You don't see this all that often...
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
10h ago
 ...the feds dropped a drug case against a doctor who was previously accused of sex trafficking because of a bad warrant.  Jayne Weintraub was Dr. Jeffrey Kamlet's lawyer.  From the Herald: Serious mistakes by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office led to the dismissal Tuesday of federal narcotics charges against Dr. Jeffrey Kamlet, a Miami addiction doctor accused of sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl found hiding in his closet with another teenager in 2022. In a court filing last week, Kamlet’s attorney, Jayne Weintraub, seized on several errors made in drafting the searc ..read more
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Judge Jason Reding Quiñones nominated to be U.S. Attorney in the SDFLA
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
3d ago
It is my honor to nominate Judge Jason Reding Quiñones as the next United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. A former Federal prosecutor and Justice Department National Security Official, Judge Reding Quiñones currently serves as a highly respected State Trial… — Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 16, 2025 ..read more
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Thursday afternoon massacre?
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
5d ago
It's the buzz of the criminal defense and DOJ world. Quick background -- Mayor Eric Adams is indicted in SDNY while Biden is president. Trump's DOJ orders SDNY to dismiss case. SDNY, DOJ, and Adams' lawyers meet. SDNY refuses to dismiss. Acting U.S. Attorney resigns and writes an 8 page letter. Emil Bove for DOJ responds in his own 8 page letter. You can read both letters (worth it!) at this link. Case gets reassigned to the public integrity unit so they can dismiss the case. The top prosecutors at public integrity resign. Lots of local line prosecutors have been emailing and texting about thi ..read more
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Justice Sotomayor speaks in Miami
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
6d ago
 Jay Weaver covers it here:  Sonia Sotomayor may be a household name, but her storied legal career stems largely from feeling comfortable in her own skin. “You have to be true to yourself,” Sotomayor, the nation’s first Hispanic justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, told more than 200 people Tuesday evening during a chat with Knight Foundation President and CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth at the Miami Dade College campus in Little Havana. “I have never denied my culture or hidden my love for my Spanish roots,” Sotomayor said, highlighting her love for family, salsa and roasted pork. “All of ..read more
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Judge Tjoflat says it's the Gulf of Mexico
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
1w ago
In a footnote from this case: On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order directing that “[t]he area formerly known as the Gulf of Mexico” be renamed as the “Gulf of America.” Exec. Order No. 14172, 90 Fed. Reg. 8629 (Jan. 20, 2025). Because the statutory schemes pertinent to this appeal explicitly refer to this geographic area as the “Gulf of Mexico,” we continue to use that name ..read more
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"US Attorneys Said to Be Told to Justify Keeping Newest Prosecutors"
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
1w ago
 That's the headline from this explosive article from Bloomberg's Ben Penn.  I'm told there are at least 20 local probationary prosecutors who may be fired.  From the article: Justice Department headquarters has given all 93 US attorneys two business days to explain why prosecutors they’ve hired in the past two years who aren’t focused on Trump priorities such as immigration and public safety should be retained, said five people briefed on the situation. Although the nation’s chief prosecutors haven’t been told exactly how the department will use this information, some are trea ..read more
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News & Notes
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
1w ago
1. Last night was the Federal Bar prom. It was very well attended with federal judges and lawyers, all mingling on an outdoor deck on a beautiful Miami night. 2. Former U.S. Attorneys Bob Martinez and Marcos Jimenez come to the defense of FBI agents in this op-ed in the Miami Herald. From the piece: Today’s FBI agents, like their fallen colleagues, live and work among us, mostly maintaining a low profile. They send their children to our local schools, raise their families in our communities, and maintain a modest and law-abiding lifestyle. They live like average Americans. Yet, on a daily b ..read more
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Judge McAliley defends Michael Thakur and other DOJ lawyers
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
2w ago
 One of best all-time magistrate judges wrote an op-ed in the Miami Herald, DOJ firing of Miami federal prosecutor is a ‘gut punch’ to the rule of law.  Some snippets: Until my recent retirement, I worked for nearly 19 years as a U.S. magistrate judge on our Miami federal trial court in the Southern District of Florida, where I had the honor to preside over a wide variety of criminal and civil lawsuits. Last week I read with despair – for our country – that acting U.S. Attorney General James McHenry fired one of Miami’s finest federal prosecutors, Michael Thakur. Did Thakur not do hi ..read more
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The new administration hasn't figured out how to cancel this, yet.
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
2w ago
Looks like a very interesting presentation ..read more
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Suggested changes for the new U.S. Attorney
Southern District of Florida Blog
by David Oscar Markus
2w ago
 Hayden O'Byrne takes over an office that has the lowest morale that I have seen since I started working down here.  And monster problems permeate the entire culture of 99 building.  Some suggestions for the office below.  Please add others to the comments: 1.    Stop bringing the low level drug and gun state cases.  Leave those to the state system.  Focus on the large scale cases that the feds were traditionally known for. 2.    Give your line prosecutors more discretion to do the right thing.  Let them work out deals to pretrial diversio ..read more
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