Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Against MDC – But Allows For Reinstatement If Inmates Are Named As Plaintiffs

Will The Vanguard step up on behalf of his fellow prisoners?

Readers of Frank Report are familiar with the lawsuit that was brought by the Federal Defenders of New York after most of the prisoners at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, NY went without heat and electricity – and without visits from family members, friends and attorneys – for more than a week back in January.

At least one inmate, Keith Alan Raniere AKA The Vanguard, attempted to use the problems at MDC to his own advantage as he pushed to be released on bail while he awaits trial on a variety of federal charges.

Of course, Raniere’s attempt failed – and he was ordered to remain at MDC until his trial starts on April 29th.

But now, Raniere has an opportunity to act as the humanitarian he claims to be – and to step up on behalf of all the prisoners who are housed at MDC.

That’s because U.S. District Court Judge Margo K. Brodie, who is presiding over the MDC lawsuit, has ruled that the Federal Defenders of New York – which is a nonprofit organization that provides legal representation for indigent defendants – does not have standing to pursue the lawsuit.

So we don’t get all bogged down in legal mumbo-jumbo, let’s see what USLegal.com has to say about the term “standing”:

“Standing is the ability of a party to bring a lawsuit in court based upon their stake in the outcome. A party seeking to demonstrate standing must be able to show the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged. Otherwise, the court will rule that you ‘lack standing’ to bring the suit and dismiss your case”.

OK…Easy Peasy…What Judge Brodie said in her ruling is that the Federal Defenders of New York is not the right entity to assert claims on behalf of the inmates at MDC.

Her actual words were: “Here, I think the government is right, that as to the Sixth Amendment, it is the right of the accused and not the lawyers. While the inmates have the right to bring this particular claim, the Federal Defenders don’t.”

And so, rather than completely dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Brodie has given the Federal Defenders of New York permission to amend it by adding the names of some MDC inmates who were personally disaffected by the power outage at MDC.

Which leads us back to The Vanguard.

Is there any inmate other than The Vanguard who is better suited to stand up for the rights of all the inmates there?

According to his still-active website, www.keithraniere.com, “Keith Raniere has devoted his life to studying the complex issues that face our modern world, and to developing tools to enhance the human experience through community, social action, science, technology and education”.

Sounds like just the guy to stand before Judge Brodie – and convince her that all the inmates at MDC should be allowed to leave that hell-hole.

Just imagine the greetings he would receive after he wowed Judge Brodie with his “logic”, his “integrative solutions”, his “problem-solving ability”, his “147 international patents including 47 in the United States, in a variety of technical fields” – and got her to release all the inmates there.

Chants of “Vanguard, Vanguard, Vanguard…Our Hero…Our Savior…Our Vanguard” would resonate throughout the prison complex.

Which is so much nicer than the taunts of “Crybaby Jane”…“Gushing Guru”…“Keith Manson” and “Fuck Boy” that currently get shouted whenever Raniere enters a room at MDC.

So, here we have the perfect opportunity for Raniere to star and shine – and to prove to one and all that he is a true humanitarian.

And he won’t even have to tap into Clare Bronfman’s Legal Defense Trust Fund to make an appearance in the pending lawsuit because the Federal Defenders of New York are being represented by Sean Hecker, Jenna M. Dabbs, Joshua Matz Derek Wikstrom, Matthew J. Craig and Benjamin D. White of Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP.

And in an ironic twist of fate, the Federal Bureau of Prisons is being defended by Seth D. Eichenholtz, Sean P. Greene and Clayton P. Solomon – all of whom work for – you guessed it – the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Viva La Vanguardia!

*****

For those Frank Report readers that want to keep track of what happens next in this case, its proper citation is Federal Defenders of New York v. Federal Bureau of Prisons, Case No. 1:19-cv-00660, in the Eastern District of New York.

K.R. Claviger