The Public Defender Investigator Network

I just found a great site out there for criminal defense attorneys. (Ok, I found it because they link to my blog - thanks guys!)

It's the Public Defender Investigator Network

This site is one of the best I've seen for criminal defense information. It has tons of links to job openings in public defender offices throughout the country and links to just about everything else criminal defense related, with a great emphasis on death penalty information. For those who are smart enough to contact the public defenders office in jurisdictions that we've never practiced in, there is contact information to just about every office in the country.

The best part of the site is their new on-line store. Great t-shirts and other clothes and coffee mugs. The sale of all items goes to support this great site.

So take a look, read the link to "Being Poor" and don't be cheap - buy something before you leave.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com

The Great Sentencing Debate

Fellow blogger David O. Markus has a great debate going on his highly acclaimed Southern District of Florida Blog on the issue of who should control a defendant's sentence.

Recently, a federal judge here in Miami announced at a defendant's sentencing that he was considering a sentence higher than agreed to by the prosecutor and defense attorney. Although all those who practice in federal court know that judges are the final word on sentencing, (state court judges have this discretion also, but almost always rely on the agreement between the prosecutor and defense) this particular pronouncement in this case has caused quite a buzz.

To join in the debate, go to sdfla.blogspot.com

Guardians For ALL Children in ALL Courts

After a presentation on indigent defense the other day, a former President of The Florida Bar followed me outside to express his passionate concern about the lack of guardians for children who are tried as adults in criminal court.

I stood in amazement that a member of the civil trial bar went on and on about his concern over treating kids fair in criminal court.

I am a guardian to Michael Hernandez a child who is being tried as an adult. Another child in Miami, accused of killing his sister, was appointed a guardian. I testified in that proceeding, while the state argued against the appointment. They also objected to my appointment. Now a judge in Palm Beach is considering the appointment of a guardian in a case where a child is being tried as an adult.

What does your state do? Do we need a law in Florida making it mandatory for the court to consider the appointment of a guardian in cases where kids are tried as adults?

Love to hear from you.

Federal Prosecutors Protect OJ, But Not Criminal Defense Lawyers

Two prominent lawyers in Miami are under investigation by the Justice Department in relation to the legality of fees they received from a now convicted drug dealer.

We know this because a federal prosecutor disclosed the investigation of the two lawyers. I know these two lawyers. They are not just great lawyers, they are thorough lawyers, and pillars of the community. They did nothing wrong.

I didn't even want to write about this because I am disgusted at yet another investigation of South Florida Criminal Defense Lawyers. Sickened.

But I found something, and now I am more sickened by the deliberate and mean-spirited leak of the investigation.

The US Attorney's Office in Miami, the same office commenting on this investigation, had this position on a possible investigation of OJ Simpson in 2002 according to an article in the Toledo Blade:

The U.S. attorney's office in Miami refuses to comment. "We just don't confirm investigations," said Barry Sabin, the chief assistant U.S. attorney in Miami.

Barry's gone, seems like the professionalism went with him.

Prosecutor Alito

Confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito began yesterday. The word "abortion" came up I think 487 times. I lost count.

Before Samuel Alito was Judge Samuel Alito, he was a prosecutor, rising to the politically appointed level of United States Attorney.

Here's the word on his criminal bent:

From US News & World Report:

Alito's conservative stripes are equally evident in criminal law. Lawrence Lustberg, a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer who has known Alito since 1981 and tried cases before him on the Third Circuit, describes him as "an activist conservatist judge" who is tough on crime and narrowly construes prisoners' and criminals' rights. "He's very prosecutorial from the bench. He has looked to be creative in his conservatism, which is, I think, as much a Rehnquist as a Scalia trait," Lustberg says.

But check out Newsday:

In Samuel Alito's first year as U.S. attorney for New Jersey in 1987, the number of defendants his office prosecuted plunged 30 percent from the year before, with the biggest drop coming in drug cases, an analysis of federal criminal justice data shows.

By the way, he will be confirmed.

Jack Abramoff Jack Abramoff Jack Abramoff

Memories of OJ are coming back.

Every day - "What do you think about OJ?"

Now?

Same question, except about Jack Abramoff.

