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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

Cert petition denied for Sal Magluta

Posted on April 27, 2009
Here's the AP:A reputed cocaine kingpin has lost his fight to reduce his 195-year prison term.The Supreme Court, acting Monday, rejected an appeal from Salvador Magluta, who was convicted of laundering at least $730,000 in drug money and bribing a juror at an earlier trial...

What up SDFLA?

Posted on April 26, 2009
It was a nice weekend, no? The weather was fantastic. It was cooler here than in New York this weekend.Plus, the Heat won. Jermaine O'Neal is showing why we traded for him.The Dolphins had a nice draft. We addressed our needs and got some big upside with our first couple of picks...

Only in South Florida...

Posted on April 23, 2009
1. Law firm handling "Chinese dry wall" cases has that same problem in their office. (Palm Beach Post)2. "Lauderdale Lakes woman stole ID to pay for tummy tuck, feds say." (Sun-Sentinel)3. Mutual Benefits sealed documents to remain under seal. (Sun-Sentinel)

Roy Black interviewed on Helio case

Posted on April 22, 2009
Tom Withers, who runs the awesome Federal Criminal Defense Blog out of Savannah, Georgia, has this great interview of Roy Black. Check it out. Here's the intro question and answer:Q: Thanks for your time and congratulations on the not guilty verdicts in the Helio Castroneves case...

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The Fourth Amendment is not dead yet...

Posted on April 21, 2009
...not even in cars. See Arizona v. Gant, decided today (holding that police may search the passenger compartment of a vehicle incident to a recent occupant's arrest only if it is reasonable to believe that the arrestee might access the vehicle at the time of the search or that the vehicle contains evidence of the offense of arrest)...

Will the feds retry Helio Castroneves?

Posted on April 20, 2009
As you all know by now, the jury acquitted Helio Castroneves and his co-defendants of all counts, save for one conspiracy count. Technically the government has the ability to retry Helio on that count. But will they? In the past, this U.S. Attorney's office has retried defendants after hung juries -- for example, we are on the third Liberty City trial, and the office retried the Joe Cool case after it hung...

Who will be the next U.S. Attorney?

Posted on April 20, 2009
Inside Track has a post here about the slow selection process. Here's a piece:While other states are starting the interview process, the federal Judicial Nominating Commission in the Sunshine State still has not issued a notice seeking applications to replace Miami U...

Helio Castrnoves found not guilty

Posted on April 17, 2009
All three defendants found not guilty. The jury hung on one count as to Helio... I can't imagine that they would retry it. Congrats to him and his defense team.

Rumpole, get that Benjamin ready

Posted on April 17, 2009
The jurors in the Helio case asked for the opening statements to be read back today. Judge Graham said no, telling the jurors that opening statements weren't evidence. From Jay Weaver's article:The jury said it reached a verdict on two tax-evasion counts against the 33-year-old Castroneves and deadlocked on five others -- including the leading conspiracy charge...

BOP listserv moderator Howard Keiffer convicted

Posted on April 17, 2009
Many criminal defense lawyers, prosecutors and judges are members of the BOP listserv, which was started by Howard Keiffer. Keiffer spoke at conferences around the country about the Bureau of Prisons and related issues. I emailed with him a couple times over the years...

Partial Verdict in Helio Castroneves case

Posted on April 16, 2009
The jury has reached a verdict on all counts as to the lawyer, Alan Miller. That verdict form has been placed in a sealed envelope. The jury has also reached verdicts on 3 counts as to Helio Castroneves and 2 counts as to his sister. The jury has been told to continue deliberating on the other 5 and 6 counts, respectively...

This can't be real, can it?

Posted on April 15, 2009
From the Sun-Sentinel:With thick tape wrapped around his face, his hands bound and layers of shrink-wrap pinning him to a chair, the 17-year-old abductee was threatened with a blowtorch.His mother stood by, pleading on the phone for her ex-husband to pay the kidnappers...

Judge Gold rules Florida law on Cuba travel is unconstitutional

Posted on April 14, 2009
If you wanna go to Cuba, now's a good time to pack your bags. Yesterday Obama eased restrictions on travelling there. And today, Judge Gold issued an Order finding a Florida law making trips there more expensive unconsitutional. Here's the Herald's take: A federal judge Tuesday morning overturned a 2008 state law that increased registration fees and requirements for travel agencies specializing in trips to Cuba...

Back from Spring Break

Posted on April 12, 2009
Well, spring break is over, and you can feel it -- it already feels like summer outside. I'm already missing the blast of cool air from last week.This week, we'll be sure to hear the Castroneves verdict.Last week, I missed the 11th Circuit's opinion in Gen...

Helio Castroneves case to jury

Posted on April 09, 2009
Here's AP coverage and Sun-Sentinel coverage of the closings. Here's the govt case:Racing champion and reality TV star Helio Castroneves took part in "a pattern of deception" with his sister and lawyer to avoid paying taxes on more than $5.5 million, a federal prosecutor told jurors Thursday in closing arguments...

