Inmate requests release to assist in his appeal

[Zelda50]

Claiming he cannot assist in the preparation of his appeal, Robert C. Cordaro asked Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo in a five-page handwritten motion to allow him to be released on bail.

Read the motion here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/48182083/Cordaroletter.pdf

As the July 21 appeal deadline for the former Lackawanna County commissioner approaches, Mr. Cordaro said he needs to get out of the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution to assist his attorney, Peter Goldberger of Ardmore, and participate in the preparation of the appeal. Writing in the third person, Mr. Cordaro says in the motion that his prison arrangements deny him access to email files which have the history of the case, limit access to his attorney and his case files.

His attorney, Mr. Cordaro wrote, in cursive, can't and won't visit him, won't do phone calls and is distrustful of prison mail system because letters can be monitored and read.

"Without the ability to go to attorney Goldberger's office … and access his email, electronic and paper files, defendant Cordaro will be severely prejudiced in his constitutional right to appeal his case," he wrote.

Link to rest of article:
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/in-...ison-1.1339928

[Zelda50]

From what I've heard, he has an excellent attorney. And the motion is actually a motion for bail, not just outright release.

[SusanWayward]

He's telling the truth. The Feds have certainly been known to open & read legal mail, saying the return address didn't meet their exacting specifications.

And many attorneys refuse to do jail visits anymore.

[1bird2]

WOW, I wonder if others within the system have ever been released (on bail) to assist in their appeal....
If they do allow this....I imagine it will take dump trucks to deliver letters of requests to judges.
I also wonder how many people take action without their attorney's knowledge....
(I did have a very hard time reading his writing!)
This has me thinking about things I've never considered!

[SusanWayward]

Bail for appeals is an established concept - it is a possibility in every court system in the US.

Possible, but not always likely & I've no idea how often it actually happens in Federal.

[Zelda50]

He may be telling the truth. I just didn't want people to read this and think that Peter Goldberg is a bad attorney or something. From what I've heard, he is very good and cares about his clients. Appeals usually don't need a lot of contact with the client - or face to face visits if they can get confidential attorney phone calls. Because appeals are based upon the record. I knew someone in federal prison who was provided this machine on which he could read all the electronic discovery. It was some kind of special arrangement because there were thousands of pages - too many for the lawyer to copy and send in.

[fbopnomore]

I find it to be an interesting argument. The restrictions I was under, even when on pretrial release, made it almost impossible for me to assist my lawyer in my defense. The government did all it could to impede my chances to defend my case, which was totally uncalled for, but that's what their pit bull prosecutors always do.

[bellisq]

First, Peter is arguably one of the best appellate lawyers in the country. Appeals are about mistakes made in a trial or hearing, so it is unlikely that client's input is critical. I sure Mr. Cordaro would like to read the appeal, but it is unlikely he could add anything to Goldberger's work, which is uniformly superior. Anyone would be lucky to have him for a lawyer, and I am sure if he needed to see Mr. Cordaro, he would do so.

[Zelda50]

And... it's a no.

"Despite a handwritten plea for freedom, Robert Cordaro won't be getting a pass out of federal prison.

On Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo denied the former Lackawanna County commissioner's plea to be able to post bail and be released from a federal correctional institution in Fort Dix, N.J., where he is serving an 11-year sentence on bribery and extortion charges.

In a six-page prison note sent to Judge Caputo early last month, Mr. Cordaro, 51, said he needs to be freed so he can help his lawyer put together arguments to appeal his conviction before the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mr. Cordaro's attorney, Peter Goldberger, also filed a motion supporting Mr. Cordaro's request for bail, arguing bail is justified because of prosecutorial misconduct at Mr. Cordaro's and former Lackawanna commissioner A.J. Munchak's public corruption trial last summer."

Link to rest of article:
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/rob...ules-1.1353037