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Cohen's Life Behind Bars
Michael Cohen's life behind barsBy Kara Scannell and Gloria Borger, CNN
Updated 7:35 AM ET, Fri June 7, 2019
(CNN)Michael Cohen was nervous about his new life behind bars. President Donald Trump's former fixer turned star government witness was worried that inmates who supported Trump might bring trouble when he arrived at the Otisville Federal Correctional Institution last month.
Instead, his notoriety has turned him into a celebrity of the cell block. A decade working for the real estate mogul-turned-politician and the scandalous hush money payments made to a former adult film star have become his currency in the new world Cohen has entered, five people familiar with Cohen's experience told CNN.
"He's pleasantly surprised that everyone has been very cordial and have actually been coming up offering him advice about prison life and offering him to come eat lunch with them," a source close to Cohen said.
Inmates have approached Cohen asking him for legal advice and wanting to spend downtime with him. They've quizzed Cohen about what it was like working for Trump and about the payments to actress Stormy Daniels, a second source says.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/06/politics/michael-cohen-jail-otisville/index.html?cid=web-alerts&nsid=37690811
12 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
https://law.jrank.org/pages/7810/Jailhouse-Lawyer.html
Jailhouse Lawyer
Prison inmates with some knowledge of law who give legal advice and assistance to their fellow inmates.
The important role that jailhouse lawyers play in the criminal justice system has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has held that jailhouse lawyers must be permitted to assist illiterate inmates in filing petitions for post-conviction relief unless the state provides some reasonable alternative (Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 89 S. Ct. 747, 21 L. Ed. 2d 718 [1969]).
However, the U.S. Supreme Court also has recognized that prison authorities may restrict the activities of prisoners who provide more formalized legal advice. For example, in Shaw v. Murphy, 532 U.S. 223, 121 S. Ct. 1475, 149 L. Ed. 2d 420 (2001), the Court held that prisoners do not possess a FIRST AMENDMENT right to provide legal advice to other prisoners. In so ruling, the Court permitted prison officials to discipline inmates who do not have authority to assist other inmates with their legal problems. Kevin Murphy was one of a number of inmates who were designated "inmate law clerks" by Montana prison authorities. Administrators directed certain inmates to Murphy, who would consult with them on their legal problems and assist them with filling out paper work. Montana authorities maintained control over the clerks by preventing them from consulting with inmates without prior approval. Murphy was disciplined for involving himself in an inmate's case without permission, and he took the issue to court. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that prison authorities had reasonable administrative grounds for restricting legal communications and for disciplining Murphy.
One notable example of a jailhouse lawyer is Jerry Rosenberg. He has been serving a life sentence since 1963 at the Auburn Correctional Facility in upstate New York for the murder of two New York City police officers during a holdup in 1962. Rosenberg never went beyond the eighth grade.
While in prison, Rosenberg has received two separate law degrees from Illinois correspondence schools. As a convicted felon, Rosenberg is unable to obtain a law license, but he still can make use of his LEGAL EDUCATION. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the release of Rosenberg's fellow inmate, Carmine Galante, upon reviewing a brief filed by Rosenberg on Galante's behalf.
In June 1988, Rosenberg made news as he attempted to secure his own release with an imaginative legal argument. In 1986, Rosenberg had suffered a heart attack during open-heart surgery, and his heart had stopped beating for a short time. A patient's heart frequently stops beating during such surgery, but Rosenberg seized on the occurrence to argue that since his heart had stopped, he had "died" while on the operating table. Therefore, he argued, he had met the requirements of his New York life sentence, and should, perhaps as a new man, be freed immediately.
Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Peter Corning denied Rosenberg's petition. Corning agreed with New York Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Goldman's argument for the state that death is an irrevocable condition, and that Rosenberg therefore had not yet died.
Jailhouse Lawyer
Prison inmates with some knowledge of law who give legal advice and assistance to their fellow inmates.
