Take the Witness: The Experts Speak on Cross-Examination

Price: $95.00 600 pages. 1 Hardcover Volume. Published January 2006.
ISBN-13: 978-1-929446-71-1

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Table of Contents

About the Book:
This volume is designed for educating lawyers who are starting their trial practice and by suggesting to seasoned ones more effective approaches. But all of who are acquainted with the drama of the courtroom, from theater, films and Court TV, and reading the words of the experts and the stories of their triumphs (and sometimes disappointments) Take the Witness makes for entertaining and stimulating reading for laymen and lawyers alike.

Praise For Take The Witness

“Real trial lawyers know that there is no single path to the most effective cross-examination. This educational and entertaining work proves the point by not offering a set formula... Lawyers will learn much from this book and non-lawyers who are curious about the trial process will return to it again and again.”
- Barry Scheck, Past President of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), DNA Expert, Law Professor and Co-Founder of The Innocence Project.

“Over a century ago, Professor John H. Wigmore wrote that cross-examination "is beyond any doubt the greatest legal engine ever invented for the discovery of truth." The outcome of trials routinely turns upon the effectiveness of cross... Take the Witness is a gem - full of tactical pointers on the art of cross-examination and, at the same time, a highly entertaining read for the lawyer and non-lawyer alike.”
- John M. Walker, Jr., Chief Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This is a book for lawyers, true. But all of us are acquainted with the drama of the courtroom, from theater, films and Court TV, and reading the words of the experts and the stories of their triumphs (and sometimes disappointments) makes for entertaining and stimulating reading for laymen and lawyers alike.”
- Geraldo Rivera, Lawyer and Journalist

About the Editors:
Lawrence W. Newman is a partner in the Litigation Department of the New York office of Baker & McKenzie. Prior to joining Baker & McKenzie he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he specialized in the prosecution of securities fraud and stock market manipulation cases.

His practice focuses on international litigation and arbitration – disputes involving foreign transactions, foreign parties, foreign languages and, frequently, foreign law. He is perennially listed in directories such as Chambers as one of the leading practitioners in international arbitration.

Following the revolution in Iran in 1979, Mr. Newman and his colleagues represented claimants before the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, before which Mr. Newman and his colleagues represented clients with the largest number of such claims of any law firm in the world. Mr. Newman was for many years the Chairman of the United States Iranian Claimants Committee, a national group of law firms representing companies with claims against the government of Iran.

Rikki Klieman has been an Anchor at the Courtroom Television Network since 1994 covering hundreds of trials from around the country. She has also been a Legal Analyst for NBC’s Today Show as well E! Network’s coverage of the Michael Jackson Trial.

She was a federal law clerk, a prosecutor, a criminal defense attorney and civil litigator for some 30 years. In 1983, she was named one of the top five female trial lawyers in the country by Time magazine. She remains Of Counsel to the Boston law firm of Klieman, Lyons, Schindler and Gross.

Ms. Klieman has taught at most major trial advocacy institutes in America. She also became an Adjunct Professor at Boston University School of Law from 1986 to 1994 and at Columbia University Law School from 1996 to 2003.

She served on the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Supreme Court on the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Board of Visitors of Boston University School of Law and the American Bar Association’s National Conference of Lawyers and Representatives of the Media. She currently serves on the Council of 100 – a mentoring organization of outstanding alumnae for the benefit of collegiate women at Northwestern University.

About the Contributors:

Elkan Abramowitz, is a principal of the firm of Morvillo, Abramowitz, Grand, Iason & Silberberg, P.C., a 40-lawyer firm which specializes in litigation. After graduating from Brown University in 1961 and NYU Law School in 1964, he clerked for the Honorable Inzer B. Wyatt, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. From 1966 to 1970, he was an Assistant United States Attorney in the office of Robert M. Morgenthau, then the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. In 1970, he left the United States Attorney’s Office to become an Assistant to Mr. Morgenthau when he held the post of Deputy Mayor.

