Not looking great for Avenatti.
https://twitter.com/klasfeldreports/status/1413201896731447302?s=21
https://twitter.com/klasfeldreports/status/1413202365688201218?s=21
Even more outrageous: the law in this country.
Hopefully he gets real jail time for stealing from his quadriplegic client, believe that is a separate case, but I’m not holding my breath.
Helpful comparison:
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Geez, people have probably had more time (Or worse) for stealing candy.
Michael Avenatti, the brash attorney who had been a leading foe of then-President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 30 months in prison for a brazen, botched scheme to extort athletic apparel giant Nike out of up to $25 million.
That sentence was much lower than the nine years that was the bottom of the sentencing range suggested by federal guidelines, and not anywhere close to “a substantial” prison term sought by federal prosecutors.
“Mr. Avenatti’s conduct was outrageous,” said Judge Paul Gardephe said in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, where he also sentenced Avenatti to three years of supervised release for the case, the first of three pending criminal cases against the fallen lawyer to go to trial.
’He hijacked his client’s claims, and he used him to further his own agenda, which was to extort Nike millions of dollars for himself.”
“He outright betrayed his client,” Gardephe said.
“Mr. Avenatti had become drunk on the power of his platform, or what he perceived the power of his platform to be.”
Wow, sounds like this guy deserves to have the book thrown at him!
But Gardephe added that Avenatti deserved a lighter sentence than the range recommended by federal guidelines — from nine years to 11-years and three months — because, the judge said, “Mr. Avenatti has expressed what I believe to be severe remorse today.”
oh
During his sentencing Thursday, Avenatti noted that as a child, while other children dreamed of becoming professional athletes, said, “I dreamed about becoming a lawyer. About becoming a trial lawyer.”
lol
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Hahahaha Lawbros are always telling us how the federal system has rigid sentencing guidelines to prevent, uh, exactly this from happening.
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Remember how people were desperately grasping for heroes and saviors to provide some semblance of justice and accountability as blatant corruption raged?
At least now we have a principled and aggressive DoJ to root out the oily tendrils of Trump’s corruption and set clear examples that profiteering charlatans, cheerleaders for anti-democratic violence and oh what the fuck I got nothing. Crushing the masses with obscene wealth and privilege still works just fine.
ps fit the damn text in the bubble at least
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It’s only irrational if you think the legal system isn’t explicitly set up to give a pass to guys like Avenatti doing white-collar crimes. Popehat is a little confused on this matter.
https://twitter.com/popehat/status/1413224693616631811?s=21
Haha, he’s so close to figuring it out:
Lol Popehat. What a loser.
It’s incredible to watch all these assholes reverse engineer reasons their precious system keeps producing obviously unjust outcomes, all mysteriously in favor of rich white people and to the detriment of poor minorities.
Also, lol at the judge. “Conditions were tough in prison.” Uh, that’s the point? How often has this asswipe said that about a poor black person, then given a sentence 25% of the guideline?
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He’s not even doing that, it’s just “wow, seems a little irrational, shrug emoji.”
No, PopeHat is right about why Avenetti got off light. His bid was so comical that it barely counts as a serious extortion attempt.
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Compared to what? Where is the data on extortion convictions for white collar crime that shows Avenetti is an outlier?
¯\(ツ)/¯
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I think it’s necessary to make a call on the harshness of the penalty. One trap lawbros fall into is saying “A sentence of X years is very light! The law provides for a maximum sentence of Y years!” But Y is only relevant when it is actually commonly enforced.
I think the right take is to be horrified at how over-sentenced non-rich people are rather than wanting to throw away the key for Avenatti.
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My understanding is most people prosecuted for federal extortion are organized crime and gang types. That’s prob why the normal sentence is so stiff.
“Normal” sentences are stiff because we’re a retributive society with the highest incarceration rates in the world.
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The good news is Natti committed so many blatant crimes that they’ll hopefully add up to a real sentence. Next up is his trial for ripping off a paraplegic and then for ripping off Stormy.
I think it matters a great deal that this was a man who thought he could strongarm a massive corporation for $20 million over some bs that even if they’re guilty, they’ve been professionals at handling for decades. It’s like Homer Simpson thinking Bill Gates was about to write him a check and make him a multi-millionaire.
If the defendant wasn’t a public figure he’d be a sympathetic figure regarding this specific crime because of how absolutely dopey it is.
An awful lot of men and women we rightly think don’t belong in prison have done worse than give a bunch of Nike lawyers a few days they will never, ever stop laughing about.
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