Groups Seek Reversal of Quattrone’s Conviction
Three criminal defense groups are asking an appeals court to overturn the obstruction-of-justice conviction of former Credit Suisse First Boston investment banker Frank Quattrone, citing what they termed the “transparent bias” of the judge in the case.
The groups, which filed what they called an unusual brief this week in a federal appeals court in New York, assailed rulings by U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who presided over Quattrone’s trial in May.
Quattrone is appealing the conviction, saying there wasn’t enough evidence against him and that Owen appeared biased in the case.
The groups, including the National Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers, typically file “friend-of-the-court” briefs to address substantial issues of law, not to focus on the facts in a particular case or to criticize presiding judges.
The brief argued in favor of Quattrone’s appeal because the case presented a “fundamental problem: the breakdown of the adversary process, in which there should be a prosecutor, a defense attorney and an impartial judge acting as an arbiter between them.”
“Unfortunately, the record reveals that the trial court abandoned that position in favor of transparent bias against the defendant,” the groups wrote.
Owen, 82, has frequently been a target of criticism by defense attorneys. A call to his federal court chambers in Manhattan wasn’t immediately returned. The groups’ move was reported Thursday by the New York Times.
The national defense lawyers’ organization was joined in the brief by the New York State Assn. of Criminal Defense Lawyers and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
Quattrone, who made $120 million in 2000 as CSFB’s top technology banker, was convicted of hindering probes into how CSFB allocated shares in initial public stock offerings. He is the highest-ranking securities executive to face prison since junk-bond pioneer Michael Milken, who served two years in federal prison after being convicted of securities fraud in 1990.
Quattrone, who is free on bail, was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
