Alternative New Media for the Gulf South
The Articles of Impeachment were issued following a meeting of a Task Force of the House Judiciary Committee (see: Memorandum). Yesterday’s Times Picayune reported on the pending action. UPDATE UPDATE: Title revised to more accurately reflect today’s events; link to related story in Times Picayune added.
Oh, how I wish I could report the judge who said that was one of our own. Maybe someday soon I’ll be able to do just that- but the story of the moment is Rakoff’s back!
It’s a new year, but so far, the same old (sad) song continues to play for Bank of America in the courtroom of Manhattan federal district court Judge Jed Rakoff, who’s overseeing the Securities and Exchange Commission’s suit against the beleaguered bank. On Monday, Rakoff ruled that BofA cannot present expert testimony asserting that media reports should have alerted shareholders to the billions it planned to pay Merrill Lynch executives after the 2008 merger. Continue reading “Even a zealous advocate might perceive that such an argument hints at hypocrisy”
Prosecutors wield tremendous power, which is kept in check by a set of unique ethical obligations. In explaining why prosecutors sometimes fail to honor these multiple and arguably divergent obligations, scholars tend to fall into two schools of thought.
The first school focuses upon institutional incentives that promote abuses of power. These scholars implicitly treat the prosecutor as a rational actor who decides whether to comply with a rule based on an assessment of the expected costs and benefits of doing so.
The second school focuses upon bounded human rationality, drawing on the teachings of cognitive science to argue that prosecutors transgress not because of sinister motives, but because they labor under the same cognitive limitations that all humans do.
… Research on the psychological effects of accountability demonstrates that when people are judged primarily for their ability to persuade others of their position, they are susceptible to defensive bolstering at the expense of objectivity.
With these thoughts from A Situationist View of Criminal Prosecutors in mind, we turn to The Situation of False Confessions: Continue reading “Why do people confess to crimes they didn’t commit? (a repost from SLABBED archives)”
“ The prosecutor has more power over life, liberty, and reputation than any other person in America.”
United States Attorney General and Supreme Court Jus tice Robert H. Jackson
Former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz provided a supremely interesting commentary on his “up close and personal” experience with the honest services law and federal prosecutors, USA v Minor et al, in a review of the Kings of Torts published in the Northside Sun, a popular Jackson weekly .
We are left to wonder why the court records were not sufficient to support the author’s positions and opinions? Why do they resort to unsworn statements and unproven allegations?
Specifically, why did the authors feel compelled to state as fact that I lived in a condominium owned by Paul Minor free of charge when prosecutors offered no proof of this because they discovered that it was not true? Why did they describe an event involving Paul Minor at a hotel bar, when court testimony clearly showed the event did not occur? Continue reading “Honest Services (part 2) – a Supremely interesting commentary”
…if this Court does find Wilson’s Amended Complaint deficient in any respect Wilson respectfully prays that he be given opportunity to amend his complaint to cure whatsoever deficiencies the Court might find.
While team Wilson was praying Judge Hittner would prescribe a cure, Defendant Steve Patterson’s attorney, Hiram Eastland, filed a Rebuttal declaring the deficiencies fatal.
Plaintiff’s opposition fails to resolve any of the shortcomings addressed in Mr.Patterson’s Motion to Dismiss. From denying the existence of a heightened pleading standard for fraud, to reiterating the same legally insufficient factual allegations, Wilson can point to nothing that would save his complaint from dismissal.
After finding there was “nothing that would save” Wilson’s complaint, Eastland eviscerated Wilson’s Opposition to Patterson’s Motion for Dismissal.
Plaintiff has failed to shed any new light on his Amended Complaint that would allow it to endure against Mr. Patterson. All of the fatal flaws that are reiterated in this reply exist for a reason: this is simply not a RICO case.
Eastland’s arguments, while specific to Patterson, have implications for other defendants and/or other litigation,, particularly those where the distinction between unethical and unlawful conduct has been blurred : Continue reading “Is there a doctor in the court? Patterson”
The Louisiana Supreme Court has denied Judge Joan Benge’s request to rehear their decision to remove her from the 24th Judicial District Court in Gretna for her handling of a civil case.
