An appeals court Monday threw out controversial sanctions imposed on two prosecutors by a Miami federal judge, who had concluded the pair committed ethical violations and acted in ?bad faith? during the prosecution of a Miami Beach doctor acquitted of peddling pain killers.
The sanctions cost the U.S. attorney?s office more than $600,000 in legal defense fees and costs. But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the trial judge violated the prosecutors? constitutional rights with his findings, and was wrong when he concluded they acted improperly. The appeals court vacated the fine.
The 11th Circuit?s decision lifted a dark cloud hanging over the U.S. attorney?s office since the prosecution of Dr. Ali Shaygan. The office not only lost the case, but also became the target of widespread criticism by defense attorneys who held it up as a glaring example of prosecutorial misconduct. The prosecutors? careers also were damaged.
?The stakes in this appeal are high: they involve the sovereign immunity of the United States, the constitutional separation of powers, and the civil rights and reputations of two federal prosecutors,? the 11th Circuit panel in Atlanta noted in its 63-page opinion.
In their appeal, the sanctioned prosecutors, Sean Cronin and Andrea Hoffman, had contended that U.S. District Judge Alan S. Gold violated their due process rights when he issued a public reprimand for their alleged misconduct during Shaygan?s trial.
The appeals courts agreed. Moreover, ?The District Court abused its discretion when it imposed sanctions against the United States for a prosecution that was objectively reasonable,? Circuit Judge William H. Pryor Jr. wrote for the majority.
The judges sent the case back to Gold for another hearing on the sanctions in Miami federal court.
One of the three judges on the 11th Circuit panel supported part of Gold?s position. Appellate Judge J.L. Edmonson found that the lead prosecutor, Cronin, acted with ?ill will? in the trial of the physician.
Shaygan?s attorney, David O. Markus, lauded Edmonson?s analysis. ?Prosecutors should not be able to act in bad faith, just as Judge Gold explained,? Markus said, adding that he will ask the entire 11th Circuit Court to reconsider Monday?s decision.
The $600,000-plus in legal defense fees, which were being held in a federal account since the fine was imposed in 2009, will not be turned over to the doctor?s defense attorneys, Markus and Marc Seittles. Instead, it will be given to the U.S. Treasury Department.
The previous U.S. attorney in Miami, who was No. 2 in command during the Shaygan prosecution, expressed hope that the appellate court would not take it up again. ?I hope that this brings to an end a very painful period for the U.S. attorney?s office, and our local criminal justice community as a whole,? said Jeffrey Sloman, now in private practice.
The sanctions were imposed in 2009, when Gold accused the federal prosecutors of knowingly violating ethical guidelines in the high-profile narcotics trial. He issued reprimands for the U.S. attorney?s office, Cronin, Hoffman and their supervisor, Karen Gilbert.
Cronin and Hoffman appealed, along with the Justice Department, on behalf of the U.S. attorney?s office. Cronin was represented by Roberto Martinez, a former U.S. attorney. Hoffman was represented by Robert Josefsberg and William Pearson.
Shaygan was acquitted in March 2009 of 141 counts of illegally prescribing painkillers. He was originally charged with 26 counts, including causing the death of a patient.
While prosecuting Shaygan, the U.S. attorney?s office began a secret, undisclosed side investigation of Shaygan?s legal team, citing a suspicion of witness tampering on the part of the defense, Gold found.
However, in the end, no evidence surfaced that the defense team was manipulating witnesses. On the contrary, defense attorneys rejected bribery invitations floated on tape from government informants.
In his findings in 2009, Gold wrote that the U.S. attorney?s office ?exhibited a pattern of ?win-at-all-cost? behavior in the conduct of this investigation.??
After Gold issued the sanctions, then-U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, issued a statement that acknowledged ?mistakes? were made.
?Our office policy, which requires the prior approval of senior management before this type of witness-tampering investigation is commenced, exists to prevent precisely this type of situation,? Acosta said in the statement. ?We regret that the policy was not followed, have already apologized to counsel, and have taken steps to ensure that this will not happen again.?
www.mdanielslaw.com albuquerque bankruptcy lawyer albuquerque bankruptcy lawyers
No comments:
Post a Comment