The important role that jailhouse lawyers play in the criminal justice system has been recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has held that jailhouse lawyers must be permitted to assist illiterate inmates in filing petitions for post-conviction relief unless the state provides some reasonable alternative (Johnson v. Avery, 393 U.S. 483, 89 S. Ct. 747, 21 L. Ed. 2d 718 [1969]).
However, the U.S. Supreme Court also has recognized that prison authorities may restrict the activities of prisoners who provide more formalized legal advice. For example, in Shaw v. Murphy, 532 U.S. 223, 121 S. Ct. 1475, 149 L. Ed. 2d 420 (2001), the Court held that prisoners do not possess a FIRST AMENDMENT right to provide legal advice to other prisoners. In so ruling, the Court permitted prison officials to discipline inmates who do not have authority to assist other inmates with their legal problems. Kevin Murphy was one of a number of inmates who were designated "inmate law clerks" by Montana prison authorities. Administrators directed certain inmates to Murphy, who would consult with them on their legal problems and assist them with filling out paper work. Montana authorities maintained control over the clerks by preventing them from consulting with inmates without prior approval. Murphy was disciplined for involving himself in an inmate's case without permission, and he took the issue to court. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that prison authorities had reasonable administrative grounds for restricting legal communications and for disciplining Murphy.
One notable example of a jailhouse lawyer is Jerry Rosenberg. He has been serving a life sentence since 1963 at the Auburn Correctional Facility in upstate New York for the murder of two New York City police officers during a holdup in 1962. Rosenberg never went beyond the eighth grade.
While in prison, Rosenberg has received two separate law degrees from Illinois correspondence schools. As a convicted felon, Rosenberg is unable to obtain a law license, but he still can make use of his LEGAL EDUCATION. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the release of Rosenberg's fellow inmate, Carmine Galante, upon reviewing a brief filed by Rosenberg on Galante's behalf.
In June 1988, Rosenberg made news as he attempted to secure his own release with an imaginative legal argument. In 1986, Rosenberg had suffered a heart attack during open-heart surgery, and his heart had stopped beating for a short time. A patient's heart frequently stops beating during such surgery, but Rosenberg seized on the occurrence to argue that since his heart had stopped, he had "died" while on the operating table. Therefore, he argued, he had met the requirements of his New York life sentence, and should, perhaps as a new man, be freed immediately.
Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Peter Corning denied Rosenberg's petition. Corning agreed with New York Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Goldman's argument for the state that death is an irrevocable condition, and that Rosenberg therefore had not yet died.
Actually, most lawyers do not write as well as your replies, resulting from a constant demand by their profession to write, in legal terminology, some call legaleze. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_Sam_law
A Son of Sam law is an American English term for any law designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. Such laws often authorize the state to seize money earned from deals such as book/movie biographies and paid interviews and use it to compensate the criminal's victims. These laws have been criticized as violating the free-speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The original and namesake law, from the State of New York, was itself ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, though New York and other states have since passed laws with similar goals that attempt to comply with the Court's decision.
History and legal status
The term "Son of Sam" is derived from the first law of this type, targeted at serial killer David Berkowitz, who used the name "Son of Sam" during his notorious murder spree in the mid-1970s New York. After his arrest in August 1977, Berkowitz's intense presence in the media led to widespread speculation that he might sell his story to a writer or filmmaker. Although Berkowitz denied wanting any kind of deal, the New York State Legislature swiftly passed preemptive legal statutes anyway, the first legal restriction of its kind in the U.S. The original New York law was invoked in New York eleven times between 1977 and 1990, including once against Mark David Chapman, the murderer of musician John Lennon.
Critics argued that the law infringed on freedom of speech and therefore violated the First Amendment, and that "Son of Sam" laws take away the financial incentive for many criminals to tell their stories, some of which (such as the Watergate scandal and the assassination of John F. Kennedy) were of vital interest to the general public.
In 1987, lawyers for publishing company Simon & Schuster sued the New York authorities to prevent enforcement of the Son of Sam law with respect to a book they were about to publish called Wiseguy, written by Nicholas Pileggi. The book was about ex-mobster Henry Hill and was used as the basis for the film Goodfellas. The case reached the federal Supreme Court in 1991. In an 8–0 ruling on Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board, the court ruled the law unconstitutional. The majority opinion was that the law was overinclusive, and would have prevented the publication of such works as The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, and even The Confessions of Saint Augustine.
