Judging the Jurors Who Saw and Heard the Evicdence, Without Having and Heard the Evidence

Jurors in Oklahoma convicted a pharmacist in the murder of armed robbers. Jerome Jay Ersland was convicted of first degree murder despite a self defense in a wild shoot 'em up. Originally, he was viewed as a "hero" by locals. Now Oklahoma City neighbors of the jury members are angry and expressing outrage at the jury verdict. This is a link [Note: and earlier version of this post unsuccessfully attempted to embed the video of the raw interrogation of Mr. Ersland] to the Oklahoman story at NewsOK.com by Nolan Clay.  If you take the time to watch the video you might find yourself understanding why the jurors found the Pharmacist guilty of murder.

It's interesting that local men and women who sat through the trial, heard the evidence, and the testimony of Mr. Ersland felt compelled under the Oklahoma law to find the pharmacist guilty but are now vilified by their family and neighbors.

Maybe there are problems with the jury instructions in this case (not that I know one way or the other,) but these Oklahoma jurors were serious-minded folks doing the job required of them under the law.  Criticizing them without seeing or hearing the evidence is moronic.

Ann Coulter's Hate Speech re: Kent State, That's What You Do with Mobs

Ann Coulter is an attorney who makes a living with provocative speech that sometimes borders on HATE. 

In this clip from her pal, Sean Hannity's show Coulter crosses over into fiction and hate shooting her mouth off about the killings at Kent State.  As follower's of this blawg know, the Bad Lawyer has read deeply into the historical record about the official killings at Kent State in 1970, and this rght wing diatribe is ahistorical in nearly ever respect:



That's it, let's revise history to justify killing children.

Link to Phone Conversations Used to Convict Judge Terry of Corruption

At this link you can listen to the phone conversations re-played in Federal court which were used to convict Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Steven Terry. 

Details of the Jury's Verdict in Judge Terry Fed Corruption Trial

Former Judge, Convicted Felon Steven Terry

At Cleveland.com Jim McCarty has a detailed look at the former-Judge's conviction on 3 corruption counts and acquittal on two.

Corrupt Mississippi Judges and Former-Attorney who Bribed them Head Back to Prison

Attorney Paul Minor (left) Judges Whitfield and Teel

Friday I brought you the story of the former Mississippi Judges and the attorney who bribed them heading back to federal court for resentencing following reversal of that part of their convictions that related to the now-unconstitutional Honest Services law.  Former judges Teel, Whitfield and attorney Paul Minor are heading back to the federal prison following reductions in their sentences.  This is an excerpt from the Clarion-Ledger's reporter Jack Elliot's account:

Former Mississippi attorney Paul Minor saw his prison time cut by three years but failed to win his freedom Monday during resentencing in a judicial corruption scheme involving two ex-judges.

ex-attorney Paul Minor

All three were ordered back to federal lock-up.

U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate rejected the men's appeal to be sentenced to time already served in the case. But Minor and former Harrison County judges Wes Teel, 60, and John Whitfield, 48, all will serve less time than when originally sentenced in 2007. All are in prison now.

Minor was originally sentenced to 11 years. Wingate reduced it to eight years.

He and the two former judges had to be resentenced because a federal appeals court vacated their bribery convictions in 2009. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld other convictions, including honest services fraud against each of the men and racketeering against Minor.

Abbe Lowell and Hiram Eastland successfully argued the federal bribery argument in the 5th Circuit that resulted in Minor's resentencing.

Prosecutors said Minor, 65, would guarantee loans for the judges, then used cash and third parties to pay off the debts. Judges then ruled in his favor in civil cases. Minor has said the loans were meant to help friends in times of need and that he expected nothing in return.

Teel was sentenced to about four years in prison, a reduction of 19 months. Whitfield got about six years, a reduction of 22 months.

Teel and Whitfield already have served about 3 1/2 years each. Minor has served about four years and nine months, including time spent in treatment for alcohol abuse - rehabilitation ordered by Wingate.

