Southern District of Florida Blog

Guest Blogger Here

2009-07-14T19:44:00.004-04:00

David is in trial before Judge Jordan and is unable to cover the District Court interviews tomorrow. I will be guest blogging for David. Unfortunately, I will have to miss several of the morning interviews and am hoping somebody else will provide information on the ones I cannot attend.

Here is the list of the interviewees and their timeslots:

Robin S. Rosenbaum 9:00
Barry S. Seltzer 9:30
Judith M. Korchin 10:00
Caroline Heck Miller 10:30
Jerald Bagley 11:00
Patrick A. White 11:30
Robert W. Lee 12:30
Mary Barzee Flores 1:00
Darrin P. Gayles 1:30
Patricia E. Lowry 2:00
Kathleen M. Williams 2:30
Peter R. Lopez 3:00
Robert N. Scola, Jr. 3:30
Gerald B. Cope, Jr. 4:00
Ana Maria Martinez 4:30

I cannot help but wonder whether to not a 25-minute interview, even with the huge written application involved, is sufficient to determine which of these 15 individuals should get the job. It will be interesting to hear the committee’s questions and the remarks by the applicants.

UBS trial continued till August 3

2009-07-13T12:47:00.001-04:00

Prior coverage here. Judge Gold agreed to the parties' request to let them try and work it out.

Looking for blogger to cover interviews

2009-07-12T22:57:00.002-04:00

I was planning on covering the interviews for judge and U.S. Attorney this week, but it turns out that I will have to do some real work and will be in court. Any volunteers to go to the interviews and blog 'em? Shoot me an email.

Maybe not on the UBS trial

2009-07-12T21:09:00.002-04:00

According to the New York Times, the parties filed a joint motion to continue the case over the weekend in the hopes they can settle:

The Swiss bank UBS and United States federal prosecutors sought Sunday to delay a hearing scheduled for Monday so the two sides could try to settle their closely watched dispute over the release of names of wealthy American clients of the bank who are suspected of offshore tax evasion.

But the postponement request, made in a joint legal filing in a federal court in Florida, came amid fresh threats by the Justice Department that it might impose financial sanctions on UBS and possibly indict the bank should it ultimately refuse to disclose the names if required to do so by a judge.

Judge Gold will hear the motion to continue first thing Monday morning.

Best blog post forever

2009-07-10T16:32:00.007-04:00

Paris Hilton is on the stand. And Judge Moreno is getting in on the act. In one exchange, Moreno was puzzled by the title of Hilton's current reality show, "My New BFF." "What does that mean?" he said. After Hilton gave the full title "Paris Hilton's My New Best Friend Forever" the judge remarked "This will be my best case forever." Without missing a beat, Hilton replied "You're my best judge forever."

Hat Tip: Curt Anderson

UBS trial to start Monday

2009-07-10T15:14:00.003-04:00

Lots of press coverage on the case to start Monday here.

I liked this Reuters piece on Judge Alan Gold, who is presiding over the case:

The judge presiding over a high-stakes legal showdown between the U.S. government and Swiss bank UBS AG is seen as a straight-shooter who has not shied away from taking aim at big corporate interests.
Some see Judge Alan Gold of U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida emerging as an international mediator as he deals with issues loaded with important foreign policy and financial ramifications, led by U.S. demands for a lifting of Switzerland's treasured bank secrecy laws.
But U.S. attorneys and prosecutors who know him say Gold, a 65-year-old native New Yorker, will studiously avoid doing anything inconsistent with his role as a judge as he handles his biggest and most publicized case since he came to the federal bench in Miami nearly 13 years ago.
"He's about as straight-shooter as they come," said Charles Intriago, a former U.S. federal prosecutor and money laundering expert, who publishes a website for law enforcement officials about asset forfeiture.
"He's the perfect judge for this," he added, referring to the hearing Gold is set to preside over Monday in a suit in which the Justice Department is seeking to force UBS to disclose information on 52,000 secret accounts suspected of being used by wealthy Americans to avoid paying their taxes.
There is little in Gold's record to indicate how he might rule in the case, which experts say could set an important legal precedent since it marks the biggest test ever of Swiss bank secrecy.
Gold grabbed the media spotlight in a business law case once before, when he presided over a class-action lawsuit against Exxon Corp that resulted in a settlement costing more than $1 billion.

Gene Stearns won that case against Exxon. This time around, he's representing UBS.

Paris Hilton to tesify Friday

2009-07-10T11:12:00.003-04:00

She'll testify today, most likely after lunch. Here's how she looked this morning.

