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Can we talk about the public flogging of Fani Willis…


Satchel

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18 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

At this point, how does Wade stay on as special prosecutor with the potential issues of him misusing his IOLTA to hide earned income from his wife in his divorce proceedings, and how that is tied to potential tax evasion? That is a pretty damning accusation from a variety of fronts. If any of that is true he is going to be tied up in all sorts of ethics probes and a liability during the proceedings.

To me, that is something that is much more tangible and black and white that may lead to a major delay in all of this instead of the continued grind back and forth about potential conflicts of interest, which now is a coin-flip based on trying to obfuscate something that most likely may have led to a simple admonishment by the court or some set of cursory additional guidelines to guarantee the autonomy of the special prosecutor due to their relationship.  

The other side is always going to go over everything looking for something to use to their advantage. This is standard procedure for major crime and civil cases now and it shouldn't be a shock to anyone. That is the job. You would be disappointed if your lawyers did not do everything in their power to make sure you did not get found guilty. 

The expectation is always going to be that the state should appear to be squeaky clean and the defense will look to do everything in its power to make sure that first, the case never makes it to trial, then second, to have the trial once started dismissed for any possible reason (either through legal brilliance or frivolous technicalities) and then third win the case on its merits in the courtroom, and then fourth appeal and drag out any guilty verdict as long as possible. Now there is enough smoke to have people question if the state is squeaky clean or if is there something else going on.  It might not be "fair" to put the system or the State on trial beforehand, but that is the world we live in. People want to blame Trump or the judge for entertaining this, but it looks like the first domino in all of this is Wade trying to screw over his now ex-wife in his divorce proceedings. If that is true, he is probably out as a special prosecutor and prepare for all sorts of delays and additional hearings over all of this to eat into the timeline.

Welcome to the big leagues.

Still the most Atlanta shit ever.

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13 minutes ago, Satchel said:

People want to blame Trump or the judge for entertaining this, but it looks like the first domino in all of this is Wade trying to screw over his now ex-wife in his divorce proceedings.

The "first domino in all of this" was Donald Trump trying to overturn a free and fair election. This trial doesn't exist without that action on his part. 

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10 hours ago, Reality Check said:

I never heard her say Cross was paid $250, but apparently that was the case. Floyd, however, was earning $150/hour. 

https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fani-willis-investigation-attorney-ashleigh-merchant-subpoenaed-by-senate-committee

I do appreciate you acknowledging this error.  We can disagree about lots of things but I think it is important to make sure we are all using the same facts.  Yes, Floyd earned $150/hr.  Merchant also states that Mr. Floyd "billed very little" and "has not billed anything in a while" (3:18-3:50) indicating that he was really not very involved at all, so his pay rate doesn't really seem to be a good comparison to someone hired to be a "case manager".  

Again, I don't disagree with you on the premise that they should have been more forthcoming, although I can definitely see why most people are not completely  forthcoming about their love lives, especially while getting divorced.  I do disagree that Wade's pay was out of line for the job that was contracted(since it was the same rate at another outside prosecutor), that there is any evidence of preferential treatment with his hiring (since she tried to hire multiple firms before and was turned down), nor that Wade spending money on his girlfriend in ways that all men spend money on their girlfriends in any way leads to a "conflict of interest" that would lead to a unfair trial for the defendants.  Therefore, disqualifying her on that basis is ridiculous.  If Willis lied under oath about accepting  some dinners and trips from her boyfriend, or if this violated some clause of her employment, then let the ethics board deal with that (and realize that the rule is being violated my many many other government and non-government employees who date coworkers on a daily basis).  

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By the time all of this is over, Terrence Bradley will be lucky if he can find a client who will hire him to help fight a parking ticket?

Quote

A new witness says she could testify that Fani Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade dates back to 2019 — and that he even had a garage door opener for their alleged love nest, according to a new court filing. 

Willis and Wade “definitely” had a romantic relationship during the time Willis was running for DA in 2019 through 2020, Wade’s loose-lipped former business partner and one-time attorney Terrence Bradley spilled to lawyer Manny Arora.

Any idea why he would clam up on the stand after telling so many of his fellow attorneys what had happened? Surely he realized they would impeach his testimony.
 

If McAfee doesn’t disqualify them, what are the chances he signs off on a pre-trial appeal of his decision?

https://nypost.com/2024/03/05/us-news/evidence-mounts-against-fani-willis-as-new-witness-unearthed/

 

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By the time all of this is over, Terrence Bradley will be lucky if he can find a client who will hire him to help fight a parking ticket?

A new witness says she could testify that Fani Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade dates back to 2019 — and that he even had a garage door opener for their alleged love nest, according to a new court filing. 

Willis and Wade “definitely” had a romantic relationship during the time Willis was running for DA in 2019 through 2020, Wade’s loose-lipped former business partner and one-time attorney Terrence Bradley spilled to lawyer Manny Arora.