[ . . . ] Earlier Monday, Minor told Wingate that he "deeply, deeply regretted" having let down his family, including his wife, Sylvia, who died in 2009.

Minor said his wife had told him to not get involved in politics, but he didn't listen.  "I am not the Paul Minor who was before you four years ago. I am a Paul Minor who is still a work in progress," he said. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Fulcher said after the re-sentencing that [U.S. District Judge] Wingate "made it clear that these convictions were serious offenses and the sentences were to reflect the seriousness" of them [. . . ] ingate said he was impressed by the contrition shown by the three.

"You have with your conduct earned a reduction" in the sentence, Wingate said.

Wingate said he also was concerned about the health of Teel and Whitfield. He said both men have been receiving medical treatment while incarcerated.

Teel had suffered a heart attack shortly after entering prison in December 2007 and had heart surgery in January 2008.

Whitfield suffers from Crohn's disease, which causes inflammation of the intestinal wall. There is no cure.  I am not the Paul Minor who was before you four years ago. I am a Paul Minor who is still a work in progress," he said.   [Judge W]ingate said he expected Minor to continue to get treatment for substance abuse for the remainder of his sentence and have random drug testing under the direction of prison officials.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dave Fulcher said after the re-sentencing that Wingate "made it clear that these convictions were serious offenses and the sentences were to reflect the seriousness" of them.

The government had initially requested maximum sentences for the three men. Wingate said he would not do that, resentencing all three to terms that were less than those suggested in federal sentencing guidelines.

Wingate said he was impressed by the contrition shown by the three.

"You have with your conduct earned a reduction" in the sentence, Wingate said.

Wingate said he also was concerned about the health of [former judge]Winfield. He [noted that] both men [receive] medical treatment [in the BOP.]

Teel had suffered a heart attack shortly after entering prison in December 2007 and had heart surgery in January 2008.  hitfield suffers from Crohn's disease, which causes inflammation of the intestinal wall. There is no cure.
______________________________
This story should help in my continuing effort to disabuse you of the notion that life at the Club Fed is the high life.  It is often harsh, dangerous, and certainly objectively debilitating to older inmates' health.

Postscript: one of my commentators noted accurately that the "optical orange" uniforms are provided by the local jails when federal inmates are not actually in US Marshall custody, i.e. being housed local to US District Court.  In the case of Whitfield, Teel, and Minor the local county lockup. 

Optical orange is often used in-transit for the obvious reason that in the event of escape an inmate will (initially) be highly visible.  The stocking caps given to us at FCI, Morgantown over the winter were also optical orange while the uniforms are khaki.  But when I went to the HOLE/SHU, my uniforms (really all my property) were taken and I was given an oversize optical orange jumpsuit.

Update on Lawyer Who Violated Confidentiality to Curry Favor with Disgraced Big Ten Coach



Christopher Cicero



Reporter Catherine Candisky at the Columbus Dispatch has a follow up to yesterday's story about Columbus-area attorney Christopher Cicero who sold out a potential criminal defense client's confidentiality to curry favor with then Ohio State Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel.  Ms. Candinsky explores the position that I took yesterday in focusing on the outrageous nature of the alleged ethical breach by attorney Cicero and Ms.Candisky supplies some fascinating additional details about Cicero.  Apparently the attorney's actions were consistent with who this guy is:

The Columbus lawyer at the center of the controversy surrounding former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel could lose his license to practice law.

The Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a complaint yesterday against Christopher T. Cicero, accusing him of violating attorney-client confidentiality when he told Tressel in a series of emails that players had been given free tattoos in exchange for signed memorabilia.

Cicero, a criminal-defense lawyer, learned of the situation when the owner of the tattoo parlor came to him for legal advice about a federal drug investigation of him.

Edward Rife, owner of Fine Line Ink on the West Side, met with Cicero twice but never hired him.

