Courts
generally
frown
on
missing
deadlines.
They
also
don’t
like
when
folks
appearing
before
them
are
late.
Put
both
together
and
it’s
like
gleaming
the
cube
of
irritation
for
a
judge.
Add
in
a
3:30
a.m.
filing
and
you’ve
got
a
well
and
truly
pissed-off
judge.
Former
Massachusetts
state
senator
Dean
Tran
was
convicted
on
charges
he
improperly
collected
unemployment
benefits
under
a
pandemic
relief
program.
Prosecutors
are
recommending
a
two-year
prison
sentence.
He
was
due
to
be
sentenced
on
January
17th,
but
in
the
wee
hours
of
the
morning
—
3:30
a.m.
—
his
attorney,
Michael
Walsh,
filed
a
sentencing
memo
challenging
the
advisory
sentencing
guidelines.
What’s
more,
he
showed
up
at
10:06
a.m.
for
the
10:00
a.m.
hearing.
And
Judge
F.
Dennis
Saylor
IV
was
not
pleased
about
any
of
that,
as
reported
by
Law360:
“I’m
unhappy,
very
unhappy
that
Mr.
Walsh
was
late,
I’m
unhappy
that
Mr.
Tran
was
out
in
the
hall
when
I
took
the
bench,
and
what
I’m
really
unhappy
about
is
that
this
morning
the
defendant
filed
a
sentencing
memorandum
that
raises
a
number
of
issues,”
Judge
Saylor
continued.“There
was
a
deadline
for
doing
that,
which
Mr.
Walsh
blew
through,”
Judge
Saylor
said.
But
there
was
no
emergency
or
unforeseen
circumstance
that
justified
the
last
minute
filing
—
Walsh
just
explained
that
it’s
hard
work
being
a
lawyer.
“I
spent
weeks
with
the
sentencing
manual
trying
to
figure
out
which
way
is
up,”
Walsh,
speaking
rapidly,
told
the
judge.“Most
of
us
were
in
bed
at
3:30
this
morning,
asleep,”
Judge
Saylor
responded.
“I
was
certainly
not
sitting
up
waiting
for
you.”
The
judge
said
the
situation
was
“unfair
and
inappropriate,”
but,
fearing
Tran
could
argue
ineffective
counsel
on
appeal
if
he
refused
to
consider
the
memo,
he
pushed
sentencing
back
to
February
7th.
One
bit
of
advice
for
Walsh:
shows
up
on
time.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].