Mentorship Opportunities in the SDFLA

By John R. Byrne

The latest issue of The Federal Lawyer carries an article by Judge Bloom spotlighting the Judicial Intern Academy and the Civil Discourse and Difficult Decisions program (“CD3”).  If you’re interested in mentoring high school or law students in our district, it’s a must read. I think nearly every federal judge in South Florida has participated in CD3 at this point. If you want to get involved in CD3 specifically, reach out to attorney Stephanie Turk, who, along with Judges Bloom and Rosenberg, helped export the program to other federal districts.

USAO goes after Miss Rhode Island for trying to get into Krome to see her boyfriend

North Bay Village Commissioner Convicted After Lying to See Lover in Detention Center https://t.co/MY9zuG2UBn

— NBC 6 South Florida (@nbc6) October 27, 2022

 Julianna Strout was also a North Bay Village Commissioner.  

From NBC6:

A North Bay Village commissioner who lied to get her way into a federal detention center so she could see her lover has been convicted, prosecutors said Thursday.

Julianna Clare Strout, 36, pled guilty to a federal information charging her with attempting to enter, and entering, a federal facility using fraud and false pretenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Following the guilty plea, Strout was sentenced to one-year probation and 50 hours of community service.

Prosecutors said the incident involving Strout happened in October 2021 at Krome Detention Center.

At the time, the detention center had temporarily suspended social visits because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but legal visits were still permitted.

Three times Strout entered Krome by lying to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials about her reason for visiting, prosecutors said.

Strout told officials that she worked as a paralegal for a law firm and that she needed to visit a detainee to have legal documents signed. Strout also presented officials with a letter on the law firm’s letterhead.

Seems so silly to be using our federal resources like this. 

SCOTUS deciding whether Lindsey Graham should have to testify before the grand jury

 CNN has a post about Justice Thomas' stay here.  

SCOTUS covers Graham's request for the stay.  And here is Georgia's response.

Of course, it's time to get rid of grand juries altogether.  They don't serve as protection for citizens in any respect and are simply a tool used by prosecutors to investigate and lock witnesses in.  A complete waste of resources if the goal is to act as a barrier between prosecutors and an indictment.

Klugh Takes his Talents to the Civil Side

 By John R. Byrne

The City of Miami has been sued for an "illegal" parking tax. It's a class action. One of the named plaintiffs? Criminal defense attorney Richard Klugh, who's now taking the good fight to the civil side of a court docket. The Miami Herald covers the case here (if you can make it through the pay wall....).

11th Circuit to live stream oral arguments

 The 11th Circuit is now going to audio stream all oral arguments.  The announcement is here:

The Court is pleased to announce oral arguments held in open court in all court locations will be live streamed – audio only – beginning October 25, 2022. The live stream may be accessed through the Court’s website (www.ca11.uscourts.gov). Audio recordings of oral arguments held in open court will continue to be posted on the Court’s website. Oral arguments in national security cases and other cases not heard publicly will not be live streamed and recordings of those arguments will not be posted on the Court’s website.