Des Moines, IA – An attorney for a former Iowa kosher slaughterhouse executive convicted of financial fraud says he’s “hopeful” Sholom Rubashkin will get a new trial.
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The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis heard arguments Wednesday. Attorney Guy Cook says the court took the case under advisement.
Rubashkin, a former Agriprocessors Inc. manager, was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to 27 years in prison. His arrest followed an immigration raid at the company’s Postville plant in 2008.
Rubashkin sought a new trial claiming Chief U.S. District Court Judge Linda Reade, who presided over his trial, couldn’t be impartial and should have recused herself because she participated in the planning of the raid.
Sean Berry, a spokesman with the U.S. attorney’s office, says prosecutors would not comment on Wednesday’s hearing.
Nathan Lewin, lead attorney for the Rubashkin defense team told VIN News in an exclusive interview that he thought that while he felt the judges in today’s hearing were open to his arguments, there is no way to know when or what they will decide.
“I told the court I would apply for bail for Rubashkin and I thought the judges were receptive and interested. You never know in a court of appeals what they are going to do. They can take as long as they want before they make any decisions.”
St. Louis lawyer Norman Pressman who also attended today’s hearing told VIN News that the lawyers for both sides presented strong cases which were well received by the three judges.
“It was an extremely well argued case and the court complimented both lawyers. Mr. Lewin did a superb job arguing a difficult case and he made some very good points, explaining why he thought his client was treated unfairly. While Mr. Lewin concentrated mostly on the recusal of Judge Reid, the court seemed to be more interested in the length of the sentence handed down in the case.”
“In many cases the court just listens to the attorneys present their arguments but the judges were very interested, read the briefs and asked numerous questions. Judge William J. Riley, who presided over the case, complimented both lawyers for doing an excellent job.”
To listen to the full court hearings click here (MP3 Audio)
lets hope 4 d best b”t
Things may turn out worse with another judge. Also I think they have the right to reopen the issue of illegals working there, including minors. I think if he wants to open the door to a new trial, they should open both doors, and let the chips fall where they may.
i hope he wins and goes home asap
We can only hope that the panel clearly saw the many inconsistencies in this case, especially compared to so many others. Not only that, but even the appearance of impropriety on the part of Judge Reade should have been enough to cause her to recuse herself. Hopefully, this will be the beginning of the turnaround for Rubashkin. He’s been through more than enough already.
To # Your a really nice guy!
He was never off the hook for the immigration charges. They didn’t bother with the expense of a trial because they knew the fraud charges would put him away for a long time and wouldn’t be worth the cost. But if he rocks the boat, they can absolutely be brought back.
And for those of you who think it’s nothing (or equate your cleaning women with those workers dismembering cows under those conditions), you’re crazy. Would you let your child work on the floor of a slaughterhouse without proper safety precautions? I don’t think so.
At any rate, what will happen will happen. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the time.
#2 - you sound like a very bitter person.
I just listened to the whole transcript. Both Lewin and the government lawyer were great. The final rebuttal by Lewin sounded to me very persuasive –
The judged seemd very concerned about the length of the trial – Im very optimistic there will be some good news from this – Hopefully it will be great news
A retrail is always good for the defendant – what didn’t work before don’t do again and the prosecution still has their same case – you kinda know their game plan
Does anyone here know if Judge Reade was indeed present at this appeal case?
And if yes was she one of the JUDGES who will decide this case? The reason i’m asking is because we hear 3 other judges in the give and take and not judge reade…..
Please advise…
Wow! How did they get the audio right after the session?
I’ve listened to Lewin’s argument twice and its fairly clear he did not make much of an impression on the issue that the judge was biased from pre-trial involvement and should have recused herself. When asked several times to provide any evidence of trial rulings that were biased as a result of her pre-trial activity, Lewin could NOT provide a single example. Instead, he said the recusal should have been automatic as a matter of law. However, his arguments on the length of sentence seemed to resonate with the court and they gave him an additional 5 minutes to address that point.
I’ve heard the court audio. Mr. Lewin was brilliant. The rest is up to Hashem. Let’s all daven for Mr. Rubashkin.
Mr. Levin was impressive. His wording well punctuated and his points maliciously articulated. His colleague, on the other hand, was just another decent lawyer. Very impressed, go Nat!