Don't worry; there's nothing wrong in looking, right Mr. President? (Here's Professor Althouse's take on the picture)

I heart Paris

2009-07-09T16:00:00.006-04:00

I had another matter in the courthouse this afternoon, so I snuck over to Judge Moreno's courtroom to see the Paris Hilton trial.

I watched a bit of both opening statements. Judge Moreno was on his A-game, asking lots of questions in his engaging and witty way. He even asked a funny question about the rule against perpetuities. Another exchange -- Lawyer: I'm here to make your life easier judge. Moreno: You are failing so far. Moreno wondered out loud why the case had not settled and asked whether Paris could simply promote the movie this weekend to settle the matter.

Paris was laughing at Judge Moreno's jokes and nodding her head in agreement during much of the proceeding. She wore a black and white sleeveless dress, a black headband, and pig-tails. UPDATE -- I added a picture of her (with one of her lawyers) walking into the courthouse so you could see for yourselves.

Paris, oh Paris

2009-07-08T15:45:00.005-04:00

The Paris Hilton trial starts tomorrow. Our prior coverage is here. I imagine it's going to be a circus (as far as circuses go in federal court; remember no tweeting or blogging!) in the Chief Judge's courtroom tomorrow. I'm hoping to get an exclusive blog interview with Paris... if I do, what questions should I ask her, my dear readers?

Here's Curt Anderson's preview of the case:

In an odd intersection of showbiz and securities fraud, proving a claim that Paris Hilton was a lousy pitchwoman would benefit investors jilted by a Ponzi scheme she had no part in.
A federal lawsuit set to go to trial Thursday against Hilton contends she didn't do enough to promote the 2006 sorority hijinks movie "Pledge This!" and seeks about $8 million in damages from Hilton and her company, Paris Hilton Entertainment Inc.
One of the main investors in the box-office bomb was once a high-flying concert and theater promoter from Miami named Jack Utsick, who was listed as one of the movie's producers. When the admittedly bad movie lost money, his now-defunct Worldwide Entertainment Group took a financial hit.
But it's not Utsick who's suing Hilton. Rather, the lawsuit stems from an effort to repay people ripped off in what federal securities investigators say was a $300 million Ponzi scheme hatched by Utsick. Hilton's work on the film had nothing to do with the scheme.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said Worldwide Entertainment was a multimillion-dollar fraud and won a civil judgment earlier this year against Utsick and several associates. A federal judge appointed attorney Michael Goldberg as receiver to collect as much money as possible for some 3,300 wronged investors.
It was Goldberg who filed the lawsuit against Hilton. He claims she failed to adequately promote the DVD release for "Pledge This!" and that she deprived the film's investors of $8.3 million in profits by not cooperating.

What about the defense:

Hilton and her attorneys claim she went the extra mile to plug the movie, which played in just 25 theaters and made only about $2.9 million worldwide, according to court documents. Hilton, 28, is expected to testify in the three-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno.
In a deposition, Hilton said she did promotion events at the Cannes Film Festival in France, appeared at the movie's Chicago premiere and generally mentioned it publicly whenever possible.
"Any chance I got, any red carpet, any press, if I was doing something for another product, even if I wasn't asked about it, I would just bring it up," she said.

Quick Hits

2009-07-08T09:42:00.005-04:00

Sorry about the slow blogging this week. It's summer and I'm swamped... What up with that?

Okay, to the news:

1. General Noriega has filed a cert petition.
2. Paris Hilton starts trial tomorrow in front of Judge Moreno. Steven Binhak and Michael Weinstein represent her.
3. UBS trial next week.
4. Federal JNC interviews for judge and U.S. atty coming up.
5. Palm Beach is moving firearms cases to federal court. (The State Attorney there says it's because the min-mans in federal court are higher than in state court. But there is no min-man for being a felon in possession of a firearm in the federal system.)
6. More on SexyLexus and White & Case.
7. There's lots of mortgage fraud.
8. Boeis tops Wells.
9. AUSA Scott Ray is leaving the office. Going away party next Thurday at Tobacco Road. Good luck to Scott.
10. The Marshals are busy.

Obama nominates Beverly Martin to Eleventh Circuit

2009-07-06T12:51:00.003-04:00

President Obama has nominated District Judge Beverly Martin to fill Lanier Anderson's seat on the Eleventh Circuit. She's been a district judge in the Northern District of Georgia since 2000 and before that was the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia for three years. She has sat by designation a couple of times on the Eleventh Circuit, the most noted case being Buckley v. Haddock, the taser case in which she dissented. (She wanted the video appended to the opinion, but the Court refused. After that, someone uploaded it to YouTube). She has a sense of humor -- check out this footnote (via Law.com): "Essentially, in the spirit of an old Woody Allen joke, Southern requests more time to finish a deposition that it apparently believes has not been very helpful." Then, invoking the joke from the 1977 movie "Annie Hall," she goes on, "Two elderly women are at a Catskill mountain resort, and one of 'em says, 'Boy, the food at this place is really terrible.' The other one says, 'Yeah, I know; and such small portions.'" A Macon native, Martin graduated from Stetson University and the University of Georgia School of Law.