"Even when no client-lawyer relationship ensues, a lawyer who has had discussions with a prospective client shall not use or reveal information learned in the consultation," Disciplinary Counsel Jonathan E. Coughlan wrote in a seven-page complaint filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.

Cicero [ could lose his law license.]

In 1997, the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Cicero's law license for misconduct after he told lawyers and others that he was having sex with then-Judge Deborah P. O'Neill, who had appointed Cicero to defend a client in a criminal case. Cicero ultimately admitted that he had overstated the affair and that it did not start until after O'Neill had stepped down from the case.

According to the complaint filed yesterday, Cicero met with Rife on April 2, 2010, after federal authorities raided his house as part of a criminal drug investigation. Immediately after the meeting, Cicero emailed Tressel and told him about the raid and the seizure of $70,000 in cash and OSU memorabilia.

Cicero and Rife met again on April 15, 2010. The next morning, Cicero sent a second email to Tressel, giving the coach a detailed accounting of the number of jerseys, footballs and championship rings that Rife had.

In a third email, sent the same day, Cicero told Tressel that he would try to get the memorabilia returned if Rife retained him, and he suggested that Tressel keep the players away from Rife's tattoo parlor and tell them not to call Rife because authorities were likely to review his phone records.

Tressel resigned on May 30 after he admitted withholding information that his players might have violated NCAA rules.

The emails from Cicero were key because months later, when five of Tressel's players were suspended by the NCAA for selling or trading memorabilia for tattoos, the coach expressed surprise.

Eventually, Tressel acknowledged that he had exchanged emails with Cicero regarding his players' contacts with Rife and said he did not pass the information along to Ohio State or other officials because he thought he might violate legal confidentiality.  But Cicero didn't say that the information was confidential in his first email to Tressel, and the coach forwarded the correspondence to mentors of quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Cicero, who played football for Ohio State in the early 1980s, did not respond to messages left on his cellphone yesterday[.]

___________________________

This attorney played football for Ohio State, he already has been down the disciplinary road--he of all people should have known better.  It always comes down to ego.  Wanting to be the big shot, Cicero allegedly sells out his client.  The damage done to Mr. Rife is what's lost in this story.  Rife had every right to expect that what he told Cicero was to remain confidential. 

Peanut Butter Assault and Battery?

An AP story out of Battle Creek, MI has the earmarks of a good law school or bar exam question. 

The ex-wife of a local gentleman is aware that the new wife has a severe peanut allergy.  So mail ex- sends to her husband is smeared in peanut butter, and the outside of the envelope warns the person handling the envelope that this is the case.  Assault and battery? 

Here's an excerpt from the Associated Press story:

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan woman who told police she’s highly allergic to peanuts wants assault charges against her husband’s ex-wife for sending him a letter smeared with peanut butter.  The Battle Creek Enquirer reports the woman told police she believed the peanut butter on a bill was an attempt to harm her [. . . ] The Battle Creek woman told police said she came home during her lunch break Friday and found an envelope in the mailbox addressed to her husband with oil soaking through. The outside of the envelope had writing indicating that it contained peanut butter.
_____________________________________
Mens rea, anyone?  Allright, class, the new wife opens the mail and ends up in anaphylactic shock? 
The Bad Lawyer is allergic to most insect bites and stings, I empathize with the victim.

Judge Steven Terry Guilty of 3 Corruption Related Counts

Reporter Jim McCarty at the Cleveland Plain Dealer webstie reports that a federal jury convicted Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Steven Terry on 3 corruption-related counts, acquitting Terry of two other charges.  This is from Cleveland.com:

A [federal] jury in Akron convicted Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Steven Terry on Monday of three corruption-related counts.  [T]he 12 jurors, who began deliberations on Friday afternoon and resumed them on Monday, acquitted Terry of two other counts.

The judge, who was on leave, immediately resigned. He was accused of fixing a forclosure case at the request of his political mentor, then-county Auditor Frank Russo.

