| Former
K&L Gates Lawyer Willie Dennis Appears
by Zoom With Mother Trial now Oct 11
By Matthew Russell
Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTROOM,
August 17 – In the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
on November 19, 2021 a
detention proceeding was held
by Magistrate Judge Ona T.
Wang on a defending brought in
from the Dominican Republic
the night before.
Willie E. Dennis,
formerly a lawyer at K&L
Gates, was charged with cyber
stalking. At first the US
Attorney's Office was OK with
his release, but them things
switched. Inner City Press
live tweeted it here:
Willie E. Davis
is currently in FBI custody in
290 Broadway. He has been
assigned a Federal Defender,
who has spoken 3 or 4 times
today with Dennis by phone.
Judge Wang: Why
is this not in person? AUSA:
He arrived from outside the
US, we don't know his vax
status.
US says:
"DENNIS, a U.S. citizen, was
arrested this week in the
Dominican Republic... He
engaged in a campaign of
harassment, intimidation, and
threats against multiple
individuals, including other
partners, who worked at the
[K&L Gate Law] Firm."
Dennis owns a
multi-family building, and
property in the Dominican
Republic, but he has debts. He
is being given a
publicly-funded Federal
Defender.
AUSA: He was
arrested in the Dominican
Republic on Nov 16 and
arrested in the US yesterday.
Judge Wang: You are charged
with four counts of
cyber-stalking.
Judge Wang took a
break and returned, to rule:
"I am accepting recommendation
he be detained until fitted
with a bracelet or co-signers
can sign the bond."
Jump cut to
August 15, 2022 when the case,
reassigned to Judge Jed S.
Rakoff, had on short notice a
phone conference that pointed
to an in-person one: "Minute
Entry for proceedings held
before Judge Jed S. Rakoff:
Telephone Conference as to
Willie Dennis held on
8/15/2022. Present were the
defendant and his consulting
counsel, Anthony Cecutti and
Kastine Thiele, AUSA Rushmi
Bhaskaran for the government
and a court reporter. The
Court sets a conference in
courtroom 14B to consider the
defendant's application to
relieve consulting appointed
counsel and substitute in new
consulting assigned counsel."
But not so
simply: Dennis has to pay:
"ORDER as to Willie Dennis:
The Court had originally
scheduled an in-court
conference for August 17,
2022, to consider various
issues raised by pro se
defendant Willie Dennis. Mr.
Dennis expressly confirmed
that he would attend the
conference in person. However,
on August 15, 2022, Mr. Dennis
requested that, for personal
reasons, the conference be
moved to August 18, 2022 and
that he be permitted to
participate remotely. The
Court agreed to his request
and gave Mr. Dennis the option
of appearing telephonically at
the Court's expense or
appearing by videoconference
at his own expense. He elected
the latter. Accordingly, the
Finance Department of the
United States District Court
for the Southern District of
New York shall invoice
defendant pro se for the cost
of this videoconferencing. All
other conference participants
will attend in person at
Courtroom 14-B, 500 Pearl St.,
New York, NY."
Inner City Press
went and live tweeted it here:
OK- K&L Gates
lawyer Willie Dennis charged
with stalking is appearing
before Judge Jed S. Rakoff by
Zoom. He moves his laptop to
show his mother lying down
next to him.
[For most of the
Zoom, the camera was on
Dennis' face, at an angle. But
at the beginning and end he
turned the camera down, to
show his sick mother on a bed
- or perhaps so that she could
see the courtroom participants
and gallery?
Dennis is reading
a statement by shaky Zoom,
attacking Judge Rakoff. "I
have been unemployed two
years." Trial in 6 weeks?
Dennis: I
face a judge who has
reprimanded me...I want to
show 1000s of K&L Gates
emails before the jury. Judge:
What do you seek?
Dennis: A sidebar
with my CJA, to see if they
are acceptable. Judge: No.
Dennis:
Appointment accepted! Mr
Dennis would like to subpoena
the management community of
K&L. Gates. Judge: Let's
move trial to Oct 11. Dennis:
How about earlier?
Dennis: My
communications are not being
received. I have a memo.
Judge: You can file that.
Convene a joint phone call.
Notes: Judge
Rakoff will be issuing a
written order granting Dennis
his phone, over the
Government's objection.
Judge Rakoff also
dismissed the AUSA's request
to test Dennis' competence, or
have the now-fired stand-by
lawyers testify about Dennis.
The AUSA said these counsel
had already provided the
Government will some
information. One expected
Dennis to object by Zoom, but
he did not. Yet.
This case is US
v. Dennis, 20-cr-623 (Rakoff)
***
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