Masiloti seeks early release - Fed honest services fraud statute unconstitutional?

Is the honest services fraud statute unconstitutional? How else is the federal government going to clean up corruption in Palm Beach county? The State Attorney's Office didn't do squat under Krischer. The new administration has the affable and capable Al Johnson heading up the public corruption unit. Haven't seen anything yet Al. I'm sure you're working on it though.

Tony Masiloti would like to get out of prison early. Get in line. Who wouldn't? Judge Ryskamp (who enjoys a stellar reputation among federal criminal lawyers) thinks the statute is unconstitutional. Judge Ryskamp sentenced Masiloti. Can you see the ineffective assistance of counsel claim coming? Jane Musgrave has the story. The Supremes granted cert according to the story.

"it fails to advise a defendant of what conduct is prohibited" and it also violates the "basic principles of federalism."

Mary McCarty and Warren Newell were also convicted of honest services fraud. Be careful what you wish for. The feds could have charged all these former politicians with other crimes. They didn't because they "accepted responsibility."

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com

Judge & ASA ex-parte = dismissal for murder?

Jaablog has the details on the Omar Loureiro case. You know. The one where Judge Ana Gardiner and the prosecutor laughed and joked ex parte in the middle of trial over cocktails. Not just any trial either. A murder trial. Omar was sentenced to death. They joked about how he was gay, killed his gay lover, and how his head was nearly decapitated. They joked about the gruesome photos and how one juror almost passed out from seeing the photos.

The defense filed a motion to dismiss on due process and double jeopardy grounds. Another argument they have is to preclude the state from seeking the death penalty. Judge Ana Gardiner (represented by local veteran lawyer Jack Goldberger) drafted an "interested party" motion in support of denying the defense's motion. Former ASA Howard Scheinber who was prosecuting Omar (represented by Bruce Lyons) adopted the motion. In other words, Jack did all the work and Bruce signed off saying "ya - what he said."

Judge Brown struck the motion anyway.

Cleaning up after Broward's mess...It's good to practice in Palm Beach county. At least we're not as bad as Broward.

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com

Positive results under negative circumstances

"You have to be able to get positive results under negative circumstances"- the great Dan Kennedy. It seems that every criminal lawyer I talk with is saying business sucks. One lamented "I've relied on word-of-mouth for 15 years - and it's not working anymore." Another said "This is the worst year ever for me - and I've been practicing 25 years."

It's tough all over. I don't claim to have all the answers. But, here are a few suggestions:

Take a case pro bono. "What?" you say. "Why would I take a case for free?" Because good things will happen to you if you help others with no expectation of anything in return. Also, it's another person who can potentially refer you business down the road. The biggest fee I ever got was referred by someone I represented at trial pro bono.

Care about your clients. If you don't really care about them, go do something else. Clients know when you care about them and when you are just doing it for the money. If you are just in it for the money, I hear bankruptcy and foreclosure defense are doing great. Go join them.

Be courteous to everyone - especially to the people who you think can't do anything for you.

Keep the big picture in perspective. You've always made money practicing law, right? You will continue to. Don't let the slump get you down. Keep a positive attitude.

Get a new suit. What? Spend money? YES. People notice. A fantastic tailor I use named Mr. Sam is going to be in south Florida next week. The link is to a coupon. Get some custom made shirts (starting at only $149 for 4 shirts) and a suit (starting at $500 - about the price you pay for an off the rack Boss suit on sale).

Create great content on your website. Don't steal content. Write your own. Add content weekly. As Mark Bennett says "I can create faster than you can copy."

Spend more time with your family. Life ain't all about work. When you die, do you really want your tombstone to read: "Here lies Joe Schmo. He worked a lot."

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com