"My dear Mr. President"

That's how Justice John Paul Stevens, who turns 90 this month, addressed the letter to President Obama in his resignation letter of today. Here's the Washington Post article:

[H]e will leave the court at the conclusion of the current term at the end of June. Stevens said he was announcing now so that the president would have time to make a nomination and the Senate to confirm in time for the start of the court's new term next October.
It will be Obama's second Supreme Court appointment after Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was named last year to replace retiring Justice David Souter.
Stevens was appointed to the high court by President Gerald Ford, and joined the court on Dec. 19, 1975. His retirement is not a surprise and the White House has been preparing for the opening. Aides and Democrats close to the process name three people as likely frontrunners for the job: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, who Obama made the first woman to hold that post, and two appellate court judges, Diane Wood of Chicago and Merrick Garland of Washington.
Kagan and Wood were interviewed by Obama last spring before he nominated Sotomayor to the court.

Down goes ...

... the DEA agent.

Jeff Weiner's cross must have been pretty good in the Kobie Gary (Willie's son) case. Here's the press coverage of what happened:

After a day and a half in federal court, convicted pot grower Kobie O. Gary will have to wait another week to learn his fate after the lead DEA agent in the case fainted Thursday on the witness stand, prompting the judge to clear the packed courtroom.
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore rescheduled Gary’s sentencing for April 16.
The abrupt cancellation came just before 2 p.m., as DEA Special Agent Darren Singleton, who’d been under intense questioning by Miami attorney Jeffrey Weiner, was about to reply when his head fell forward, hitting the stand in front of him.
Court officials scrambled to his aid.

***

After a lunch break, Weiner was grilling Singleton about those phone calls and inconsistent statements Gibson appeared to make, compared to what he’d told authorities in two prior statements detailing his involvement.
Moments before Singleton fainted, Weiner had been accusing Gibson of lying to authorities, and had suggested Singleton knew Gibson was lying on Thursday.
As he left court with his extended family, Willie Gary expressed concern for the agent.
“I just hope he’s okay,” he said.

Reports are coming back that the agent is okay and feeling better. That's a better result than the Scopes Monkey Trial, where William Jennings Bryan died shortly after testifying for the prosecution and after the withering cross examination by Clarence Darrow.

Seven defendants get hung jury in Judge Graham trial

UPDATE -- Sad to report that Judge Graham's mother passed away, so he wasn't present to declare the mistrial. It was Judge Jordan who did so while Judge Graham travelled out of town. Our thoughts are with Judge Graham...

After a two-month trial and over a week of deliberations, Judge Graham Judge Jordan declared a mistrial today in a mortgage fraud case. Interestingly, shortly before trial, Judge Graham severed the case, finding that a trial of 15 defendants at once would be too unyieldly. It will be interesting to see if the government retries this group of defendants before the next batch, or how it will work...

SECOND UPDATE -- A tipster emailed me that the lawyers are: Mike Smith; Len Fenn; Isreal Encinosa; Peter Patanzo; Scott Sakin; Orlando do Campo and Sherri Romano. Congrats to them.

2 out of 3 ain't bad

Or in this case, 4 out of 6. Salesman was convicted of 4 of the 6 counts against him and is looking at about 7 years in federal prison. Judge Cohn revoked bond and sentencing will be in about 2 1/2 months.


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"I am not going to testify, your honor"

That was Fitzroy Salesman to Judge Cohn yesterday as both sides rested. Today, closing arguments and the jury should have the case by lunchtime.

Everyone is starting to gear up for the Justice Stevens' retirement. The top three choices to fill his spot. from the AP:

Two of the three top contenders, Judge Diane Wood, 59, of the federal appeals court in Chicago and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, 49, were finalists last year when Obama chose Sonia Sotomayor to replace Justice David Souter.
Judge Merrick Garland, 57, of the federal appeals court in Washington, is a former high-ranking Justice Department official who is well respected and considered least likely to engender significant Republican opposition.
The three high court prospects have different strengths and weaknesses. But even conservative activists say any of the three would likely win confirmation in a Senate in which Democrats control 59 seats. Yet Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona said Sunday he would not rule out delaying tactics if Obama nominates "an overly ideological person."
A fight over a second Obama Supreme Court nominee could rev up both Democratic and Republican fundraising machines for the November election, even though Stevens' replacement by a liberal-leaning justice would not alter the court's ideological balance.

Still no Floridian.... (although Stevens does live in Ft. Lauderdale...)