Legal Commentary

Local Blogger Wins Case

By Professor University of Miami School of Law

Congratulations to David O. Marcus for this big win : Pain doctor trial: judge orders government to pay most of M.D.’s legal bills.

Calling the actions of prosecutors “profoundly disturbing,” a federal judge in Miami has ordered the U.S. government to pay sanctions topping $600,000 in the case of a South Florida physician charged with illegally prescribing painkillers.

U.S. District Judge Alan Gold is forcing the government to pay Dr. Ali Shaygan more than half the costs he incurred to defend himself at trial as punishment for secretly recording his defense team.

In a harshly-worded 50-page order, Gold said the “win-at-any-cost behavior” of federal prosecutors Sean Cronin and Andrea Hoffman raised “troubling issues about the integrity of those who wield enormous power over the people they prosecute.”

Kidding aside (I couldn’t resist the headline, sorry David), this is a major verdict and an important victory, especially as it comes on the heels of the Stevens case. Two cases isn’t a huge sample, but it at least raises the possibility that under the prior administration the Justice Department may have developed problems that go beyond partisanship and involve losing sight of their mission to do justice rather than win at all costs.

Full post as published by Discourse.net on April 09, 2009 (boomark / email).