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Federal Judiciary

Southern District of Florida

News and notes on the Southern District of Florida

Post Frequency: 3.1/day

Last Entry: November 03, 2020 at 07:42:00

Baby steps

Posted on September 28, 2010
It's time for there to be cameras in federal courtrooms, especially the Supreme Court. And it will happen soon. But first, we'll have audio the same day as arguments.Some other quick hits:Anna Nicole is back before the High Court.Al Capone walked again...

Three-week-old news

Posted on September 24, 2010
It seems that some important findings and conclusions came out while D.O.M.?who has been indefatigable with his exhaustive coverage of Paris Hilton?was out of town. This oversight needs immediate and painstaking correction.You will doubtlessly recall that the receiver to a film company claims Paris breached a contract by failing to promote the film Pledge This!...

Judge Gold and the EPA face off

Posted on September 23, 2010
Back in April, having granted summary judgment largely to the plaintiffs in an Everglades environmental suit, Judge Gold told the EPA to quit dragging its feet and clean up the Everglades. A hearing was set for October 7 at which the EPA administrator was to explain to the court why the agency had failed to comply with various orders...

A sign of the times

Posted on September 21, 2010
Missouri is attaching little price tags to its pre-sentence reports so that judges realize that executing sentences is not free. Defense attorneys applaud this, and prosecutors decry it. Money quote: ??No one can put a price tag on being a victim,? said Scott Burns, executive director of the National District Attorneys Association...

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Get out your red pens

Posted on September 21, 2010
So, there are press reports that a bunch of neo-red-scare-artist-types have signed a letter to President Obama asking for the release of the five Cuban spies convicted here in the SDFla a while back. The problem is I can?t find a report about this that doesn?t ultimately trace back to Granma, the official news organ of the Cuban government...

Trials in the news

Posted on September 21, 2010
D.O.M. and Michael Pasano are in separate trials, and both are in the news. (D.O.M.?s trial violates topicality for this blog because it is not in the SDFla, but, given that D.O.M. doesn?t really take topicality seriously at all, I figure I can get away with a link...

I hope this goes to trial

Posted on September 20, 2010
Sometimes it?s hard to tell the cops from the robbers. That?s more or less what defense attorney Robert Pelier told the press about his client, Hialeah Gardens Police Detective Lawrence Perez. The federal government, for its part, alleges that Detective Perez conspired with one ?Negro? and one ?Chuchi? to rob a marijuana stash house...

How is this not a bigger deal?

Posted on September 20, 2010
So, I started doing some reading to figure out what?s going on in the SDFla so that I can guest-host while D.O.M. rededicates himself to the practice of law. The news is good and bad. The good news is that the feds caught two people who really needed to be caught and who are guilty of the sort of crime that cries out for federal retribution...

?At this age, I?m not even buying green bananas.?

Posted on September 17, 2010
Gotta love that quote from 103-year old district judge Wesley E. Brown, the oldest federal judge in the country (from the NYT):Judge Wesley E. Brown?s mere presence in his courtroom is seen as something of a daily miracle. His diminished frame is nearly lost behind the bench...

Whacked

Posted on September 16, 2010
Judge Zloched sentenced a former Guatemalan soldier, Gilberto Jordan, to the maximum 10 years today lying on citizenship forms about his military service and role in the killings. It was a hefty upward variance. From Curt Anderson's report:Jordan could have received just six months behind bars under sentencing guidelines...

Quick hits

Posted on September 15, 2010
1. I love this story from BLT -- senators are conducting the impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. and the schedule they are trying to keep to is about 8am to 7:30 pm. They need at least 7 senators to hear evidence. Problem is that they are having a tough time keeping 7 senators around for such a long day:But senators, who aren?t used to staying in one place during the day, have had trouble keeping to the plan...

Tuesday

Posted on September 14, 2010
What's with this rain every morning during rush hour traffic? US1 is really fun in the rain.The Northern District is hearing the health care lawsuits:Florida takes center stage this week in the fight over the federal health care law that consumed Congress for the better part of a year, and along with it, so will a Pensacola judge who is no stranger to hot button issues...

Football Sunday

Posted on September 12, 2010
Let's go Fins.Some weekend news:Interestingly, Justice Kagan has recused in 21 out of the 40 cases in which the Court has granted cert. Wow, that seems like a huge number to me.Another huge number -- almost 2000 Justice employees owe more than $14 million in 2009 taxes...

Jonathan Goodman investiture today at 2pm

Posted on September 10, 2010
Congrats again to Magistrate Judge Goodman. See you all there.

Short week

Posted on September 08, 2010
Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah in one week makes for slow news.South Florida Lawyers has more on the 11th Circuit "boy" case. The NY Times has gotten interested in the story:Last month, for the third time and in the face of a 2006 rebuke from the United States Supreme Court, the federal appeals court in Atlanta said there were no racial overtones when a white supervisor called an adult black man ?boy...