SDFLA turns 4

2009-07-04T16:47:00.003-04:00

Four years ago on Fourth of July weekend I started this blog with no expectations and no idea if the blog would last a month, let alone four years. Since then, there have been 1,275 posts (there is a post almost every business day) and almost 500,000 hits (it took us a while, but the blog now averages around 600 hits a day). Here is our first month of posts, and our first one -- suggesting that former President Bush appoint a Floridian to the Supreme Court. I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Fourth of July and thank you all for stopping by over the past four years. I hope I can keep it going for another four. --David Markus

Sealed Mutual Benefits stuff starts to leak

2009-07-03T08:17:00.004-04:00

Jay Weaver has the lengthy front page story here. Our prior coverage is here. The bombshell from the article is that Paul Huck Jr. was one of the reasons a number of documents were sealed and a number of judges recused (including Judge Huck). Of course Huck Jr. has been cleared of all wrongdoing -- he is a stand-up and ethical lawyer. But for him to have to go through this is terrible. From the intro to the Herald article:

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating corruption allegations made by an indicted Fort Lauderdale insurance executive who, in a bid for a favorable plea deal, has named lawyers, lobbyists and fundraisers he claims plotted with him to thwart a state crackdown on him and his industry.

Justice officials have convened a federal grand jury to pursue the claims of former Mutual Benefits Corp. chief Joel Steinger. The wealthy businessman contends that he orchestrated a campaign to stifle a 1999-2000 statewide grand jury probe by attempting to improperly influence public officials, three knowledgeable sources have told The Miami Herald.

One of the officials Steinger named was lawyer Paul Huck Jr., a former deputy to state Attorney General Charlie Crist. But Huck confirmed that he was one of six public officials already cleared of any wrongdoing by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section. Huck said authorities have told him that he was "a reputational victim of statements made by a third party.''

Others who remain under scrutiny: several prosecutors and officials who worked under Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth and his successor, Crist.

Judge Jordan had this to say:

''Disclosure of those names, and the matters being investigated, could have devastating consequences for those persons who have been cleared of any misconduct, as well as for those still under investigation,'' Jordan wrote, adding that the grand jury probe was ancillary to the Mutual Benefits fraud investigation.

Jordan stressed that, according to the Public Integrity Section, the six exonerated officials "had no knowledge of, or participation in, any of the alleged wrongdoing.''

More on Huck Jr. and his comment about having to go through such an ordeal:

Among them: Huck Jr., who was a deputy attorney general in Fort Lauderdale when Mutual Benefits was being prosecuted in Broward by the statewide prosecutor. The post is part of the attorney general's office. Mutual Benefits pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in 2007. Huck was not the prosecutor on that case.

Huck, who later became Gov. Crist's general counsel and now is in private practice in Miami, confirmed that he is one of the public officials the judge referred to as being cleared. Huck declined to comment further, saying he does not want to interfere with the probe.

''It's a real shame when folks in public service have to deal with that, and it makes it that much harder to attract people to go into public service in the first place,'' Huck told The Miami Herald.

Alex Kozinski and Porn

2009-07-02T15:15:00.004-04:00

We've posted about the whole dust-up with Ninth Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski and his personal website featuring sexually explicit photos and videos.

Well, the Third Circuit's judicial council, tasked with investigating the case, wrote a 41 page opinion admonishing Kozinski, but clearing him of any wrongdoing. It's just about the holiday weekend, so I haven't slogged through the whole opinion yet. But here's the bottom line:

We find that the Judge's possession of sexually explicit offensive material combined with his carelessness in failing to safeguard his sphere of privacy was judicially imprudent. Moreover, once the Judge became aware in 2007 that offensive material could be accessed by members of the public, his inattention to the need for prompt corrective action amounted to a disregard of a serious risk of public embarrassment. We join with the Special Committee in admonishing the Judge that his conduct exhibiting poor judgment with respect to this material created a public controversy that can reasonably be seen as having resulted in embarrassment to the institution of the federal judiciary. We determine that the Judge's acknowledgment of responsibility together with other corrective action, his apology, and our admonishment, combined with the public dissemination of this opinion, properly conclude this proceeding.
***
The Judge explained and admitted his error; apologized for it, recognizing its impact on the judiciary; and committed to changing his conduct to avoid any recurrence of the error. The offending material has been removed and will be destroyed. The Judge’s acknowledgment of responsibility combined with the corrective actions he has already completed or has committed to pursue and his apology, along with our admonishment, made public in this opinion, properly “remed[y] the problems raised by the complaint.” Rule 11(d)(2). Accordingly, this proceeding is properly concluded. We find that “all of the purposes of the judicial misconduct provisions are fully served” by this result.