Here's what I think.

The fallout will be like a semi-dud firework. It will go up in the air, flash slightly, and fizzle to the ground.

Why?

Proving the quid-pro-quo will be difficult.

I predict about 3-4 indictments from Abramoff's cooperation. Maybe a resignation or 2.

But this thought that there will be massive fallout?

Nope.

For a good read on the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff, check out this Washington Post Article.

ABC's "In Justice" Guilty Of Some Truth

Bronx Public Defender David Feige, whose book about the criminal justice system, "Indefensible," will be published in June, beat me to a great piece about ABC's new show "In Justice." David's piece appears in the New York Times.

The show premiers Friday, January 6, but ran this past Sunday night. If you want to see it, don't wait.

It won't last.

Discussing the innocent is great for Starbucks and college campuses, but the general American public thrives on guilt. To them, the innocent is like walking by a dumpster behind a great restaurant.

David writes about our fascination with "Law & Order," (both the show, and the concept) and that the only other show that came close to portraying the truth about the defense side was David E. Kelley's "The Practice."

He's correct. The number one question I get at a cocktail party, besides how I do what I do, is "do you watch Law & Order?" I say "no," "The Practice (now off the air) is more realistic.

David makes a perfect assessment of television today. He says "Police dramas have moved from a presumption of innocence to a certainty about guilt. And as goes television, so goes America."

He keenly observes about "Law & Order" type shows, that "both on our televisions and in our courthouses, the focus of the criminal justice system became ensuring not the freedom of the innocent but the incarceration of the guilty."

Yup.

So watch, before an angry America writes ABC asking "where are the guilty people?"

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com

The White House Official Statement On Criminal Defense Attorneys

Those who have not had too much egg nog this holiday season may know that there is a big to do about the National Security Administration (NSA) spying on phone calls between domestic and foreign locations, without warrants.

While many are debating the legality of this practice, some defense attorneys, including Kenneth Swartz (of my own backyard) want to know if the NSA was spying on their clients.

Today, The White House announced their official position on the questions being raised by criminal defense lawyers:

From The Miami Herald:

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said Wednesday that the administration would not comment on pending cases. "I don't think it should serve as any surprise that defense attorneys are looking for ways to represent their clients," he said. "That's what defense attorneys do."

Meaning what, Mr. Duffy?

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Merry Christmas To The Public Defenders

The maximum penalty for contempt almost anywhere, including Dallas, Texas, is 6 months in jail. Walter Mann, spent an extra 9, for a total of 15, by mistake.

He was never convicted of contempt, never even had a hearing, never saw a lawyer. He just sat, until his cellmate told an attorney about Mann.

Mann, oh man! What a disgrace.

The last 9-month mistake I heard about was an unplanned pregnancy.

You can read the story from cnn.com here

Walter Mann Sr., 69, was released the week before Christmas.

Why was he in jail? Mann's son was arrested in 2002 for assaulting him, and Mann was ordered to pay $50 per month for his son's housing.

Mann refused.

Prosecutors got an order to have Mann held in contempt, and the judge put Mann in jail pending a contempt hearing.

The court docket shows that the contempt order was lifted in October of '04. But the sheriff "didn't get the memo."

Mann, asked by his cellmate why he didn't want to make some calls to get out of jail said "Nah, I don't want to bother them with anything."

Mann's cellmate told his own lawyer, public defender Shoshana Paige, who had Mann released the same day.

Paige said: "This one seems to be pretty egregious."

Paige also wanted to say: "Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the can, many inmates were stirring, but not Walter Mann.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Confession of a Criminal Blogger

The always-on-top-of-things DRUDGE REPORT picks up a story from the AP that a teenager has plead guilty to manslaughter after it was discovered he confessed - on his blog. The story is here

This 18 year old genius was a passenger who pulled on the steering wheel, causing a fatal crash.

He plead guilty to DUI manslaughter after prosecutors discovered a confession on his online blog.

His next blog post will not be until 2011, when he gets out of prison.

Not realizing that the blog/client communication is unlike the attorney/client communication, i.e., not privileged, and obviously thinking his on-line blog was not so popular among the prosecutors of the world, now convicted-by-his-own-keyboard Blake Ranking wrote "I did it" on his blog three days after the crash that killed his friend.

