Pundits are already predicting how the Trump jury will decide his case. On MSNBC, commentators are saying that it’s hard to imagine anything but a guilty verdict based on how they see the case. On Fox, viewers are told that it’s going to be tough for Trump to walk because New York is so heavily weighted Dem. So how will folks react if Donald Trump is found not guilty? It got me thinking about the biggest "surprise" verdicts in American history.        Who else you got ..read more

By John R. Byrne Nice article by Jay Weaver in the Herald yesterday about Darryl Richardson, a man who turned his life around after being sentenced to 30 years in prison by Judge Seitz back in 2006. Richardson, whose sentence was shortened to 17 years, was released in 2021 and took advantage of the district's CARE court program. CARE stands for “Court-Assisted Re-Entry court.” The program, created by Judge Seitz and currently being overseen by Judge Williams and Judge Reid, has been operating since 2016. It helps participants, who are on supervised release, re-enter the com ..read more

If you were giving the opening statement for the prosecution, what would your first line be? And if you were representing Donald Trump, what would it be? I imagine that the prosecution will start with something like -- No one is above the law.  Even former Presidents.  Donald Trump illegally interfered with the election by doing X, Y, and Z.  And the defense will start with something like -- Prosecutions should not be political and that's all this is; President Donald Trump is innocent.  He did not interfere with the election.  He was shaken down by a stripper and he p ..read more

  Guest Blogger Oliver A. Ruiz: By now, you are no doubt aware that Taylor Swift's new album was released at midnight. Unless you don't have a smartphone, radio, or TV.  Speaking of TV, some will recognize that to also mean "Taylor's Version," a reference to the albums that Ms. Swift has re-recorded in recent years. You may even know that she has two such albums left to re-record (or maybe just one more, if Reputation TV was also released last night, or very soon as rumored; h/t Kelly Malloy).  But why do musical artists re-record albums? You may be wondering if this is permitt ..read more

That was Sentencing Commission Chair, Judge Carlton W. Reeves.  From FD.org: The bipartisan United States Sentencing Commission voted unanimously today to prohibit conduct for which a person was acquitted in federal court from being used in calculating a sentence range under the federal guidelines (USSC press release available here). “Not guilty means not guilty,” said Commission Chair Judge Carlton W. Reeves. The U.S. Supreme Court last year sidestepped the question of whether the practice was unconstitutional, with several justices saying they would wait for the Sentencing Commission ..read more

By John R. Byrne Senator Bob Graham passed away yesterday. He was a great leader for Florida and our country during his years as a state representative, state senator, Governor of Florida, and, most recently, as a United States Senator from 1986 to 2005.  During his nearly 20 years in the Senate, the Harvard Law graduate helped select numerous district and circuit court federal judges, many of whom are still serving today. Graham was well-respected on both sides of the political aisle, reflected by key positions he held, including as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in th ..read more

 … so that he can attend his son's high school graduation and the U.S. Supreme Court argument in his case? Despite your views of Trump, isn't this a no-brainer? Why is the judge giving him a hard time on these things?  Meantime, Trump apparently fell asleep during trial. But we don't have cameras to see it. Just ridiculous.  We've all seen judges and jurors nod off during trials. The Supreme Court has said that it's not ineffective for a lawyer to fall asleep during trial... what about a defendant ..read more

1.SCOTUS will hear Fischer v. United States on Tuesday, which will impact the January 6 cases as well as others. The issue: Whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit erred in construing 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c), which prohibits obstruction of congressional inquiries and investigations, to include acts unrelated to investigations and evidence.   The WaPo has more here, as does SCOTUSBlog. Many are expecting, yet again, for the Supreme Court to say that prosecutors and lower courts have stretched statutes too far. 2. Speaking of SCOTUS, here's a nice AP piece ..read more

By John R. Byrne Significant order entered by Judge Moore yesterday in the racial gerrymandering lawsuit filed against the City of Miami. After holding a bench trial back in January, Judge Moore ruled that the City violated the Constitution by drawing voting maps with the goal of having various districts in the City elect commissioners of certain races (specifically, three hispanic commissioners from the three majority Hispanic districts, a black commissioner from a majority Black district, and a white commissioner from a majority "Anglo" district). The Court wrote: "[W]hether the City believe ..read more

 It's AUSA Michael Berger versus defense lawyer Howard Srebnick.  Law360 has the story on openings: Ecuador's former comptroller on Tuesday denied accepting and laundering $10 million in bribes in exchange for eliminating fines imposed against a Brazilian company for constructing a shoddy hydroelectric plant, telling a Florida federal court he was charged with crimes because the project's corrupt manager lied to avoid prison time. Speaking on behalf of 73-year-old Carlos Ramon Pólit Faggioni, Howard M. Srebnick of Black Srebnick PA told a jury during opening statements that his clie ..read more