Legal Highlights and Low Points of 2008

Kendall Coffey / Special to NLJ.com
December 15, 2008

Worst year end clearance sale

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich stunned a nation as he was arrested this month on corruption charges including trying to sell the appointment to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. With pressure already mounting toward possible impeachment next year, his greed hit high gear in late 2008 ("I want to make money") and numerous wiretaps revealed attempts to extort a children's hospital and a leading newspaper as well as applicants for gubernatorial appointments. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who had earlier successfully prosecuted White House Aid "Scooter" Libby, called this a "new low" that would have Lincoln "rolling over in his grave." Elected as a reformer replacing ex-governor George Ryan, now serving a six and a half year sentence on federal corruption charges, Blagojevich's remarkably brazen scheme may be prompting prison officials to consider opening a governor's wing.

Biggest legal headache for a new president: Guantanamo

Much of the base that has been cheering for Obama has been jeering Bush's aggressive legal war on terror. And while it may be realistic to chop down portions of the Patriot Act, a complete shutdown of Guantanamo poses huge legal and practical challenges. Al Qaeda terrorism may be a poor fit for civilian trials inside the U.S., especially since traditional court rules may keep out some of the strongest evidence against some of the worst defendants. And few communities will want to host hundreds of suspected terrorists in the event they are to be re-located for years to a kinder, gentler version of Guantanamo inside U.S. borders. To make good on candidate Obama's pledge to close Guantanamo, future President Obama may be opening doors that lead to many more questions than answers.

Most unbelievable mother: Casey Anthony

Although three year-old Caylee disappeared in June near Orlando, Fla., her chronically untruthful. mother, Casey, reported nothing for a month. After a succession of bizarre and inconsistent explanations, Casey Anthony now faces capital murder charges with a trial scheduled in Orlando for this March. Even before the likely remains of Caylee were located a quarter mile from the Anthony home, cadaver dogs picked up the scent of death in Casey's car and in the back yard of the defendant's parents. Meanwhile, the judge denied a gag order, finding that no ruling could prevent the floodtide of publicity engulfing a case in which the jury will soon decide whether Casey Anthony is only a liar or something far worse.

Worst exit from power: Ted Stevens

Not since 1981 has a sitting U.S. Senator been convicted of a felony, and yet, Alaska's 40 year Senate veteran heard "guilty" seven times from a federal jury just eight days before the November 4th election. The corruption scheme centered on some $250,000 of goods and services given to Stevens, ranging from cabin remodeling to a sled dog, none of which were reported on his financial disclosure forms. While Stevens almost won re-election anyway, the only votes that matter now will come from an appeals court. The longest serving Republican in Senate history had been captured on tape speculating that he "might have to serve a little time," words that will surely resonate as the 85-year old Stevens faces sentencing.

Best reason to do background checks before marriage: Drew Peterson

With suspicions swirling around Drew Peterson concerning the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife Stacy, investigators have belatedly concluded that his third wife's death was a homicide. Ignoring his lawyer's advice, the former Bolingbroke, Ill., police officer took a lie detector test to answer a book-writer's questions about dead wife number three as well as missing wife number four. Although inconclusive, the results of the exam did much more to sell the writer's book than to sell the police on Peterson's innocence. A silver lining on Peterson's clouds appeared when a judge tossed out illegal firearms charges against him stemming from the investigation of Stacy's disappearance. But even if Peterson is officially only a "person of interest," he is plainly the only person of interest to police and the growing question is whether there is enough evidence to bring homicide charges for two murders even if one of the victims is never found.

Sketchiest sequel to a crime drama: O.J. Simpson

O.J.'s 2008 sequel to the 1995 "Trial of the Century" lacked not only the intense public interest of the earlier double-homicide case but also the surprise ending. This time the jury predictably convicted him on all counts, including armed robbery and kidnapping. Although O.J.'s almost comical scheme for taking souvenirs from a hotel room caused no injuries, heists with handguns are never a laughing matter, and so, he landed himself in prison for at least nine years. Four of his accomplices who pled guilty and cooperated, though, including both gun-toters, received only probation proving once again the benefits for cooperators who play ball when prosecutors play hard ball. Appeals could include the all-white composition of the jury, but, at this point, it appears that O.J.'s dumb and dumber crime has finally ended what his critics considered to be the great escape from justice.

Most irrelevant sequel to a crime drama: Michael Vick

The former star quarterback reappeared to plead guilty again to animal cruelty charges, this time in state court for Virginia charges that paralleled the federal crimes that led to his trade from the National Football League to Leavenworth prison for 23 months. Fortunately for Vick, the probation ordered for the state charges added more crime but not more time so he will likely be returning from jail in summer 2009, and hopes to swap prison jumpsuits for shoulder pads. Unless Vick can find a city that cares more about winning than about its pets, though, his quarterbacking career could be ending in a real life remake of the prison classic, "The Longest Yard."

The cruelest cyber-hoax: Lori Drew

The Internet became a lethal weapon when Missouri mother Lori Drew orchestrated a MySpace hoax upon 13 year-old Megan Meier who hanged herself after receiving a message saying that the world would be a better place without her. Local prosecutors apparently found that Drew committed no state crimes when she created Josh, the non-existent boy who befriended and later tormented Megan. The feds in Los Angeles, though, creatively indicted Drew for computer crimes asserting that her falsifications to MySpace in creating the fictitious friend were conceived "to inflict massive humiliation" upon Megan. Although the jury failed to convict Drew of any felonies, she was found guilty of misdemeanors for illegally accessing computers, a partial victory for prosecutors trying to make Internet laws flexible enough to keep pace with the limitless forms of Internet abuse.

The littlest murder defendant

Sadness and surrealism surrounded the unprecedented arrest of an Arizona eight year-old charged as an adult for two murders, including the shooting death of his own father. With police questioning often resembling the tone of a reproachful babysitter, the third-grader made incriminating statements without his mother or a lawyer being present. The case may be resolved in a plea deal that includes mental competency testing. If not, though, the legal system may struggle with the tragic extremes of so young a defendant facing such serious charges - neither prison facilities nor Miranda warnings were conceived for eight year olds.

Most costly media strategy: Roger "The Rocket" Clemens

As the baseball steroids saga continued, pitching superstar Clemens launched an astonishing publicity offensive against the ex-trainer who accused him of using steroids, releasing a secretly recorded tape of their conversation and suing for defamation. But after rocketing himself to the center of the steroids controversy, Clemens' denials under oath before Congress were contradicted not only by his former trainer but also by Clemens' long-time friend, pitcher Andy Pettitte. A Congressional request that Clemens be investigated for possible perjury followed and now the FBI is reportedly examining the DNA in syringes and gauze allegedly used by Clemens. As he hears those ominous footsteps, Clemens should be wondering whether his samurai press strategies assured that the telescopes would remain focused on the Rocket Man at a time when he may have wanted to play the Invisible Man.

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In addition to extensive experience before state and federal courts, Kendall Coffey has also handled representations before administrative agencies, such as the Federal Election Commission and the Florida Election Commission.