According to the article, "he had previously told investigators he remembered nothing of the crash and little of its aftermath. He should have gone to his blog to refresh his memory, or done a Google search, by typing "Blake Ranking confession I did it."

Ranking got specific: "It was me who caused it. I turned the wheel. I turned the wheel that sent us off the road, into the concrete drain ..."

Ranking later retracted his words, deleting them from the blog and penning an explanation. "People say I 'contradict' myself since I 'already admitting pulling the wheel.' I didn't 'ADMIT' anything. I went on a guilt trip, and I posted the story that I WAS TOLD . . . Nicole told me I pulled the wheel, I believed her," he wrote.

There is a lesson here, but I'll keep that to myself.

You never know who's reading, you know.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Big Brother Bush: "Listen, Do You Want To Know A Secret?"

The New York Times reports that President Bush secretly lifted some limits on spying in the United States after 9/11 by secretly authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court-approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying.

The story appears in the New York Times here

The President apparently signed an order in 2002 allowing the NSA to monitor the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of people inside the United States without warrants (pesky little things they are)

The reason?

To track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda.

So listen to this! - According to the Times: "Some officials familiar with the continuing operation have questioned whether the surveillance has stretched, if not crossed, constitutional limits on legal searches.

Good question.

And this from the Times: "Nearly a dozen current and former officials, who were granted anonymity because of the classified nature of the program, discussed it with reporters for The New York Times because of their concerns about the operation's legality and oversight."

Water cooler conversation at NSA: "Hey, uh, Bob, you think this stuff's legal, chuckle, chuckle?"

The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, because "it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny."

Here's the funny part of the article - you can read the rest for yourself:

"It is not clear how much the members of Congress were told about the presidential order and the eavesdropping program. Some of them declined to comment about the matter, while others did not return phone calls.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Florida Governor Bush Says "Sorry" To Innocent Man

Wilton Dedge, once a convicted felon who served 22 years in prison, is today a millionaire, twice over.

He could give a crap.

He was innocent. The Florida Legislature honored his wrongful conviction by writing him a check for 2 million dollars, and today he received a personal visit from Florida Governor Jeb Bush, with an apology. The story is here

He still wants an apology from the prosecutors who convicted him, and publicly stated that although the Governor apologized, it wasn't his fault.

The Governor knew that, and he also knew he didn't have to apologize personally. in writing, or at all.

But this conservative republican governor who is no fan of criminal defendants, and routinely signs bills making sentences tougher and prosecutors jobs easier, believed he, as the steward of the State of Florida, should personally apologize.

Nice Going Jeb.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Pardon Me? - Prosecutors Use DNA To Seek "Absolute Pardon"

It's the same old story. Defendant convicted. Defendant proclaims innocence. Cops say right guy. Prosecutors say right guy. DNA says wrong guy. Prosecutors stammer. Cops say still right guy. Motions filed. Prosecutors seek plea to lesser charge and immediate release. Defendant takes plea to avoid prolonged trial.

Or, what happened in Virginia today.

Prosecutors, in the face of DNA clearing 2 wrongly convicted men of rape, sought an "absolute pardon" of both men according to the story here at cnn.com.

They've already served their time, but I trust their lives will be a bit better with the world knowing they served time for nothing.

I wonder how they were convicted? Probably "rock solid" eyewitness testimony.

I have no knowledge of whether Stanley "Tookie" Williams was actually innocent or guilty, but he did say something just prior to his execution that is pertinent to this story.

When asked why he wouldn't apologize for the crimes which he was convicted, he said that a conviction by a jury does not equal guilt.

But I guess if you believe a conviction means guilt, than you believe an acquittal means innocence.

Right?


Right?

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

The Terminator "Agonizes" Over Tookie

Stanley "Tookie" Williams will not be granted clemency. He will die for the crimes for which he has been convicted.

On any Vegas sports book, that's where my money goes - all if it, in fact.

According to myway.com Actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he is "agonizing" over the decision.

That makes me feel good, really.

No one, not even if a fan of the death penalty, should take lightly the power of deciding whether someone lives or dies.

