Every local jurisdiction has one or more famous trials. Some are famous locally; others have national significance. A goal of the American Inns of Court movement remains sharing knowledge and experience among the generations of lawyers and judges. Other goals are the development of trial skills and professional courtroom practice. To that end, this year, the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court in Tampa, Florida, has planned its program year around a famous local trial.
The fact pattern selected came from a federal criminal trial partially recounted in United States v. Awan, 966 F.2d 1415 (11th Cir 1992). This complex money laundering trial involved bank officers and others from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), which at the time was the seventh-largest private bank in the world.
The five-year undercover operation led to the indictment against 15 defendants and became the subject of a movie, The Infiltrator. Brian Cranston starred as Special Agent Robert Mazur.
Mazur went undercover as a money launderer for Colombian drug cartels. The criminal trial drug conspiracy and money laundering trial against 15 individuals and four corporations lasted six months and was presided over by a revered federal judge, the late William Terrell Hodges. Several prominent local lawyers represented defendants. All defendants were found guilty, and of the five who appealed, the conviction of one was reversed.
The BCCI case ultimately resulted in the failure of the bank. It spawned numerous other lawsuits in this country and others. Because the Cheatwood Inn is primarily focused on civil practice, we developed a fact pattern for a fictional civil shareholder derivative action filed in state court against the bank. Each program then focused on teaching trial skills through the phases of the trial: from pretrial conference to closing argument. At our first program, we were lucky enough to have Mazur, now retired, speak to us about the investigation.
Choosing a relatively recent but older famous trial had several benefits. First, many Inn members had no familiarity with the case. However, many of the Inn’s Masters of the Bench and judges remembered it. All were encouraged to learn about the case and watch the movie.
Second, some lawyers who participated were still around and available to attend programs as guests to speak about their experiences. We tried to incorporate historical notes about the case into Inn meetings.
Third, having a consistent fact pattern through the year meant members approached each program topic with some familiarity of the underlying facts. We focused on low-tech programs with skits and demonstrations followed by discussion among Inn members on what they had seen.
If your Inn is looking for a program theme for your upcoming year, consider picking a famous local trial. We found it to be a great teaching tool and history lesson for all members.
Judge Richard H. Martin is a judge on the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Hillsborough County, in Tampa, Florida. He is president of the J. Clifford Cheatwood American Inn of Court