If you are checking the blog from you car this morning...

...avoid US1. Horrible accident at 17th, and US1 is closed.

If you are stuck, here are some links:

1. The Taj Mahal judge is in trouble:

The appellate judge who orchestrated the construction of the elaborate "Taj Mahal" courthouse was charged Tuesday with abusing his authority as a judge, destroying public records and conduct that demonstrates he is unfit to hold office.

The charges against 1st District Court Judge Paul M. Hawkes were leveled by the Judicial Qualifications Commission after an investigation that focused on his push for a new $50-million courthouse in the midst of a budget crisis.

Hawkes' conduct and behavior "demonstrated a pattern of conduct that can only be characterized as intemperate, impatient, undignified and discourteous,'' the JQC alleged. That conduct has "brought the entire judiciary of the state of Florida into disrepute, has inflicted substantial harm upon the entire state court system and has therefore demeaned the entire court system of the state of Florida."

Seems like a scapegoat to me.

2. Justice Thomas speaks, but not at Court:

Thomas, who was born in nearby Pin Point, told the Augusta Bar Association that the downward spiral of public discourse from people who are "drunk on their own opinions" must come to an end.

"You don't just keep nagging and nagging and nagging. At some point it's got to stop. Sometimes, too much is too much," he said. "I think we are reaching the point where we are beginning to undermine the integrity of the law

3. The Fifth Circuit issues a strong opinion to keep courtrooms open to the public.

4. The Fourth Amendment is slowly dying. This is the latest opinion from the Supreme Court, and it was 8-1, with Alito writing the majority and only Ginsburg dissenting. It should come as no surprise that Kagan (the former SG) and Sotomayor (a former prosecutor) have no love for the 4th. From the Times:

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the majority, said police officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches by kicking down a door after the occupants of an apartment react to hearing that officers are there by seeming to destroy evidence.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the majority had handed the police an important new tool.

“The court today arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in drug cases,” Justice Ginsburg wrote. “In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, never mind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant.”

The case, Kentucky v. King, No. 09-1272, arose from a mistake. After seeing a drug deal in a parking lot, police officers in Lexington, Ky., rushed into an apartment complex looking for a suspect who had sold cocaine to an informant.

But the smell of burning marijuana led them to the wrong apartment. After knocking and announcing themselves, they heard sounds from inside the apartment that they said made them fear that evidence was being destroyed. They kicked the door in and found marijuana and cocaine but not the original suspect, who was in a different apartment.

The Kentucky Supreme Court suppressed the evidence, saying that any risk of drugs being destroyed was the result of the decision by the police to knock and announce themselves rather than obtain a warrant.

The United States Supreme Court reversed that decision on Monday, saying the police had acted lawfully and that was all that mattered. The defendant, Hollis D. King, had choices other than destroying evidence, Justice Alito wrote.

5. The second phase of the mortgage fraud trial started up yesterday before Judge Cohn. Thankfully Michael Walsh is OK and is participating. I hope he does well and am rooting for him and his client.

Federal JNC getting busy

They are accepting applications for Judge Gold's seat and for U.S. Marshal. Applications are due June 15. Here's the list of federal JNC members.

Judge Jordan to the 11th Circuit?

According to John Pacenti: "One other opening is pending on the 11th U.S. District Court of Appeals. Judge Susan H. Black, who served as a Middle District judge, announced in February she is taking senior status, which leaves a Florida opening. A source close to the nomination process said U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan in Miami is a front-runner. Jordan’s office would not comment on the matter."

Judge Jordan would be great for the 11th Circuit, but he would really be missed on the District bench. He's smart, patient, and gives both sides a fair trial. As the former chief of the appellate division of the U.S. Attorney's office, he easily would be confirmed.

How do you like my new look?

The DBR has this article on how the courts are dealing with technology and privacy. I was quoted and here's the picture they used of me. How do you like my new look?

In other news:

1. Bill Barzee is starting a big trial in SDNY -- the offshoot of the Raj case. His client, Zvi Goffer, was known as Octopussy. Good luck to Bill and Zvi.

2. The Pakistani Taliban case will be arraigned today. I'm predicting pleas of not guilty.

3. Ellisa Martinez is pleading today. She's the woman who caused the school lockdown in Broward. She is before Judge Moore.

Weekend news including Pakistani Taliban indictment

1. Jay Weaver expounds on a story the blog broke earlier this week involving the dismissal against 27 defendants. Here's a bit from the front page story in the Herald:

Federal agents dubbed the case “Operation Cedar Sweep,” zeroing in on South Florida head-shop owners of mostly Lebanese descent. Some were suspected of selling “cut” for cocaine and sending profits to the Middle East for possible terrorist activities.

But after a two-year FBI investigation with undercover police officers, Miami federal prosecutors lacked evidence to make terrorism support cases. And this week, prosecutors also decided to drop drug-related charges against 27 defendants, many of whom had been detained since their arrests early this year.
***
The U.S. attorney’s office, which traditionally does not explain why it drops charges, issued a statement, saying “new information surfaced that, in our discretion, made it appropriate to dismiss the charges.”

“At this time, I cannot provide further details of what that information entailed, as it is not in the public record,” said Alicia Valle, special counsel to the U.S. attorney.

She described the investigation as “Operation Clear Cut” in an email to The Miami Herald — not “Operation Cedar Sweep,” which defense attorneys say refers to the Lebanese national tree and a symbol that appears prominently on its flag.

In February, the U.S. attorney’s office issued a press release crediting the investigative work of nearly a dozen federal and local enforcement agencies that led to the 13 narcotics-related indictments of 27 defendants, all owners or employees of head shops in South Florida. Among the targeted shops: Mushroom Novelty & Gifts, Hip Hop Gift Shop and Rainbow 7 in Miami-Dade, as well as head-shop operators at the Oakland Park Flea Market in Broward.

2. Here's another scoop -- the U.S. Attorney's office brought a major indictment yesterday, with arrests today, against six people for providing material support to the Pakistani Taliban. Here's the indictment, which fell before Judge Jordan.

From the press release:

The four-count indictment charges Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan (“Khan”), 76, a U.S. citizen and resident of Miami; his son Irfan Khan, 37, a U.S. citizen and resident of Miami; and one of his other sons, Izhar Khan, 24, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Lauderdale, Fla. Three other individuals residing in Pakistan, Ali Rehman, aka “Faisal Ali Rehman;” Alam Zeb; and Amina Khan, aka “Amina Bibi,” are also charged in the indictment. Amina Khan is the daughter of Khan and her son, Alam Zeb, is Khan’s grandson.

All six defendants are charged with conspiring to provide, and providing, material support to a conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap persons overseas, as well as conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically, the Pakistani Taliban. Defendants Khan, Rehman and Zeb are also charged with providing material support to the Pakistani Taliban.

Willy Ferrer said: “Let me be clear that this is not an indictment against a particular community or religion. Instead, today’s indictment charges six individuals for promoting terror and violence through their financial and other support of the Pakistani Taliban. Radical extremists know no boundaries; they come in all shapes and sizes and are not limited by religion, age, or geography.”

3. Many of you have been emailing me asking with concern about Michael Walsh. Thankfully, I have heard that he is OK.