Federal Judiciary

Donnie Brasco

Posted on October 16, 2008
The Justice Building Blog is covering the John Connolly trial, which involves a former FBI agent in Boston (Connolly) who is accused of helping orchestrate a murder in Miami in 1982. The state tried to call the real Donnie Brasco to the stand yesterday, but he refused to testify (even in sunglasses and a hat) because he didn't want his picture taken (via Miami Herald)...

Hypo

Posted on October 14, 2008
Those who know me know that I often like to ask hypotheticals... Would you do X in return for Y.Well here's a real one from the USA Today: Would you amputate your pinkie finger so that you could finish your college football season as a lineman for a division II school? Trevor Wikre answered yes! Can a doctor agree to such a thing?Here's some of the article:Trevor Wikre had a choice: Lose his pinkie finger or lose his football season...

No surprise here...

Posted on October 14, 2008
Kirby Archer, the Joe Cool defendant who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to life in prison today. No ruling yet by Judge Huck on the co-defendant's motion for a new trial on all counts.

"Dancing with the U.S. Marshals''

Posted on October 10, 2008
Now that's funny, Judge Turnoff!According to Larry Lebowitz's Herald article, Judge Turnoff allowed Helio Castroneves to travel to Australia later this month for a race, over the government objection. Turnoff explained that Castroneves would be "dancing with the U...

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A commenter poses the question...

Posted on October 08, 2008
... regarding whether federal district courts should split up into criminal and civil divisions like our state courts do.My gut tells me that this would be a good thing, but I haven't given it a lot of thought. What do you all think?

"We should start from scratch, because justice hasn't been achieved.'

Posted on October 06, 2008
That was AFPD Brian Stekloff for Guillermo Zarabozo in the Joe Cool case asking for a new trial on all counts. He continued: "Everyone in this courtroom knows how this jury reached this inconsistent and irrational verdict: They didn't understand the law...

"If the government becomes a lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law, it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy."

Posted on October 05, 2008
Cheryl Stein has a nice op-ed in the Washington Times regarding Herring v. United States, a case the Supreme Court will hear on Tuesday. It raises the following question: whether courts must suppress evidence seized during an arrest made as a result of faulty information provided by another law enforcement agency...

Start your engines

Posted on October 02, 2008
Team Penske star Helio Castroneves has been charged with tax evasion in our District. (via the Miami Herald).Here's a picture of him with Julianne Hough from Dancing with the Stars. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance tomorrow in magistrate court...

"I never believed for a minute that he was guilty of any of the charges, not even the ones we convicted him of"

Posted on October 02, 2008
That's one of the jurors in the Joe Cool case. Articles in the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald detail how at least 3 jurors still believe Guillermo Zarabozo is not guilty of all counts, even the 4 they voted guilty on.From the Sentinel:Three jurors in the Joe Cool murder-at-sea trial said Wednesday they felt pressured to convict the 20-year-old defendant on gun charges even though they believed he did not kill anyone or know his companion planned to hijack the boat...

Chuckie Taylor case opens

Posted on September 30, 2008
The DOJ lawyer, Chris Graveline, spoke about the "Demon Forces", a unit that tortured people, including cutting a man's penis with a knife and dumping him in a pit. Assistant Federal Defender John Wylie said if the case were a newspaper headline, it would read "Desperate and disgruntled Africans accuse American to escape wartorn Liberia"...

Playboy pinup in federal court this week

Posted on September 30, 2008
Enough with hung juries and murder trials.There was a Playboy model testifying in federal court this week.Here's the Herald article about her: María del Luján Telpuk descended on Miami beneath a cascade of camera lights and questions.Journalists from three countries pounced on the 27-year-old bombshell as she arrived from South America on Sunday morning...

Joe Cool jury hangs on first degree murder counts

Posted on September 30, 2008
That's a victory for the defense.The jury did convict on 4 gun counts. The prosecution will be happy with some convictions after it looked like the jury would hang on everything yesterday, especially since the potential sentences on those counts are life...

RIP Joe Eaton

Posted on September 29, 2008
I never really knew Joe Eaton, but everyone always says such nice things about him... Sadly, we've lost another one of the old guard. If you have a good story about Judge Eaton, please post them in the comments.From the Palm Beach Post:The U.S. district judge who ruled to integrate Palm Beach County's public schools died on Sunday, leaving behind a sea of accomplishments that focused on serving others...

Hung?

Posted on September 29, 2008
The Joe Cool jury says it can't reach a verdict: "As a jury we feel stuck in the sand and no hope or expectation that we will be able to move to consensus one way or the other." Judge Huck read them the Allen charge:I'm going to ask that you continue your deliberations in an effortto reach agreement upon a verdict and dispose of this case; and I havea few additional comments I would like for you to consider as you do so...

