I think Judge Kaplan’s apparent dislike of SBF has been widely reported and I assume we’ll have to agree to disagree on whether that biased any of his judgments in this case.
Yeah, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that.
I don’t have videotape of Judge Kaplan, of course, but some behavior that may come across as “apparent dislike” could actually reflect sound courtroom management techniques. For instance, sternly lecturing an defendant who does things like use a VPN while on tight electronic lockdown is a restrained use of the district court’s power, authority, and responsibility to manage the proceedings before it. It can be an attempt to prod an errant defendant back in line without bringing out the heavier-handed powers (although Judge Kaplan did end up remanding SBF after the second tampering episode, on which he was affirmed by the Second Circuit).
Yeah, we’ll have to agree to disagree on that.
I don’t have videotape of Judge Kaplan, of course, but some behavior that may come across as “apparent dislike” could actually reflect sound courtroom management techniques. For instance, sternly lecturing an defendant who does things like use a VPN while on tight electronic lockdown is a restrained use of the district court’s power, authority, and responsibility to manage the proceedings before it. It can be an attempt to prod an errant defendant back in line without bringing out the heavier-handed powers (although Judge Kaplan did end up remanding SBF after the second tampering episode, on which he was affirmed by the Second Circuit).