Steven Donziger talking to his supporters demonstrating on the street outside his apartment calling to “Free Steven” on his 500th day in house arrest in Manhattan, New York on Dec. 18, 2020. Photo: Ryland West/ALM
As embattled lawyer Steven Donziger and his team prepare for his May 10 criminal contempt-of-court trial, their unorthodox legal maneuvering, at least some of it seemingly aimed at putting public pressure on the presiding judge, has begun.
One of Donziger’s raft of pro bono lawyers, Martin Garbus, the 86-year-old attorney whom The Guardian once called “one of the world’s finest trial lawyers,” last Monday submitted a one-line letter to presiding U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York.
