Those who can, do; those who can\u2019t, take administrative roles to become an unnecessary obstacle to those who teach.<\/p>\n
Epstein\u2019s sanction stems from Trump\u2019s \u201cone neat trick\u201d lawsuit against himself. The president sent his lawyers to sue the IRS over a tax records leak that occurred during Trump\u2019s first administration. Then, using his control of the IRS, Trump\u2019s DOJ settled the case, granting Trump and his family a sweeping release from future investigations and a $1.776 billion slush fund for January 6 rioters and other Trump cronies. Including, notably, a child molester who tried to bribe victims into silence with future payouts from Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Judge Kathleen Williams did not approve<\/a>. Citing the unitary executive theory that conservatives have fought hard to install for decades, Judge Williams rejected the settlement as the byproduct of a sham litigation. And, boy, did she have to dig deep to find evidence of bad faith:<\/p>\n No, just kidding, Trump told reporters that he was suing himself on camera. Note to future FIU students: before the bar exam, make sure to brush up on what an actual case or controversy is, because it might not be in the curriculum for much longer.<\/p>\n Epstein signed the settlement agreement in the case, despite never entering an appearance. That quirk saved him from the more serious Florida Bar referral Judge Williams slapped on local counsel Alejandro Brito. That said, Judge Williams noted that Epstein swiftly applied for admission and entered appearances in other cases in the district. Of Epstein\u2019s uncharacteristic lack of urgency, \u201cthe Court can only surmise that Mr. Epstein was aware that he would never need to appear and litigate the merits of Plaintiffs\u2019 claims.\u201d<\/p>\n Epstein escaped with just a one-year ban on applying for pro hac<\/em> admission.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s unprecedented for a school to bring in a new dean who just got sanctioned, the remarkable part is that there\u2019s no good reason why the school is in this position in the first place. Because Daniel Epstein has no business being the interim dean of anything.<\/p>\n As the Miami Herald reports<\/a>, the school\u2019s search committee reached that conclusion so early in its process, that committee member H.T. Smith, a civil rights attorney and founding director of the law school\u2019s Trial Advocacy Program, \u201cdidn\u2019t even remember Epstein\u2019s name because he and other committee members so quickly dismissed his application.\u201d Epstein\u2019s experience in higher education consists of sitting on the board for Palm Beach State College\u00a0\u2014 an institution that U.S. News charitably characterizes as \u201cunranked\u201d \u2014 and a few years teaching at St. Thomas University\u2019s law school. <\/p>\n By contrast, the top tier of candidates identified by the committee included \u201ca federal judge, a retired three-star vice admiral in the U.S. navy, an internal associate dean, a general counsel for a wing of the U.S. Air Force, multiple deans of smaller schools and more.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, but had any of those candidates led an organization that accused Pop-Tarts of making kids gay?<\/a> Because Epstein has.<\/p>\n After FIU\u2019s president \u2014 former Ron DeSantis lieutenant governor Jeannette Nu\u00f1ez with scant serious higher education experience herself \u2014 and provost Elizabeth B\u00e9jar interviewed the candidates selected by people who understand things like \u201claw\u201d and \u201ceducation,\u201d they tossed the whole slate and hired Trump\u2019s bumbling attorney instead. B\u00e9jar explained<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, when the President and I met with each of the finalists, perhaps we hadn\u2019t articulated the appropriate vision moving forward for the College of Law. So, that\u2019s not on the search committee, it\u2019s not on the search firm, that\u2019s on the administration.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This is a fair assessment, because the committee and the search firm belabored under a vision of seeking academic and professional excellence. The president and provost wanted something\u2026 not that.<\/p>\n In the cover letter Epstein submitted \u2014 also obtained by the Miami Herald \u2014 he pitched FIU as the anti-Ivy, arguing the elite schools are \u201cscrambling\u201d to look viewpoint-diverse but are \u201cstuck with the faculty they have, who will block necessary reforms.\u201d Stifling wrongthink and purging faculty standing in the way? Now there\u2019s<\/em> a vision Nu\u00f1ez and B\u00e9jar can get behind!<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks like politics has superseded merit,\u201d Smith told the Herald, summing up conservative hiring for everything from higher ed to the federal judiciary.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a story that\u2019s hit Florida particularly hard. In its drive to rework its schools into right-wing reeducation camps, the state hollowed out New College, passed a law dictating what public institutions may say about American history<\/a>, and started toying with dropping ABA accreditation altogether<\/a>. Against that backdrop, the idea that a political hack installed as the university president would toss a list of 20 capable, qualified candidates to elevate a Trump crony is\u2026 unsurprising. <\/p>\n Former FIU Law dean Len Strickman told the Herald the ruling was \u201cfairly serious.\u201d It also raises a PR problem, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes the university want to present to the public a face of having its law school led by somebody who has been disciplined for unethical conduct? That\u2019s obviously up to the powers that be in the university for now,\u201d Strickman said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That FIU deanship has created its share of PR problems since Strickman\u2019s day. The first thing many people remember about FIU Law is that it used to be run by Alex Acosta, Trump\u2019s first term Labor Secretary who had to resign from the cabinet when people started asking questions about the sweetheart plea deal he\u2019d cut years earlier for\u2026 Jeffrey Epstein. <\/p>\n Man, FIU has a recurring Epstein problem.<\/p>\n \u201cCentral to the values [of FIU] is preparing the law students to meet a high ethical and professional standard. Nothing could undermine these principles of ethics and professionalism than to have a poster boy for ethical corruption serving as the dean of the law school,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n On the other hand, Nu\u00f1ez and B\u00e9jar had a \u201cvision\u201d to create the next generation of lawyers willing to fight gay Pop-Tarts, and a dean sanctioned by the local federal court is a small price to pay for that kind of leadership.<\/p>\n \u2018Unusual\u2019: How a Trump attorney became interim dean of FIU\u2019s up-and-coming law school<\/a> [Miami Herald]<\/p>\n Earlier<\/strong>: Judge Cites Supreme Court\u2019s Newfound Unitary Executive Theory To Blow Up Trump\u2019s IRS Settlement<\/a> The post FIU Installs Sanctioned Trump Attorney As Interim Law Dean, Overruling Its Own Search Committee<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n The interim dean of the Florida International University College of Law starts in August. He cannot, at the moment, even ASK to appear in the federal courthouse down the road.<\/p>\n Daniel Epstein is FIU Law\u2019s new interim dean<\/a>. Prior to this job, Epstein\u2019s worked as Trump personal attorney and as vice president if America First Legal \u2014 non-lawyer Stephen Miller\u2019s \u201cwokeness<\/a> ambulance<\/a> chaser<\/a>\u201d outfit. Now he rises to lead a school of aspiring professionals just weeks after a federal judge imposed professional sanctions barring him from seeking pro hac<\/em> admission to practice<\/a> in the Southern District of Florida for a year.<\/p>\n Those who can, do; those who can\u2019t, take administrative roles to become an unnecessary obstacle to those who teach.<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s sanction stems from Trump\u2019s \u201cone neat trick\u201d lawsuit against himself. The president sent his lawyers to sue the IRS over a tax records leak that occurred during Trump\u2019s first administration. Then, using his control of the IRS, Trump\u2019s DOJ settled the case, granting Trump and his family a sweeping release from future investigations and a $1.776 billion slush fund for January 6 rioters and other Trump cronies. Including, notably, a child molester who tried to bribe victims into silence with future payouts from Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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Has A Law School Had A Dean Facing Court Sanctions Before? Asking For THIS Law School.<\/a><\/p>\n
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Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/09\/facepalm-fear-shame-embarrassed-embarrassment-face-to-palm-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
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