Later in 1970, Mr. Abramowitz served as special counsel to the Select Committee for the United States House of Representatives. From 1976-1977, he served as Chief of the Criminal Division for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York under Robert B. Fiske. In 1990, he was appointed Special Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Investigation for the City of New York to investigate the stock transfer by Mayor David Dinkins to his son. In June, 1992, he was selected by Justice Thomas B. Galligan to serve as Counsel to the Special Master in the garment center antitrust case, People v. Gambino, et al.

In addition to his regular bi-monthly New York Law Journal column on white collar crime, he has served on the Federal Courts, Ethics and Judiciary Committees of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. He is a member of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

Michael F. Armstrong is a partner at the New York City law firm, Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman LLP. His trial experience, during more than 40 years of practicing law, has been gathered in both civil and criminal cases.

On the criminal side, Mr. Armstrong spent his earlier years as a prosecutor – Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he was Chief of the Securities Fraud Unit; Chief Counsel to the Knapp Commission, investing police corruption in New York City; and District Attorney for Queens County, New York.

Since his days as a prosecutor, Mr. Armstrong has spent much of his time representing defendants in white collar cases, as well as conducting corporate investigations into allegations of white collar wrongdoing.

F. Lee Bailey is known as a top defense lawyer, whose highly publicized cases included those of Dr. Samuel Sheppard, the Boston Strangler, and Patricia Hearst. On top of his endeavors as a defense attorney Mr. Bailey is also a best-selling author whose books include The Defense Never Rests; For the Defense; and Cleared for the Approach, among other legal volumes. Other successes include a broad career in business where he is President of many companies. A respected lecturer, Mr. Bailey has participated in over 2,500 events with universities, community groups, and television shows including Good Company, Good Morning America, and diverse ABC Network shows. Mr. Bailey has also been the host of The Enemy Within, RKO syndicated, and Lie Detector, Columbia Syndicated Television.

Jacalyn F. Barnett is a member of the bar in New York State and U.S. District court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Jacalyn’s office is located in Manhattan where she concentrates her legal practice in the areas of divorce, separation, custody and paternity issues. She is a frequent legal commentator on Court-TV, Fox News and MSNBC. She has appeared as a guest on such diverse television shows as ABC Eyewitness News, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Morning News, John Walsh Show, CNBC Smart Money, CNBC Today’s Business, The Big Idea on Donny Deutsch and Extra Magazine. Ms. Barnett has been cited regularly in numerous periodicals and newspapers such as The New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Crain’s New York Business, Wall Street Journal, Brides magazine, Forbes, Harper’s Bazaar, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Manhattan Lawyer, Time magazine, USA Today, and Vogue magazine. She was selected for Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40”. She has served as a legal consultant to Salomon Smith Barney on “Women in Transition,” a nationwide educational program offering financial advice to women involved in divorce or widowhood.

Paul A. Batista is a civil and criminal litigator located in New York, New York. Mr. Batista’s accomplishments include being a guest commentator for Court TV, 1996-, as well as an author for many publications including the Civil RICO Practice Manual, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1997; “Defending Corporate Criminal Cases,” The New York Times Op-Ed Page, January 11, 1988; “RICO and the Courts,” Editorial Page, The Wall Street Journal, March, 1985; “Defenses to RICO,” The National Law Journal, pg. 15, June 8, 1987; “The SEC on Trial: New Restraints on Injunctions,” The New York Law Journal, pg. 1, March 25, 1985; “Confronting Foreign Blocking Legislation: A Guide to Securing Disclosure from Non-Resident Parties to American Litigation,” 17 The International Lawyer 61, 1983; “U.S. Law vs. Europe's,” The New York Times, Op-Ed Page, October, 1982; “Counsel Fees in Derivative Litigation,” 11 Securities Regulation Law Journal 153, 1983; “The Uses and Misuses of RICO in Civil Litigation,” 8 Delaware Journal of Corporate Law 181, 1983.

Benjamin Brafman is the principal of a five-lawyer firm Brafman & Associates, P.C. located in Manhattan. Mr. Brafman’s firm specializes in criminal law with an emphasis on White Collar criminal defense.