Similarly, the state of California's Son of Sam law was struck down in 2002 after being used against Barry Keenan, one of the men who kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr. in 1963.
After numerous revisions, New York adopted a new "Son of Sam" law in 2001. This law requires that victims of crimes be notified whenever a person convicted of a crime receives $10,000 (US) or more—from virtually any source. The law then attaches a springing statute of limitations, giving victims an extended period of time to sue the perpetrator of the crime in civil court for their crimes. This law also authorizes a state agency, the Crime Victims' Board, to act on the victims' behalf in some limited circumstances. Thus far, the current New York law has survived court scrutiny.
In certain cases, a Son of Sam law can be extended beyond the criminals themselves to include friends, neighbors, and family members of the lawbreaker who seek to profit by telling publishers and filmmakers of their relation to the criminal. In other cases, a person may not financially benefit from the sale of a story or any other mementos pertaining to the crime.
</snip>
A Son of Sam law is an American English term for any law designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. Such laws often authorize the state to seize money earned from deals such as book/movie biographies and paid interviews and use it to compensate the criminal's victims. These laws have been criticized as violating the free-speech guarantee of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The original and namesake law, from the State of New York, was itself ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, though New York and other states have since passed laws with similar goals that attempt to comply with the Court's decision.
History and legal status
The term "Son of Sam" is derived from the first law of this type, targeted at serial killer David Berkowitz, who used the name "Son of Sam" during his notorious murder spree in the mid-1970s New York. After his arrest in August 1977, Berkowitz's intense presence in the media led to widespread speculation that he might sell his story to a writer or filmmaker. Although Berkowitz denied wanting any kind of deal, the New York State Legislature swiftly passed preemptive legal statutes anyway, the first legal restriction of its kind in the U.S. The original New York law was invoked in New York eleven times between 1977 and 1990, including once against Mark David Chapman, the murderer of musician John Lennon.
Critics argued that the law infringed on freedom of speech and therefore violated the First Amendment, and that "Son of Sam" laws take away the financial incentive for many criminals to tell their stories, some of which (such as the Watergate scandal and the assassination of John F. Kennedy) were of vital interest to the general public.
In 1987, lawyers for publishing company Simon & Schuster sued the New York authorities to prevent enforcement of the Son of Sam law with respect to a book they were about to publish called Wiseguy, written by Nicholas Pileggi. The book was about ex-mobster Henry Hill and was used as the basis for the film Goodfellas. The case reached the federal Supreme Court in 1991. In an 8–0 ruling on Simon & Schuster v. Crime Victims Board, the court ruled the law unconstitutional. The majority opinion was that the law was overinclusive, and would have prevented the publication of such works as The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Thoreau's Civil Disobedience, and even The Confessions of Saint Augustine.
Similarly, the state of California's Son of Sam law was struck down in 2002 after being used against Barry Keenan, one of the men who kidnapped Frank Sinatra, Jr. in 1963.
After numerous revisions, New York adopted a new "Son of Sam" law in 2001. This law requires that victims of crimes be notified whenever a person convicted of a crime receives $10,000 (US) or more—from virtually any source. The law then attaches a springing statute of limitations, giving victims an extended period of time to sue the perpetrator of the crime in civil court for their crimes. This law also authorizes a state agency, the Crime Victims' Board, to act on the victims' behalf in some limited circumstances. Thus far, the current New York law has survived court scrutiny.
In certain cases, a Son of Sam law can be extended beyond the criminals themselves to include friends, neighbors, and family members of the lawbreaker who seek to profit by telling publishers and filmmakers of their relation to the criminal. In other cases, a person may not financially benefit from the sale of a story or any other mementos pertaining to the crime.
</snip>
In Cohen's case, he helped Trump become POTUS, making the victims of the crimes EVERYONE!
