Did secretary at grand jury suite violate grand jury secrecy?

1.     Jay Weaver covers Tamika Jasper-Barbary's motion to dismiss by Scott Srebnick before Judge Scola.  Looks like she has a good shot to prevail:

 Now, her defense attorney says he has uncovered a lack of evidence that could sink the government’s case against her.
The snitch — a convicted trafficker identified only as “L.B.” in the indictment — never testified before a federal grand jury, nor did a panel ever convene to hear his testimony. So, even if Jasper-Barbary had told her husband about L.B., she couldn’t have violated the grand jury’s secrecy or broken any laws, her attorney says.
“I think the government is playing games with this indictment,” Miami attorney Scott Srebnick told U.S. District Judge Robert Scola at a hearing last week. “Now we know there was no Miami grand jury sitting in this case.”
Court documents show prosecutors don’t dispute these facts. They acknowledge that a late November email shows Jasper-Barbary arranged a federal drug agent’s one-on-one interview with L.B. for the following month in a room of the grand jury suite at the downtown Miami federal courthouse.

If there was no grand jury and Jasper-Barbary had no duty of secrecy, then what's the deal:

Srebnick countered that Jasper-Barbary — who made $57,000 a year before her unpaid suspension in January — was not included in the seven categories of people who are obligated under federal law to maintain grand jury secrecy.
“There is no allegation that she or anyone else sought to influence L.B. to provide false evidence to the grand jury, or to avoid the grand jury altogether, or that she intended any harm to L.B,” Srebnick argued in a motion. “The only thing she allegedly did was disclose information, which is not a crime absent a legal duty to maintain secrecy.”

There are also claims of misconduct:

He argued that a Drug Enforcement Administration agent gave “misleading testimony” before a Fort Pierce federal grand jury, which returned the indictment against Jasper-Barbary, her husband and seven others in January. The agent affirmed that the main target of the investigation, Barbary, learned from his wife that Bennett was “being brought before a federal grand jury.”
But that was not the truth, Srebnick argues in court papers, because Bennett was never even scheduled to appear before the grand jury. As a result, the agent’s testimony “infected” the Fort Pierce panel, which proceeded to adopt the “government’s theory” that “Jasper-Barbary joined the drug conspiracies through her alleged obstruction of justice.”

My favorite part of the story:

Agents also found a book in the couple’s home. The title: Busted by the Feds: The Book for Defendants Facing Federal Prosecution.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/28/2773405_p2/indicted-miami-grand-jury-worker.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/28/2773405_p2/indicted-miami-grand-jury-worker.html#storylink=cpy

2.  And by the way, in case you didn't see the post from late Friday evening, the JNC cut the judgeship applicants to three:

Robin Rosenberg
William Thomas
John Thornton

All three are state judges and they are all really good. It will be interesting to see who the President selects. 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/28/2773405/indicted-miami-grand-jury-worker.html?story_link=email_msg#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/28/2773405/indicted-miami-grand-jury-worker.html?story_link=email_msg#storylink=cpy

BREAKING -- JNC cuts list to 3 for federal judgeship

The three finalists for the Ft. Pierce slot are:

Robin Rosenberg
William Thomas
John Thornton


Congrats!

Federal Friday

Lots happening on this Friday in the SDFLA -- all of the federal practitioners and judges were in West Palm Beach at the Federal Bench and Bar Conference, with one exception.  Congrats to Adam Rabin for putting together a really nice event and to Judge Jordan for his remarks during the lunch hour. 

The one exception is that the Federal JNC members weren't there as they were interviewing the applicants for the Ft. Pierce open seat.  As soon as I hear who made the cut, I will post.  Tipsters, please email me and I will keep it confidential as always.

Judge Ungaro rules drug testing of state employees unconstitutional

The well-written 37-page order is here. 

From the Palm Beach Post:

Miami U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro Thursday morning ruling that random, suspicionless testing of some 85,000 workers violates the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches and seizures also raises doubts about a new state law quietly signed by Scott this spring allowing the governor’s agency heads to require urine tests of new and existing workers.
“To be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, a search ordinarily must be based on individualized suspicion of wrongdoing,” Ungaro wrote in her order issued this morning, citing previous U.S. Supreme Court orders which decided that urine tests are considered government searches.
Scott issued an executive order requiring random drug testing of new hires and all state workers after he took office last year. But he suspended the tests in June after labor unions and the ACLU challenged the order, objecting that the tests are a violation of the constitutional right to protection from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Instead, Scott limited his order for all but corrections officers pending the outcome of the Miami case.
***
Ungaro rejected Scott’s lawyers’ arguments and data showing that about 1 percent of workers at certain agencies who underwent the drug screens tested positive. And she was not persuaded by the governor’s arguments that private sector drug testing shows widespread drug use among workers. She also did not agree that prospective or current state workers could seek employment elsewhere if they object to the tests. New hires, but not current state workers switching jobs, could be required to take the tests, Ungaro ruled.
“All of the upheld drug-testing policies were tailored to address a specific, serious problem. In contrast, the rationale for the Governor’s policy consists of broad prognostications concerning taxpayer savings, improved public service, and reductions in health and safety risks that result from a drug-free workplace,” Ungaro wrote.

Congrats to the ACLU on a great victory.  The governor said he will appeal.

TD Bank admits to false statement; changes lawyers (UPDATED)

UPDATE -- Although the SFBJ says that TD Bank acknowledged making a "false statement," that is an overstatement.  The pleading that Greenberg Traurig filed says that it found a document that it previously said did not exist.  It did not say that it or the bank did anything intentionally.  Judge Cooke set a hearing to next month to show cause as to what should occur based on this "incorrect statement."  Above The Law has written a story covering the lawyer who supposedly made the statements and explains that she is no longer with Greenberg.  As for the trial lawyers on the case (on both sides), I can say that they are good and ethical lawyers. 

Wow, this is a big deal.  From South Florida Business Journal:

TD Bank has acknowledged that it made a false statement to a federal judge about evidence in a lawsuit related to the Scott Rothstein Ponzi scheme, according to a notice filed on Tuesday in federal court in Miami.
The bank has also announced that a new law firm will be handling the case, which is on appeal.
***
TD Bank lost a $67 million jury verdict in January to investors who were bilked by Rothstein. The verdict in Coquina Investments vs. TD Bank is considered to be one of the first ever to hold a bank accountable for aiding and abetting fraud by one of its customers.
Since the verdict, Coquina has filed a previous motion to penalize the bank further for allegedly tampering with another document called a Customer Due Diligence form. The latest controversy over the Standard Investigative Protocol has resulted in U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke setting a hearing to determine why the bank shouldn’t be held in contempt of court.
***
In court motions, TD Bank said it had replaced Greenberg Traurig with two new law firms, McGuireWoods and Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman. The bank is facing several additional lawsuits related to the Rothstein case, including one by investor Emess Capital. The bank also dropped Greenberg in the Emess case, but Greenberg continues to represent TD Bank in other cases, Acevedo said Wednesday.
***
TD Bank’s new counsel, including Marcos Daniel Jimenez of Kasowitz Benson in Miami, filed an emergency motion to stay the contempt hearing until the firm can study the case further. In that motion, Kasowitz Benson warned that a conflict of interest may exist among TD Bank employees, the bank and Greenberg Traurig regarding the production of documents in the case.