Miami U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI accused of spying on defense in fraud case
floridabulldog.org
floridabulldog.org
>“What remedies, if any, are available to the court were the court to find that the described conduct in defendant Schapiro’s motion is a systemic, consistent and/or pervasive practice of or on behalf of the United States Attorney’s Office?”
Even though, based on the limited facts, it suggests the Defense doesn't have proof anyone at the US Attorney Office was involved, the Judge is taking the allegations so serious (which they are, even if just as to a rouge FBI Agent), that she is saying lets assume everything is true...lets get it out on the record now what powers the Court has, then we can get into the evidentiary hearing...that is awesome.
We don't know the facts, only what one side or the other claims.
In this case, there is no disagreement that the FBI had CD's containing documents from the defense.
The US Attorney disclosed, at least in this case, the defense-selected documents were used to help prepare government expert witnesses. Woah...
Definitely that is what the defense is arguing, but is it true/can it be proved? I read the admission to mean just the 1 Agent:
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office has admitted that Agent Deanne Lindsey had been receiving copies of the CDs and had been keeping the duplicate CDs in a folder as she received them,”
On second reading, I think I see what the Government response to the Motion will be based this little excerpt:
>"The government’s Thursday night response acknowledged that Imaging Universe did supply the FBI with duplicate CDs of what the company had copied for Schapiro’s defense team, but said the discs “were never requested by any agent, prosecutor or anyone else on the government’s behalf.”"
I think what they will argue in Court is that the Contractor gave them (US Attorney and/or FBI) attorney-client privileged documents in error and they didn't do anything wrong because they were not requested by the Government and as soon as the prosecutors learned what the Contractor did they disclosed it. They might even say the one Agent didn't do anything wrong by "reviewing" these documents because the Agent, not being a lawyer, subjectively believed they were in rightful possession. Its actually an argument the government uses a lot to circumvent the 4th Amendment protection of illegal searches and seizures. More specifically, the 4th Amendment only applies to searches/seizures of the Government and the 4th Amendment doesn't apply to searched by non-government entities. The big question is if the Defense truly has some smoking gun evidence of the government (FBI and/or US Attorney) requesting Imaging Universe copy the work product documents.
So in future the defence must request copies of all 'evidentary records' by default so that the authorities can obtain no advantage?
Come to think of it, shouldn't these records as a whole also be inadmissible because of the whole attorney client privilege thing?
Or is this just a "sneak and peak" tactic to get insights into the opposition's strategy?
No.
> Something about doctor-patient confidentiality?
Where it exists as a legal privilege at all, physician-patient privilege prevents certain information in medical records from being used against the patient in court. (And, in any case, it apparently doesn't exist in the Federal Rules of Evidence; there are federal laws on medical confidentiality, e.g., HIPAA, but they are not a general privilege against the use of medical records as evidence, and again they protect the patient, not the physician.)
It appears that the defense was required to be on-premise to review the documents and was charged a fee by Imaging Universe to take copies with them. Requesting copies of all records shouldn't be necessary to obfuscate the defense's real documentation needs.
Granted that's a specific example and probably not how it unfolded in real life but it highlights the "don't ask don't tell" culture that perpetuates corruption and skirting of rules/regulation. Everyone has skin in the game so everyone keeps their mouth shut.
It's the same culture that results in something unethical but profitable at low levels and higher ups claiming ignorance. They're ignorant to specifics but they know that it's the job of those in the middle to keep the specifics away from them.
the copy service owner is about to get screwed when the FBI tries to blame him for all of it regardless of his level of involvement.