Two wonderful orders to discuss.
- Almost one year to the day last year, Sam Rabin and Andrea Lopez were in trial on a reverse money laundering scheme where they advanced the affirmative defense of entrapment on behalf of their client. After a one-week trial, the jury acquitted their client of a conspiracy charge but convicted their client on four of the five substantive money laundering charges. They requested that the Judge leave their client on bond through Christmas, but the AUSA requested he be remanded. He was remanded the night before Christmas. Months later, upon the discovery of the Government’s suppression of favorable Jencks material, Sam and Andrea filed a motion for new trial, which was referred by Judge Moore to a Magistrate Judge. On October 11, 2024, the Magistrate denied the motion for new trial. The motion alleged, in part, that the undisclosed Jencks contradicted the trial testimony of the undercover agent. Judge Moore reversed the Magistrate’s report and recommendation and GRANTED their client’s motion for new trial. He should be home in time for Christmas this year. The case is USA v. Othoniel Gomez, Case No. 23-20153. Here is the order.
- Judge Rudy Ruiz certified to the 11th Circuit his intention to grant a new trial for psychiatrist Mark Agresti, whose case is on appeal from his conviction on Medicare fraud charges arising from drug testing of sober home residents (to prevent and detect relapse). Richard Klugh and former AFPD Jenny Wilson, along with Greg Rosenfeld, successfully argued and established at an evidentiary hearing that the government’s chief witness invented, and perjured himself regarding, core factual support for the government’s theory that the doctor was involved in the fraud. Judge Ruiz will issue a formal order shortly.
6 comments:
And there is no recourse. He must now pay for a new trial after spending time in prison.
Likewise, the prosecutors and agents walk around collecting their salaries.
There’s hardly ever any consequences for screwing people over then playing stupid in front of the Court. If a defense lawyer failed to read the instructions in a subpoena he would be sanctioned. If a defendant deleted some text messages, he would be charged with obstruction.. just another day in the FLSD.
May the angels continue to bless this district with the relentless contributions of Richard Klugh. He is always around for a good installment of prosecutorial misconduct.
Someone needs to investigate the us attorney office and their management. This is why people lose faith in the system. There is nothing to stop this from going on.
What about the two prosecutors who met with Judge Damian after a recent trial to talk about it. Defendant wasn't sentenced but will probably getting life. If defense did this, it's unethical. That office does it, it's completely fine.
When I was a prosecutor, I thought defense lawyers were just whining about phantom problems. But as a defense attorney, I wish I stayed longer with the government, at least enough to have either noticed problems or made close enough friends with defense attorneys to look into their concerns. But maybe I'd just have been an asshole. Either way, disgusting behavior repeated again. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, etc.
There are still a few good prosecutors in that office, though that number seems to be getting smaller. It's worth finding those AUSAs and seeing if they can voice our concerns. What happened in the two cases cited above has slowly become the norm.
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