Trumping Tuesday

President Trump’s civil trial in New York this month has brought back some memories. My first jury trial as a converted securities lawyer was a condemnation case.  Our managing partner was a former senator who still had a lot of political power. In an attempt to build up the firm’s litigation department he promised a couple of us young lawyers that he would get us some jury trials if we would give that department a try.  He struck a deal with the DOT to flat-fee a few cases where we represented the government to fulfill his promise. In Florida, we only get 12-person juries for condemnation cases and first-degree murder trials. It was a real treat.

In condemnation cases the most difficult part is staying awake.  The only real issue is the value of real property.  After three or four days of hearing various real estate appraisers go on and on about the basis for their evaluation, I had to stop eating lunch to stay awake in the afternoons. Thank God for caffeine.

It was an education for me because I learned that many real estate appraisers are whores. The “expert“ testimony during trial valued the property that was being taken for a new expressway at between $15,000 per acre and $70,000 per acre.  If you had two surgeons that gave you estimates that far apart, you would never let either one of them cut into you. In trials, however, such whores are very valuable in a society that gives expert opinions much more credibility than they deserve.

What sealed the deal for me, and gave me a gigantic victory to start my new career, was the managing partner giving me a transcript the day before the property owner’s case began. It turns out that the property owner’s $70,000-per-acre appraiser had testified a couple years earlier for the DOT. In that case, he said that there were so many apartment complexes “coming out of the ground,” that a piece of property only a mile away, and part of the same acquisition, was almost worthless for development.  He was now claiming that this piece of property was worth so much because it could be developed into an apartment complex. Yes, I destroyed him and any chance he ever had of testifying again. Sometimes a whore needs to be punished.

That is why I find it bizarre that New York would go after the Trump Organization for what the state claims are inflated real estate values.  It took me only one trial to learn that appraisers say what they are paid to say.

I also had a case about 30 years ago representing a lady in federal court who was being prosecuted criminally for lying on a loan application. She got 18 months in federal prison. In that case, however, the bank lost its money and filed a criminal complaint and she lied about her income and her employment.

The case against the Trump organization, however, is not a criminal case.  That is why he was not entitled to a jury.   Nevertheless, although the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees us the right to jury trials only in criminal cases, the Eighth Amendment prohibits “excessive fines.”  Several U.S. Supreme Court decisions have held that any fine designed as “punishment” instead of restitution is excessive.  Many intermediate appellate and trial courts have ignored those decisions but some recent comments by members of the current Supremes have indicated they are going to stop the practice.

Therefore, because there were no damages incurred as a result of the alleged fraud, New York will be limited by the Eighth Amendment in their ability to fine the Trump Organization.  Anything above court costs and some nominal fine would likely violate the Eighth Amendment.

In short, the New York case is clearly the persecution of a political opponent.  If I was the judge I would have thrown out the state’s case immediately.  But then again, I am not a judge in a communist state that values party loyalty over truth and justice.

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BTW: To this day I still wonder when Bill got ahold of that previous transcript. I think there is a strong possibility that he set me up to start with a big victory to get me addicted to the litigation game. It worked.  He saved me from a boring life in investment banking.

I am only pissed because I would hate to think that someone pulled my strings.  I would make a lousy politician.

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