The guilty verdict came after a weeklong trial during which Russo testified that he asked Terry to deny a motion in the case and prosecutors played a secretly recorded telephone conversation of Terry telling the auditor he had denied the motion.  "Very good," Russo could be heard saying. "Very good."

Despite the damning testimony, Terry took the stand in U.S. District Court and argued that he had been unaware of Russo's interest in the case and did nothing wrong in denying the motion.  Terry is the second common pleas judge convicted of wrongdoing as part of a federal investigation of corruption in the county. In March, a jury convicted former Judge Bridget McCafferty of lying to the FBI about cases on her docket. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 11. [ . . . ]

The corruption investigation has implicated more than 50 elected officials, public employees and contractors since becoming public in July 2008 with FBI raids of businesses, homes and county offices.
_______________________
There arre at least ten other Cuyahoga County judges who are quivering in their wing tips and pumps this afternoon, if the trial testimony by Russo stands up to scrutiny. 

8 Years for Lawyer Convicted of Bribing Cuyahoga County Auditor

Lawyer William Mitchell (pic) unsuccessfully fought allegations that he was involved in bribing disgraced, felon, former-Cuyahoga County Auditor Frank Russo in exchange for a piece of an elaborate scheme run by his law partners that ripped off millions from Cleveland-area public schools.

Russo, of course, was at the heart of a corruption scandal that cost more than 50 publlic officials, contractors and lawyers their reputations and livelihoods--and as I noted all last week, it is this former Cleveland-area public official who is at the center of the Judge Steve Terry trial that is awaiting a jury verdict, possibly this afternoon.  Unfortunately, for Mitchell who was a highly successful personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, his former partner, Bruce Zaccagnini was dieseled-in from FCI, Morgantown and testified against him.  So did Russon. This morning a US District Court judge. Sara Loi handed down an 8 year prison sentence. 

This is an interesting case as well as a cautionary tale for law partners.   Know what your law partner is doing, or pay the price.  If Mitchell is to be believed he did not know how his law partners led by the now deceased, Louis Damiani and Bruce Zacagninni (who I encountered at FCI, Morgantown) were raking in the millions that they brought to the law firm's bottom line.  But Mitchell benefitted as a firm owner in the monies stolen from the taxpayers and this is what Judge Loi "hung her hat on" in sentencing Mitchell to prison.  According to Cleveland.com, the following exchange occurred:

"I had nothing to do with this," he told U.S. District Court Judge Sara Lioi. "I wasn't involved in anything to do with this scam. With all due respect, I am not going to admit to a crime just to get some time off."

Countered Lioi: "You could not stick your head in the sand and reap the benefits."

Now, let's see--why aren't the equity partners at BigLaw going to jail when their law partners criminally overbill as we saw last year in the Chicago case of Mark McCombs, partner at Greenberg Traurig?   There were no criminal consequences for the equity partners, then, didn't they have their heads in the sand.?  Is it as I said then, the rules are made on the backs of small law?

Will Currying Favor with Big Ten Coach Cost Columbus Lawyer his Law License?

One of the unexpected aspects of the Ohio State Scandal is the role played by Christopher Cicero (pic, left), a Columbus-area attonrey who totally-breached client confidentiality to inform Big Ten Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel about Buckeyes selling memorabilia to a tattoo parlor/drug dealer client.  Here's a link to the certified complaint filed against Cicero with details from Cicero's email communications with Tressel.  

According to the complaint, Christopher T. Cicero violated codes of professional conflict when he sent three e-mails to Tressel about players giving football memorabilia in exchange for free or discounted tattoos, a violation of attorney-client privilege and confidentiality.   Cicero learned of the information from conversations with Edward Rife, who owns the Columbus tattoo parlor and was the subject of a federal drug-trafficking investigation.  Rife asked for confidentiality as part of an intake interview on the criminal case pending against Rife and his Tattoo Parlour.  Cicero promptly turned around and sent unsolicited emails to Tressel which are quoted at length in the complaint. 
If true, really a disgusting performance by a lawyer trying to suck up to Coach Tressel.