Federal Prosecutors Abuse Power Again!
For the second time this week a Federal Judge has accused U.S. Attorneys of unethical conduct. Just this week Senator Ted Steven's conviction was dismissed when the U.S. Attorneys in his case hid evidence. Now the Federal Government has been ordered to pay 600,000.00 dollars in legal fees for more unethical behavior. In Miami Dr. Aly Shaygan was found not guilty on 141 counts of drug trafficking. The allegation was that Dr. Shaygan was illegally prescribing painkillers. The U.S. Attorneys secretly taped recorded the conversations of the Defense attorneys in the case because they thought they may be tampering with witnesses.
This is yet another case of Prosecutors intimidating Defense attorneys. It is becoming a growing trend that any defense attorney who fights for their clients in Federal Court better watch out. The intimidation tactics used by federal prosecutors especially in drug cases strikes at the very foundation of our legal system. It deprives those accused of a crime the right to the best representation possible.
In the Shaygan case the Government used confidential informants to offer Defense attorneys bribes in exchange for favorable testimony. David Markus the Defense attorney is heard stating "I am not paying any money for anything.'' Mr. Markus gained an acquittal on all 141 counts and in my opinion is a hero. To not only defend a citizen from the power of the Government and also have to deal with these types of intimidation tactics takes the ultimate courage.
U.S. District Judge Alan Gold said it best "These events are profoundly disturbing. They raise troubling issues about the integrity of those who wield enormous power over the people they prosecute," this quote is in reference to the Federal Prosecutors in the Shaygan case.
We claim in this country to have the best system in the world. While that may be, a Prosecutors job is not about winning but about seeking the truth. When persons in powerful positions care more about winning then seeking the truth and intimidating defense attorney's this whole country loses.
Most U.S. Attorneys conduct themselves with honor but it only takes a few to cause irreparable damage to our criminal justice system.
In 1933 Martin Niemoller, a leader in the Confessing Church which was begun by Niemoller and several other ministers, voted for the Nazi party. By 1938, however, he was in a concentration camp. After the war he was believed to have said
"In Germany, the Nazis came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me."
If you or a loved one has been arrested for a crime please feel free to contact Darren Finebloom.
