Judge tells Raniere attorney to ‘check your notes’
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A federal judge hearing the latest legal argument of convicted sex trafficker Keith Raniere on Tuesday suggested the NXIVM leader’s attorney was omitting key details of case law that would not help his client’s case and asked him to “check your notes.”
Raniere attorney Joseph Tully had tried to make his case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan that Senior U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who presided over Raniere’s 2019 trial in Brooklyn, should not be allowed to decide future motions by Raniere,
Tully contends the trial judge was biased against Raniere, 62, known as “Vanguard,” for a variety of reasons. Raniere, formerly of Halfmoon, led NXIVM’s personal growth courses before his arrest in Mexico and subsequent conviction. He is serving 120 years in an Arizona prison.
On Tuesday, Tully asked the federal judicial panel, which included Justices Pierre N. Leval, Jose A. Cabranes and William J. Nardini, to issue an advisory opinion commanding Garaufis through what is known as a “writ of mandamus” to be removed from hearing Raniere’s future arguments.
More than one judge appeared confused by the request for an advisory opinion on such a matter. One of the judges said such requests are typically made only when it was already clear that a judge had exceeded their bounds.
Tully cited a Second Circuit ruling to buoy his case, only to be quickly told by the panel that he was leaving out some key words.
“Could you give us the full quotation for that please without omitting any words?” Nardini asked Tully.
Content retrieved from: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/judge-tells-raniere-attorney-check-notes-17739206.php.
Doesn’t look good for cult leader Keith Raniere that his lawyer can’t even quote a finding correctly in an appeal. Probably a safe bet that this appeal will ultimately fail and Raniere will live out the rest of his life in prison.