August 22, 2000

Hon. Shira A. Scheindlin, U.S.D.J.

United States District Court

Southern District of New York

500 Pearl Street, room 1050

New York, NY 10007

Re: Leventhal v. Reno

99 CIV. 10405 (SAS)

Dear Judge Scheindlin:

I would like to begin by apologizing for any inappropriateness of this letter. It’s 4:15 in the morning, I have to get ready for work in a few short hours, but I feel compelled to write.

My wife Caryl (the plaintiff) is lying in bed very upset over events in this case. Normally, she is a very intrepid person who hasn’t had an exacerbation of Multiple Sclerosis since 1996 and this can do her no good. I haven’t seen her this frightened since we received (and recorded) a death threat in April 1998 during the pre-requisite Administrative Complaint Process.

With that said, I must tell you that if a trial is held on September 25, 2000, justice will not be served. And I’m turning to you because I really don’t know what to do.

We are not litigious people. We are libertarians who believe people should work out difficulties one-on-one. On more than one occasion, I have stated that this should never have needed to be resolved in federal court. I repeated this on June 1, 2000 when we met with the really great Magistrate you chose during mandatory mediation. Indeed, Caryl told him that if given the choice between a finding of complicity and $1.00, versus a $10,000,000.00 settlement with no admission, she would choose the former. We are not wealthy people, but we are defined by a code of honor. In point of fact, both Caryl and I feel that the concept of monetary compensation sullies her fight for justice.

During three years of battle, all we wanted was for Caryl’s records to be changed to reflect what happened and that the perpetrators be punished. The former is important to Caryl. She is an adoptee of the Jewish Faith and feels that her records are a blemish on the people she has come to cherish. Her principles are one of the many reasons why I adore her. As a decorated soldier and defender of our institutions of government, the latter is possibly most important to me.

During mediation, the US Attorney chose the road of continued dishonor and we were forced into a federal court battle.

Unnecessarily and at the request of the US Attorney, the Discovery process was extended twice. Contrary to Caryl’s wishes he even continued the depositions days after the extended process had ended. After months of my pleading with him to finish deposing Caryl before the onset of hot weather, he chose her fourth to be in the month of July. Informally, he told me "You know... if Ms. Leventhal has another exacerbation (her first since 1996), we can say that what happened in 1996 was just the normal course of her disease."

Even after my own Deposition in July 2000, I told the US Attorney, "You know, if someone in the Justice Department just told Caryl they were sorry about what happened, she would probably break down and cry with happiness. Then we could begin to work everything out without wasting the people’s money." The US Attorney’s response was to say that it couldn’t be done. I suppose the US Department Of Justice places narcissism above nation.

My apologies for digressing. I suppose it just had to be said. Lawyers have always thought Caryl and I were crazy for our views. But during this long four year struggle, I’ve found that judges see our legal system as something greater than a process for making money.

In any event, we all met with you on August 14, 2000 for the pre-trial hearing.

[Note: This omitted portion relates to giving Judge Scheindlin v-e-r-y relevant reasons why Caryl feels that a trial on such short notice would be compromised.  In the interests of propriety, these reasons will not be published.]  

Your Honor, I’m a computer scientist. I live in a world that’s very straight forward. If it’s broken, you fix it. There are no rules and infinite interpretations for every move. You simply make right what’s wrong. I’m also a soldier (holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel). In May 1998 I was decorated for saving the life of a civilian during a crime scene where a police officer was cowering in his squad car. To me, my response was very straight forward. I knew what had to be done because it was the right thing to do.

I can’t protect Caryl in the federal court system. I simply don’t know how and September 25^th gives me no time at all to figure things out or make things better. Caryl is a brave person. She can handle a loss in a fair fight. But I don’t know what will happen to her if she’s forced to witness a system stacked against her. The court system is the last branch of government in which she has any faith. And faith in what’s right is all she has left.

Very truly yours,

MICHAEL G. LEVENTHAL