Mr. Brafman, a former Assistant District Attorney in the Rackets Bureau of the New York County District Attorney’s Office, has been in private practice since 1980. He received his law degree from Ohio Northern University, in 1974, graduating with Distinction and serving as Manuscript Editor of The Law Review. He went on to earn a Masters of Law Degree (LL.M.) in Criminal Justice from New York University Law School. Mr. Brafman is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers and in 1997, was selected by New York magazine as the “Best Criminal Defense Lawyer in New York.” He was also the recipient of the “Outstanding Private Criminal Defense Practitioner Award” for 2005 from the New York State Bar Association.

Mr. Brafman, together with Johnnie Cochran successfully represented Sean “P. Diddy” Combs on bribery and weapons charges in New York and has represented a wide range of high-profile celebrities, business leaders and professionals in major criminal cases throughout the country.

Mr. Brafman is a frequent lecturer and panelist on criminal defense issues sponsored by the United States District Courts in New York; the Association of the Bar for the City of New York; the New York County Lawyers’ Association and many other local and national criminal defense organizations.

J. W. Carney, Jr. is a criminal defense attorney with the Boston firm of Carney & Bassil. He was a public defender in Boston for five years, and thereafter an assistant district attorney in Cambridge for the next five years. He founded Carney & Bassil with Janice Bassil in 1989.

Mr. Carney is a contributing author to the treatise Massachusetts Criminal Practice, and is a co-editor with two judges of Massachusetts Evidence: A Courtroom Reference. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a Board Certified Criminal Law Trial Advocate, has been listed in the current edition of The Best Lawyers in America, and was named one of the top six criminal defense attorneys in Massachusetts by Boston magazine.

Mr. Carney has been a member of the Massachusetts Judicial Nominating Commission for ten years, is Co-Chair of the Lawyers’ Assistance Strike Force of the Mass. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, is a former officer of the Boston Bar Association, and is on the Board of Directors of The Women’s Lunch Place, a Boston shelter for homeless and poor women. He received his B.A. in 1975 from Holy Cross College, and his J.D. in 1978 from Boston College Law School, where he has served as President of the Alumni Association.

David M. Dorsen graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. In addition to his years in private practice, Dorsen spent five years as Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York under Robert M. Morgenthau. He was Assistant Chief Counsel of the Senate Watergate Committee under Senator Sam Ervin.

Dorsen’s trials include, in addition to many while an Assistant U.S. Attorney, the libel case brought by General William C. Westmoreland against CBS and Mike Wallace (where he was co-counsel to General Westmoreland) and a libel suit brought by Maxie Wells, a secretary at the Democratic National Committee in 1972, against G. Gordon Liddy (where he represented Wells). He was also lead trial counsel in a class-action sex-discrimination case where he represented 325 women employees of the Government Printing Office and secured a judgment for them against the GPO of over $20 million. Dorsen has also represented John Dean and Maureen Dean in a libel case and the Hunt brothers during the silver meltdown.

Dorsen has been a visiting lecturer at the Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy at Duke University and an Adjunct Professor at both the Georgetown Law Center and George Washington University Law School, where he taught Evidence. He currently is Of Counsel to the law firm of Wallace, King, Domike & Branson, PLLC, in Washington, DC.

James M. Doyle, a veteran litigator, has written extensively on the issues of eyewitness identification testimony in criminal cases. His general audience non-fiction book, True Witness: Cops, Courts, Science, and the Battle Against Misidentification, a history of scientific psychology’s 100 year battle to make its findings on eyewitness memory heard in the legal system was recently published by Palgrave MacMillan. His treatise for lawyers, Eyewitness Testimony: Civil and Criminal (co-authored with Elizabeth Loftus) is currently in its third edition. He was a member of the United States Department of Justice Technical Working Group which published Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement. Mr. Doyle has also published scholarly and practice-oriented articles on evidence, capital punishment, and race.