In my opinion, this has been a huge waste of time. Kozinski issued the following statement to the WSJ Law Blog:

I asked the Third Circuit Court of Appeals to thoroughly review this matter, and I am pleased that today’s unanimous decision reaffirms what I have said all along about my private files: They were kept on a private server and were not intended to be shared publicly. Our Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has much important work to do, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to accomplish our goals.

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth.

Interviews (and times) made public

2009-07-01T16:59:00.004-04:00

After the list has been floating around the past couple of days, the JNC finally posted it here. You can see the times of the public interviews. I wonder if anyone will show up.

Some interesting notes:

The order of the interviews is random. (Which is the best slot? Robin Rosenbaum is first up and Ana Martinez is last. Robert Lee is first up after a short 30 minute lunch. For USA, Mark Schnapp is first up and James Swaim is last.)
The interviews last 25 minutes.
Each applicant gets an opening (3 minutes) and closing statement (2 minutes). (Those should be interesting...)
The JNC recommends that applicants show up 30 minutes ahead of time. (Can you imagine an applicant being late?)
"The Rule" has been invoked. "No applicant will be allowed to attend the interview of another applicant or to discuss an interview with a member of the public who has attended other interviews." (So can I live blog?)
AUSA Marcus Christian got an interview for the U.S. Attorney slot in the Middle District of Florida. And B.J. Throne got one in the Northern District...

Wardrobe Malfunction

2009-07-01T15:22:00.003-04:00

Here.

You may be wondering what this has to do with the SDFLA. The answer is nothing.

New UM Dean starts with a bang

2009-07-01T11:38:00.003-04:00

Apparently, incoming 1Ls are being asked to defer a year because UM accepted too many students. Here's the incoming Dean's memo to the incoming 1Ls, courtesy of AboveTheLaw:

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI LAW SCHOOL -- MEMO -- DEFERRAL OPTIONS

Every year our Admissions Office uses our past experience with acceptance rates to decide how many students to admit. In these economically troubled times past experience has turned out to be a poor guide. An unprecedented percentage of applicants admitted to the University of Miami Law School have accepted our offer. This will give us a larger than optimal first-year class.

Accordingly we are offering an incentive to defer admission until Fall 2010. If you wish to take advantage of this offer you must notify us by e-mail [Redacted] or facsimile [Redacted] by July 10, 2009.

While I would like to believe that this year's elevated acceptance rate reflects the great sense of excitement about the Law School and its future that led me to become its new Dean, I fear that some of it may be related to the shortage of jobs in the current economy. Perhaps many of you are looking to law school as a safe harbor in which you can wait out the current economic storm.
If this describes your motivation for going to law school I urge you to think hard about your plans and to consider deferring enrollment. Law school requires an enormous investment of work, energy, time, and money. It is very demanding intellectually and emotionally. Beyond this, in these uncertain and challenging times the nature of the legal profession is in great flux. It is very difficult to predict what the employment landscape for young lawyers will be in May 2012 and thereafter.

If you are choosing to join us this Fall because you are strongly committed to the study of law we welcome you with open arms and promise to do our best to provide you with an exceptional and challenging educational experience. But if you are approaching law school with ambivalence or the thought that it will be a safe haven, perhaps you should take a year to decide whether it is the best choice for you.

To encourage this we are offering incentives to admitted students to defer admission until Fall 2010. The basic idea is that we will give you a $5000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship for the 2010-11 academic year if you defer starting law school until August 2010. There is one additional condition: performing and documenting 120 hours of public service by June 1, 2010.

This requirement reflects the commitment to public service we try to instill in all our students.
The following are the benefits of taking advantage of this unique offer and deferring your enrollment to Fall 2010:

* Guaranteed $5,000 Public Interest Deferral Scholarship when completing 120 hours of public service. This scholarship would be in addition to any other scholarship award you may receive (not to exceed the cost of tuition).

* Increase your likelihood of selection for a $75,000 Miami Scholars Scholarship award ($25,000 each year for 3 years). This is a scholarship designed to encourage and reward public service.

