If federal prosecutors in New Jersey with the Paul Bergrin case
were judge shopping, I think they would have avoided the Honorable
U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh. In fact, as much as I like
Judge Martini, I believe that prosecutors would have been better off
keeping him. It is obvious to me that they had no choice in which
judge was assigned to the Paul Bergrin case and there will be a fair
trial after all.
At this point in time, the trial date is
set for October 1, 2012. However, briefs will be filed in August in
relation to severing the counts as Judge Martini did in the last
trial. Oral Argument is set for September 12, 2012. If the counts are
not severed and everything is tossed together, it is most likely that the
trial date will be reset for a later date.
In my opinion from a defense
perspective, there are good reasons to sever the counts and equally
good reasons not to. I already have a thought on which way Judge
Cavanaugh will go, but won't tip my hat quite yet. I also have no
intention of stating the reasons to go either way. I'm going to let
each side fight it out without my voice. What good am I, right?
From what I have read around the
internet, U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh is a no nonsense,
facts only type of guy. I haven't had any contact with Paul to know
his thoughts, but I already like this new judge. Figure, at least if
you bothered to read the trial transcripts, that a facts only judge
would have scoffed at the lousy excuse for evidence presented by the
DOJ. Remember? We had a parade of jailhouse snitches, informants, and
a variety of other miscreants that just expected us to believe what
they said, even though many had been caught lying to the feds and in
court in past.
A no nonsense judge won't appreciate
all of the Rule 35 / 5K1.1 patients in the line-up. A facts only
judge wants exactly that - facts. Nothing that any of the so-called
witnesses stated was factual and it was all 'he said, she said' based on what served the prosecution best. The prosecutor's opening statement was
pure conjecture and it was backed by concocted stories told by proven
liars and others with something substantial to gain. How much more of
that can prosecutors offer us? Well, ask Nino Lyons. He has a
story to tell, or rather his attorney does:
Prosecutors' conduct can tip justice scales
Justice Dept. agrees to pay $140,000 to man wrongly jailed
A big welcome to the Honorable U.S.
District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh!
You will find several new documents
added on the "Documents" page of this blog.
