Big cases

1. The government has moved to disqualify the Federal Public Defender's office in the Joe Cool case. Here's an article covering the latest from the hearing. Judge Huck is considering the motion and hasn't ruled yet.

2. Narseal Batiste is still on the stand in the Liberty City 7 case. Here's the latest from Jay Weaver:

In effect, Batiste and his lawyer, Ana Jhones, tried to leave a dozen Miami-Dade jurors with the impression that the ringleader only talked about waging holy war as a ruse to obtain big bucks from Assad."I wanted the money for support. That was the only reason I was there," said Batiste, who was barely scraping by as he tried to launch a religious group called the Moorish Science Temple in a concrete warehouse in Liberty City. The religion blends Christianity, Judaism and Islam.Batiste also testified that al-Saidi coached him to put on a "show" for Assad, saying that he would likely get his money if he provided details of a terror plot to the Middle Eastern contact."If you're going to get this support, you have to do something," Batiste recalled al-Saidi telling him before Assad's arrival in December 2005."The only plan I had was to clean up our community," Batiste testified.

Liberty City 7 defendant takes stand!

Yesterday, Narseal Batiste took the stand in his own defense. According to Vanessa Blum:

Batiste, who seemed at ease as he spoke to the jury, said the events leading to his June 2006 arrest began with his desire to raise money for a non-profit religious organization in Liberty City.

Asked if his group, the Universal Divine Saviors, received many donations, Batiste responded, "Quite frankly, if I'd received donations, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now. So the answer is no."

I agree with the commentors in the article that it's a high-risk strategy, but it's one the defense had to take. Based on how these guys were portrayed, the only way a jury is going to rule for them is to think of them as real people who were just trying to get by, not terrorists. Stay tuned...

District news and notes

1. WPB juror in critical condition after being struck walking to courthouse.

2. Mike Mayo on the upcoming Ken Jenne sentencing.

3. Liberty City 7 defense starts up, via the AP's Curt Anderson.

4. Buzzzz off; litigation over the Bee Movie Slogan in Ft. Lauderdale, by Vanessa Blum, Sun-Sentinel.

WSJ blog interviews Rick Diaz

Here.

I particularly liked this question and answer:

Was there ever a doubt that you were going to hand the case over to someone else?

I then got calls from all over the country from lawyers who called themselves First Amendment advocates. Some graciously offered help, others aggressively tried to take the case away from me. One lawyer accused me of not being an appellate advocate and threatened to contact my client and directly to solicit the case from him. So I wrote to Mr. Williams and I honestly told him that I was neither an appellate advocate nor a First Amendment expert but asked him what he wanted me to do. He essentially told me, “I’ve known you for 20 years as a street cop and I’ve seen you work in the federal court building for over 10 years. There’s nobody I want arguing my case in front of the Supreme Court except you.”

Monday Morning Blogging

I took the kids to Disney World this weekend. Back to the stack of mail and phone messages that ensue from a couple days away from the office....

Anything new going on in the District? Email me with some tips.

There are two important lunches in the next two weeks.

First, the Anti-Defamation League is honoring my former boss, Edward Davis, and H.T. Smith. Professor Alan Dershowitz is the keynote speaker.

And next Wednesday, November 14, the Federal Bar Association will be honored with Eleventh Circuit Judges Rosemary Barkett and Stanley Marcus. They will be answering your questions, so please come prepared.