Truth is stranger than fiction

 I mean, how else do you explain Michael Avenatti and Sarah Palin chatting in the SDNY cafeteria during a break in their trials? From someone who saw it and tweeted about it:

An exchange in the SDNY cafeteria...

Michael Avenatti, as Palin walks by:

"Ms Palin, how are you?" Avenatti told her "good luck" several times. 

At end of their encounter, he said good luck again, to which she said

"You too, best of everything."

Meantime, the jury had to be Allen charged today in the Avenatti trial.  As you can imagine, I’m strongly against Allen charges.  If a jury can’t reach a verdict, that should be it.  And the government should only get one shot to convict a defendant.  None of this retrial madness.  

Avenatti started his closing this way:

"When my father was a teenager, he sold hotdogs at a ballpark."  The judge sustained an objection but I’m not sure why.

And he ended this way:

"I will leave you with this: I'm Italian. I like Italian food...The case that the government is attempting to feed you has a giant cockroach in the middle of the plate. Would you eat that dish, or would you send it back? I submit that you would send it back."

Dolphins Sued

By John Byrne

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has sued the Dolphins, Giants, Broncos, NFL, and Jon Doe teams 1-29 in federal court in New York.  Read the lawsuit here.  

It’s a class action asserting, among other claims, race discrimination under Section 1981.  Pretty explosive allegations, including that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered Flores $100,000 for every game lost during Flores’s first year as head coach (with the goal of securing the #1 pick in the draft, which the Bengals ultimately used to select Super Bowl-bound Joe Burrow) and that, after the 2019 season, Ross pressured Flores to “recruit a prominent quarterback in violation of League tampering rules” (appears to be referring to Tom Brady).  Lots of fallout to come from this.

New podcast episode: Gerry Goldstein for Richard Dexter (Deep Throat)

 

• Subscribe
• Past Issues
• RSS
• Translate

FOR THE DEFENSE SEASON 4, EPISODE 4 GERRY GOLDSTEIN FOR RICHARD DEXTER (DEEP THROAT CASE)   Season 4 of For the Defense continues today with Gerry Goldstein for Richard Dexter, the projectionist for the movie Deep Throat.  You can check it out on all podcast platforms (including Apple, Spotify and Google. All other platforms can be accessed on this website.)    We launched a few weeks ago with Bruce Rogow for 2 Live Crew and Luther Campbell and followed up with Mark Geragos for Susan McDougal and Juanita Brooks for John DeLorean.  At the end of the season, I will post the Florida CLE code.    We will have new episodes every other Tuesday.  Upcoming episodes include: Geoffrey Fieger (Dr. Jack Kevorkian) Brian Heberlig (Ali Sadr) Ed Shohat (Carlos Lehder) John Gleeson (Holloway Project) Please send me your feedback -- and of course, subscribe, like and comment!  If you or a friend would like to receive these updates, please sign up here.  Thank you! --David   Hosted by David Oscar Markus and produced by rakontur   CONTACT: info@rakontur.com, dmarkus@markuslaw.com Copyright © 2022 Markus/Moss, All rights reserved.

Cross examination isn't easy

 Michael Avenatti is learning the hard way from his trial last week where he is representing himself and trying to cross his former client, Stormy Daniels.  One exchange:

Avenatti: Wasn't it true I was typically nice and respectful to you? Stormy Daniels: No. You lied to me. Avenatti: Didn't you tell the government I was nice and respectful? Stormy Daniels: I was wrong. Avenatti: Move to strike.

 Ouch.  

Another exchange:

Avenatti: Didn't you tell the New York Times that watching me work was like watching the Sistine Chapel painted? Stormy Daniels: That's that you told me to say.

More from InnerCityPress here.

Never Forget

By Michael Caruso:

Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp. At a time when antisemitism and extremism are both on the rise, remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust is essential. NPR, in this story, has collected the stories of Holocaust survivors themselves. But, as the UN Secretary-General said this week, "As fewer and fewer can bear direct witness, let us together pledge to always remember and make sure others never forget." 

 

Huge retirement news!

 You might think I'm talking about Justice Breyer.

You'd be wrong!

I'm talking about the announcement that two magistrate judges will be retiring: Magistrate Judge McAliley on January 20, 2023 and Magistrate Judge Lurana Snow on May 31, 2022.  

Chief Judge Altonaga already has formed a Magistrate Judge Selection Panel to make recommendations to fill the slots, which will be chaired by Irene Oria, Esq.

As far as Breyer goes, the smart money is that Ketanji Brown Jackson will be nominated.  That would be extremely cool because she grew up in Miami and went to Palmetto High School.  She would be the first Floridian on the Supreme Court.

Here's a Herald article about her, with a quote from yours truly.  It also has a quote from her high school prom date, former U.S. Attorney Ben Greenberg:

Ben Greenberg, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida who was on the debate team with Jackson at Palmetto High and graduated one year after her, said he and Jackson went to prom together as dates when he was a junior and she was a senior. “On the one hand, it’s incredibly exciting, and on the other hand it’s not at all surprising,” Greenberg, now a partner at Greenberg Traurig law firm in Miami, said of Jackson as a potential Supreme Court nominee. “She was incredibly smart, hard-working, super honest, and one of the nicest people you’d ever want to meet.”

CA11 nominee Nancy Abudu

 The Vetting Room has an interesting post about her here.  The conclusion:

Throughout her career, Abudu has not hesitated in taking strong positions on the law, even where a court has ultimately disagreed. While her advocacy is likely appreciated by her clients, it is also likely to draw strong opposition from those who oppose the positions she has taken. Republicans may particularly highlight Abudu’s presentation of Florida’s felon disenfranchisement policies to the UN Commission on Human Rights, arguing that the move approves international oversight over American policies. Ultimately, while Abudu is unlikely to get much bipartisan support, she also remains a favorite for confirmation.

"We all feel we were abducted by luxurious pirates!"

 By John R. Byrne

That was cruise ship passenger Steven Heard Fales referring to the crew of the Crystal Symphony. The cruise ship avoided docking in Miami--its end destination--because of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Gayles. The ship diverted to the Bahamas and passengers boarded another ship that took them to Port Everglades. Apparently, the U.S. Marshals were ready to board the ship and take it into custody. The New York Post covers it here.  The federal lawsuit that led to the arrest warrant--brought by Peninsula Petroleum Far East Ptd. Ltd.--alleges that Crystal Cruises' parent company failed to pay $1.2 million in fuel bills. Case Number is 1:22-cv-20230-DPG.