Advice

Wow, four years.

Friends & Enemies, I am now semi-retired and letter-by-letter removing the "semi" from the designation. I was thinking this morning about one subtle art of lawyering that I have seen neglected, and no doubt have neglected my own self, over almost forty years of practice. It is this: one must needs be careful what one says to opposing counsel, how one says it, the timing, and the location of the saying, and how one presents in the communication. Not because you're going to get pissed and curse and get chastened by the judge and get a bar complaint against you. No, not because of that. This is a subtle art and those are not subtle acts. Rather, because unless you are on guard you are going to say or do something that will give your opponent insight into your handling of the case. This is especially true, I emphasize, when you and opposing counsel do not know each other. I'm writing generally, I know, and so I will inform the generalities with specifics.

-A few months ago I went to hearing in a stupid civil matter. I had never handled this kind of thing before, didn't know the judge, didn't know plaintiff's counsel, who was a fine young attorney. I thought the first day of hearing had gone well for the home team, but what did I know? When I returned to my office I had an email from opposing counsel proposing settlement! Now I knew the hearing had gone well. My opponent had sent the email within an hour of the hearing's recess. We weren't to resume for another month. Timing: He should not have sent the email right after. What's the rush? It gave the appearance, and the appearance matched the reality in this instance, of something close to panic. If he had waited a week. The email was also specific about the terms of settlement. Like, in a criminal case, not just, "Hey, Mr. Ranck, let's talk," but "two years probation, a withhold, community service hours," blah-blah-blah. Clearly, he had gotten instruction from his supervisors on what to offer. I talked it over with my client and I decided not to even respond to the email.

-Many years ago and again within the last three or four years, the following occurred. In the remote case I was a prosecutor sitting in on a deposition by a defense attorney who I knew well; in the recent case, I was the defense attorney taking depositions. Although I had worked with the prosecutor well I had never heard of him previous to my retention in the case. Both were murder cases. Both depositions were conducted in opposing counsel's office. E's and F's, do not do that. In both depositions I saw stuff, tons of boxes, some labeled "Dr. Smith," "Dr. Jones," that tipped me off in the remote case that defense counsel was exploring earnestly a mental status defense, blow-up trial exhibits in the recent case--all of which I had no right to see when I saw them. Foot fault. Unforced error. Hold your depositions in a conference room. Don't bring your entire goddamned file. Bring what you need for the depo.

-Be careful how you act and react in deposition. Unrelated case: I'm deposing a witness in a civil matter in opposing counsel's office. Opposing counsel is relaxed, sitting back in a swivel chair as I ask the questions and his witness answers. All of a sudden the witness answers a question and opposing counsel bolts upright and begins feverishly writing on his yellow legal pad. In real time I didn't know what the hell was so important about what the witness had just said. I noted counsel's behavior and looked into it later and learned. Why do you take notes at all in a deposition? Isn't that what the court reporter is there for? Okay, you're going to take notes because in training someone told you to take notes. Fine. I always waited thirty seconds or a minute or so and then just scribbled carelessly on my legal pad. I knew that opposing counsel was watching me but he didn't know I was watching him watch me. I never reacted like a shot rang out from the grassy knoll and the president's head slumped onto Mrs. Kennedy. Be guarded in your body language. Never let 'em see you sweat.

That's all for now. See ya in four more years. Maybe.

The finest lawyer in the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office is, and for many years has been, Laura Adams.

"Implicit bias." Three hours in a union hall with no air conditioning. 800 people. Had the "implicit bias" baked out of them, they did.

She can't help herself.

Abrham Laeser

Boy. Almost a year without a post. There is a reason, or there are reasons, for that. (See previous post almost a year ago.)

A maxim to live by, or at least a maxim that I live by, is "It is good to have enemies." The world is not a moral monochrome. We would not recognize good unless there was also evil, nor white unless black.

For twenty-seven years in the Miami State Attorney's Office the one person I could count on always to be there for me as an enemy was Abraham Laeser. We were, as a colleague said to both of us once, "the yin and the yang" of the S.A.O:

     I refused to seek the death penalty as a homicide prosecutor; Laeser had a miniature electric chair-which did deliver a mild shock-on his desk.

