Arthur Teele commits suicide at Herald building

This is a tragic story. Soon after hanging up the phone with Herald columnist Jim DeFede, Art Teele (recently indicted in federal court) committed suicide. The Herald report is here.

One reader notes that the "Miami New Times cover story, which appears in print Thursday but is online tonight here is about Teele and is quite explicit -- looks like he may have gotten a look at it."

On a personal note, I'm just sickened by this. It's an eye-opening reminder that targeting someone (either by the press or by the state or by the feds) has real consequences. I am not suggesting that anyone is to blame for Teele's actions. That said, I have wondered why the feds needed to prosecute Teele after he had been convicted in state court and after he had lost his job and his life. In the end, was it necessary? Even assuming that he committed a crime, there are times when our prosecutors should use discretion. It's easy, of course, to say now that this was one of those cases, but I still wonder why this man (after what he had already gone through) needed to be prosecuted. I'm sure this comment will draw criticism and I'm eager to read and respond to any comments.

UPDATE -- Herald columnist Jim DeFede has been fired for taping his calls with Teele. ''As Teele was becoming unglued [on the phone], I turned on a tape recorder because I could tell that he was distraught and bouncing off the walls,'' DeFede told more than a dozen staffers in the newsroom. "I made an illegal tape and the company decided to fire me.'' DeFede, who did not want to comment further, issued a prepared statement: ''In a tense situation I made a mistake,'' he said. "The Miami Herald executives only learned about it because I came to them and admitted it. "I told them I was willing to accept a suspension and apologize both to the newsroom and our readers. Unfortunately, The Herald decided on the death penalty instead.''

UPDATE 2 -- The Sun-Sentinel caught up with the now unemployed Jim DeFede. Read here.

Former federal prosecutors team up as lawyer/client

Two skilled former prosecutors -- Eileen O'Connor and Michael Tein -- have teamed up, but not the way they used to... Former AUSA O'Connor, now Broward Circuit Judge O'Connor, is represented by former AUSA Michael Tein, now founding partner of Lewis & Tein (and yes, the other founding partner is Guy Lewis, former U.S. Attorney).

Herald reporter Jay Weaver reported in May that O'Connor failed to disclose on her judicial application that two of her employees had filed discrimination complaints against her when she worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office. O'Connor, who managed the U.S. attorney's Fort Lauderdale division, has denied that any ''formal complaints'' were lodged against her by fellow employees. ''Judge O'Connor wants the truth to come out,'' said Michael Tein. "If the JQC wants her file, she will give them everything she gets from the government.'' Read the whole article here.

The new federal courthouse makes waves

It is impossible not to stop and look at the new federal courthouse while walking in downtown Miami. It's huge. It's shaped like a ship. And it has its own waves. Seriously. The feds hired Maya Lin, the famed designer of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, to make these waves -- an "earth sculpture." Perhaps you've seen the huge dirt mounds dressed in bright green grass. (A couple of marshals told me that the waves are breaking in the wrong direction -- true?).

According to this Miami Herald article, the lawn around the courthouse is "a work of art, a security buffer and a place to loll on the grass." Criminal defense lawyers have already started joking about the courthouse being in the shape of a ship (i.e., if your client gets convicted, you can tell him Bon Voyage). Now add the green waves... ''It's meant to be inviting to the public,'' said U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore, who has helped oversee the courthouse project, scheduled for completion at year's end. ``I haven't actually sat on it yet, but the mounds are sculpted like back cushions.''

They say the courthouse is to open by the end of the year. Apparently, all the district judges will be moving in to the new courthouse, the magistrate judges will move into the tower building, the U.S. Attorney's Office will remain in the JLK building, and the folks in the Claude Pepper building will be filling in the old post office and the rest of the JLK. If aynone has more specifics about timing or space or anything else about the new courthouse, please post them in the comments.

Joke charges, Reneau arrested, and Publix settles

Art Teele's defense lawyer, David Garvin, called the federal charges against his client "a joke." See it in this Herald article. Interestingly, Teele spoke to the press on the courthouse steps.

There was also a significant arrest at MIA today. Steve Reneau, 46, was arrested Friday at the airport, said Barbara Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Reneau was linked to the Andrew ``Papa'' Brown cocaine drug smuggling ring. Read about it at this Sun-Sentinel article.

In other SDFLA news -- after seven years, Publix Super Markets has put an end to a class-action lawsuit (in front of J. William M. Hoeveler) charging that the supermarket chain violated requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Publix promised to improve disabled access at its 857 stores and pay up to $260,000 to settle a 7-year-old federal class-action lawsuit. William Charouhis represented the disabled plaintiffs, and Carol Lumpkin represented Publix. Read entire article here.

News and notes

Various items of interest in the news concerning the Southern District this morning:

1. USA v. Serge Edouard, a closely watched trial in front of Judge Moore, resulted in a guilty verdict. According to this Miami Herald article, "A federal jury in Miami convicted a powerful Haitian businessman Thursday of running a conspiracy to export tons of cocaine and pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to top security officials in the government of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Serge Edouard, 43, reputedly one of Haiti's richest men, showed no emotion when the jury found him guilty of 11 counts of cocaine smuggling and money laundering. He could spend the rest of his life in prison." Representing the government, Lynn Kirkpatrick and Matt Axelrod.

2. The drunk pilots ended up with sentences of 5 years and 2 1/2 years. Read about it here. Although this case ended up in state court, it was in federal court for a bit, in front of Judge Seitz, before the 11th sent it back to state court. You can read about the federal proceedings here.

3. Roy Black's new legal reality TV show. The Daily Business Review covers it here (pass through link required).