United States Second Circuit

Defendants' convictions for violating government restrictions on communications and other contacts with Sheikh Omar Ahmad Ali Abdel Rahman, a high-security federal prisoner, are affirmed in part where: 1) defendants concealed their efforts to obtain statements from Rahman to publicize on his behalf; 2) Rahman's attorney agreed to the restrictions and thus could not collaterally attack their constitutionality; and 3) a reasonable jury could have found that defendants participated in a conspiracy to murder persons abroad. However, the sentence of one defendant, who was Rahman's attorney, is vacated where the district court needed to 1) reconsider the extent to which her status as a lawyer affected the appropriate sentence; and 2) determine whether defendant's conduct was perjurious and, if so, determine its effect on her sentence.

Appellate Information

• Argued 01/29/2008
• Decided 11/17/2009
• Published 11/17/2009

Judges

• Before: WALKER, CALABRESI, and SACK, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Second Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Joshua L. Dratel (Meredith S. Heller, Erik B. Levin, David B. Rankin, of counsel), Law Offices of Joshua L. Dratel, P.C., New York, NY, for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Lynne Stewart., Robert A. Soloway (David Stern, David A. Ruhnke, of counsel) Rothman Schneider Soloway & Stern, LLP, New York, NY, and Ruhnke & Barrett, Montclair, NJ, for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Mohammed Yousry., Barry M. Fallick (Jillian S. Harrington, Kenneth A. Paul, of counsel) Rochman Platzer Fallick Sternheim Luca & Pearl, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Ahmed Abdel Sattar., Anthony S. Barkow, Assistant United States Attorney (Michael J. Garcia, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Andrew S. Dember, Michael D. Maimin, Diane Gujarati, Katherine Polk Failla, Celeste L. Koeleveld, Assistant United States Attorneys, of counsel), New York, NY, for Appellee-Cross-Appellant.