Stock Photo By John Hoff
An inveterate courthouse observer was in attendance, today, at a hearing for Marlon Pratt, who is in waaaaay over his head in the Universal Mortgage fraud mess.
Larry Reed was there representing Pratt as his attorney. Reed was also the attorney for Larry "Maximum" Maxwell, convicted on 18 felonies related to mortgage fraud. Pratt was allegedly part of the different, separate "Universal Mortgage" fraud ring led by Donald Walthall, and I observed Pratt in in the court frequently during the Maxwell trail, watching his attorney in action. (You'd think Pratt would have copped a plea deal by now, considering how badly things went for Maxwell, but don't we ALL live on hope?)
According to my source, he walked in today just as...
the judge, The Honorable Steve Lange, was responding to an argument by Defense Counsel Larry Reed. The judge was reportedly speaking to Reed in a stern tone, "ripping Reed apart" according to my source, and being much more harsh with Reed than Judge Chu had been during the Maxwell trial. (And she was pretty harsh at the point she was declaring Reed in contempt, though her tone never went beyond "firm admonishment."
The judge in this case-- seemed "offended" according to my source, and the words which had offended the judge could be inferred from the judge's response. The word "conspiracy" was used. Apparently, Larry Reed had argued about there being a "conspiracy" against his client.
At some point, Larry Reed was forced to backpedal, and state he was, after all, only stating what his CLIENT felt. My source described Reed as "reeling" from the tongue lashing by Judge Lange.
Apparently, Judge Lange is retired and has his own arbitration practice, but comes out for really big and complex cases. Word is he has property in Arizona and splits his time between Arizona and Minnesota. He has a stellar reputation as a judge.
EDITORIAL REMARK DIRECTED AT MARLON PRATT: See my previous editorial on this subject. Can you not extrapolate and infer the way things will go for you, just based on how today's hearing went?
Beg for mercy from the prosecutor and cop some kind of plea. You will inevitably do several years in jail, but you will do LESS if you make the smart moves now. Don't make me blog about this months later and call you a dumb a**.
Larry Reed was there representing Pratt as his attorney. Reed was also the attorney for Larry "Maximum" Maxwell, convicted on 18 felonies related to mortgage fraud. Pratt was allegedly part of the different, separate "Universal Mortgage" fraud ring led by Donald Walthall, and I observed Pratt in in the court frequently during the Maxwell trail, watching his attorney in action. (You'd think Pratt would have copped a plea deal by now, considering how badly things went for Maxwell, but don't we ALL live on hope?)
According to my source, he walked in today just as...
the judge, The Honorable Steve Lange, was responding to an argument by Defense Counsel Larry Reed. The judge was reportedly speaking to Reed in a stern tone, "ripping Reed apart" according to my source, and being much more harsh with Reed than Judge Chu had been during the Maxwell trial. (And she was pretty harsh at the point she was declaring Reed in contempt, though her tone never went beyond "firm admonishment."
The judge in this case-- seemed "offended" according to my source, and the words which had offended the judge could be inferred from the judge's response. The word "conspiracy" was used. Apparently, Larry Reed had argued about there being a "conspiracy" against his client.
At some point, Larry Reed was forced to backpedal, and state he was, after all, only stating what his CLIENT felt. My source described Reed as "reeling" from the tongue lashing by Judge Lange.
Apparently, Judge Lange is retired and has his own arbitration practice, but comes out for really big and complex cases. Word is he has property in Arizona and splits his time between Arizona and Minnesota. He has a stellar reputation as a judge.
EDITORIAL REMARK DIRECTED AT MARLON PRATT: See my previous editorial on this subject. Can you not extrapolate and infer the way things will go for you, just based on how today's hearing went?
Beg for mercy from the prosecutor and cop some kind of plea. You will inevitably do several years in jail, but you will do LESS if you make the smart moves now. Don't make me blog about this months later and call you a dumb a**.
2 comments:
The Judge (Lange) was the judge who ordered the preservation of the Minneapolis Armory. He is thoughtful, methodical, and bold. If you are on his bad side, I would recommend any course of action that would keep you out of a courtroom. Judge Lange takes sheet from nobody.
I don't know about a "conspiracy" (of dunces???) but there's a common thread that's tying "Maxi" Maxwell and Marlon "Univeral" Pratt together: that's Larry "Perry Mason" Reed!!! Thank god Pratt scraped together the dough to get the brilliant Reed to defend him in his time of need.
Common threads, when pulled, often unravel unstable fabric...
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