     For many years I had a framed portrait of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. hanging on the wall in my office; for as long as I remember Laeser had a framed photograph of himself in shirt and tie standing in boxer shorts on the wall of his office...I never got that. And never asked.

     Laeser remains a revered figure in Miami legal circles; me, not so much.

I mocked Laeser to his face and disparaged him to others at every opportunity. And when there were no opportunities I created them. Besides our common humanity Laeser and I shared only mutual loathing.

I don't know what I would have done without him.

Yesterday I was on the New York Times, saw an editorial that I thought I would check out:

The Prosecutors Who Aim to Kill

The editorial cited to a study by Harvard Law School, http://fairpunishment.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/FPP-Top5Report_FINAL.pdf

AMERICA’S TOP FIVE DEADLIEST PROSECUTORS: How Overzealous Personalities Drive The Death Penalty

I didn't think he'd make the Top Five but I checked anyway. No...But close!

THE RUNNERS-UP

Our efforts to identify the top five deadliest prosecutors in America turned up
a small handful of prosecutors who failed to meet the threshold for the worst of
the worst, but who broke records in their own states or counties, and racked up
notoriously long records of misconduct. We have dubbed them “The Runners-Up” for
their overzealous and sometimes infamous pursuit of the death penalty.

#6 ABE LAESER, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA

Abe Laeser, who retired in 2009 as a prosecutor in Miami-Dade County, Florida,
narrowly missed the top five list. Laeser obtained at least 30 death sentences, more
than any other Florida prosecutor.135 He illegally withheld evidence from defense
lawyers in two capital trials;136 put a man on death row who suffered from paranoid
delusions and organic brain damage;137 and secured a death sentence for a mentally
disabled, non-triggerman who suffered from “child abuse, incest and neglect.”138
He also once seriously considered prosecuting a five-year-old child for murder.139
In a widely reported incident, he unzipped his fly in front of a defense attorney and
female jury consultant.140 Abe Laeser, like Britt, Macy and Myers, embodied the win at-all-costs,
personality-driven death penalty.

135 See Susannah A. Nesmith, Longtime Prosecutor Abe Laeser Retires From Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, Miami Herald, Apr. 30, 2009,
http://www.susannahnesmith.com/clips/Laeser.pdf.
136 See Smith v. State, 7 So.3d 473, 504 (Fl. 2009); Rodriguez v. State, 39 So. 3d 275, 287 (Fl. 2010).
137 See Connor v. State, 979 So.2d 852, 865 (Fl. 2007).
138 See Madeline Diaz, Attorney Asks Jury To Spare Caraballo, Sun Sentinel, Apr. 17, 2007, http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2007-04-17/
news/0704160281_1_victor-caraballo-death-penalty-ana-maria-angel; David Ovalle, Death Sentence For Defendant In Ana Maria
Angel Murder Is Overturned, Sun Sentinel Jun. 27, 2010, http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2010-06-24/news/fl-angel-death-sentencetossed-20100624_1_penalty-phase-death-penalty-death-sentence.
139 State Undecided On Whether To Whether To Charge 5-Year-Old, Lakeland Ledger, Mar. 15, 1986, 8B.
140 Luisa Yanez, Trial’s Prosecutor Demoted Assistant State Attorney For Gesture, Sun Sentinel, Apr. 27, 1990, http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1990-04-27/news/9001050125_1_trial-consultant-laeser-defense-team.

Boy. Almost a year without a post. There is a reason, or there are reasons, for that. This blog, whose purpose is accurately described by its name, was created so that I could relate my experiences with same. And I did, largely, in the beginning. As far as I know most of the same people are in the administration of the State Attorneys Office as were there six years ago. "As far as I know:" I don't really know, I don't follow it, I don't read the local media, my dealings for the last six years have been with the in-court prosecutors and my experiences with the administration quickly became dated. So I began to write of these latter-day experiences and to my exasperation PJ acquired the rosy-cheeked complexion of a cheerleader for the State Attorneys Office. That was not the intent either. However, I am not going to be critical of young attorneys and the truth is I have not experienced much with which to be critical! I decided to single out for mention here those who I deemed particularly praiseworthy.

