Lisa Giannelli | Horse Racing Free Tips

Evidence gathered by the FBI, including wiretaps, may be used at trial against the trainers, veterinarians, and others charged with federal drug adulteration and misbranding. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vsykocil made the ruling at an in-person hearing conducted Nov. 4. The judge has not yet filed a full legal opinion detailing her reasoning for denying the motions, which alleged the FBI had attained the wiretaps using misleading information on its application.

Several defendants, including trainer Jason Servis, had filed their own motions to suppress or joined together on existing motions. Motions from Jordan Fishman, Marcos Zulueta, and Christopher Oakes had been withdrawn when those defendants entered guilty pleas in recent weeks.

Judge Vyskocil also moved forward with trial scheduling. Attorneys had already agreed that the remaining defendants would be clustered in three groupings for trial purposes, according to who seemed to have worked together in the relevant, alleged criminal activities. The first group will consist of Dr. Seth Fishman, who is accused of making a number of performance-enhancing substances, and Lisa Giannelli, who is accused of helping to distribute those products. An order from the judge entered Nov. 4 stated the first trial is expected to begin on or about Jan. 19, 2022.

Defendants in the second group could see a trial toward the latter part of the first quarter of 2022, though a date range was not included in the Nov. 4 order. That grouping includes Rick Dane Jr. and Dr. Rebecca Linke.

The remaining defendants include Dr. Erica Garcia, Jason Servis, Michael Tannuzzo, and Dr. Alex Chan. Prosecutors have expressed a desire to try those four defendants together, although the judge left the door open this week that she may hear severance motions if any of the defendants move to be tried separately.

The next status conference in the case is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2022.

The post Judge Dismisses Motions To Suppress Wiretap Evidence In Federal Case, First Trial Date Set appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Lawyers for banned trainer Jorge Navarro and six other defendants in the alleged nationwide racehorse doping conspiracy informed United States District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil late on Thursday that a “Motion to Recuse” filing is imminent that will ask her to step away from handling their cases.

A motion to recuse is a formal request for a judge to remove him/herself based on prejudice or conflict.

Either side in a case can make this motion, but the moving party bears the burden of proving that there are reasonable grounds that the judge would not act fairly and/or objectively, and any alleged prejudices must be outlined in an affidavit.

A judge facing a recusal motion can ask another judge to rule on it, and a recusal would mean an alternate judge gets assigned. Motions to recuse that are deemed to be delaying tactics are expressly forbidden, but not unheard of.

The request from Navarro, which was joined by defendants Seth Fishman, Jordan Fishman, Erica Garcia, Christopher Oakes, Michael Tannuzzo and Lisa Giannelli, was filed eight days before the first status hearing in the case since November is scheduled to be held. That May 14 hearing is expected to include the judge's long-awaited timeline for the trial.

In the form of a letter filed May 6 in U.S. District Court (Southern District of New York), Navarro and the other defendants stated, “We write to advise your Honor that, following a joint conference amongst counsel for the Defendants, Defendants are contemplating a Motion to Recuse your Honor. The issue was raised with the government [May 6] on a telephone conference.”

In light of the expected motion to recuse, the defendants are also asking that the judge “hold in abeyance any rulings” that might be forthcoming with regard to the defendants' previously filed motion to dismiss the case entirely.

The federal case against the alleged network of racehorse dopers is the result of a March 2020 spate of arrests in relation to a purported years-long conspiracy to manufacture, mislabel, rebrand, distribute and administer performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds across America and in international races.

There are seven other defendants whose cases are also being adjudicated by Vyskocil; others under the auspices of different judges.

The post Navarro, Others, Ask Federal Judge to Recuse Herself appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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