sotorrio, declined to comment.

Smart move, I wouldn't say anything either if my client was facing these kind of allegations.

And -- can you believe it -- a story about a cocaine princess and federal court.

Sometimes these things write themselves.

More on Kuehne R&R

SFL here, hope you had a nice weekend.

Here's a nice quote from John Pacenti's article on Judge Bandstra's R&R on Ben Kuehne:

If Bandstra’s decision stands, the case would be down to five substantive money laundering counts. Kuehne and Saldarriaga are accused of using a money broker to hide the movement of drug profits into the defense fund. The money broker was an informant working with the government and exchanging pesos for dollars used in U.S. drug stings.

Miami litigator Jane Moscowitz, one of Kuehne’s attorneys, said she was thrilled with the Bandstra ruling.

“It took my breath away that the motion had been granted,” she said.

And us too, Jane.

And here's some more background on the IRS/UBS suit, which is being closely watched in financial and legal circles:

While the deferred prosecution agreement reached between Swiss banking giant UBS and federal prosecutors on Wednesday might have initially looked like a great deal for the government, in reality the Zurich-based bank isn't disclosing nearly as many client names as law enforcement officials are suggesting, says Miller & Chevalier tax partner George Clarke III.

Clarke says that the decision by the Justice Department to file suit against UBS on Thursday in Miami is evidence of this.

Despite forking over $780 million in penalties as part of its deferred prosecution agreement, UBS, represented by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz litigation partner John Savarese, managed to secure a pretty good deal for itself, Clarke says.

Sure, not bad for a bunch of carpetbaggers from New York. But what are we, chopped liver?