The judges presented a slightly different variation on the problem of the rosy-cheeks. As with the prosecutors I singled out the exceptional for praise. In one instance however I had cause to pluck an arrow from my quiver and draw back my bow. I stayed my hand. I was concerned with repercussions. My criticism was one of incompetence, I reasoned, not corruption or other bad faith which, I reasoned, would have transmogrified the ability to speak out into a duty to speak out. I did not have that duty, I reasoned. And then there was the concern with repercussions.

Thus I have kept the complexion of Politics and Justice in Miami freshly scrubbed and fair as a maiden's. Which pisses me off. And thus no posts in almost a year. I have transmogrified PJ into an archive blog.

The above by way of explanation. Now, to the other subject of this post which I intend to be one of the last posts here. I write today to commend in the highest terms K. Philip Harte, Assistant State Attorney. I don't think I've ever dealt with a more impressive young lawyer. The young County Court prosecutors are inexperienced and overwhelmed. In the vast majority of cases when I approach them in court they don't know anything about the case, don't remember that we had communicated and quickly look in their box for the file to refresh a recollection they never had. In Mr. Harte's case, I had not communicated with him beforehand, never met him. I walked into court and went up to him as the first prosecutor who I made eye contact with, identified myself and gave my client's name. Mr. Harte knew all about the case, didn't even have to look in the box for the file, knew the facts, had read the file beforehand, and conveyed a thought-out plea offer. He was prepared in other words, Mr. Harte was prepared. And I was impressed. Amazed actually. Phil Harte seems to me a duty-driven lawyer. He is not going to let his office down, he is going to be prepared no matter how hard he has to work and his duty is to the prosecutor's ideal of doing justice in every single case. So, justice: Justice is part of the name of this blog and that is what I have written about today.

A Message From the State Attorney 

From	Katherine Fernandez Rundle katherinefernandezrundlenews@miamisao.com Oh! Unsubscribe. Duh. My bad. Done. Now if I keep getting them...pissed.

Why do I keep getting these things?

A Message From the State Attorney 

From	Katherine Fernandez Rundle katherinefernandezrundlenews@miamisao.com

The SAO newsletter. It harshes my mellow everytime I get one and I don't need my mellows harshed. It makes me harsh. FIERCE.

Two YEARS ago I sent Assistant State Attorney Karin Curtis this email.

Hi Karen,

Who is the head, or chief, of your office's Domestic Violence unit?  You were so great in the voir dire that you did in our case that I want to write to him/her commending you.

-David

We had started a trial and Karin really had done a terrific job in jury selection. Very thorough, had clearly thought it out, very professional, great jury presence. She never responded...Because I had misspelled her name as Karen, not Karin. Oh jeez. Two years later I have had another case with Ms. Curtis, this time in the Felony Division. She is the same terrific prosecutor, skilled, thorough, aggressive, fair. Represents the State's interests very well.

This thing was really bugging me so today I made inquiries. "I thought EXACTLY the same thing!" said one friend. "Statute of limitations? There's no statute of limitations on murder." I convinced that friend there was indeed at one time but not currently. Intrigued, he followed up with his own inquiries: Judge Pooler, Michael, Marie, and Peter hadn't all missed something, they were all very clear on the law here. Case law, I guess, has interpreted the 1996 change to be retroactive unless the s.o.l. under the old law had already run. So, for an unarmed, un-enhanced murder, such as Clifford Friend was convicted of, that happened in, say, 1988 when the s.o.l. was 4 years, commencement of prosecution in 1996 would mean that prosecution was d.o.a. But if, as in Friend's case, a 1994 murder, prosecution not commenced until this millennium, the old 4-year s.o.l. not expiring before the 1996 change, then the prosecution is grandfathered in under the new s.o.l. ? Yes, that is pretty convoluted. Yes, that is the law. As it was explained to me. So, an unqualified Poznan for Judge Pooler, Michael VonZamft, Marie Mato, and Peter Heller for understanding precisely that law.

This really bugs me. It just cannot be. Everyone would not have missed this.

Florida Statutes 775.15 (1994), the year Lynne Friend was murdered:

(1) A prosecution for a capital or life felony may be commenced at any time.
(2)(a) A prosecution for a felony of the first degree must be commenced within 4 years after it is committed.

(5) A prosecution is commenced when either an indictment or information is filed...