He graduated from Trinity College and Northwestern University School of Law. Following graduation from Northwestern he was awarded an E. Barrett Prettyman/LEAA Fellowship for an advanced course of study in criminal law and trial advocacy at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. After the completion of the Prettyman Program, Mr. Doyle was awarded an LL.M. degree with a Certificate in Trial Advocacy from Georgetown in 1979.

Mr. Doyle has defended murder and other serious felony cases in the District of Columbia, as a volunteer lawyer in death penalty cases, and as the head Public Defender in Massachusetts. His current practice with the Boston law firm of Carney & Bassil (of counsel) focuses on trial and appellate advocacy in criminal and civil rights cases. He frequently lectures to legal groups across the United States on the topic of trial advocacy.

Sheldon Elsen, a senior partner of Orans, Elsen & Lupert LLP, has served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a former Vice President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, a member of the American Law Institute, and an Adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, where for many years he has taught seminars in litigation and trial practice. Earlier years included Princeton, Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, Teaching Fellow at Harvard, Military Intelligence in Berlin, JAG Reservist, and Harvard Law School.

His practice is all litigation: corporate, securities, international, and white collar defense. He argued the leading Supreme Court perjury case, Bronston v. U.S., has published widely, was cited by the Supreme Court in Miranda for law review article on police interrogation, and in other cases for positions on RICO and securities arbitration.

Public service during NY fiscal crisis, as Chief Counsel to Moreland Act Commission appointed by Governor Carey on UDC and other public authorities; also chaired a comparable project for New York City in late eighties.

Mr. Elsen has sppeared frequently before Senate and House Committees for NYC Bar Association, and has served as hearing panel chair on lawyers’ disciplinary cases for Appellate Division, NYC.

Peter Fleming is head of the Litigation Department. He joined the Firm in 1970. That same year he served as Special Counsel for the Select Committee on Crime of the House of Representatives. Previously, Mr. Fleming was an assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York, and then Executive Assistant to the U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York, Robert Morgenthau.

In 1992 he was appointed Temporary Special Independent Counsel to Senators Mitchell and Dole, the majority and minority leaders, to investigate the unauthorized dissemination of confidential information during the hearing on the nomination of Clarence Thomas as Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Gilbert Gray, QC is an eminent practitioner in London and the North East and abroad, Mr. Gray specializes in serious crime, commercial fraud, general advocacy, licensing, planning and tribunals. His record includes many hundreds of murder trials as well as fraud trials involving corruption; solicitors’ mortgage offences; shipping fraud, insurance fraud (scuttling). VAT and Inland Revenue, recently represented the defendant in the longest building fraud case to be heard in Winchester (Hayward - acquitted). Mr. Gray has also been involved in cases of international law (regarding Official Secrets Act, terrorism and international sanctions disputes including Matrix Churchill and the Cyprus Spy Trial) and planning (General development, Port Oil installations), numerous public inquiries, New Coalfields (Selby, Vale of Belvoir), Potash Mines, Airport Extension (Leeds), Bridlington Marina Inquiry.

Notable cases include the Birmingham bombing; Matrix Churchill; Cyprus Spy Trial; Black Panther; Hindawi (bomb on aircraft); Brinks Mat M25 case; John Poulson; Don Revie v. FA; Handless Corpse (Lancaster); Spy Catcher (Peter Wright); Lord Kagan; Herald of Free Enterprise; and The Pescado (sinking of fishing trawler).

Mr. Gray graduated with the degree of LLB (Hons) from President Leeds University Union, and was Called in 1953 and QC since 1971. Since 1972 he has been a Recorder of the Crown Courts and has regularly sat at the Central Criminal Court as one of the most senior Recorders.

Eddie Hayes, Shanty Irish to the core — Trouble is my business.

Lawrence Hochheiser, born in 1941, is the Senior Partner of HOCHHEISER & HOCHHEISER, LLP, located in New York City’s midtown Manhattan. He graduated from NYU Law School in 1966, where he was a member of the Law Review.