You gotta know when to hold em...

Posted on April 08, 2009
Check out this cool story about a Yale Law School student who doubles as a professional poker player. From the end of the story:After graduating from Yale in 2005 with a degree in political science, Selbst pursued a Fulbright Scholarship in Madrid. When she returned the next summer, she turned pro and, within a year, won the first of her World Series payouts, taking her game to the final table of the No-Limit Hold-Em event, which ESPN broadcast, and banking $101,285 for her seventh-place finish...

Helio Castroneves closing arguments on Thursday

Posted on April 08, 2009

"In 25 years on the bench I have never seen anything approach the mishandling and misconduct I have seen in this case."

Posted on April 07, 2009
That was Judge Emmet Sullivan today, ordering a probe into the Ted Stevens case. Here's the AP. The coverage of the case is worth a read. From the article:During Tuesday's hearing, Sullivan read a primer on criminal procedure, the kind of rudimentary lecture students normally receive during their first year of law school...

Bad times for lawyers

Posted on April 06, 2009
The Herald's business section has a long piece on how the tough economy is affecting lawyers. And Julie Kay makes a special guest appearance here. (UPDATE -- Julie wrote the long piece as well, but they cut her name out of the byline!). One of the recruiters quoted in the article has this happy thought for lawyers who have been laid off: "Think about learning a new practice area or even a new career...

"He left behind a watch collection that Prince Charles would be envious of."

Posted on April 05, 2009
Mike Tein has gotta be the most quotable lawyer in the District. The watch collection belongs to Won Sok Lee. The Palm Beach Post has the story:After four years as a fugitive, alleged hedge fund swindler Won Sok Lee was in U.S. District Court on Friday morning; having been arrested in his native Korea in February as he tried to board a plane to Argentina...

Blogging Block

Posted on April 03, 2009
Nothing is grabbing me for a post today. Maybe because it's Spring Break next week... Or maybe because I have to go to FDC this morning. I dunno...Anyway, I guess I could write something up about the accountant accused of hiding money in the UBS Swiss bank account...

Federal Bar luncheon

Posted on April 01, 2009
via Celeste Higgins:Please join me in welcoming this month?s Federal Bar Association's Lunch Series speaker, Dr. Redmond Burke. His presentation is: Medicine at the Speed of Thought. Dr. Burke, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard University Medical School, became the Chief of Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery at Miami Children?s Hospital at the age of 36...

A new day

Posted on April 01, 2009
Maybe the Obama Justice Department means business: it is dropping its case against Sen. Ted Stevens because prosecutors withheld evidence. Here's the AP article. Perhaps this will send a strong message to line prosecutors around the country that Brady material should be disclosed...

Jury votes for death in Turnpike murder case

Posted on March 31, 2009
The Sun-Sentinel has the story here. It's the first time a jury has voted for the death penalty in this District since the feds authorized it back in 1988:Two men who executed a family of four on Florida's Turnpike deserve to die for the murders of the two young children they shot, a jury decided with a 12-0 vote on Tuesday afternoon...

Prosecution rests in Castroneves trial

Posted on March 30, 2009
Curt Anderson has the story. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/breaking-news/story/974895.htmlSo, will Helio testify? Although I am blogging this from my Blackberry, I promise I am not doing it inside the courtroom!--David Oscar Markuswww.markuslaw.com305-379-6667

Who wants to be a federal judge?

Posted on March 30, 2009
John Pacenti has the story in today's DBR: Even before a call for official applications, some prominent names are swirling in the Miami legal community to replace U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley, who took senior status. ? Federal Public Defender Kathleen Williams and Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Robert Scola are expected to apply...

"Once a power couple, Kevin and Mary McCarty pay for ill-gotten gains"

Posted on March 29, 2009
That's the headline from the strong coverage of the McCarty case - she was a Palm Beach Commissioner - from the Palm Beach Post. Here's the link: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2009/03/27/0327mccarty.html She pleaded guilty in the morning (before Judge Middlebrooks) and her husband was sentenced in the afternoon...

Ceremony for Judge Graham

Posted on March 26, 2009
Here are pictures (yes, they were taken with my phone so they aren't so good) from yesterday's really nice award ceremony for Judge Graham: Judge Graham accepting the award, surrounded by his law clerks. Judge Graham's staff, who he thanked during his acceptance speech...

Helio Castrnoves

Posted on March 25, 2009
I was at the courthouse today and popped into the Castroneves trial. I lasted there about 5 minutes. After the DOJ prosecutor asked the following question, I left: "Now, we've been discussing general ledgers for some time -- please explain to the jury what a general ledger is...

Update on Judge Moreno's Adminstrative Order

Posted on March 25, 2009
I have confirmed that the Order applies to attorneys as well as reporters (background here). No one is permitted to text, email, twitter, post, etc from inside the courtrooms...

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