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.
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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
@Daniel,
Huh? I did provide you with "details," plenty of them. And I don't think I'd like to meet you anywhere, creep.
..alex…