He could have said nothing, or some legal-ese type statement like that he was "reviewing the case and will make the appropriate decision." Instead, he expressed the raw pain of this decision - that while simple to the "eye-for-an-eye crowd," is of epic proportion.

In the end though, even with a strong liberal base in California, Schwarzenegger will decline to grant clemency.

If he does grant clemency, it will be a bold move for a conservative politician. If he doesn't, well, at least he handled it with great debate, something not left to your average girly man.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Tom DeLay's Christmas - "Later On, We'll Conspire"

Right of the right-wing Congressman Tom DeLay......had a criminal defense lawyer get him off on a technicality. Fox News has the story here

The conspiracy statute that DeLay was charged under, didn't cover the criminal activity he is alleged to have committed.

Not that he didn't conspire to violate the Texas election law, that the "Conspiracy to Violate Texas Election Law" Statute covers criminal activity occurring after December 2003, after DeLay's alleged behavior.

The prosecutor argued that the laws against conspiracy were on the books, so it didn't matter that the more specific "Conspiracy to Violate Texas Election Law" Statute wasn't in place.

The judge said, "Bah, Humbug."

The judge was right. Delay got off because the law he was charged under did not prohibit what he did. Therefore, he shouldn't have been charged under that statute, and cannot be convicted under that statute.

It's what the public calls "getting off on a technicality."

It's what I call the correct application of the law.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

999 Executions, And Counting

CNN.com reports here that the 1,000th execution is scheduled for next week.

Hopefully this news will not knock the Jessica Simpson/Nick Lachey split off the front page.

We've executed one person every 10 days since the moratorium was lifted in 1977.

The 1,000th will be 41 year old Robin Lovitt. He was convicted of stabbing a man with scissors during a pool hall robbery in Virginia.

CNN.com opines that "The focus of the debate on capital punishment was once the question of whether it served as a deterrent to crime. Today, the argument is more on whether the government can be trusted not to execute an innocent person."

Pretty gutsy thing to say for a news organization. Gutsy, meaning "liberal" to many.

In comes Thomas Hill, an attorney for a death row inmate in Ohio who recently won a second stay of execution.

Hill says: "We have a criminal system that makes mistakes. If you accept that proposition, that means you have to be prepared for the inevitability that some are sentenced to death for crimes they didn't commit," Hill said. (Author's note: a post on possibly innocent but executed Ruben Cantu appeared previously on the blog. It can be found here)

Mistakes? Thomas!, you're upsetting the establishment. People don't want to be confused with the facts. We may have, and may again, kill an innocent man.
But again, that's a "liberal" thing to say.

In fact, CNN reports that "advocates of the death penalty argue that its opponents are elitist liberals who are ignoring the real victims."

You're right, an innocent person executed cannot be a victim. They probably did something else anyway......

Caring about or even talking about innocent people being executed is not a staple of the conservative bunch.

Michael Paranzino, president of Throw Away the Key says that "Since 1999, we've had 100,000 innocent people murdered in the U.S., but nobody is planning on commemorating all those people killed."

Who's commemorating anyone?

And speaking about throwing away the key, I don't think anyone on death row who may be innocent is looking for a key- a heartbeat maybe, but not a key.

By the way, since 1973, 122 prisoners have been freed from death row.

Whatever.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php



BREAKING NEWS - Robin Lovitt's sentence was commuted to life in prison today by Virginia Governor Mark Warner. The story is here

The Fear Of Justice Forces Justice

The Fifth Amendment says in part that "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger;.... nor shall any person.... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...."

This pesky little amendment (of course not as important as Amendment 2 that allows you to own and possess a gun) is what kept Jose Padilla behind bars for 3 years without being charged, and it is what required him to be charged yesterday.

The fear of Padilla being brought to justice, forced the hand of the Department of Justice.

Jose Padilla may be a terrorist. Then again, in today's day and age, everyone who walks through airport security may be the shoe bomber, but probably isn't.

Jose Padilla may be innocent.

But there can be no determination of innocence or guilt without the opportunity for a trial. There can be no trial without charges being filed. You think it's ok to keep someone behind bars indefinitely because he may be a terrorist or because we're at war? My question is, for what reason? What has Jose Padilla done in the eyes of the law? Not in the eyes of angry people who believe anyone accused of being a terrorist is in fact, a terrorist.