Mr. Hochheiser served as Assistant District Attorney in New York County from 1967 to 1971, specializing in the investigation and prosecution of organized crime cases in the office’s famed Rackets Bureau.

He is a frequent speaker on criminal law subjects for diverse organizations including bar associations, law schools, and law enforcement.

Mr. Hochheiser, former President of the New York Criminal Bar Association, was honored at its 2005 Annual Dinner “For excellence in the practice of criminal law, maintenance of the profession’s highest standards and his untiring work in support of the criminal practitioner.”

Mr. Hochheiser is listed as one of the New York area’s “Best Lawyers” in the August ’05 issue of New York magazine – www.bestlawyers.com. Over his long and distinguished career as a prosecutor and as a leading criminal defense attorney in New York City, Mr. Hochheiser has tried hundreds of criminal cases. While many were infamous murders, he is also well known for his work on white collar matters involving doctors, attorneys, accountants and other professionals accused of economic crimes.

Albert J. Krieger (MDH) is a member Of Counsel at the Law Offices of Scott A. Srebnick where he specializes in Criminal Trial and Appellate Practice. Mr. Krieger’s legal record includes being the recipient of many awards including: Outstanding Practitioner, Criminal Justice Section, New York State Bar Association, 1977; Fifth Annual Award for Significant Contributions to the Criminal Justice System, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, 1981; Criminal Law Committee Commendation, Chicago Bar Association, 1984; Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1987; Robert C. Heeney Memorial Award, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1995; and the C. Clyde Atkins Civil Liberties Award, ACLU of Florida, Inc., Greater Miami Chapter, 2001. Mr. Krieger is a faculty member with the Board of Regents, National Criminal Defense College, Mercer Law School, 1985, and also Of Counsel to Law Offices of Susan W. Van Dusen)

Mr. Krieger received his B.A. (1945) and LL.B (1949) from New York University. He is a member of the American Bar Association (Past-Chair, House of Delegates; Criminal Justice Section Council); State Bar of New York; State Bar of Michigan; The Florida Bar; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (President, 1979-1980); and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He is also a member of the ABA.

Marc M. Levey, a partner in the New York office of Baker & McKenzie, LLP, has over 25 years of experience in international taxation, particularly structuring and defending transfer pricing strategies administratively and in the federal courts. He has also successfully negotiated conclusions to numerous IRS tax audits, appeals controversies, FastTrack Appeals, Competent Authority matters and Advance Pricing Agreements.

He previously served as Tax Attorney with the International Tax Ruling Group of the National Office of the IRS from 1975 to 1977, as Senior Trial Attorney with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 1977 to 1981, and the Special Attorney to the Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice in 1982. He has been a featured speaker at numerous international tax seminars throughout the world, editor and author of tax treatises “U.S. Taxation of Foreign Controlled Business,” co-authored “International Transfer Pricing OECD Guidelines,” Warren Gorman Lamont treatises, “Transfer Pricing: Rules, Compliance and Controversy,” CCH Incorporated (“CCH”). Mr. Levey has been routinely selected the “Best of the Best” and “Leading World Transfer Pricing Expert” among international tax lawyers by Euromoney Legal Media Group and International Tax Review. He is included in various Who’s Who’s Publications, the “Best Lawyers in America” and New York magazine’s “New York Area’s Best Lawyers.” He also received an award for “Outstanding Trial Attorney” during his tenure at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Mr. Levey was educated at Wilkes University (BS Economics and Accounting, 1969); University of Cincinnati College of Law (J.D. 1972); and University of Miami Law School (L.L.M. Taxation, with Honors, 1973). He is also a member of New York, California, District of Columbia, Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Gary P. Naftalis is a co-chair of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, where he heads the firm’s extensive litigation practice.

One of the nation’s leading trial lawyers, he represents individuals and corporations in complex civil, criminal, and regulatory matters including those involving allegations of insider trading, market manipulation, accounting irregularities and other financial fraud.

He recently successfully defended Michael Eisner, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, in the shareholders derivative lawsuit relating to the hiring and termination of Michael Ovitz. After a 37 day trial in the Delaware Chancery Court, Mr. Eisner and the other Disney Directors prevailed on all counts.

