Paul Manafort is in the courtroom. He is in a wheelchair. If you are following, let us know what happens. [Added: I returned just as the prosecution was wrapping up its argument. The updates below start with the latest and work backwards.

Update 5:23 p.m: Every prominent sentencing hearing in which the judge grants a downward variance from the advisory sentencing guideline is a good thing in that it will serve as a reminder to every other judge of their ability to do so, and that their job is not to impose a guideline sentence, but one that is sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes of sentencing]. Chief among these factors is the nature of the offense and "the history and characteristics of the defendant."

Every judge must complete the "Judgment" form after sentencing. Part of that form is called a "Statement of Reasons." It lists a lot of factors and asks the Judge to check off the boxes that apply to their decision to impose a non-guideline sentence (called a variance -- a departure is something different.) When the judge completes and submits the Statement of Reasons, it does so under seal (sometimes available to counsel for the defendant). The form itself is not sealed and available on the U.S. Judiciary website. Here is the page with the non-exhaustive list of reasons a judge might choose to vary from and impose a non-guideline reason.

Update: 5:00 p.m. (MT): Manafort is sentenced to 47 months. Quite a departure from the guidelines, which reportedly were 19 to 24 years (according to the Government and Probation.) As a defense lawyer, I say good for Judge Ellis for so publicly recognizing that the advisory guidelines are just the starting point. Judges may not even presume the guidelines to be reasonable. [More...]

I had jury duty this morning in state court. They want you there by 7:30 a.m. That is really, really early. They don't start sending you to the courtroom till almost 10. There's virtually no parking so I took an Uber. But, I was late, and even though they had just started sending jurors to courtrooms, they said I have to do the whole thing again in two weeks. I don't mind, I just wish it were at 1:00 pm instead of 7:30 a.m.

I've been doing this periodically for decades and I've never been picked. What prosecutor is going to leave a practicing criminal defense lawyer on a jury? But Colorado has no occupational restrictions, so it's mandatory. (With a potential 6 month jail term if you fail to show up.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Colorado Democrats have re-introduced a bill to repeal the state's death penalty law. If it passes, Colorado will be the 21st state to ban the death penalty.

Our new Governor, former Congressman Jared Polis, says he will sign the bill if it passes. (In a Denver Post article, he said he also might then grant clemency to the three men on Colorado's death row, all of whom were prosecuted in Arapahoe County and all of whom are African-American.)

The bill will get its first hearing Wednesday. If you are a Colorado voter, please email your Representative and Senator (find them here)and urge them to pass this bill. You can read the bill here and follow its progress. And send thanks to Gov. Jared Polis.

Former Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. a moderate Democrat, today announced he will run for President.

“I think it’s probably the worst period of division we’ve had in this country since the Civil War,” he said. “Ultimately I’m running for president because I believe that not only can I beat Donald Trump, but that I am the person that can bring people together on the other side and actually get stuff done. The division is keeping us from addressing big issues like climate change and the soaring costs of health care.”

I think Hickenlooper did a very good job as Governor here. He works hard, listens to both sides, takes risks when he needs to, doesn't bow to pressure and isn't an egomaniac. I'd support him as the candidate if he gets that far. I also like his campaign logo.

In other 2020 news, Eric Holder is not running. That's a good thing because he is very polarizing - the right hates him. Whenever the race turns personal rather than focusing on differences on issues, the voters lose. We can't avoid that with one candidate (the carnival barker with the desk in the oval office) but we can with whoever opposes him. Don't dismiss Hickenlooper, he might be the one if primary voters split between the more well-known candidates and cancel each other out.

Donald Trump went off-script today in his speech at Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland. It may have been the most deranged speech he has given yet (in addition to making out with the American flag -- I pity the poor thing.)

"Mothers who love their daughters give them massive amounts of birth control pills, because they know their daughters are going to be raped on the way up to our southern border. Think of that. True story told to me by the Border Patrol. Think of how evil that is."

..."They are embracing open borders, socialism, & extreme late-term abortion...lawmakers in NY cheered as they passed legislation to allow babies to be ripped from the womb of their mothers. Right up to the very moment of death... the will execute the baby."

