Letter of Apology

An Inconvenience Pact

Solomon Wisenberg — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:58:46 +0000

Here is Justice Scalia’s majority opinion in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts. This is one of the 2008-2009 Supreme Court Term’s great decisions, applying the Confrontation Clause to lab reports.file://C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\My Documents\Caselaw Crawford\Melendez-DIaz.pdf

Sir Allen Stanford Detained Until Trial!!!! Judge Hittner Reverses Magistrate Judge Stacy.

Solomon Wisenberg — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:53:13 +0000

Here is the Order, straight from PACER.

Former Judge Sam Kent Resigns Effective Today.

Solomon Wisenberg — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:38:47 +0000

President Obama, through White House Counsel Gregory Craig, accepted Kent’s resignation. This means no disability-based resignation and no pension/retirement benefits related to Kent’s former judgeship. The House impeached Kent on June 19. Kent’s resignation will almost certainly forestall a Senate trial on the impeachment. Hard to impeach someone who has already resigned. The Houston Chronicle carries Suzanne Gamboa’s AP story here.

Judge Hittner’s Ruling On Sir Allen’s Possible Detention Expected Tomorrow

Solomon Wisenberg — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:06:32 +0000

The Washington Post carries the Reuters story here. U.S. District Judge Hittner heard arguments today on the government’s appeal of U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacy’s jaw-droppingly low bond setting.

Madoff Receives 150 Years In Prison, But With Good Time He’ll Only Do 127.5

Solomon Wisenberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:42:10 +0000

The Wall Street Journal reports here on the 150 year term of imprisonment imposed today by U.S. District Judge Denny Chin on all-time Ponzi King Bernie Madoff. If he behaves himself in prison, Madoff will be eligible for release at the age of 199. Initial press reports do not indicate whether Madoff’s sentence includes a term of supervisory release following imprisonment, but it is statutorily mandated. Judge Chin called Madoff’s fraud “staggering” “unprecedented” and “evil.” Chin also said that the 150 year sentence was symbolically important in sending a general deterrence message to future fraudsters. It is clear that neither the judge nor prosecutor believes Madoff has been fully cooperative.

Sir Allen’s Pretrial Release Still Up In The Air

Solomon Wisenberg — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:16:45 +0000

The Houston Chronicle’s Kristen Hays and Tom Fowler report here on the latest moves in the Allen Stanford prosecution. On Friday, Senior U.S. District Judge David Hittner granted a stay (pending appeal) of U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances Stacy’s surprisingly low bail setting ($500,000.00 with a $100,000.00 cash bond). Hittner will apparently hear the matter on Monday morning. Prosecutors are entitled to appeal such determinations to the district court.

Madoff “Victim” Jeffrey Picower: Can Anyone Say Willful Blindness?

Solomon Wisenberg — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 03:35:57 +0000

Here is a fascinating story by Jake Bernstein of ProPublica.org about Madoff “victim” Jeffrey Picower. “Between December 1995 and December 2008, Picower and his family withdrew from their various Madoff accounts $5.1 billion more than they invested with the self-confessed swindler, according to a lawsuit filed by the trustee who is trying to recover money for those Madoff defrauded.” This is investigative reporting at its best.

Sir Allen Update: Indictment Against Stanford and Others Expected To Be Unsealed Today

Solomon Wisenberg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:51:40 +0000

Mary Flood and Tom Fowler of the Houston Chronicle report here on the latest developments.

Sir Allen Apparently Indicted

Solomon Wisenberg — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:41:22 +0000

Sir Allen “no relation to Leland” Stanford has turned himself in to the FBI, according to his lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, and this ABC News.com piece. Sealed indictments were returned in the case earlier today in Houston. Stay tuned.

Turmoil In Public Integrity

Solomon Wisenberg — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:49:50 +0000

Carrie Johnson of the Washington Post has written another remarkable piece on the current travails of DOJ’s Public Integrity Unit in the wake of the Ted Stevens debacle. Her article details personnel shifts, the current roles of Chief William Welch and Deputy Chief Brenda Morris, continuing discovery drops and re-examined verdicts in the Alaskan corruption probe, and understandable morale problems. Apparently, the newly produced documents in two of the Alaskan cases are extensive in nature. Most intriguing, however, is this item from Johnson’s story:

“Sources said that among the questions investigators are pursuing is how closely the work of the Stevens trial team was supervised by officials in the Criminal Division. Senior political and career lawyers there may have offered input and monitored decisions about the kinds of material to turn over to Stevens’s defense team at Williams & Connolly, the sources added.”

Senior political and career lawyers in the Criminal Division were monitoring and offering input on the trial team’s discovery obligations? If true, this is extraordinarily unusual, even for a high-profile corruption case, absent a specific complaint or request by the defense team. And if these senior officials really were micro-managing the trial team’s Brady productions, they seem to have screwed up in spectacular fashion.