"This job sucks."

That was an AUSA in Minnesota to the Court.  Bloomberg covers it here:

A US government attorney expressed unusual frustration in a courtroom proceeding about the difficulty in ensuring Immigration and Customs Enforcement complies with rulings ordering the release of migrants detained in the Trump administration’s Minnesota enforcement operation.

“The system sucks, this job sucks,” Julie Le, an attorney representing the US attorney’s office in Minnesota, said Tuesday in response to a federal judge’s questions on situations where courts have found ICE violated court orders in migrants’ cases, according to a person who was in the courtroom.

Le, who has been helping the US attorney’s office handle habeas petitions from migrants in Minnesota, compared pushing ICE and the Department of Homeland Security to comply as pulling teeth, and said she wished US District Judge Jerry Blackwell would hold her in contempt so she could get 24 hours of sleep, the person in the room said.

Le’s uncommon remarks come amid reports of new mass resignations of federal prosecutors in Minnesota. Justice Department lawyers have also struggled with a flood of habeas petitions related to the Trump administration’s crackdown of undocumented migrants, known as Operation Metro Surge.

The hearing Tuesday dealt with five separate habeas petitions from detained migrants, each of whom were transferred to other states as the US District Court for the District of Minnesota ordered their release. Blackwell called the hearing to determine how to move forward to ensure the administration complies with migrant release orders.

And here is the transcript.

Meantime, the U.S. Attorney's office in Miami is hiring!

🌟We are hiring! 🌟
👉Learn more here: https://t.co/EVfFGX8jEj pic.twitter.com/fhT0VgWsNx

— US Attorney Reding Quiñones (@USAO_SDFL) February 3, 2026

Judge James Lawrence King

By John R. Byrne

The portrait project launched by the South Florida Chapter of the FBA continues this week with a focus on Senior Judge James Lawrence King. President Nixon nominated Judge King to the bench in 1970 and he's been serving ever since, going on 55-plus years now, which is just an incredible run. In 1996, Congress designated the Miami Federal Justice Building as the "James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building" (which most everyone just calls the "King Building"). With that many years on the bench, Judge King's clerkship family is quite large and several of his law clerks have gone on to impressive careers here in Miami.

FBA write up below:

Judge James L. King is the first of our featured judges who is still serving our district as a senior judge. Judge King is a Miami native. He graduated from Redlands High School before attending the University of Florida for both his undergraduate and law degrees. Judge King served in the Air Force as a Judge Advocate General and then entered private practice. He was nominated to the district court by President Nixon in 1970. Judge King has written many notable rulings in his time on the bench, including ruling in Alexandre v. Republic of Cuba, 996 F. Supp. 1239 (Dec. 17, 1997), that relatives of the Brothers to the Rescue pilots shot down by the Cuban Air Force could sue Cuba for wrongful death. On April 30, 1996, the United States Congress renamed the Federal Justice Building at 99 N.E. 4th Street in Miami the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building.

Judicial Reception (Thursday, Feb. 12)

By John R. Byrne

Looking for something to do next Thursday? Join us at the Frost Museum of Science for the Judicial Reception put on by the South Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. This is always a great event. No speeches, formalities, or fancy evening wear. Just an opportunity to connect with our federal judges and fellow lawyers. 

You can get tickets through this link. I hope to see you there.

Wow, read this order

 It's short but very powerful.  I don't want to ruin it, but it ends this way:

With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike,
It is so ORDERED. 

Alexander brothers trial gets started

The opening statements were interesting.  Madison Smyser opened for the prosecution.  Teny Geragos (who opened in Diddy) and Deanna Paul opened for the defense. three women in a sexual assault case against 3 men.  

Howard Srebnick reserved opening for the third brother.  Have any of you ever reserved opening?  It's an interesting strategy when you have co-defendants who are laying out the defense.  It gives the defense another opportunity at the end of the prosecution case to address the jury.  

Here's ABC on the openings:

Three sons of wealth and privilege "were partners in crime" who used their money and status to lure women and girls with promises of trips, exclusive parties and celebrity encounters so they could sexually assault them, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday during opening statements in the trial of Alon, Oren and Tal Alexander.

"These three brothers masqueraded as party boys when really they were predators," the prosecutor, Madison Smyser, said. "The brothers used whatever means necessary -- sometimes drugs, sometimes alcohol, sometimes brute force -- to carry out their rapes."

The former real estate titans, Oren and Tal Alexander, along with their brother, Alon Alexander, have denied sexually assaulting anyone or running a sex trafficking conspiracy, as prosecutors have charged. They sat at the defense tables with their lawyers in suits and open-collar shirts.

***

"They came from a wealthy family, and they lived a life of luxury.  But their luxurious lifestyle had a dark side," Smyser said.

A defense attorney called the brothers successful, ambitious, arrogant young men "who liked and pursued women" so they could have as much sex as possible. 

"That's not trafficking. That's dating. That's hooking up," the lawyer, Teny Geragos, said during opening statements.  She said the accusers, many of whom are expected to testify under pseudonyms, are motivated by shame, regret or money.