* If qualified, be among the first group considered for all 2010 scholarships (see offer details).

* Apply your entire $300 seat deposit to Fall 2010, rather than receiving only a partial refund and forfeiting the balance.

For further important details about this offer, click here.
If you would like to defer your admission to Fall 2010, please contact us by e-mail or facsimile

[Redacted] by July 10th. If you have questions, please contact the Office of Admissions [Redacted].

I am delighted that the University of Miami is your law school of choice. I am very excited about its future and hope to welcome you either this August or next.

Warm regards,
Trish White Dean Designate

Judge list out

2009-06-30T12:24:00.002-04:00

The applicants who will be interviewed for federal judge in the Southern District are: Jerald Bagley, Gerald B. Cope, Jr., Mary Barzee Flores, Darrin P. Gayles, Judith M. Korchin, Robert W. Lee, Peter R. Lopez, Patricia E. Lowry, Ana Maria Martinez, Caroline Heck Miller, Robin S. Rosenbaum, Robert N. Scola, Jr., Barry S. Seltzer, Patrick A. White, Kathleen M. Williams.
Hat tip: Eddie Dominguez

U.S. Attorney list

2009-06-30T11:38:00.002-04:00

The JNC has cut the list for US Attorney in Miami to: David M. Buckner, Wifredo Ferrer, Richard D. Gregorie, Ilona Maxine Holmes, Curtis B. Miner, Thomas J. Mulvihill, Lilly Ann Sanchez, Mark P. Schnapp, William Richard Scruggs, Jeffrey H. Sloman, James H. Swain, Daryl E. Trawick. They will be interviewed next month.

Judge list coming next.

UPDATE -- Here's John Pacenti's article.

Breaking! Interviews have been determined for judge and US Attorney

2009-06-29T15:58:00.004-04:00

I will post the entire list shortly. (I'm getting a haircut right now!)

UPDATE -- Although the list is out, it's not public yet. I've heard from multiple sources that 15 of the 21 judicial applicants got interviews. Apparently the list will be made public tomorrow and I will post it as soon as I have it.

SECOND UPDATE -- A number of people have called and emailed me to let me know some of the 15 applicants on the list or interviewees. This is unconfirmed but I've heard from reliable sources that the list includes Kathy Williams, Mary Barzee, Bob Scola, Jerald Bagley and Robin Rosenbaum. 10 others made the cut. I am trying to find out more...

They write letters

2009-06-29T13:59:00.002-04:00

(Okay, so we stole the title from our brother blogger, South Florida Lawyer). While everyone is talking about Ricci and Madoff, the story that interests me is Justice Souter's last day on the bench. Here's the letter from the Chief Justice, signed by all of the Justices, wishing Souter well. And here's Souter's response, which starts "Your generous letter touched me more than I can say..." Lots of love!

The post below about Ma'am or Judge/Your Honor has gotten quite a bit of response. While we're on the topic of what works in court, Justice Scalia explains what peeves him here and here, including when lawyers say that a hypo is different than the facts of the actual case. Scalia: "I know it's not this case, you idiot."

On using italics: "If you’re constantly italicizing words, it sort of reads like a high school girl’s diary."

On using latin words: "Oh, God. It’s a Latin word that means connection. Say 'connection.’ You make it sound scientific."

And on being likable: "No judge likes to give a case to a mean-spirited person. I’ll do it if the law requires it."

Disrespectful?

2009-06-28T23:00:00.001-04:00

I've always cringed a little when I hear a male lawyer address a female judge as "ma'am" (instead of "judge" or "your honor") during an argument. Now Senator Boxer has caused a bit of a stir with this exchange:

So, I will put it to you all:

Time for the weekend

2009-06-26T15:49:00.002-04:00

Before you leave for the weekend, you should know:

So Jeff Goldblum didn't die (neither did Harrison Ford).

UBS clients are starting to plead.

"Justice Antonin Scalia [is] the Confrontation Clause’s most devoted defender on the Court." (via ScotusBlog).

RIP MJ

2009-06-25T21:14:00.001-04:00

SCALIA.

2009-06-25T11:55:00.002-04:00

Rumpole, check out the 2 criminal law opinions this morning. Justice Scalia wrote a 5-4 opinion (Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts) in favor of a criminal defendant on a confrontation clause issue and in another case (Safford v. Redding), joined Justice Souter's opinion in favor of a high school student challenging a strip search on Fourth Amendment grounds. More to follow...

(Still waiting on my $100).

Is it disrespectful to address a judge as "ma'am" instead of "judge" or "your honor"?
	Yes
	No

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