Handshake assault case dismissed

Fights don't only break out in Miami. Remember this case from Ft. Lauderdale? Well, the assault charges against Kathy Brewer Rentas for her "handshake" of AUSA Jennifer Keene have been dropped. The Sun-Sentinel (which is just killing the Herald in its federal court coverage lately) covers the case here:

The case of an over-enthusiastic courtroom handshake that escalated into an assault charge against a local attorney was dropped Thursday by federal prosecutors who deemed it the "prudent" thing to do.Kathy Brewer Rentas, with the Hollywood firm of Becker & Poliakoff, spent the night in jail after her Feb. 7 arrest for assaulting a federal prosecutor by handshake in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom.The victim, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Keene, was prosecuting Brewer Rentas' husband, Anthony Rentas, for violating probation in a cocaine distribution case out of New York. A hearing had just concluded in which Anthony Rentas was put on house arrest for 90 days.Marshal Robert Kremenik was in the courtroom when Brewer Rentas insisted on shaking hands with Keene. The prosecutor refused at first, he said, but Brewer Rentas persisted, following Keene.
"Brewer forcefully grabbed onto Keene's right hand and squeezed it, pulling Keene toward her, forcing Keene off balance," Kremenik wrote in his report. "With Keene in hand, Brewer made an upward, then a quick downward motion and pulled Keene toward the ground moving her forward, almost causing Keene to fall to the ground."Gilberto Pay, a court security officer, told Kremenik that Brewer Rentas "almost pulled her arm out of the socket."

Steve Stallings makes a move

FOB* Steve Stallings is leaving the U.S. Attorney's office (in Pittsburgh) and going into private practice. It's making news in Pittsburgh (see here and here):

The prosecutor who headed the federal public corruption cases against Dr. Cyril H. Wecht and the Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is crossing the aisle.
Thursday was the last day in the U.S. Attorney's Office for Stephen Stallings, who heads down Grant Street from the federal courthouse to go into private practice at Dreier, a law firm in the Koppers Building.
"Most of my career has been in private practice," said Stallings, 40. "And this was the right time for me and my family to make the return."
Stallings practiced civil law in south Florida before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami in 2001. He moved to Pittsburgh, his wife's hometown, in 2004.

*Friend of Blog

Jack Thompson update

Honestly, I can't keep up with all the twists and turns of Mr. Thompson's various cases. I do know that Judge Dava Tunis has recommended that he be disbarred for life (169 page order). And on another front, he is suing Chief Judge Moreno and the U.S. Marshal. For more updates, visit Game Politics.

Caption contest

The actual caption under this photo in the Miami Herald today was:
U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, right foreground, and Diego Herrera, Director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology, left, foreground, look at recovered artifacts in Miami, Tuesday, July 8, 2008. Federal authorities in Miami have recovered a treasure trove of pre-Columbian gold, artifacts and emeralds, which were returned to the Colombian government. The treasures will be handed over to authorities from the South American nation on Tuesday. Federal authorities say the items were recovered from an Italian citizen who was living in south Florida and illegally smuggling them into the country.

Can you come up with a better caption?

A federal judge's limerick in response to a 465 page complaint

"Plaintiff has a great deal to say,
But it seems he skipped Rule 8(a).
His Complaint is too long,
Which renders it wrong,
Please re-write and re-file today."

via ABA Journal (and Seattle Times)