Federal Judiciary

16 Applicants for Judge Huck's seat

Posted on November 10, 2010
Jerald BagleyBetty ButchkoMary BarzeeDarrin GaylesMichael HanzmanJudy KorchinRobert LevensonPeter LopezAna Marie MartinezCaroline Heck MillerJohn O?SullivanRobin RosenbaumRobert ScolaBarry SeltzerWill ThomasJohn Thornton I'm struck by the very low number of applicants...

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Posted on November 09, 2010
Well maybe, if that tree is DOJ... Here's DOJ saying the fraud guidelines need to be updated (from Main Justice). Federal judges were also piping in, with one calling the loss guidelines "a crock."I'm sure the DOJ officials at this conference weren't staying in the forest though; they were probably staying at the Ritz...

Miami Herald cites SDFLA and SFLawyers!

Posted on November 08, 2010
Pretty cool. Meantime, I can't get the CHiPs theme song out of my head.Over the weekend, Jay Weaver profiled Eric Bustillo, the SEC chief. It's a nice piece. Here's the intro: A product of Jesuit schools in Latin America, Eric Bustillo entered Tulane University in fall 1981...

Friday

Posted on November 05, 2010
Finally, some good cool weather. Justice Stevens gave this cool speech -- and he uses trilogies too:Today I plan to say a few words about memorials, mosques, and monuments. Like Lieutenant Ichikawa, who is being honored today, I served in the Pacific theater during World War II...

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Looks like Ponch is going to have a few solo missions on the California Highway Patrol for awhile

Posted on November 05, 2010
SFLawyers previously covered Larry Wilcox's (Jon Baker in CHiPs) case here. He actually pleaded guilty before Judge Cohn today. Here's the actual plea agreement. He's obviously cooperating in this securities fraud case and his sentence is capped at 5 years...

Happy Halloween

Posted on November 03, 2010
This press release found its way to my inbox: DEFENDANT CHARGED WITH IMPORTING CANDY LACED WITH COCAINE ON FLIGHT TO FORT LAUDERDALE. Well, I had to read more:According to the criminal complaint, on November 1, 2010, Perez arrived into Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport on a flight from Bogota, Colombia...

When you have 5 minutes to kill...

Posted on November 03, 2010
Hat tip: AMM

"If Mr. Rothstein thinks setting up Mr. Settineri is going to get him a get-out-of-jail card, he's sadly mistaken.''

Posted on November 03, 2010
That was Jeff Weiner after Judge Cohen sentenced his client Roberto Settineri to four years (via the Miami Herald):Defense attorney Jeffrey Weiner and federal prosecutors recommended that Settineri receive four years' imprisonment at his sentencing Wednesday morning in Fort Lauderdale...

"Some of the Grimm?s fairy tales are quite grim." -- Justice Scalia during oral argument yesterday

Posted on November 03, 2010
So were some of those election results... Here's the NY Times article on the violent video game argument in the Supreme Court:The law would impose $1,000 fines on stores that sell violent video games to people under 18. It defined violent games as those ?in which the range of options available to a player includes killing, maiming, dismembering or sexually assaulting an image of a human being? in a way that is ?patently offensive,? appeals to minors? ?deviant or morbid interests? and lacks ?serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value...

Go vote!

Posted on November 02, 2010
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday

Posted on November 01, 2010
What's new on this rainy Monday? Well, the Supreme Court took a bunch of cases, including one concerning Miranda warnings and minors. In the District, Judge Middlebrooks and Judge Graham both started mortgage fraud trials this morning. A bunch of those cases are now starting to go and there have been a bunch of acquittals for straw buyers...

?Public defenders are not defenders of the public. They are not serving the public good. They are taxpayer-funded attorneys for criminals."

Posted on October 28, 2010
That was the enlightened District Attorney in Aspen, Colorado. Here's the intro to the article:It may come as a surprise to casual observers of this ritzy ski resort that the majority of people accused of crimes in the Aspen area qualify as indigent, and therefore have a right to a court-appointed attorney...

SDFLA launches new website

Posted on October 26, 2010
Check it out here.Make sure to look at it from your phone and your desktop as it has a mobile version.After you take a look, then you can take this survey.I think it's a big improvement.

Must read sentencing order in Irey case

Posted on October 26, 2010
I wrote about the lengthy 11th Circuit en banc opinion in US v. Irey here. Professor Berman covers what has happened since, including Judge Presnell's opinion in response to the 11th Circuit. Here's the intro and conclusion:This matter comes before the Court on the Unopposed Motion for Continuance of Resentencing Hearing Pending Review in United States Supreme Court (Doc...

State Court

Posted on October 25, 2010
So I don't know what Rumpole is always complaining about. I was in state court this morning. No lines. Nice Judge. I even found a meter... Then, back in the office by 10:15. All good.Let's see what happened this weekend -- Scalia and Kagan go skeet shooting...

