A lawyer for Bernard Madoff urged a federal appeals court to free the jailed money manager, who has spent a week behind bars after admitting he orchestrated the largest Ponzi scheme in history.
The US Court of Appeals in New York today took up Madoff’s expedited appeal of a lower court judge’s order that he be jailed while awaiting sentencing June 16th for defrauding thousands of investors.
Madoff (70) held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in lower Manhattan, wasn’t at today’s hearing.
The judges ordered a brief recess after the oral arguments and may rule as soon as today. US Circuit Judges Dennis Jacobs, Richard Wesley and Robert Sack will decide whether US District Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan abused his discretion when he revoked Madoff’s $10 million bail following his guilty plea. Madoff faces as much as 150 years in prison.
“The district judge acted well within its discretion to adjudicate bail matters,” assistant US Attorney Lisa Baroni said in court papers.
Madoff lawyer Ira Sorkin is seeking a ruling restoring bail. Between December 11th, when Madoff was arrested, and March 12th, Madoff was free on bail and subject to home confinement in his $7 million Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan.
Sorkin told the judges at today’s hearing that his client has overcome a legal presumption that he should be jailed because the money manager isn’t a “flight risk.
He said the decision to jail Madoff was “clearly erroneous,” the lawyer told the three-judge panel.
Sorkin noted that Madoff, while at home, was watched by cameras and guards approved by the government.
Bloomberg