Prosecutors told the jury of six men and six women they would see a recording of Oren Alexander's alleged rape of a then-17-year-old who will testify under the name Amelia.  She was "far from sober, almost incoherent" at the time and has no memory of what happened, Smyser said. 

***

The defense conceded the brothers were womanizers who jurors might find immoral but insisted they were not criminals.

"It was crude, it was arrogant, it will make you cringe," defense attorney Deanna Paul said.  "But we're not here for the Asshole Awards."

InnerCity Press covers the case in detail here, including Howard's cross of the first witness.  

 

 

Judge Alicia Valle's "Divestiture"

 By John R. Byrne

This past Friday, the Court held a retirement reception for Magistrate Judge Alicia Valle. She dubbed the event her official "divestiture." Magistrate Judge Hunt was the master of ceremonies for the event, which featured several speakers, including retired Magistrate Judge Barry Seltzer, Magistrate Judge Matthewman, Chief Judge Altonaga, and Holland & Knight partner (and former Valle law clerk), Cary Aronovitz. The speakers did an excellent job conveying Judge Valle's work ethic and heart. We also learned that, for years, Judge Valle and Judge Hunt coordinated their Halloween costumes (some great pairings, including Gomez and Morticia Addams of Addams Family fame).

Judge Valle was an excellent magistrate judge and universally respected by attorneys, civil and criminal alike. We're going to miss her. 

Alexander Brothers trial to start

 The Miami brothers will be starting trial tomorrow with opening statements after a week of motions and picking the jury in SDNY.  Howard Srebnick and Jackie Perzcek have one of the brothers.  Marc Agnifilo and Teny Geragos (of Diddy fame) have another.  The judge is known for being as pro-prosecution as they come and has already precluded the defense from putting in basic evidence -- for example, that one of the brothers got married (which evidence would show withdrawal from any supposed conspiracy and is just basic background evidence that is always admissible).  That's what I like about trying cases here in SDFLA -- most judges (even the most prosecution friendly) will at least let you try your case.  

Here's CNN with a preview of the trial:

Federal prosecutors accuse two of New York’s top real estate brokers, and their brother, of sexually assaulting over a dozen women and young girls over a period that spanned more than a decade.

During the trial’s opening statements, which are scheduled for Monday, prosecutors are expected to describe to a jury how they believe the three brothers — Oren and Tal Alexander, the real estate brokers to the ultra-wealthy, and Alon, an executive at the family’s security company — used their wealth and position to lure women to lavish parties or vacation destinations, drug them with cocaine and club drugs, and violently rape and sexually assault them.

Law enforcement allege the brothers identified women they found attractive on dating apps through party promoters and chance encounters, and often would pool financial resources to pay for the women’s travel expenses, according to court filings. The alleged assaults occurred from 2008 until 2021 in luxury locations in the Hamptons, Aspen, Las Vegas, Manhattan, and during a Caribbean cruise, according to court filings. 

Judge Valerie Caproni, who is presiding over the trial in the Southern District of New York, ruled that several of the accusers can testify using pseudonyms, including women who were minors at the time of the alleged assaults. More than 20 women could be called to testify in the case.

Prosecutors have argued in court that they have text messages between the brothers and others arranging travel in addition to photos and videos. 

As of Friday, a jury of six women and six men was selected for the trial, which is expected to last at least a month.

 

 

Congress and DOJ Seek to Get Rid of Judges and Warrants

Two explosive stories this week reveal how the Department of Justice and its allied political forces are undermining judicial independence and constitutional checks on law enforcement.

1. House Leadership Backs Impeaching Federal Judges

House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly announced support for impeaching federal judges whose rulings block the Trump administration’s agenda. Johnson signaled he is “for it” when asked about impeachment resolutions targeting at least two judges accused by senators of “egregious abuses” of power. The push is centered on judges who have issued orders adverse to the administration’s immigration and other policies. Pretty troubling.

This isn’t just rhetorical bluster — Legislators have introduced resolutions against judges like James Boasberg and Deborah Boardman, and Johnson’s willingness to embrace impeachment raises the specter of legislative retaliation for judicial rulings, undermining the separation of powers that anchors our constitutional system.

2. ICE Can Enter Homes Without Judicial Warrants

Across the law enforcement landscape, another alarming shift is unfolding: an internal ICE memo disclosed this week authorizes Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to forcibly enter private homes without a judge-signed warrant, using only an administrative immigration document for individuals with final deportation orders. This breaks with long-standing Fourth Amendment norms requiring a judicial warrant for residential entries and seizures.

Whistleblowers say the memorandum, drafted in May 2025, is being used to train new ICE officers, even though it conflicts with previous training that limited administrative warrants to public arrests. Critics contend this policy effectively instructs agents to bypass constitutional safeguards, and legal challenges are already brewing.

Orin Kerr has a lengthy post explaining the law here. 

Who is going to stand up for our judges and our Constitution?