Friday, January 13, 2006

State of the blog and Poll update

I wanted to thank all of you for reading and for the nice comments and emails you have sent to me about the blog. 2006 has started off well for SDFLA. We have topped 10,000 total hits and are now averaging more than 175 hits a day. The blog has been cited to by some of the bigger sites around -- TalkLeft, SCOTUSBlog, and HowAppealing. And we have added a blogger, Marc David Seitles, bringing our total to 3 (anon has been awfully quiet lately).

An update on the funniest Southern District of Florida judge -- Judge Moreno is leading in the polls by a lot. He currently has better than a 2-1 advantage over Judge Ungaro. A close third is Judge Palermo.

Blogging from me will be slow this weekend as I'm on vacation (the last time I'll be able to get away before baby #2 is born and before I start a six week trial in Savannah Georgia). Thanks again.

Padilla's Application to Join al Qaeda?

Did he apply or not apply - that is the question.

Prosecutors made public for the first time at Padilla's detention hearing that they have located his application to join al Qaeda. The U.S. military recovered the application, with more than eighty others, when it invaded Afghanistan. The Government stated that the application by Padilla was "authenticated" by a "cooperating witness" who was also previously convicted in an unrelated criminal matter. Padilla's lawyer, Michael Caruso, argued that there was no direct evidence that Padilla filled out the form, and questioned its authenticity. Click here to see the full story. UPDATE

"As American as Apple Pie"

So says Judge Moreno about the old Flagler Bridge, adding that the U.S. policy differentiating the abandoned bridge (wet foot) and the usable bridge (dry foot) is a "ridiculous distinction." The Herald explains: "Under the government's long-standing ''wet-foot, dry-foot'' policy, Cubans who reach U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay, while those stopped at sea are returned to the communist-ruled island unless they can demonstrate a fear of persecution."