During his 30+ year career, he has successfully represented numerous securities industry clients, including Salomon Brothers in the investigation of U.S. Treasury auction bidding practices, Kidder, Peabody in the Wall Street insider trading probe, and Canary Capital Partners in the mutual fund inquiries. He has been counsel for significant figures and entities in the investigations and litigations concerning corporate accounting irregularities including the recent successful representation of the Chairman and Founder of Global Crossing.

Mr. Naftalis is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Mr. Naftalis was a member of the faculty at Columbia and Harvard Law Schools. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles including the leading work on the grand jury system: The Grand Jury: An Institution on Trial (with Judge Marvin E. Frankel).

David Roger is the elected District Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to becoming the chief prosecutor, David was a Chief Deputy District Attorney assigned to the Major Violators Unit where he prosecuted murder cases. He began working for the Clark County DA’s office, in 1987, after graduating from California Western School of Law. David is a past president of the Nevada District Attorneys Association.

Paul K. Rooney is an experienced trial lawyer, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, and a long-time white-collar criminal defense attorney. He has represented corporations and individuals in about 90 trials in the federal and New York State courts.

As a federal prosecutor, his most notable trials included U.S. v. Carmine DeSapio, a case involving municipal corruption, and U.S. v. Samuel Berger, a case involving bribery at the Teamsters’ Central States Pension Fund, then run by Jimmy Hoffa.

Since leaving the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he has represented at trial a variety of defendants, including those prosecuted for tax, securities, bank, and Medicaid fraud. Also, he has represented clients in major investigations, as well as clergy and doctors accused of various violations.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Steve Sadow Criminal Defense & Forfeiture Attorney educated in Marietta College (B.A., 1976); Emory University (J.D., 1979). Mr. Sadow was admitted to the bar in 1979; Georgia--Georgia Court of Appeals, Georgia Supreme Court; U.S. District Courts--Northern & Middle Districts of Georgia; U.S. Courts of Appeal--Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits; Supreme Court of the United States.

Mr. Sadow has also been listed in the Best Lawyers in America, Criminal Defense, 1993 present; Martindale-Hubbell “AV” rating; Best Lawyers in Atlanta, Criminal Defense, Atlanta Magazine 2000-2004, “Newsmaker of the Year” by the Fulton County Daily Report, January 2001; “Georgia’s Legal Elite,” Georgia Trend magazine 2003-2005; and “Georgia’s Super Lawyers,” Atlanta Magazine 2004-2005.

Some favorable reported cases include Georgia v. Brantley, 264 Ga.App. 152 (2003); Powell v. Georgia, 270 Ga. 327 (1998); Lawrence v. Georgia, 231 Ga. App. 739 (1998); In re Spruell, 227 Ga.App. 324 (1997); U.S. v. Jenkins, 58 F.3d 611 (11th Cir. 1995); Mitsubishi International Corp. v. Cardinal Textile Sales, Inc., 14 F.3d 1507 (11th Cir.1994); U.S. v. Crespo, 982 F.2d 483 (11th Cir.1993); U.S. v. Williams, 954 F.2d 668 (11th Cir. 1992); In re Spruell, 200 Ga.App. 218 (1991); U.S. v. Cohen, 888 F.2d 770 (11th Cir. 1989); Gwin v. Snow, 870 F.2d 616 (11th Cir. 1989); and Garland v. Georgia, 253 Ga. 789 (1985).

Newsworthy cases include Georgia v. Alice Herring (murder case); Georgia v. Lewis Joyner (double murder case); Georgia v. San Juan Powell (constitutionality of sodomy statute); U.S. v. The Gold Club (racketeering); Georgia v. Ray Lewis (double murder case); and United States v. William Campbell (political corruption).

Gerald L. Shargel is a criminal defense lawyer in New York City. A member of the New York Bar since 1969, he has tried more than 100 criminal cases. His cases typically include stock fraud, insider trading, health care fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, mail and wire fraud, homicide and RICO violations.

