Posted on 05/23/2008 10:10:16 AM PDT by neverdem
A federal judge is forbidding the city from calling Mayor Bloomberg as a witness in its landmark suit against a gun salesman from Georgia.
At a hearing yesterday, the judge, Jack Weinstein of U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, explained his decision to keep the mayor off the witness stand by saying, "I'm not going to turn the case into a media circus for either side," according to a partial transcript.
A jury will be picked next week to hear the city's claim that a store owned by the gun dealer, Jay Wallace, sold a disproportionate number of the guns that have been recovered in crimes committed in New York City. Mr. Wallace's store, Adventure Outdoors, is one of 27 out-of-state gun dealers sued by the city, and the first of three expected to go to trail. The suits have been a central part of Mr. Bloomberg's anti-gun campaign.
The city had intended to call Mr. Bloomberg as a witness to discuss gun violence in the city. Judge Weinstein suggested that lower-ranking city officials could testify about that...
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
an LBJ Judge
Weinstein, Jack Bertrand
Born 1921 in Wichita, KS
Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of New York
Nominated by Lyndon B. Johnson on January 16, 1967, to a seat vacated by Leo R. Rayfiel; Confirmed by the Senate on April 14, 1967, and received commission on April 15, 1967. Served as chief judge, 1980-1988. Assumed senior status on March 1, 1993.
Education:
Brooklyn College, B.A., 1943
Columbia Law School, LL.B., 1948
Professional Career:
U.S. Navy Lieutenant, 1943-1946
Lecturer, Columbia University, 1948-1949
Law clerk, Hon. Stanley Fuld, New York State Court of Appeals, 1949-1950
Private practice, New York City, 1950-1952
Faculty, Columbia University Law School, 1952-1967
Professor of law, 1956-1967
Adjunct professor, 1967-1998
County attorney, Nassau County, New York, 1955-1957
Adjunct professor, Brooklyn Law School, 1987-present
Race or Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
I’ve had cases before Jack Weinstein for minority applicants involving ballot access. They we’re all liberal based approaches to the law. Lost one ... won one. Weinstein is the senior judge in EDNY and he is exceptionally fair. He certainly indicated that by not allowing Mayor Bloomberg to testify. Weinstein has specialized in product liability cases that have been exceptionally technical in nature. He is highly interested in the facts and doesn’t stand for any non-sense. This trial will last a week at most...he moves very quickly. The biggest problem the defendants in this case face is not Judge Weinstein, but the juries in the EDNY. Most of these people (who come from Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties) are highly infected with the disease of liberalism as dispensed by the schools they’ve attended and the New York media (Newspapers, TV, and Radio) and will mostly decide this case on the basis of emotion and neither the facts or the law. However, their decision can be reverved by the district judge, Weinstein, and most likely will be reversed at the 2nd Circuit or the Sup Ct. I think NYC wants this heard before the DC decision comes out because even a stupid jury reads newspapers and watches TV even though they’re told not to, and if the decision is favorable (reversing the DC gun laws) then they most likely decide the case against NYC. The same hold true for the circuit who will most likely follow the lead of the Court in the DC matter if it has spoken. Bloomie is shooting to be Obama’s VP. He, like Romney figures, correctly, that Obama is tapped out, as is McCain, and since he is a multi-billionaire he can drop a hundred million or so on his campaign, which is also Obama’s. Bloomie can also bring the all important Jewish vote back to the Democrats which even after last evenings appearance at the Shul in Boca, Obama knows he needs to mend fences there more than he can do on his own. Only Bloomie will run with Obama. Which means that Obama’s choice of either Richardson or Bayh or a red state Democrat Governor or Senator will have to be abandoned for a Blue state Mayor with a stripped party past (Democrat then Republican then Independent) in order to finance his campaign and pull the party back together again. Bloomberg also ensures that Hillary will fall in line with Obama’s candidacy and not pull any funny stuff because he has enough cash and influence in New York to kick her butt out of the Senate. So look for an Obama-Bloomberg ticket.
Obama - Bloomberg.. Ouch..
My take on his not letting Bloomberg testify, is that he does not want to expose him in the upcoming lawsuit against him, and he does not want to embarrass him in sworn testimony.
A jury will be picked next week to hear the city's claim that a store owned by the gun dealer, Jay Wallace, sold a disproportionate number of the guns that have been recovered in crimes committed in New York City.
Uh .... something is missing in the above. The word ..... ILLEGALLY.
From what's written, NYC and Bloomie may as well sue GM because Mexican criminals *disproportionately* prefer Chevys and Pimps *disproportionately* prefer Cadillacs. Now how far would that lawsuit get.
Also, is it not possible that if he were on the stand, under oath, that the defendant’s attorney could cause Bloomberg to make statements that would tend to criminally implicate him in a conspiracy to make straw man purchases in a variety of jurisdictions? And, if that’s the case, wouldn’t Bloomberg’s only alternative be to plead the 5th, thus discrediting himself and the case in general?
This way Bloomberg gets credibility for _trying_ to testify, but has been protected from the negative consequences by being prohibited.
Just a thought.
This judge did Bloomberg a favor. The last thing a politician like him wants to is to be subject to cross-examination under oath.
. bkmark
http://bloombergfightbackfund.com/
To all who will listen and take the time to understand. There are people in this world who feel it’s their responsibility to protect you from yourself, by viewing you only as part of a group, with out consideration of you as an individual. I’ve always understood, a person’s rights end at the end of another’s nose. A thief lurks in the shadows awaiting the time to strike. A honest man faces another and speaks his mind. I have lived my life as my father taught me. To be up front in all I do and to learn my limitations as well as my strengths. I have not asked to be in this arena. In fact,I have been cast into it. I am just one person who has for the last 31 years in business tried to be the best individual person and business man I know how to be. I understand the months ahead will be long and stressful, but I promise, with Gods help, I will prevail.
Jay Wallace
President
Adventure Outdoors
Contact: jaywallace@advout.com
May 22, 2008 Update
It’s late and we have been talking with our legal council for the last few hours. I will post more on what happened today in the morning. The biggest decision made today by Judge Weinstein was not letting Mayor Bloomberg take the stand. The Mayor accuses me of breaking Federal Laws and I don’t get to face my accuser. I’m not going to get a jury trial and the Judge compared me to the Taliban. “If we were trying a Guantanamo incarceration, I certainly wouldn’t allow anybody to call the president in,” Judge Weinstein said. “We’d have the people in charge of Guantanamo and their superiors.”
What a couple of days!
“So look for an Obama-Bloomberg ticket.”
TWO reasons to vote for John McCain.
ping
Thanks for the info, link & email addy.
Thanks for the ping Larry!
If there was a post #22, I'd be more than happy to. :-P
LOL!
Bloomberg and McCain are good friends.
Bloomberg would never run against McCain.
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