By John R. Byrne
Yesterday, members of our local chapter of the Federal Bar Association—myself included—hit Capitol Hill in D.C. to encourage support for the federal judiciary. The main goal was to convince legislators to support the "Judges Act," a bipartisan bill that would create sixty-nine new federal judgeships between now and 2035, including several in Florida.
But the Florida delegation had its own pet cause: getting the new federal courthouse in Broward named after Judge Dimitrouleas. Thanks to Oliver Ruiz, who pressed the issue with several legislators and their staff, great progress was made on that front.
On a separate note, a special shout-out to blogger (and criminal lawyer extraordinaire) David Markus, who added another acquittal to his résumé after a month-long trial in front of Judge Ruiz. His partner, Lauren Field Krasnoff, tried the case with him and was essential to the defense as well. No small feat!
(Pictured from left, Oliver Ruiz, Stephanie Turk, John Byrne, and Jon Osborne)
20 comments:
I would clarify that "partner" means "firm partner".
And just like that, criminal defense lawyers who try cases and put the government to its burden, have a new word in their lexicon - and more importantly, a very important reminder to be cautious entering into a JDA with “former” prosecutors….
Stumphausered:
When a co-defendant remains in a JDA for the entire pre-trial preparation and, on advice of his “former” prosecutor “defense” lawyer, withdraws from it on the eve of trial after he has squeezed all possible information he can from the defense camp to improve his chances for a sentence reduction, pleads guilty and becomes the criminal partner of the government prosecutors, then like a spy dutifully serves up all the defense case strategy information that he’s learned in the JDA to his new BFFs, is poorly prepared to be cross examined at trial by the experienced trial lawyer for his co-defendant and thus materially contributes to the jury’s decision to acquit the accused persons who went to trial, and then ends up going to federal prison and being a lifelong federal fraudster convict, while the persons against whom he testified go home to their loved ones with their civil rights in tact, the guilty felon government criminal partner convict, got Stumphausered.
JDA’s with the wrong lawyers are perilous.
Paul Calli is the best. A true criminal defense lawyer, not afraid to call out "former" prosecutors.
Congratulations. Great work 👏
I watched portions of this trial. It was a real battle for a month. Great lawyers on all sides (shoutout to Andrew Feldman too who got his client acquitted as well, not just Markus and Krasnoff won). And Judge Ruiz was a force from start to finish and ensured a clean and fair trial with lots of complex JDA and privilege issues.
I watched some of that trial as well, and yes, Andrew Feldman had quite a remarkable PowerPoint presentation
Andrew’s mom has entered the chat.
David and Lauren put on a master class in this trial. I'm sure Andrew learned a lot. And I wonder how Ryan looks at himself in the mirror at this point. Having a friend snitch after insisting on innocence. Ouch.
You know, it is easy to cast stones when it all works out, and I am glad it did.
Being a defense lawyer is hard and it isn’t our job to stand in the way of a client who wants to make a deal, even after entering a JDA. In fact, by its nature a JDA is there because of the possibility that one or more participants may plea.
Because there was an acquittal, it sounds like there was no harm and the JDA did exactly what it was intended to do.
Wallowing in other people’s misfortune is not what defense lawyers should be doing, we have enough of our own clients’s to deal with.
It is a great win, congratulations, but seriously, move on lest the next time you loose somebody will be jumping up and down on your client’s misfortune.
The post at 8:17 am really stumps me. First, the statement that “the JDA did exactly what it was supposed to do only” is nonsensical and only makes sense if you’re a prosecutor or “former” prosecutor cosplaying as a defense attorney after the next 5k. Second, if you think the client said “Hey! Now let’s plead guilty, k?” and wasn’t advised how to max out his potential 5K by corrupting the process and staying in the JDA until the eve of trial, I’ve got a bridge to the Bahamas to sell you….
Third, and most important, the post isn’t “wallowing in other people’s misfortune.” The post exposes what many trial lawyers may well regard as unethical conduct. At the very least the post makes clear that real defense attorneys should be very cautious entering JDAs with lawyers like this. Of course it happens. But it happens because there are so many “former” prosecutors who have never tried a case and seemingly extend their career as prosecutors by “defending” cases by pleading everyone guilty (even when the government’s evidence is weak and thin) helping the government invade the defense camp. People need to know about it and who those lawyers are. Just like David’s trial successes are his reputation, lawyers who corrupt the trial process need to have that behavior follow them as their reputation. You reap what you sow.
The client didn’t make that decision or handle the timing, bud. You know it and I know it.
“Because there was an acquittal, it sounds like there was no harm…” was written by someone who has never tried a case and had a person’s life in their hands, and someone who doesn’t understand the gravity of the unethical behavior at issue.
Says the jackasses that still plea many, many more clients than they try, and also cooperate them when they can.
Any defense lawyer who tells you they never rep cooperators is full of shit or unethical because they aren’t looking out for their clients best interests.
Another “former” prosecutor has entered the chat. Acting like a deputized prosecutor to invade the defense camp and then funneling that information learned confidentially, to the prosecution team, knowing full well you were going to advise your client to do so all along. That’s very different than just pleading someone guilty, or even just flipping a client. Focus.
South Florida needs more state court trial judges (and/or other resources, such as at least one law clerk per judge) much more than additional federal judges.
Do other Districts have the practice of naming federal courthouses / other buildings after living individuals?
And probably one of the most effective cross-examination questions of the snitch, which also serves to prove the point that the JDA was a sham, was “and you hired your lawyer knowing he had never before tried a case as a criminal defense lawyer right?”
Actually it would help in State court if the lawyers were more competent. In State court there are fifty cases on a civil calendar call and half get dismissed because the lawyers don’t even show up.
As far as naming courthouses, yes, so long as the judge is on senior status or retired.
Bravo to David and the rest of the team.
Love Judge D. An honor well deserved. But we sort of need a courthouse whose name people can spell. Maybe call it the "Judge D Courthouse"? Everyone will know.
Calli, some attorneys just cannot be trusted, regardless of the "team". Look around the folks in that firm...former Acosta-ites... Ala Epstein-esque era.... sad to say...this current bunch at the top...or bottom, of soon to be formers, also disappointing.
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