Day: December 9, 2010

Judge Senter issues three Orders in Rigsby qui tam case

Let’s jump right in and start with Judge Senter’s Memorandum Opinion and Order on State Farm’s Motion to Exclude from Evidence the Settlement Agreement Between the Relators and Forensic Analysis & Engineering Corporation:

Mr. Robert Kochan (Kochan), on behalf of Forensic, signed the settlement agreement that is the subject of this motion…

State Farm contends that the terms of the settlement agreement and the statements the settlement agreement contains are hearsay and are therefore inadmissible…Relators acknowledge that the settlement agreement and the statements it contains are hearsay, but contend that the statements are still admissible…for purposes of impeaching Kochan, should his testimony at trial be inconsistent with the statements in the settlement agreement.

In the memorandum State Farm submitted in support of its motion, Kochan’s deposition testimony is extensively quoted. I have read these portions of Kochan’s testimony, and it does not appear to me that Kochan has denied the truth of any of the statements contained in the settlement agreement. In response to State Farm’s questions, Kochan has explained his understanding of these statements and the reason each of the statements was made, and he has done so in very precise terms. In the testimony I have read, he has done so without contradicting the statements set out in the settlement agreement…

To a certain extent, this motion asks the Court to make an abstract ruling, a ruling on the admissibility of potential impeachment material, without having the benefit of hearing what the witness will have to say under oath. For this reason, I will not rule the document inadmissible for the purpose of impeaching Kochan’s testimony at this time. I do agree with State Farm’s contention that the Forensic settlement agreement is inadmissible for any purpose other than impeachment of Kochan.

So, what did Judge Senter decide in his Order? Continue reading “Judge Senter issues three Orders in Rigsby qui tam case”

BREAKING: Glover jury reaches verdict. A split decision.

I won’t reinvent the wheel here folks, the WWL trial twitter feed has these verdicts coming in live as I write this. Justice has been served and frankly Team Letten did better with the verdicts than I expected.

WWL’s webiste is listed under media in our blogroll.

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If you want to see what the book publishers are reading on Slabbed today…

Click here. Nowdy maybe we need to hire an agent.  8)

Meantime if I had to write a post about this stupid criminal story from yesterday’s Sun Herald the piece would be titled Dum, dum dum dum….

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3MjMte-FZ8]

With some luck I’ll have that comprehensive post on Byron Lee ties to the landfill out for later today.

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How about some media reaction to yesterday’s Porkeous the Pig roast

In the world of high finance the adage bulls make money, bears make money and pigs get slaughtered applies here folks.  Thomas Porteous’ sin wasn’t that his behavior was all that unusual for the local bench, which is pretty damn corrupt.  Rather the fact that he was so out front with his hoggish behavior, which in turn made him a far easier mark for less than ethical lawyers like Dick Chopin who showered the judge with free gifts, trips and the like in exchange for favorable rulings in cases they had before him is what landed him in Edith Jones bad graces over at the Federal 5th Circuit.

There has been great disagreement in the Slabbed Nation about the effectiveness of Jonathan Turley’s representation of Porteous.  Team Porteous was very happy with Turley in that he made sure lots of dirty laundry was aired but I think his defense, which seemed predicated on the notion that legal and judicial ethics are somehow different down here was soundly repudiated. To the extent there is no such thing as bad publicity Turley lives to fight another day while his client comes home a pariah in respectable legal circles.

There are literally almost 600 news stories and counting from across the globe on the occasion of the 8th removal of a federal judge from the bench in this nation’s history.  I’m going to focus in on three pieces.

Jesse Singal at the Boston Globe chimes in on the bankruptcy fraud count: Continue reading “How about some media reaction to yesterday’s Porkeous the Pig roast”

Jim Brown

Thursday, December 9, 2010
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

ARE TEA PARTIERS, ESPECIALLY IN LOUISIANA, SELLING OUT FOR CAMPAIGN MONEY?

It was just a few months ago when we listened to Tea Party candidates across the country declaring that they were going to Washington in order to shake up the political establishment. No more “politics as usual” was the battle cry. But in a matter of a few weeks, these new guys and gals on the block have rapidly embraced the Washington culture of big-money fundraisers. Special interests galore and numerous lobbying groups are falling all over themselves to host fundraisers for these progressive agents of change. And the new so-called reformers are taking the bait and gathering up the big bucks for their campaign war chests. The more we hear about change in Washington, the more things stay the same.

In my home state of Louisiana, newly elected congressman Jeff Landry was the Tea Party’s poster boy for opposing the Washington culture of bowing to special interests. On election night, he told his followers that it’s going to be a new day in Washington, and “we need to get our country back on the right track.” Three weeks later, Landry was in the heart of Washington at the posh Capitol Hill Club on the hunt for Washington campaign dollars. He’s two months away from even being sworn into office, yet Landy is asking for money from K Street lobbyists and other Washington power brokers.

Getting to visit with Landry doesn’t come cheap. The high priced “meet and greet” with the new Louisiana 3rd District Congressman carried a price tag of $5,000 for the “PAC Gold Level; $2,400 for the individual Gold Level; $2,500 for the PAC Silver Level, and $1,000” just to get in the door. All of a sudden, just weeks after getting elected, many new congressman like Landry found that Washington went from a “cesspool” when they were campaigning, to a “hot tube” once elected. Continue reading “Jim Brown”