Clifford Friend was indicted for first degree murder on March 7, 2012. On July 11, 2014 the State filed an amended information. He was convicted the same day of second degree murder, "a first degree felony punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life..." (FS 782.04(2)).

FS 775.15 (1996) and thereafter:

(1) A prosecution for a capital felony, a life felony, or a felony that resulted in a death may be commenced at any time.(emphasis added)

The Murder Of Lynne Friend.

Congratulations to Michael Von Zamft and Marie Mato, the prosecutors, on the guilty verdict late last night in the Clifford Friend trial. Congratulations also, however, to defense attorney Peter Heller, for the conviction on Second Degree Murder means that Peter has walked his client. The statute of limitations at the time for Second Degree Murder was four years. 

A tribute today to Assistant State Attorney Andrew Edwards: An excellent prosecutor, always prepared, hard, hard worker, diligently represents the State's interests, a thinker; the man thinks. Another defense attorney said it better than I have today in court: "Judge, in law school we were told that the prosecutor is fair and does the right thing. Over the years I have come to question that but today he's proved it." That is the finest tribute I've ever heard paid a prosecutor. Andrew deserves it.

Hi Ms. Rundle! Thank you so much for this email. Yes! Yes! I want to keep getting your newsletter. Very nice of you, you're looking well.

Swine. 

On Jul 1, 2014, at 12:42 PM, Katherine Fernandez Rundle <katherinefernandezrundlenews@miamisao.com> wrote:

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

 

STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE  NEWSLETTER  Recently, Ralph Celestin, the leader of an Identity Theft Fraud and Income Tax Fraud Ring with at least 2500 victims was sent to prison after pleading guilty to varying white collar ID theft related charges. Celestin was using the personal identity information from his unsuspecting victims to file fake tax returns.   Upon executing a search warrant, the North Miami Beach Police Department found ID and income tax information stored in multiple handwritten ledgers which provided Celestin's fingerprints prints linking him to the crime.  Celestin was sentenced to a three year minimum mandatory sentence followed by ten years of reporting probation. Upon his initial surrender, he paid $80,000 in restitution that will be paid to the victims of his crimes and the Internal Revenue Service. Identity theft is not only one of the most frustrating crimes that out citizens have to confront, it is also one of the most frustrating crimes for us as prosecutors. This case shows that when investigators do all of the backbreaking case work needed to meet the requirements of our courts, police and prosecutors can get these slick new-wave thieves off of our streets. I remind you that our office, by way of our Community Outreach Division, can visit your company, community, or organization to conduct a presentation on Identity Theft Prevention. These presentations are offered free of charge and offer supremely valuable information. If you want to schedule one of these sessions, please call my office at 305-547-0724 to make arrangements.  Sincerely,        Human Trafficking Prosecution Yields 27 Year Sentence Samuel Lowry was sentenced to 27 years in prison as a habitual offender for pimping a 17 year old girl out of his drug den in Opa Locka in a Human Trafficking related prosecution. Lowry took advantage of his young victim by providing her with crack cocaine, to which she became addicted, and then selling her body for profit. The defendant was convicted of varying counts of Deriving Support from Prostitution, Unlawful Sexual Activity with a Minor, and Providing a Controlled Substance to a Minor.  Last October, Steve Sawyer, was sentenced to a 10 year prison term for his participation as a "john" in this same case. "Combatting Human Trafficking requires a variety of effective approaches. Charging and convicting the adults who profit by using our children for their own benefit is the foundation of our prosecution efforts," commented State Attorney Fernandez Rundle. "If you try to steal the futures of our children by betraying their trust, you will pay the consequences." Man Who Fled Country Brought Back to Face Charges Source: Miami-Dade Dept. of Corrections After being on the run for close to a decade, a man who nearly killed a Florida State Trooper in a fiery DUI crash in 1998 was extradited from Panama back to Miami to complete his original sentence and to face new additional charges. The state's case against Samuel Silva went to trial in February of 2001 and the Defendant was found guilty of DUI Serious Bodily Injury, DUI Injuries, and three counts of DUI Property Damage.   Silva appealed his conviction and asked for a Supersedeas Bond, (for defendant to be out on bond while appeal pending) a  motion that was granted.  The Third District Court affirmed the conviction in June of 2004 and the defendant was to surrender on June 29, 2004 but he never appeared. After Silva disappeared, the state filed charges of Failure to Appear While on Bond and was in contact with the U.S. Marshals Service to have the defendant extradited from wherever he was found.    Almost 10 years after disappearing, Silva was found in Panama with a false passport issued under a relative's name. He was quickly extradited back to the United States. The defendant is now in the custody of the State of Florida and is awaiting trial in October to face the new charges.   The trooper involved in the crash has undergone extensive surgeries and skin grafts and has since had to retire because of the extent of her injuries. State Attorney's Office Alumni Profile Miami-Dade Inspector General Mary Cagle Source: Miami-Dade County Mary Terpstra Cagle spent 22 years with the State Attorney's Office.  She loved the office and the work, believing it was always about justice and a commitment to fairness for all parties.  This is no surprise, given Mary's background. Her minister father taught Mary and her 6 siblings the value of service to the community and doing the right thing.  Mary attended Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  During her senior year of college, she was working full time at St John's Home for emotionally disturbed children as a supervisor and was planning to obtain a Master's Degree in Social Work.  One of her professors suggested to her that she should go to law school instead. Her father agreed, and it changed her future.  After graduating from Calvin College, Mary went to Thomas M. Cooley Law School, where she met her future husband, Peter Cagle.  After graduation, they both came to Miami where Peter was born and raised.  Mary was hired by Janet Reno and eventually became the head of the Public Corruption unit and later a Chief Assistant under Katherine Fernandez Rundle. When Florida decided to privatize the child welfare system, she was contacted by a search firm and asked if she would consider a position as Chief Executive Officer for CHARLEE HOMES FOR CHILDREN.  She had not sought the position. Mary initially told the recruiter that although she would meet and discuss his proposal, she really had no intention of leaving the SAO.  However, it was a natural progression given Mary's interest in child welfare and service ultimately leading her to accept the challenge. 3 ½ years later, newly appointed Secretary of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), Bob Butterworth, recruited Mary to revise how legal services were provided by DCF.  In 2007, Mary became the Director of Children's Legal Services for DCF where she supervised 256 lawyers and 200 support staff throughout the state.  She completely changed the way DCF delivered legal services by implementing a prosecution model where the lawyers were focused less on paperwork and bureaucracy and more on doing the right thing for the children they were serving. Relying on her history and experience with the SAO, she implemented a training program and established a recruiting program.   Butterworth gave her the authority to hire regional directors and she traveled throughout the state every week to oversee the newly formed operation.  Mary says that she looked back to her days at the State Attorney's Office and patterned many of her ideas for training and recruitment on those she saw effectively used at the SAO.  After seven years of travel and child advocacy she was again looking for a new challenge. In 2013, Mary applied for the position of Miami-Dade County Inspector General.   More than 100 applicants applied, and through a competitive process set by County Ordinance, she was selected as the Inspector General for Miami-Dade County by a 5 member Ad Hoc committee, chaired by Katherine Fernandez Rundle.  She has been the Inspector General since February of this year and is thoroughly enjoying the position.  In her words, it has been like "coming home".  Many of the people she now interacts with are members of the law enforcement community with whom she has spent a large portion of her career.  As Miami-Dade's Inspector General, Mary is charged with ferreting out and investigating fraud, waste and corruption and refers cases for prosecution to the State Attorney's Office.  Her years at the State Attorney's Office investigating and prosecuting public corruption made her a great fit for the position.    Mary and her husband Peter Cagle have 2 sons both of whom live locally. Mary says that Peter, a civil attorney, has always been supportive of her career while still pursuing his own. She feels blessed by the wonderful support she has received throughout her career, and the role models who helped her along the way.  Courthouse Highlights Assistant State Attorney's (ASAs) Chris Flanagan and Melissa Roca convicted a Habitual Violent Offender (HVO) and Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRRP) of Burglary/Occupied Dwelling and Grand Theft. ASAs Johanna Garcia and Kerrie Crockett from the Insurance Fraud Unit successfully prosecuted a case of Filing False and Fraudulent Insurance Claims. Assistant Chief in Career Criminal/Robbery Unit Melba Pearson and ASA Michelle Jones got a guilty verdict for Attempted Voluntary Manslaughter. ASA Melissa Roca and ASA Cristina Hurst won a guilty verdict for Felony Battery and False Imprisonment. ASA Derek Goldsmith and ASA Evan Gilead convicted a HO and PRRP for Aggravated Assault/Deadly Weapon. Sr. Trial Counsel Michael Von Zamft, ASA Ansley Peacock from the Organized Crime Unit, and Division Chief (DC) Alejandra Lopez won a conviction for a double homicide.    DC Tammy Forrest and ASA Scott Thailer won a conviction for 2nd Degree Murder/Firearm and Attempted/Voluntary Manslaughter before Judge Thomas. REPORT PUBLIC CORRUPTION !  Don't Allow the Public's Trust to be Jeopardized. Hotline: 305-547-3300 Quick Links State Attorney Victim Services Clerk of Court Miami-Dade Police  Grand Jury Reports Need the latest Grand Jury Report or any other Grand Jury Report dating back to 1965? Click Here Our Community Outreach Events July 1 - Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting, 9101 NW 25 Street, Miami, FL, 33172, 6:30PM - 8:30PM  July 11 - Educational, Safety, and Fun Day, Clubhouse Mandarin Lakes, 27450 SW 142 Avenue, Homestead, FL, 33032, 10:00AM - 2:00PM July 12 - Community Meeting with Church Leaders and Ministerial Alliance, Greater St. Paul AME Church, 3680 Thomas Avenue, Miami, FL, 33133, 7:30AM - 11:00PM July 16 - Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting, Miami Lakes NW Police Station, 5975 Miami Lakes Drive East, Miami Lakes, FL, 33014, 7:00PM - 9:00PM  July 19 - Family Day Party, Miami Dade College North Campus, 11380 NW 27 Avenue, Miami, FL, 33167, 10:30AM - 4:00PM July 24 - Sealing & Expungment Event, Second Baptist Church, 11111 Pinkston Avenue, Miami, FL, 33176, 4:00PM - 7:00PM  July 25 - Christmas in July, Miami Rescue Mission, 2020 NW 1 Avenue, Miami, FL, 33127, 9:30AM - 2:00PM July 26 - Jackson North Summer Health Fair, Jackson North Hospital, 160 NW 170 Street, North Miami Beach, FL, 33169, 10:00AM - 3:00PM July 31 - Veterans Job Fair, Miami VA Auditorium, 1201 NW 16 Street, Miami, FL, 33125, 8:30AM - 1:00PM Follow Me On To Receive Future Newsletters

