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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Dewey Trial comes to a close: Homage to the Press UPDATE


After 19 days of deliberations and the longest in Manhattan Criminal Court, 
the press, still presses on. Some new reporters arrive, some take shifts and some are sitting through the long slog of the jury deliberations. Below is an updated picture of the press corps.
Left to Right, Matthew Goldstein (NY Times), Sara Randazo (WSJ), Stewart Bishop and Max Stendahl ( Law 360), Joseph Ax ( Reuters), Christine Simmons ( American Lawyer) and Chris Dolmetsch ( Bloomberg )



After over 4 months, the trial of Steven Davis, Stephen DiCarmine and Joel Sanders comes to a close. The jury selection began late April. On top of the ever present attorneys, their teams, defendants and their families, the press (particularly some that are very focused upon legal news) have been omnipresent. 
For those readers who have followed and read about this trial daily, below is an image of your source of information. The reporters from Law 360, American Lawyer, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times are pictured below. For months they listened to hours of evidence and testimony, distilled down the key points and wrote their stories in the un-air conditioned courthouse hallways of the summer.  
They will be there when the verdict is read, awaiting the jury's decision every day.
Left to right: Nell Gluckman (AM Law), Stewart Bishop (Law 360), Sara Randazzo( Wall Street Journal)
Matthew Goldstein ( The New York Times) note: click on the image to see it larger


Dewey defense table ( below).

 Left to Right: Joel Sanders, defense counsel Cesar de Castro, Elkan Abramowiz( foreground)Stephen DiCarmine, Jasmine Juteau,( foreground) , Austin Campriello, Steven Davis, Anne Redcross and Amanda Bassen , of Mr Sander's defense team. note: click on an image to see it larger

Monday, September 14, 2015

Courtroom art of the trial of Aaron Burr : Acquitted of misdemeanor September 1807

On June 24, 1807 a grand jury indicted Aaron Burr ( 3rd Vice President of the United States) for treason, for levying war against the United States, an act which allegedly took place on December 10, 1806. The grand jury also indicted Burr for high misdemeanor, for organizing a military expedition against Spain in Mexico, in violation of the Neutrality Act of 1794. A remarkable aspect of the trial was  President Jefferson's micromanagement of the prosecution from the White House. Jefferson himself never doubted that Burr was a traitor. Burr had served as Jefferson's Vice President from 1801-1805.
Courtroom illustration of the trial of Aaron Burr—some of the finest lawyers in the country argued the case—where the right of due process and protection for the rule of law were at stake.—© Bettmann / Corbis

 Most of the spectators were familiar with the stars of the drama, or “Melo-drama,” as one newspaper put it, and most had taken sides in the bitter public conflicts between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.

The long legal ordeal ended  without a single conviction in 1807.  Burr was legally a free man, but most Americans, including the president who said so publicly, still considered him a traitor, and a traitor who had escaped the gallows. After four years of self-imposed exile in Europe, Burr returned to New York, where he remained a social outcast, a man without a country. Jefferson may have lost his case, but he succeeded in destroying Burr or at least in helping Burr destroy himself.

Burr died  in Staten Island on September 14, 1836. He is buried in Princeton New Jersey.

Information from the NEH magazine Humanities
Link
http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2013/mayjune/feature/burr-versus-jefferson-versus-marshall

Saturday, September 5, 2015

DEFLATEGATE: Jeffrey Kessler, attorney representing Tom Brady and NFL Players Association

Jeffrey Kessler is a partner at the New York office of Winston and Strawn, a Chicago-based law firm.  He represented the NFL Player Association and Tom Brady during the Deflategate hearings in Manhattan Federal Court, arguing the case in front of Judge Richard Berman. The judge ruled against the NFL, overturned the suspensions and Kessler secured a victory for the NFL Players Assn.
Here is the full transcript of his interview on NBC Sport about the win.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/09/05/the-full-jeffrey-kessler-transcript/

Article on Tom Brady hiring of Kessler.
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/2015/05/13/reports-tom-brady-lawyers-hiring-nfl-nemesis-jeffrey-kessler-for-deflategate-appeal/R8VxFScOekxF86MCvkjU3H/story.html

Jeffrey Kessler of Winston and Strawn making argument during NFL Deflategate hearing in Manhattan Federal Court. Tom Brady is seated second from left.  Artwork by Elizabeth Williams for CNBC News
What Kessler's tried. 
McNeil, et al. v. NFL, et al—In one of the most impactful cases in NFL history, Kessler successfully argued against the league’s Plan B system, which gave clubs limited rights to retain 37 players each season, on behalf of Jets running back Freeman McNeil and a host of others. That decisionpaved the way for the league’s adopting a free agency system.
Zenith v. Matsushita—In a major non-sports case, Kessler was part of a team that successfully defended electronics companies Matsushita and JVC in the U.S. Supreme Court over claims of a worldwide conspiracy.
Brady v. NFL—In 2011, Kessler represented lead plaintiff Tom Brady and a class of other players in the case that ultimately led to the end of the 2011 NFL lockout and the establishment of a new collective bargaining agreement.
Sprewell v. NBA—When the Golden State Warriors’ Latrell Sprewell was suspended for a year and had the remainder of his contract voided by the NBA in 1997 after choking coach P.J. Carlesimo, Kessler successfully got the voiding of his contract overturned and his suspension reduced to the remainder of the season.
Kessler also aided the appeals of Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Ravens running back Ray Rice, all of whose suspensions were ultimately reduced or overturned.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Judge nullifies Tom Brady's four-game suspension: Roger Goodell: NFL will appeal

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000520654/article/roger-goodell-nfl-will-appeal-tom-brady-ruling

From NFL.com
Tom Brady will be under center for the Patriots' season opener next Thursday.
The ruling, handed down by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman on Thursday morning, nullified the four-game suspension levied against the Patriots quarterback back on May 11 when Ted Wells, an independent investigator hired by the NFL, asserted Brady's connection to deflated footballs used in the AFC Championship Game this past season. Goodell upheld that four-game suspension upon review.
The decision came after multiple attempts at settlement between Brady, his council, the NFL Players Association and the NFL. On Monday, Berman dismissed both sides after just a few minutes after realizing they were too far apart to reach a settlement.
Roger Goodell ( far left) and Tom Brady ( second from right) in Federal Court on August 12th. 

Goodell later announced the league would appeal the decision.
"We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today's decision. We will appeal today's ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game," Goodell wrote. "The commissioner's responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to pursue a path to that end. While the legal phase of this process continues, we look forward to focusing on football and the opening of the regular season."
According to NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport, the league will not seek a stay to keep Brady off the field under its appeal.


Judge Richard Berman

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Face of Evil: The Charles Manson Murders (2015) FEATURING BILL ROBLES INTERVIEW AND ARTWORK




Artwork by Bill Robles featured in the CNN Documentary and the book The Illustrated Courtroom: 50 Years of Court Art.

Charles Manson lunging at Judge Older during trial 



Charles Manson studies by Bill Robles

Susan Atkins grabbing ADA Vincent Bugliosi's papers

Medical Examiner Thomas Noguchi testifying in court identifying stab wounds of Manson victim