Kendall Coffey on Crime and Punishment, Federal Law
“So what they appear to be exploring is disconnects between staff recommendations and decision making. That’s a significant road map, because they are curious to know if staff recommendations have been ignored. Public officials are not obligated to follow staff recommendations, but if you’re looking for a list of transactions which may have been subjected to external influences, that is a logical way to assemble the list.” “Not every grand jury investigation results in any indictments at all. So I don’t think we can usefully speculate about who may be in legal jeopardy. What we know is that it’s a serious matter, that it’s starting to take focus and the investigators hope to focus further by identifying any transactions opposed by staff.” “They’re not at the beginning. They’re not just getting started here, I think. But they’re not within weeks of decisions either.” – Kendall Coffey on the FBI’s investigation of the city/county Community Redevelopment Agency in Tallahassee
Kendall Coffey on Crime and Punishment, Criminal Law
“You’ve got testimony that he did it because they wouldn’t talk to them. That doesn’t sound like a sane move. But again, it’s not up to the prosecution to prove. It’s all on the defense to make that case. […] It leave the jury guessing and assuming that not guilty means not guilty. If you told the jury he’s going to spend the rest of his life in a mental institution, or some large number of double-digit years, that might make a difference.” ~ Miami-based attorney Kendall Coffey on the complicated court proceedings in the “American Sniper Trial.” Source: NBC News.
Kendall Coffey on Crime and Punishment, Criminal Law
~ Renown Miami Attorney, Kendall Coffey, discussing the shocking charges filed against New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on “The Steve Malzberg Show.” “It’s got to be a stunning thing for New Yorkers. This guy was the second most powerful person in state government after the governor. […] It was a pure, classic shakedown-extortion scheme is what is alleged here. Nothing terribly new — and to the tune of this guy getting $3 million over a period of some years.”
Kendall Coffey on Crime and Punishment, Criminal Law, Privilege
~ Kendall Coffey, on the NYC grand jury’s decision not to bring charges to Officer Daniel Pantaleo for the homicide of Eric Garner. “Sometimes you wonder if ‘probable cause’ is clearly explained. Because it is not the concept of ultimate guilt or innocence […] This video, and some of these circumstances that we know to be undeniable seem to establish probable cause. We know the chokehold, as it was just described, is a banned, prohibited practice. In effect, this officer knowingly used what amounted to prohibited and excessive force at the very time he began. There are also a group of officers, an obviously unarmed man, and then you add to that the component that he was repeatedly saying he can’t breathe, and yet the police action continued. […] But understanding why this grand jury found that there was no probable cause to charge him for anything is difficult to understand.” 2014 MSNCB Politics Nation with Rev. Al Sharpton Interview.
Kendall Coffey on Crime and Punishment, Criminal Law, Lawyers
“…I’m going to put my former prosecutor’s hat back on. Grand jurors swear that when they step into that room that they’re going to maintain grand jury secrecy. That’s the deal going in. There are a lot of law enforcement values for that. So my view is that is what everybody agreed to, that’s the law, that’s the oath the grand juries take and that covenant should not be set aside by a judge.” ~ Kendall Coffey on Spinning the Law with Steve Malzberg