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This is the first day in the history of mankind that readership on this little blog topped readership on my other little blog, Public Occurrences. 93-81 were the final numbers.

Another member. My goodness gracious. Melinda, thank you.

In memory of Lynne Friend.

Miami Assistant State Attorney Jarret McNeil: hard worker, fine lawyer, fine person. A poznan for Mr. McNeil.

The Murder of Lynne Friend.

When I learned that Clifford had strangled Lynne...I don't know how to describe what I felt; I had never felt it before: I felt "light," in the weight sense and I was in bright sunlight. Instantly, there was a specific setting and every time I have thought of the moment I have had this same setting pop into my head: I am looking down on a man, presumably myself, who is in a grass field in the country. He is facing toward me but I cannot make out his facial features. There is a big old tree with branches going every which way, like a fruit tree, off to the viewer's right, to the left of the man, myself also, I think, in the field. The sky is blue and the sun is shining, like on a summer's day in the country.

I do not have the foggiest idea what that imagery is about.

All of us who had ever worked on the case had wondered how Clifford had killed her. Of course, we considered strangulation. There was no blood anywhere: not in Clifford's house, not in Lynne's, not outside either of them, not on the boat. But strangulation was not the theory of choice. At least when I had the case, the theory was not that he had killed her in his house. The theory was that he had rendered her unconscious somehow at his house and that she was transported out to the ocean still alive. I remember there was a stun gun found up on some piece of furniture or something by the front door. I remember meeting with Rundle one time (one of the last times) and she said "Test the contact points of the stun gun for DNA." It wasn't a completely hare-brained idea but it was wrong, we had the contact points tested and there was no DNA.