If you had any doubt that the United States is leader-less and running on empty,this speech is all you need. [More...]

Michael Cohen is testifying before Congress. Here is a link to stream it live.

His prepared written statement is here.

His wife and daughter are with him. Also accompanying him (on the left) is his new attorney, a long-time friend and colleague, Michael Monico from Chicago. I've known Michael for 25 years and he is not only supremely ethical but highly skilled. Cohen made a great choice.

I'll be listening in the car as I head up to a jail in the mountains. Here'a a place to discuss it. Also, don't miss this story of IRS agent John Frye being charged in San Francisco for leaking Cohen's SARS (suspicious activity reports from banks) to Michael Avenati. (Case No. CR 3-19-70176 LB.) The Complaint is here, and it's got all the details on his deposits and withdrawals regarding Stormy Daniels, his reimbursement and monies flowing to and from other countries.

San Francisco erases 8,000 marijuana convictions, dating to 1975.

Also, San Francisco loses a crusader for justice -- Public Defender Jeff Adachi has died.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Alva Johnson, a former Trump campaign staffer, sues Donald Trump for a forcible unwanted kiss and lower pay than males and non-African American employees received.

The Complaint is here. In the Introduction, Johnson alleges

Plaintiff Alva Johnson brings this lawsuit to hold the President of the United States, Defendant Donald J. Trump, accountable for his sexually predatory conduct.

The Complaint recites the long litany of such claims against Donald Trump. She is suing the Trump campaign and Trump individually on her behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated.

The Oscars are host-less this year. I think ratings, which haven't been good in recent years, will be even worse tonight.

Have any of you seen any of the movies that are up for awards?

Here's a place to discuss the Oscars if you're watching.

Robert Mueller's office has filed its sentencing memorandum for Paul Manafort in his case in the District of Columbia. His guidelines are high, but since he's only being sentenced for two conspiracy counts, each of which has a statutory maximum of five years, the most he can get is 10 years in the case. The question is if the judge will run the sentence in this case concurrently or consecutively to the sentence he'll get in Virginia.

As of now, sentencing in the Virginia case is set for March 11, while sentencing in the D.C. case is set for March 18. In the Va. case, he went to trial, was convicted on multiple counts and the jury hung on some counts. The Probation Department and the Government calculate his sentencing guideline range in the Va. case to be 235 to 293 months. If he gets 235 months in Virginia, the court in D.C. could give him 10 years either concurrent or consecutive to the Va. sentence, which would be a total sentence of 30 years.

Here is the Court's order in the D.C. case finding Manafort intentionally lied during his proffers and Grand Jury testimony.

Yesterday the Justice Department announced that indictments had been unsealed in the District of Colombia for two more of El Chapo's sons, Joaquin Guzman-Lopez and Ovidio Guzman-Lopez. The Indictment is here.

The Indictment was returned and ordered sealed almost a year ago, in April, 2018. In December, 2018, it was unsealed for a few days so the Government could include it in an extradition application for them. On January 25, 2019, the Government moved to permanently unseal the Indictment. The motion was granted on Feb. 14, 2019.

The charges are for conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine, meth and marijuana between April, 2008 and April, 2018, knowing it would be imported into the U.S.

Two other sons of El Chapo, Ivan Guzman-Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman-Salazar have been under federal Indictment in the U.S. for several years. Ivan is charged in San Diego and Alfredo in Chicago. [More...]

This is a pretty remarkable interview by Vice News with an anonymous juror or alternate in the trial of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. The juror says s/he, as well as multiple other jurors, regularly violated the court's instructions not to read media accounts of the trial, including tweets and articles containing information that was purposely withheld from the jurors, and then lied to the judge when questioned about it. They also discussed El Chapo's guilt before deliberations began, took notes out from the jury room (which wasn't allowed), and considered punishment, even though they were admonished not to. I'm not sure there's a rule this group didn't break, according to the "snitch juror."

It seems to me it would take the FBI about ten minutes to figure out this juror's identity, and another half hour for a the Government to file a motion for a show cause order directing the juror to appear in court and show cause why s/he shouldn't be held in contempt. [More...]