The Times Picayune broke the story. Continue reading “Breaking News: LA Supreme Court denied Judge Benge’s request for rehearing”
As reported in Now, about that document State Farm produced for Judge Senter in Rigsby qui tam, Coast attorney Deborah Trotter of the Merlin Law Group is counsel for plaintiff’s in three similar cases currently before the Court, Judge Senter presiding. Magistrate Judge Parker was assigned Lizana v State Farm and Magistrate Judge Walker the other two, Lebon v State Farm, and New Light Baptist Church v State Farm:
Defendant simultaneously filed three motions for protective order in response to Plaintiff’s Notices of 30(b)(6) Depositions, one of which was an expedited motion to quash and for protective order, for which the Lebon Court ordered Plaintiff on November 9, 2009, to Respond by 9:00am on November 10, 2009, during Hurricane Ida Warnings. As all three motions filed simultaneously by Defendant were similar in substance, context and argument, with the exception of the additional motion to quash in the Lebon case, Plaintiff’s counsel determined that in the interest of judicial economy and consistency that all should be responded to simultaneously and in combination. (Plaintiff’s Amended Response, Lizana)
Plaintiffs’ notices were filed simultaneously but State Farm’s motions were cleverly staggered:
Cleverly staggered – and cleverly planned to produce the following result: Continue reading “Magistrate Judge Walker – the Company man shows his hand in rush to trump Magistrate Judge Parker”
Impeachment of federal judge, Louisiana federal district judge Thomas Porteous
Congressional hearings on the potential impeachment of U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous of Metairie that begin today in Washington follow Porteous’ filing of a motion for TRO last Friday and a weekend whirlwind of legal documents flying back and forth before a federal court denied the motion yesterday.
The TRO motion and defendant’s response are among the linked documents that follow the brief background below.
Over the weekend, two readers sent links to the same story – one published in the Washington Post and the other in the Times Picayune – but anywhere you read the latest from Louisiana federal judge Thomas Porteous, it’s an incredible story: Continue reading “You be the judge – Impeachment hearing of Louisiana federal judge Thomas Porteous begins today UPDATED 2x”
We covered Judge Benge’s legal troubles back in July in a post I think was one of Nowdy’s finest efforts. By all accounts Judge Benge is a decent jurist whose initial inexpereince on the bench lead her to make a terrible error in judgement. WWL radio New Orleans has the breaking story:
The Louisiana Supreme Court has removed a Jefferson Parish judge from her position with the 24th District.
The high court ruled today that Judge Joan Benge conspired to fix a personal injury case for a plaintiff who had ties to disgraced former Judge Ronald Bodenheimer.
Legal experts say the ruling by the court could also mean that Benge could lose her license to practice law altogether.
In 2001, a newly-elected Judge Benge was ensnared by an FBI “Wrinkled Robe” investigation of corruption in the Gretna courthouse. Continue reading “Breaking: Jefferson Parish Judge Joan Benge removed from the bench”
A coincidence, perhaps? Northern district Judge Shannon Aycock (Wilson v Scruggs) and southern district Judge Sul Ozerden (Young v Scruggs) each recused from a case involving Dick Scruggs in Orders dated October 15, 2009.
Wilson v Scruggs was filed in federal court in North Mississippi and assigned to Judge Neil Biggers. Shortly after Scruggs’ co-defendant Steve Patterson filed his Motion to Dismiss, Judge Biggers recused and the case was reassigned to Judge Shannon Aycock.
However, Judge Aycock filed a Waiver of Judicial Disqualification with the Clerk:
Unless a waiver is obtained from all parties and all counsel, Judge Aycock intends to disqualify in this proceeding because of these circumstances:
Judge Aycock’s Courtroom Deputy, Ginger McDaniel Sullivan, worked as a
paralegal with the Wm. Roberts Wilson, Jr. P.A., law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, from June 2001 to February 2005. In that position, Sullivan worked under the direction of William Roberts Wilson, Jr., Charles M. Merkel, III, and Roberts Wilson, Jr. During her employment, Sullivan was familiar with and worked on issues in the lawsuit Wilson vs. Scruggs, et al, First Judicial District of Hinds County Circuit Court. This litigation was pending when she began her employment and was not resolved as of the date she left the firm…If a waiver is not received from all parties and all counsel, this Notice and any responses will be kept under seal by the clerk and not shown to the judge, nor will the judge be informed of the identity of any party or lawyer who declined to waive the disqualification. If the disqualification is not waived, the case will be reassigned to another judge.
Apparently waivers were not received from all parties as Judge Aycock recused and issued a related Order dated October 15, 2009. Continue reading “Recuse in the Scruggs news”