Why wasn't strangulation the theory of choice? That's bloodless. Part of the reason was that we didn't see other evidence that we assumed we would see if it had been a strangulation: Clifford was photographed a few days after Lynne disappeared. His hands, front and back, and his forearms, front and back, were photographed, precisely because in a bloodless killing, strangulation is one of the first things that comes to mind. I can still see those photographs in my mind's eye. No scratches, I think there was one defect on one of his fingers, almost like a hangnail gone wild. We thought that Lynne would fight like a demon, I don't remember why we thought that, but we did, and we assumed strangulation equaled "struggle" and with a struggle Lynne would have scratched Clifford or marked him up somehow.Yet I have had two homicide cases, one as a prosecutor and one as a defense attorney, where strangulation was the manner of death and there were no scratches. In those cases also there were, like, bodies that could be examined, fingernail clippings that could be taken for DNA testing: There was no foreign DNA found under the fingernails in either case. I have never seen a body so free of external trauma as that of the strangulation victim in the case I tried as a defense attorney. So strangulation does not necessarily equal struggle. I knew, from countless meetings with Medical Examiners over the course of thirty years, that strangulation is an "inefficient" killing mechanism. The pressure has to be sustained, that is the key thing. If the struggling victim is able to relieve the pressure, even for a second or two, then the victim gets another gasp of air, the brain gets another dose of oxygen, and the killer pretty much has to start all over again. The period of sustained pressure does not have to be long but it has to be sustained. Strangling someone can be a physically exhausting experience (I'm told): Whitey Bulger. Bulger was experienced, strangulation was his murder method of choice. Took it out of Whitey, though. Had to go lay down on the floor afterward. Clifford was not a huge guy and Lynne weighed 135 pounds. We thought it would be a struggle for Clifford. He was not experienced as Bulger was. If the strangler reads the physical signs incorrectly, thinks the victim is dead when (s)he is not, well then you've got round two.

We thought Clifford was a p----. We didn't see him having the confidence in his physical capabilities to choose strangulation, we didn't think he would do it alone. We really didn't think he would do it alone. We thought he would have Allan Gold with him, at least as a backup. We thought maybe Gold, who was a big guy, might have killed Lynne as a favor for Clifford.

However, when I learned of strangulation as the manner of Lynne's death, I immediately thought of something else that might explain it: Did Clifford have some martial arts training? Not that I know of, but that was my thought. I thought that because I have a specific, though vague, memory that Christian, his son, took karate or something as a little boy. That wouldn't be unusual, the martial arts are wonderful exercise for a boy, they teach a skill. That's Christian, that's not Clifford. There are plenty of parents who take their children to karate who don't know the first thing about it. I know of nothing to indicate that Clifford knew any of the martial arts. Nearly the same with my client. Never had any martial arts training but knew one move: I forget what it's called but you put your forearm on the neck of the victim and clasp your other forearm with your hand. Your arms form like a square with your chest. Now squeeze. The pressure-forearm compresses the victim's windpipe. It's not physically exhausting to keep sustained pressure on the windpipe with that move and within seconds (it varies depending on how full the lungs are) the victim will be unconscious. Sustain the pressure a little longer, under a minute, and the victim will be dead. My client picked up that technique online. I had him, gently, demonstrate on me when I went to see him in the jail.

We did not think Clifford had the ice water in his veins to personally, physically, kill Lynne himself. Alone. We thought he was a p----. We didn't think he was Whitey Bulger. We were wrong. Apparently. Clifford called Gold only after the murder to help take the body out to the ocean. It was Gold who threw Lynne's body overboard. Tim Stellhorn saw Gold struggling to lift a heavy suitcase-like object onto the side of the go-fast and then push it overboard.

The Murder of Lynne Friend.

He strangled her. That was the manner of death. Clifford strangled her. Did it alone. Alan Gold involved only in disposal of body. Strangulation is a very personal, inefficient, intimate manner of death. Very cold.

I walked into court in Miami this morning to start a jury trial. I had been up since 6:30 working on the case. I had filed a dispositive motion which, after argument, was denied yesterday. Judge Teresa Pooler began by saying "Mr. Ranck, I hope I'm not the kind of judge that cannot admit when I'm wrong. After my ruling yesterday I reconsidered and I am going to grant your motion."  I think I clutched my heart. Extraordinary. Capital judge, there. Capital judge.