Any idea why he would clam up on the stand after telling so many of his fellow attorneys what had happened? Surely he realized they would impeach his testimony.
 
If McAfee doesn’t disqualify them, what are the chances he signs off on a pre-trial appeal of his decision?
https://nypost.com/2024/03/05/us-news/evidence-mounts-against-fani-willis-as-new-witness-unearthed/
 

What do you mean by “signs off on a pre-trial appeal”?
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6 minutes ago, scottsins said:

Any idea why he would clam up on the stand after telling so many of his fellow attorneys what had happened? Surely he realized they would impeach his testimony.
 
If McAfee doesn’t disqualify them, what are the chances he signs off on a pre-trial appeal of his decision?
https://nypost.com/2024/03/05/us-news/evidence-mounts-against-fani-willis-as-new-witness-unearthed/
 

What do you mean by “signs off on a pre-trial appeal”?

I assume certifies the ruling for interlocutory appeal. 

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1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

I assume certifies the ruling for interlocutory appeal. 

Yes... my layman's attempt at will the pretrial motions be on hold until the appeals court takes a stab at it or will it have to wait for the verdict to come in and get tacked on to the other bajillion issues for the appellate court. 

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The biggest takeaway from this sordid mess has to do with Trump. Somebody should prepare him. He may have gotten by so far, but he won’t get away. Night’s coming.

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Posted (edited)

Sounds about right. 

 

Brings to mind advice from my first mentor when it was popular to try to disqualify counsel in patent cases: be real careful when you do that, they may turn around and get somebody good. 

Not sure Wade is a big loss here, although Fani may have trouble getting a replacement given all her shenanigans. I don't even know why there is a special prosecutor, she's supposed to be the RICO whiz. 

Edited by TwiceHorn
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2 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

250 an hour is not great?   

In terms of billed time, no. Paralegals sometimes bill at that level. But that generally assumes there is staff and overhead to pay for. If it all goes to him, then I guess not so bad. 

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Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

250 an hour is not great?   

For a lead  attorney on a high profile case where at least 3 other attorney have turned down cause of the death threats and BS involved??  Fuck no $250 isn't a great rate!     There was a movie in 1989 called War of the Roses where Danny Devito plays an attorney who talks about his  rate being $450/hr.  That was 35 years ago.  

Edited by Horn Dog
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18 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, a half mil a year is not so bad.

It may boil down to how easily you can rack up hours without office support. Like, if the DAs office does all the writing and filing, and all you need to do is "consult" or "attention to file" and talk to people on the phone, that might not be so bad. 

But yeah partner level attorneys in metros like Atlanta are getting at least 500, closer to 1000 in biglaw or specialized boutiques. 

I understand Wade to be mostly in PI and criminal defense, neither of which typically bill hourly, but you can be sure that he strives for an effective rate much better than 250/hour, which a colleague of mine once referred to as plumbers wages. And that was 10 years ago. 

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1 minute ago, TwiceHorn said:

It may boil down to how easily you can rack up hours without office support. Like, if the DAs office does all the writing and filing, and all you need to do is "consult" or "attention to file" and talk to people on the phone, that might not be so bad. 

But yeah partner level attorneys in metros like Atlanta are getting at least 500, closer to 1000 in biglaw or specialized boutiques. 

I understand Wade to be mostly in PI and criminal defense, neither of which typically bill hourly, but you can be sure that he strives for an effective rate much better than 250/hour, which a colleague of mine once referred to as plumbers wages. And that was 10 years ago. 

Big firms in Houston are well over $1,000 for partner level. And god forbid you look up the rates for named partners.

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1 minute ago, Dahobbs said:

Big firms in Houston are well over $1,000 for partner level. And god forbid you look up the rates for named partners.

I remember when the first Texas Big Law rates broke the $600 barrier (nearly 30 years ago).  One of the hot-shot senior partners (an amazing litigator) I knew commented "shit....I can't think of anything I'd pay ANYONE to do for $600 an hour where they got to keep their clothes on."

And yes, $250 an hour is pretty damned low.  Not "insurance defense hourly rate" low, but not far from it.

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8 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

I understand Wade to be mostly in PI and criminal defense, neither of which typically bill hourly, but you can be sure that he strives for an effective rate much better than 250/hour, which a colleague of mine once referred to as plumbers wages. And that was 10 years ago. 

Yeah, my plumber charges $220/hr.  He's good and fast, though.  So am I, and I charge less for engineering consulting.  Dammit.

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35 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

In terms of billed time, no. Paralegals sometimes bill at that level. But that generally assumes there is staff and overhead to pay for. If it all goes to him, then I guess not so bad. 

I bill $250 an hour as a paralegal! 

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12 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

Bush league mistake by the DA. Stupid unforced error. Sloppy as fuck.

Mediocrity will be the death of our experiment in democracy. 

Still the most Atlanta shit ever. Now, go get him Fani.