The day we keep people behind bars just because the government accuses them of being criminals......., well, wait, that day has come.

Yesterday though, the Justice Department, fearing that the US Supreme Court would force the release of Padilla, indicted him here in Miami.

Now "Justice" can commence, whatever that Justice may be.

For a wonderful read on this story, with links to the indictment and other tidbits about the judge, go to Criminal Defense Attorney David Markus' critically acclaimed Southern District of Florida Blog, the best place for information on the ever interesting federal court system in South Florida.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Oops! - We Executed An Innocent Guy

CNN.com reports here that we may have executed an innocent man. The original story appeared in the Houston Chronicle on Sunday, November 20, 2005.

Apparently, the sole witness recanted and a co-defendant said he allowed our dead friend to be falsely accused under police pressure, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday.

The fried former alive and possibly innocent Ruben Cantu was 17 in 1984 when he was charged with capital murder for shooting a man during an attempted robbery in Texas.

According to the Chronicle, the eyewitness Juan Moreno told the Chronicle that it wasn't Cantu who shot him. Moreno said he identified Cantu as the killer during his 1985 trial because he felt pressured and was afraid of authorities.

As comedian Dana Carvey's church lady character from Saturday Night Live used to say: "Well, isn't that special?"

Oh, and the Chronicle also reports that Cantu's co-defendant, David Garza, recently signed a sworn affidavit saying he allowed his friend to be accused, even though Cantu wasn't with him the night of the killing.

Nice friend.

Cantu was executed at age 26, all the while proclaiming his innocence.

Sorry Ruben. Really, we're sorry.

In comes the prosecutor, Sam D. Millsap Jr. He told the Chronicle he never should have sought the death penalty in a case based on testimony from an eyewitness who identified a suspect only after police showed him Cantu's photo three separate times.

Oh well, things happen.

Let's not beat a dead horse, I mean human being.....

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Justice"DeLay - ed"

Tom DeLay is in trouble.

I'm not talking about the indictment last month, I'm talking about what will happen Monday, November 21.

The New York Times reports here that Michael Scanlon, former top aide to Congressman DeLay, is cooperating with federal prosecutors and will plead guilty to conspiring to defraud Indian tribes of millions of dollars as part of a lobbying and corruption scheme.

The allegations are that Scanlon and indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff sought to "corruptly offer and provide things of value, including money, meals, trips and entertainment to federal public officials in return for agreements to perform official acts."

I know, you're shocked, shocked to hear that this goes on.

According to the Times: "The deal reveals a broadening corruption investigation involving top members of Congress." (By the way, every member of Congress is up for election next year. Better start practicing that baby kissing.)

I wonder how many lunch cancellations DeLay has had in the last month. "Uh, can't make it, gotta, uh, got something else Tom, sorry."

Scanlon is a former spokesman for DeLay. I bet he's speaking about DeLay more than he ever has when he was working for him.

According to the Times: "News of his cooperation with law enforcement officials sent a jolt through the Republican majority in Congress."

That's one way to put it.

It will be interesting to see how far this goes.

The conservative right may have to stomach new found relationships with the criminal defense bar, who will attempt to save their careers so they can continue to pummel our clients with bad legislation.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense attorney in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please click the link: http://www.tannebaumweiss.com/our_lawyers.php

Unindicted Karl Rove Says We Should Execute Kids

Remember Karl Rove? He's President Bush's pit bull - commonly referred to as the "architect" of, well, everything the President has ever done.

Rove recently escaped indictment in the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation. He's now focused on other important things - executing kids. Rove is determined to help get more conservative judges appointed that are more in the mainstream of America.

In his first public appearance last week post non-indictment, he cited last year's US Supreme Court decision in the case of Roper v. Simmons, which banned the execution of children, as one that is "fundamentally out of touch with our Constitution."

No, I'm not kidding. You can read it here

Must be an interesting way to think: "Wow, I just skated from a career-wrecking criminal indictment, now I can focus on why we don't execute children"

The Founding Fathers must be so proud.