"Calling John Roberts"

Posted on October 22, 2010
That's the headline of Linda Greenhouse's article in the NYTimes, calling for Justice Roberts to issue a strong end-of-year report explaining that the Senate is imperiling the judicial branch with all of the vacancies (as Justice Rehnquist had done in the past)...

Domestic disputes resulting from marital infidelities and culminating in a thumb burn are appropriately handled by local law enforcement authorities.

Posted on October 20, 2010
That was Paul Clement to the Supreme Court in this fascinating case about the reach of the feds and whether the 10th Amendment could be a new weapon in the fight against the over-criminalization by the federal government. From the NY Times:The Tea Party?s favorite part of the Constitution ? the 10th Amendment, which limits federal power ? arrived at the Supreme Court last week...

Why aren't more judges speaking out against the guidelines?

Posted on October 20, 2010
Here's an article about Judge John Gleeson's recent response to DOJ's criticism of fraud sentences:A federal judge in Brooklyn has rebutted the criticism by a top Department of Justice official that many federal judges have "lost" their "moorings to the sentencing guidelines" in major fraud cases...

Monday news and notes

Posted on October 18, 2010
1. The jury in Judge Lenard's case dealing with the Chinese ammo resulted in a hung jury; the jury deliberated for over a week.2. Justice Sotomayor really likes "12 Angry Men".3. New York Times raises "age-old question" of jury service in the context of blogging: "Mr...

The average teenager now sends 3,339 texts per month.

Posted on October 15, 2010
In keeping with the off-blog news for the week, check out this CNN article on texting: If you needed more proof that texting is on the rise, here's a stat for you: the average teenager sends over 3,000 texts per month. That's more than six texts per waking hour...

What are the odds?

Posted on October 14, 2010
Check out this USA Today article:Unlike many moms, Barbara Soper never gets her kids' birthdays confused. That's because her first was born on Aug, 8, 2008, her second on Sept. 9, 2009 and her most recent on Oct. 10, 2010.Yes, that's 8-8-08, 9-9-09 and 10-10-10...

Tuesday morning

Posted on October 12, 2010
1. Rumpole and the NYTimes take on Supreme Court specialists. I usually really like Adam Liptak, but I think he (and Rumpole) got this one all wrong. Take the example they cite in the lead to the article:Humberto Fernandez-Vargas, deported to Mexico, had run out of options...

10 years for Villegas (Scott Rothstein's "right hand")

Posted on October 08, 2010
That sentence was much higher than the government's recommendation (7 years) and the defense's (home confinement). You all know my feelings on this -- a judge should almost never go above a prosecutor's recommended sentence. That should be the ceiling in our adversary system...

Federal JNC accepting applications for Judge Huck's seat

Posted on October 07, 2010
Here's the letter from the Senators announcing the opening and the letter from John Fitzgibbons, chair of the JNC. Here's the application to apply. And here are your JNC members who will be making the decision.

Wednesday notes

Posted on October 06, 2010
1. Can't get enough of the Judge Kemp story. How Appealing is keeping track of all the articles. R. Robin McDonald has this article -- my favorite coverage because of the shout-out to the blog! -- in the Fulton County Daily Report.2. The Supreme Court heard a case today that tests the limits of free speech, Snyder v...

A stripper, cocaine, pot, Roxicodone, a semi-automatic gun AND...

Posted on October 05, 2010
... A FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE?!According to this Complaint out of the Northern District of Georgia, Senior Judge Jack Camp has some explaining to do.Here's the AJC article:A longtime federal judge was freed on a $50,000 bond Monday after his arrest on federal charges that he bought cocaine and other illegal drugs while involved in a sexual relationship with an exotic dancer for the past several months...

"People are naturally good." Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Posted on October 04, 2010
Indeed! A NYC taxi driver returned my phone. Yipppeeeeeeeee! It's the First Monday of October, and it's Justice Kagan's first Term. It should be an interesting one. Lots of coverage all over the blogosphere on the different issues before the Court...

Off the grid

Posted on October 01, 2010
So I flying back to Miami today. I was in NY yesterday speaking to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers at this conference. The panel discussion was really interesting... but more on that later.Now I have to rant -- I lost my freaking cell phone...

Really?

Posted on September 30, 2010
The Humane Society says there is a "massive resurgence" in crush videos since the Supreme Court struck down the animal cruelty video statute last Term 8-1 in U.S. v. Stevens. Really? Who watches these things?For those of you who forgot, crush videos, involve women in high heels stomping on small animals...

Your friendly neighborhood blogger....

Posted on September 28, 2010
...is back from the Middle District.Thanks to Professor Bascuas for the great posts while I was out.I'm looking at the huge pile of mail, email, and calls that I need to wade through right now. So I will be back to post in a little bit.In the meantime, you may want to check out this new album that came out today!

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