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Sounds about right. 

 

Brings to mind advice from my first mentor when it was popular to try to disqualify counsel in patent cases: be real careful when you do that, they may turn around and get somebody good. 

Not sure Wade is a big loss here, although Fani may have trouble getting a replacement given all her shenanigans. I don't even know why there is a special prosecutor, she's supposed to be the RICO whiz. 

At first glance appears to be judicial overreach:

 “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices -- even repeatedly -- and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”

Willis and Wade can be held accountable in another tribunal if need be.

Edited by SaucyJack
the court can make that referral
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2 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

 

It's actually terrifying to read so many rantings of completely insane morons when they're put together like that. These people are lost causes and should be rounded up and put into camps. I'd never say that about any other group, except maybe aggy. 

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7 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Yeah, my plumber charges $220/hr.  He's good and fast, though.  So am I, and I charge less for engineering consulting.  Dammit.

But will he come over between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. so you can cram his pipes into your drains?

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5 hours ago, Satchel said:

Still the most Atlanta shit ever. Now, go get him Fani.

She’s made herself the primary target for the state senate’s new DA Removal Task Force signed into law this week by Gov. Kemp. Not sure how quickly anything can get done in the legislature, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s gone — stemming from allegations of this affair, perjury, not prosecuting BLM protesters, and using the Feds’ anti-gang grant as a personal slush fund (whistleblowers’ claims) — before this ever goes to trial.

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1 hour ago, Hookah Horns said:

It's actually terrifying to read so many rantings of completely insane morons when they're put together like that. These people are lost causes and should be rounded up and put into camps. I'd never say that about any other group, except maybe aggy. 

I read all 23 pages and think McAfee did a great job of explaining what the limited case history in Georgia allows him to do and acting within those parameters. It’s a very thoughtful and well-researched ruling.

I think getting rid of Wade was probably essential because of the perception of a conflict. The sad thing is this should have been anticipated by Willis and Wade and when the whole matter was brought up he should have recused himself. The ignorance and arrogance to fabricate the “affair didn’t start until 2022” lie and she paid him in cash just dumped buckets of blood in the water for the sharks. Also, it brought Wade’s perjury in his interrogatories and abuse of the IOLTA into public light. He’s likely going to have to find another way to earn money for a few years without a bar card.

Finally, McAfee took her to task for her unprofessional conduct in court.

The big question now is does McAfee authorize the appeal of his decision before or after the trial. Not only do I believe he will — given the state’s expectation that this will take up two to three months of the court’s time for three trials, but because he’s crafted a connect the dots outline of his findings for the appellate court to finish the picture and disqualify Willis and the Fulton County DA’s office.

 

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3 hours ago, ChuckNorrisActionJeans said:

 Very little media focus on the charges that McAfee threw out --- is it correct that they were the ones relating to the phone call to Raffensperger, i.e., the crimes that should be easiest to prove??

Yes. I have some additional on it above. Seems the state inadequately alleged how the conduct solicited would have violated the oaths of office. 

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5 hours ago, SaucyJack said:

At first glance appears to be judicial overreach:

 “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices -- even repeatedly -- and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”

Willis and Wade can be held accountable in another tribunal if need be.

I think the judge highly suspected that it was bullshit as far as disqualification went, but felt he had to air it just in case. Sunlight being the best disinfectant and all. 

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5 minutes ago, Reality Check said:

I read all 23 pages and think McAfee did a great job of explaining what the limited case history in Georgia allows him to do and acting within those parameters. It’s a very thoughtful and well-researched ruling.

I think getting rid of Wade was probably essential because of the perception of a conflict. The sad thing is this should have been anticipated by Willis and Wade and when the whole matter was brought up he should have recused himself. The ignorance and arrogance to fabricate the “affair didn’t start until 2022” lie and she paid him in cash just dumped buckets of blood in the water for the sharks. Also, it brought Wade’s perjury in his interrogatories and abuse of the IOLTA into public light. He’s likely going to have to find another way to earn money for a few years without a bar card.

Finally, McAfee took her to task for her unprofessional conduct in court.

The big question now is does McAfee authorize the appeal of his decision before or after the trial. Not only do I believe he will — given the state’s expectation that this will take up two to three months of the court’s time for three trials, but because he’s crafted a connect the dots outline of his findings for the appellate court to finish the picture and disqualify Willis and the Fulton County DA’s office.

 

As read this, I am sure the Georgia GOP is getting ready to open their special prosecutor investigation of Fani’s perjury, and/or get the Georgia ODC to bring claims. No matter what, this is only the beginning, not the end.

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While Kemp has appointed a review board, right now it's entirely toothless, as the law was challenged in court and its proposed working rules are currently set aside.  Additionally, this law faces at least four other legal challenges before it can become implemented.  However, welcome to the latest and greatest right wing legal fantasy we are going to keep hearing about.  

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