It's depressing...

Posted on September 28, 2008
...when 10 months in federal prison seems quick.

Joe Cool jury still out

Posted on September 25, 2008
They are coming back Monday (one of the jurors can't deliberate tomorrow, so they are taking the day off).Apparently, people can hear shouting from the jury room....Vanessa Blum reports on this juror question, which the defense should be happy about:Would a South Florida man automatically be guilty of a crime for bringing his gun on board the Joe Cool charter vessel, even if he didn't know a crime was going to take place? (emphasis added)That's what a federal jury panel in the murder-at-sea case asked the trial judge Thursday after two full days of deliberations...

FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER FAST APPROACHING

Posted on September 24, 2008
And as everyone knows, the First Monday in October signifies that rich American tradition: Start of the Yankees-Red Sox baseball playoffs. Woops. Not this year. It also signifies the start of the new term for the Supreme Court (Motto: "Just callin balls and strikes...

News & Notes

Posted on September 24, 2008
1. The Joe Cool jury is still out. It's been two sleepless nights for the lawyers.2. The Chuckie Taylor trial is underway before Judge Altonaga. (More via the Miami Herald here).3. I closed today... We ended sooner than expected. So regular blogging to resume soon...

Joe Cool defendant testifies

Posted on September 22, 2008
From Vanessa Blum's article:Zarabozo, in short, matter-of-fact responses to lawyers' questions, said he was on the Joe Cool because Archer told him they would be working a security job in Bimini.Zarabozo said he was in the bathroom when he heard gun shots and emerged to see Archer standing near the lifeless body of Samuel Kairy, the boat's first mate...

Federal Bar Association dinner

Posted on September 21, 2008
My dear readers:You are cordially invited to attend the annualFederal Bar Association Dinner and Installation of OfficersFriday October 17, 2008Reception 7:00pmDinner 8:00pmThe Biltmore HotelAlhambra Ballroom1200 Anastasia AvenueCoral Gables, Florida$90 per person/open barRSVP Lourdes Fernandez at Lourdes_Fernandez@flsd...

SUBSTITUTE BLOGGER

Posted on September 18, 2008
While David battles the forces of evil in West Palm Beach (not to mention I-95 traffic)  I have agreed to post some thought provoking articles. It's either my drivel or staring at David's post announcing the start of the Joe Cool trial for the next few weeks...

News & Notes

Posted on September 17, 2008
Why appointments are better than elections. (via Sun-Sentinel)Joe Cool case continues; apparently "four days before Guillermo Zarabozo and his accomplice chartered the Joe Cool fishing vessel for a trip that led to his arrest for murder, he received a letter from Miami-Dade police accepting him as an applicant...

Openings in the Joe Cool case

Posted on September 15, 2008
The jury was picked in a morning and both sides already have given opening statements. If this was state court, it may have taken a week to pick a jury in a murder case. Not in federal court....Here's Vanessa Blum and Curt Anderson on openings and Luisa Yanez on jury selection...

Slow blogging....

Posted on September 14, 2008
Week two of trial begins tomorrow.Some coverage here and here.

You know it's going to be a long trial...

Posted on September 12, 2008
.. when the government is still doing direct of its first witness at the end of the first week. --David Oscar Markuswww.markuslaw.com305-379-6667

Jack Abramoff's sentence reduced by Judge Huck

Posted on September 10, 2008
Here's the AP's Curt Anderson:A federal judge agreed Wednesday to shave two years from former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff's prison sentence for a fraudulent Florida casino boat deal because of his extensive cooperation in that case and a wide-ranging political corruption probe that upended Washington politics...

Hung

Posted on September 09, 2008
Bill Barzee just hung his second jury in a row, this time in the Iranian Night Vision Goggle case. Here's Vanessa Blum's Sun-Sentinel article.

Major Eleventh Circuit ruling on reach of crack retroactivity

Posted on September 08, 2008
I am in a meeting right now, but I thought I would pass along the 11th circuit's big decision on the crack guidelines. Below is the link to Doug Berman's blog on the subject. More to come later. http://sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_law_and_policy/2008/09/major-eleventh...

Trials

Posted on September 03, 2008
I was supposed to start a month-long trial this week in West Palm Beach, but it got postponed till next Monday. Here are some stories about other trials that started this week:1. Participant or just translator? Shahrazad Gholikhan started trial in front of Judge Cohn...

More polygraphs

Posted on September 02, 2008
John Pacenti covers the recent use of polygraph testing here. The intro:For Leonard Bierman, the sentencing hearing for Fred Massaro illustrated polygraphs can be a valuable ? and reliable ? tool in court. Massaro of Sunny Isles Beach faced sentencing in a mob case for racketeering and the murder of a woman found bound in a truck on the outskirts of the Everglades...

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