MEDIA 1/27
Richard Fine, LA's very own Jack ThompsonDAILY BUSINESS REVIEW
Inside the High Court: Snitches and Jailbirds
"...Kansas v. Ventris, involved whether testimony from a defendant's cellmate, who was cooperating with police, could be used to impeach the defendant at trial, or whether the admission of such evidence would violate the defendant's right to counsel."
Florida Bar Sells Your Email Addresses
Diversity Scorecard: Gay Attorneys
Diversity Scorecard: Minority Law Students
PALM BEACH POST
Let Abramson take the bench, then judge him
Abramson case 'absurd,' attorney tells state Supreme Court
Editorial: Court should reject letting suspended lawyer be a judge
LA TIMES
Contempt ruling the latest blow against veteran lawyer (Hiya Jack!)
"Sanctioned for filing meritless suits, attorney pits himself against the courts...Now, at the twilight of his career, attorney Richard Fine finds himself without a law license, at odds with county and appellate judges, and facing a third contempt-of-court case that may land him behind bars -- for a second time...
The way Fine sees it, he's waging a one-man battle against all that's corrupt and wrong in this city. Judges, according to court records, consider Fine a vindictive attorney out to retaliate against those who dare to rule against him.
Since 1999, Fine has sued at least three Superior Court judges, three appellate justices, the Superior Court clerk, and the state appellate court clerk. He once filed 12 motions -- all in one case -- to get a judge disqualified. And he has appealed a number of those cases all the way to the state Supreme Court.
A State Bar Court judge, recommending Fine's disbarment in 2007 on charges of "moral turpitude," compared him to a bully in a dodge ball game -- hurling the ball at whoever knocks him out."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
2 Pa. judges to plead guilty to public corruption
"Two Pennsylvania judges agreed Monday to plead guilty to fraud charges accusing them of taking $2.6 million in kickbacks in return for placing juvenile offenders into certain detention facilities." (See longer story at CitizensVoice.Com (Thanks Bonnie))
BOSTON GLOBE
Judge chastises federal attorney
"The chief judge of the US District Court in Massachusetts is threatening to sanction a federal prosecutor for what he characterized as the latest "egregious failure" of the US attorney's office to disclose evidence that could have helped clear a defendant."
10NEWS.COM (ATL)
Man Attacks His Lawyer In Court With Feces
HARTFORD COURANT
Judge Uses Vulgar Language As She Is Charged (Video)
"Repeatedly using vulgar and racial insults, Superior Court Judge E. Curtissa Cofield argued with a police officer — addressing him as "Negro trooper" at one point — who was trying to process her on a charge of drunken driving in Glastonbury last October, a police video released Monday shows."
NEW YORK TIMES
Editorial: A Win for Free Speech Online
"A 10-year campaign to censor the Internet ended last week when the Supreme Court refused to step in and save the Child Online Protection Act. Everyone can agree on the need to protect children from sexually explicit online material, but this misguided law tried to do it in ways that infringed on too much constitutionally protected free speech."
FLORIDA BAR NEWS
Florida’s first black lawyers
"I'm gonna report you to the Board of Bar Overseers... "
That was a line from one of our favourite movies: The Verdict, staring Paul Newman. The Judge played by actor Miles O'Shea yells that line at Newman after their first go around in court during the trial.
United States District Judge Mark Wolf has used that line, at least twice now, against Federal Prosecutors in Boston for failing to disclose favourable evidence in a criminal trial to the defense. The Title of the post links to the Boston dot com article. Thanks to the Broward Blog for first posting this article.
Rumpole rants: Time and time again US Attorneys around the nation are being caught withholding exculpatory evidence. Isn't it about time federal prosecutors be required to conduct "open file discovery" like most of their state counterparts?
And when is someone going to look at the Jencks Act and say "well, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." (For those of you state court practitioners, "Jencks" material is stuff like police reports, grand jury testimony, witness statements etc.)
In Federal court the defense is entitled to all of that good stuff....AFTER THE WITNESS FINISHES DIRECT TESTIMONY. Yes, we have literally seen a prosecutor say "no further questions" to the witness and then wheel over a box of stuff and say "Jencks" while the judge says to the defense: "counsel....cross examination?"
Now that being said, most Judges will gently or otherwise require the prosecution to disclose Jencks material a few days before trial begins. But that is a courtesy and not a right and as a defense attorney you are left essentially begging for a handout. Not a pleasent position to be in.
Anybody want to defend the Feds?
http://justicebuilding.blogspot.com/
The DUI video of this judge is outrageous. The real person really does come out when yu're drunk.