In addition to his caseload, Mr. Shargel has devoted considerable time to teaching and lecturing. At present, he is the Practitioner in Residence at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches Evidence, Criminal Procedure and other criminal law related courses. Previously, he was an Adjunct Associate Professor of Law at New York University Law School, where he taught Criminal Appellate Practice. Mr. Shargel has also lectured at law schools around the country and is frequently on the faculty of continuing legal education programs.

Mr. Shargel’s comments on current developments in criminal law appear often both in broadcast and print media. He has been twice named one of the best lawyers in New York by New York magazine, and was profiled in The New Yorker in February of 1994.

Mr. Shargel is a member of the New York Council of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the American Bar Association, the New York Criminal Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Federal Bar Council and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Mickey Sherman a former public defender and prosecutor, has represented clients in a very wide range of criminal cases. His innovative courtroom and trial techniques have been the subject of feature articles in the New York Times, National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, New York Newsday, and other publications. In 1986, the New York Times questioned whether he “undercut” the entire jury system” when he hired a juror from a deadlocked rape jury to sit through the retrial of the same defendant as his consultant. After the second trial, the Connecticut Legislature passed a statute making such a tactic a misdemeanor!

His successful defense of a Vietnam veteran in a murder trial using the post-traumatic stress disorder defense was the subject of various productions on Court TV, CBS’s Verdict, NBC’s Dateline and a BBC series. He represented Alex Kelly, the Darien, CT man who fled to Europe for 9 years before his double rape trial. After Kelly’s return from Switzerland, Sherman served as his witness in his trials, testifying as to the reasonableness of his fear of not being afforded a fair trial.

Mickey represented Michael Skakel, the recently convicted accused in the 27 year old Martha Moxley murder case in Connecticut. A past president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, he is a frequent commentator on MSNBC, CNBC, Court TV, Fox News, CNN, etc. He is also employed by CBS News as their Legal Analyst, regularly appearing on the CBS Early Show and the Evening News.

Robert M. Simels, P.C.’s Litigation Boutique firm specializes in cases concerning Criminal Law, Administrative, Matrimonial, and Personal Injury matters. In the Civil arena he obtained one of the top 50 jury verdicts in the United States in 2003-$52,000,000 for an individual paralyzed when shot by a New York City Police Officer. Mr. Simels’ clients have included: Christopher Drogoul a banker, charged with defrauding Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro and the United States by lending $5,000,000,000 to Saddam Hussein (case often referred to as “Iraqgate”); the estate of Pablo Picasso; and Henry Hill, the protagonist of book Wiseguy and movie “Good Fellas.” From 1974 through 1979 Mr. Simels served as Special Assistant Attorney General in the New York State Special Prosecutor's Office, and was involved in the prosecution of more than 200 members of the New York City Police Department, James “Jimmy Nap” Napoli, a major organized crime figure; State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tyler, and City Councilman Father Louis Gigante;

Mr. Simels is admitted to the bar of States of New York & Maryland; United States District Courts – Southern & Eastern Districts of NY, Maryland; New Jersey; Western District Pennsylvania; United States Court of Appeals-First, Second, Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits; and the United States Supreme Court and U.S. Tax Court. His educational background and honors include: New York Law School – J.D., 1974; University of Kentucky – B.A., 1969; Lamp & Cross Honor Society; selection as one of the top 100 College students in America 1969; Fraternity President 1966-69 of Phi Sigma Kappa; and membership to the Honorary Order of Kentucky Colonels.

Mr. Simels is also a frequent guest commentator on Court TV, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX NEWS, The Charlie Rose Show, Twenty-Twenty, Sixty Minutes, Hannity & Colmes, and The O’Reilly Factor.

Joseph Tacopina, Esq., criminal defense lawyer, Principal, Law Offices of Joseph Tacopina, a Manhattan-based law firm, specializing in criminal, civil, and securities litigation with an international office in Milan, Italy; Former Assistant District Attorney, Kings County District Attorney’s Office, Homicide Bureau.

