HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sorry for the lack of posting during the Holidays. I've been taking it easy, trying to get ready for 2007. The blog will be back up and running on January 2, 2007. Apparently though, the Federal Courts are closed. This just in from the Court's website:

Court Closed on January 2, 2007 for National Day of Mourning
Following President George W. Bush's declaration of a National Day of Mourning to honor the memory of former President Gerald Ford, Chief United States District Judge William J. Zloch announced today that the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, at all its Divisions, will be closed to the public on January 2, 2007. Consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 77(a), the Clerk's Office will follow established protocols for receipt and processing of emergency filings which require expedited judicial attention.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it

Judge Moreno sentenced "a Hialeah carpenter convicted of selling counterfeit Cuban cigars in a high-stakes trial . . . to five months of home confinement on Thursday in federal court in Miami." Prosecutors had asked for five years in prison.

Jose Padilla to be evaluated in courtroom

Last week, Judge Cooke ordered Jose Padilla to be evaluated by a prison doctor to aid in the competency determination. According to the Miami Herald, Mr. Padilla did not object to that evaluation but did object to it being conducted in the prison:

One of Padilla's attorneys, Michael Caruso, argued that his client did not want to go through the examination in shackles in the detention center because it ''conjures up memories'' of his allegedly harmful experience of being detained as an ''enemy combatant'' in a Navy brig for more than three years.

Apparently the Government objected to the evaluation being done in the actual courtroom, and the Court is waiting to see what the jail's position is before ruling.

Sue em!

Things are getting ugly with the new federal courthouse. According to this DBR article by Julie Kay, "the Government Services Administration is considering suing the contractor for the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. Federal Courthouse in Miami for construction problems that have delayed the opening of the courthouse by at least 18 months." Lots of juicy tidbits in the article... Worth a read.

Padilla to be evaluated by jail doctor

Here is a good article summarizing the Padilla proceedings today. He will now be evaluated by a prison doctor. "Our position is, we don't have a problem with that," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Frazier. Any bets as to what this prison doctor will say?