Tuesday morning notes

Posted on September 07, 2010
Here's some fun to get your week started:In other news:1. SFL covers political law clerks.2. Curt Anderson has this interesting piece on the lawsuit to recover for pre-WWII German bonds3. The blog draft was yesterday. Here's your winning squad:Phillip RiversReggie WayneMiles AustinMichael CrabtreeRay RiceKnowshon MorenoJason WittenJustin ForsettDonald DriverMichael BushKevin KolbWillis McGaheeLouis MurphyJoshua CribbsRoy WilliamsFred TaylorJames JonesJames DavisNew Orleans DefenseMason Crosby

Random Friday thoughts

Posted on September 03, 2010
UPDATE -- we still need one more team for the Blog Fantasy Football league. Email Miguel De La O at delao13@gmail.com if you want in.1. Bill Barzee has filed a complaint against David Rivera. From the Herald article: "David and his campaign have to learn that you have to play by the rules,'' Barzee said of his complaint...

MIA--->DCA

Posted on September 02, 2010
Just for the day. Be back soon my peeps.

Judge Carnes on the Armed Career Criminal Act

Posted on September 01, 2010
Like him or not; agree with him or not; Judge Carnes is a gifted writer. From United States v. Rainer:This is yet another felon-in-possession case involving yet another variation on the issue of whether a previous conviction qualifies as a ?violent felony? for purposes of the enhanced penalties provided in the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U...

USAO adds to management team

Posted on August 31, 2010
I just received this announcement:Eduardo I. Sanchez returned to the United States Attorney's Office on August 16, 2010, as Counselor to the U.S. Attorney in the Executive Division in Miami. Ms. Bowen, a veteran of the Office, will serve as the District Training Director...

Multiple Choice

Posted on August 31, 2010
Here are your choices this morning --A. Read more about the Scott Rothstein case here.B. Read more about the federal judicial openings here.orC. Watch the hilarious Jimmy Fallon intro to the Emmy's:

Wet Monday Mornings stink

Posted on August 30, 2010
How annoying -- US1 basically turns into a parking lot if there is the slightest hint of rain. Combine that with Monday morning. Ugh.Anyway, we're almost to football season, and I'm thinking of betting against all of Rumpole's picks this year. I don't know what to make of this Dolphins...

Fire at Tre downtown

Posted on August 27, 2010

Boy

Posted on August 27, 2010
I was about to write up this (unpublished?!) opinion by the 11th, but SFL beat me to it, as did the DBR:During 14 years of litigation over his claims that he was denied a promotion because he is black, John Hithon has twice been awarded jury verdicts of more than $1 million...

Rothstein takes down Mafia player

Posted on August 26, 2010
Curt Anderon and Jay Weaver cover the story of the 4 year deal for Roberto Settineri. Jeff Weiner, Settineri's lawyer, had this to say:"Our initial intention was to go to trial,'' Weiner said in an interview. ``My client had no criminal record. He was actively targeted and set up by Rothstein...

Election night

Posted on August 24, 2010
Rumpole and JAABlog are covering your Dade and Broward elections. Even though I think judicial elections are ridiculous, it's still fun to watch the election results.While you wait for the results, check out the new trailer for Square Grouper by the boys at Rakontur (who made The U and Cocaine Cowboys):Finally, Efraim Diveroli is back behind bars, this time ATF nabbed him in Central Fla...

First day of school

Posted on August 23, 2010
And there goes another summer...This one seemed to go by really fast, no?School shouldn't start in August. After Labor Day. That's the way it should be.Enough about school. What's going on in the SDFLA?1. Two Magistrates are up for reappointment -- Patrick White and Frank Lynch...

Should federal judges be writing books?

Posted on August 20, 2010
That's the question this Boston Globe article raises in light of Judge Nancy Gertner's new book, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate --The 64-year-old Boston jurist said the book being published by Beacon Press focuses on her two decades as a prominent criminal defense and civil rights lawyer before she joined the bench in 1994...

Slow news day in the SDFLA...

Posted on August 19, 2010
...so we'll have to turn to Alabama, via CNN:"Former Alabama prosecutor arrested on enticement, child porn charges"Here's the quote from the former prosecutor's defense attorney:"The facts of the case will turn out to be interesting and (we will) address those when we go to trial...

Thursday news and notes

Posted on August 19, 2010
1. Rocket indicted.2. Big opinion out of the 11th today on jury instructions -- a reversal for not providing the good faith instruction as requested by the defense. It's 67 pages and I haven't digested it yet, but here's the money quote:"The requested instruction properly placed the determination with the jury as to whether they acted in good faith in seeking advice, fully and completely reporting to their accountant, and acting strictly in accordance with the advice...

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