Tacopina frequently lends his extensive litigation experience as a legal analyst on various radio and television outlets, including Court TV, CNN, NBC, ABC, Fox News, CNBC, and MSNBC. He can often be seen during prime time on “The O’Reilly Factor”, “Hardball”, and “Larry King Live.”

An accomplished prosecutor turned criminal defense attorney, Joe has handled many high profile cases. Some of his most celebrated clients include: Abner Louima: Acquittal of P.O. Thomas Weise, in the infamous precinct house torture of Haitian immigrant, Abner Louima. Elizabeth Bryant: lawsuit against the City of New York on behalf of a lesbian police officer who was being harassed by fellow cops. Banana Republic: financial executive in litigation against Banana Republic claiming wrongful imprisonment that resulted in her termination; Michael Jackson: represented Jackson’s closest associate in the controversial child molestation case; Foxy Brown: Representation of internationally renowned rap artist in connection with various legal matters; NYC Councilman Bribery: City Councilman charged in Federal bribery scandal for demanding $50,000 in cash and three apartment buildings at $1.5 million below their market value in exchange for his support of a Fairway supermarket in Redhook, Brooklyn; Bernard Kerik: representation ranged from his testimony at the 9/11 Commission to his autobiography, The Lost Son.

Hon. David T. Wall is a District Court Judge in Las Vegas, Nevada, presiding over civil and criminal trials. Prior to his election in 2002, he served as a Chief Deputy District Attorney on the Major Violators Unit and obtained convictions of Murder in the First Degree in every homicide case he tried. Judge Wall also spent ten years as a criminal defense lawyer, including five years as a member of the Capital Murder Team in the Clark County Public Defender’s Office. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Marquette University Law School.

Gerald Walpin is counsel to Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, having been a senior partner of the predecessor firm of Rosenman & Colin for more than thirty years, and Chairman of the Firm’s Litigation Department for fifteen years.

Mr. Walpin is an experienced litigation attorney, who has been named in all editions of the published compilation of The Best Lawyers in America.

He was from 2002 to 2004 President of the Federal Bar Council, the bar association of attorneys practicing in the Second Circuit federal courts. In early June 2003, Supreme Court Justices Ruth Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer and Court of Appeals Chief Judge John Walker presented him with The American Inns of Court Professionalism Award at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference for outstanding professionalism as an attorney and mentoring of younger lawyers. Mr. Walpin is a frequent lecturer and writer on legal topics.

Before joining the Firm, Mr. Walpin was Law Secretary to two Federal District Court Judges, served three years as J.A.G. in the United States Air Force and then served for five years as the Chief of Special Prosecutions for the United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York.

Mr. Walpin graduated cum laude from Yale Law School in 1955 where he was Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal.

John “Rusty” Wing, a partner in the firm of Lankler, Siffert & Wohl LLP, is a nationally recognized criminal trial lawyer who has been actively involved in trial and appellate work for more than 25 years. A former Chief of the Fraud Unit in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Wing is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, past President of the New York Council of Defense Lawyers and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for over 10 years. In 2004 he received the Norman S. Ostrow award for excellence in criminal defense. Mr. Wing has published and lectured extensively on jury trial work and criminal law topics. He is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago law school where he was an editor of the law review.

James D. Zirin is a member of Sidley Austin Brown & Wood LLP where he is a partner in the litigation department. For three years, he was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and served in the criminal division under Robert M. Morgenthau. His specialty has been civil litigation.

He has contributed hundreds of op-ed articles on legal and foreign policy subjects to the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Times, the London Times and Forbes. He is the co-host of the cable television talk show, “Digital Age” which airs in the New York area. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and former chair of its Alternatives for Dispute Resolution Committee; a trustee of New York Law School; a former trustee of the Legal Aid Society; a past vice president and trustee of the Federal Bar Council; a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and a past member of its Committee on the Judiciary.

A graduate of Princeton University with honors, he received his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School where he was an editor of the Michigan Law Review and a member of the Order of the Coif.