Dr. Shaygan Acquitted of Drug Trafficking
Dr. Shaygan Acquitted of Drug Trafficking; Alex DeLuca; Addiction, Pain and Public Health website; 2009-03-15.
Permalink: http://doctordeluca.com/wordpress/archive/shaygan-acquitted/
See also:
Dr. Shaygan’s Motion to Dismiss for Govt. Misconduct (PDF), 2009-03-01
In a March 13 South Florida Sun-Sentinel article entitled S. Florida Doctor Acquitted of Illegal Prescription Charges Vanessa Blum writes:
[A]fter just four hours of deliberations, the jury found Shaygan not guilty of 141 counts of unlawful prescribing, setting off a cheer from his friends and relatives. If convicted, he could have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison…
Throughout the trial, Shaygan’s lawyers called him a caring and trusting doctor who did his best to treat patients.
But wait, there’s more! This from the AP, March 13, Florida Doctor Acquitted on Illegal Prescription Drug Charges:
The judge who presided over the trial is holding a hearing Monday on prosecutor misconduct claims [centering] on prosecutors’ decision to have witnesses tape-record conversations with [defense attorney] Markus and his private investigator. If a violation is found, the judge could sanction prosecutors.
Wow. To win acquittal on federal drug trafficking charges is very difficult and very rare, as I have discussed before. A resounding win is almost unheard of.
Dr. Ali Shaygan Entering Federal Court, Mar. '09
Bravo to defense attorney Markus for going after the prosecutors for the usual dirty tricks – what lawyers sarcastically refer to as “the drug war exception to the Bill of Rights.” Maybe not this time.
I will be very interested in the outcome of the prosecutorial misconduct case being brought by defense Counselor Markus. Jay Weaver wrote an article focusing on that aspect of the Shaygan trial, Prosecutors Accused of Misconduct, in the Miami Herald, March 3, 2009.
[END]
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Yes!! It is about time our voices were heard. And I loved it that they were caught continuing their underhanded practices as prosecutors! I also enjoyed the comments in that article that complained the doctor “might go free” because of the mess up. Well, the doctor went free, anyway, because he was not the bad guy that the feds said he was! Hurray for our side!
Dr. DeLuca, Thank you for your support. I would be happy to provide you with the details in which you express an interest.
Dr. Shaygan, it is truly an honor to ‘meet’ you. Thank you for your generous offer – I will take you up on that, privately.
I am so sorry that this national nightmare became your personal reality, and I know what many casual readers will not understand. That “winning” a War on Doctors case is not fun, it is devastating. Quite literally, the only thing worse than winning a drug trafficking case is losing one.
I hope you and your family are getting through it all, and I hope that people understand how brutal these attacks on physicians are. What you have lost, financially, professionally, and emotionally cannot be replaced; having the full force of the federal government come down on your head is a traumatic disaster. Your complete legal vindication just makes the assault and battery at the hands of “We the People,” that you have endured, that much more absurd and senseless.
The community of pain docs and pain patients and people who might become either or both of those (which is all of us) owe you a big debt of gratitude, whether individually we know it or not.
Thank you Dr. Shaygan for taking a big hit for us all. Let the healing begin for you and yours! Your case will be studied, your horrible experience will not be wasted. Promise.
..alex… Alex DeLuca, M.D., MPH adeluca@doctordeluca.com
Glad justice was served Doc. Hope you are well- Sebastian Saralegui you can find me on facebook Juan Sebastian Saralegui or email me at seb_sarlegui@yahoo.com
Dr Shaygan/ Dr. DeLuca, I have read through Dr Shaygan's story, and now find myself in a similar problem with the same Prosecutor. She has indicted my father incorrectly, and even though we have pointed it out to her, she continues to stand her ground. Furthermore, she is using unethical proceedings to get him extradited and sentenced. She has now even tried to buy witnesses to get her way.
Just wanted to let you know that me and my family understand what you went through, and can assure you we will not stop until she get her license revoked and she gets sentenced for the harm and ill she has caused so many people.
We wish you the best of luck, and hopefully we can get the US judicial system to do some justice to her, as she so unethically tries to impart to others.
Dear Mr. Ortega,
I am very sorry that your family is involved with this apparently inveterate vindictive prosecutor. Florida is off the hook – the Fed have seriously run amuck. The US govt. is bringing some 17 or maybe more cases against physicians, more or less simultaneously. We have now achieved "pogrom" status. At this point, 're-education camps' for errant pain patients and docs would not surprise me.
Thank you for keeping us informed; ..alex…
dear Carlos,
You should know, and your lawyer surely should or find a new lawyer right away, about an esteemed group of retired judges who regularly issue a State of the American Judiciary (sorry – pre coffee and names only approximate. Report came out about a month ago which would be circa very early April, 2012.)
This year the #1 problem of the American judicial system is an aggressive prosecutorial win-at-any-cost mindset. They decry the lack of prosecutorial discretion – a major part of the ethical foundation of law. They decry the rise in dirty tricks – especially the witholding of possibly exculpatory evidence to the defense and the Court. They fear Americans are increasingly losing faith in the judiciary system. [sheesh! Finally!!]
So, the report was exactly about The Prosecutor who Persecuted Ali Shaygan, and got caught red-handed. Your lawyer has an excellent opportunity to flip the case right side up for a change.
This is a majorly tainted prosecutor; frankly I'm surprised they are letting her proceed with her vendetta. Nail her on it! Sheesh, I'd say you've got reasonable doubt in you pocket just walking into your trial. However, juries are treacherous; just sayin this is not gonna be a walk in the park, these cases never are; I think we lose 97% of all doctor/patient prescription drug crime cases. The FACT that invariably no crime has been committed is a terrible burden on the defense. You try and figure out a defense for a "crime" that never happened and doesn't exist anywhere except in the AUSA's medically ignorant mind… very NOT easy. AND ethically wrong. These are civil malpractice cases masquerading as "drug crime."
So, I would hope for a very aggressive defense.
Let us know how you fare, C.O. if you feel like it. Good luck!
..alex…
Edited: 2012-05-04