Trudeau Nets Contempt Appeal

May 21, 2010

The Chicago Tribune

By Duaa Eldeib

Infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau was spared 30 days in prison when a federal appeals court Thursday overturned a ruling in which a judge held him in criminal contempt of court.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had made the ruling after Trudeau urged supporters to communicate with the judge, and the judge’s e-mail inbox was flooded with messages.

Gettleman has been presiding over a dispute between the Federal Trade Commission and Trudeau regarding Trudeau’s hair- and weight-loss treatments.

Click here for the full report.

Judge Dismisses Trudeau Contempt Conviction

May 21, 2010

ABC News

Author and infomercial pitchman Kevin Trudeau will not have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court.

Click here for the full report.

7th Circuit Nixes 30-Day Jail Term for Infomercial Pitchman Whose Fans Flooded Judge’s E-Mail Inbox

May 20, 2010

ABAJournal

by Martha Neil

A 30-day jail term for criminal contempt imposed on an infomercial pitchman after his followers flooded a federal judge’s BlackBerry and courthouse computer inbox with e-mail has been nixed by the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Court of Appeals.

Because U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman didn’t actually see the conduct at issue, which occurred outside the courtroom, and there was no need for an immediate, emergency sanction to keep his courtroom functioning, his summary finding that Kevin Trudeau was in direct criminal contempt was inappropriate, according to the court’s opinion today.

And, because the summary disposition of the case, without an evidentiary hearing, hasn’t established a sufficient record to determine on appeal whether a criminal contempt finding was appropriate under standard procedures, the appeals court vacated not only Trudeau’s 30-day sentence but the contempt finding itself.

However, Trudeau could still be found in contempt on remand, after evidence is presented, the appeals court said. His followers sent some 300 e-mails to the judge within 36 hours, some with threatening overtones.

As the court recounts in the opinion, Trudeau was already in federal court in Chicago for a civil contempt proceeding when the e-mail issue intervened. Initially fined $40 million for violating a consent order requiring him not to misrepresent the contents of his books on television, he was awaiting a new penalty after the 7th Circuit overturned the $40 million fine.

Meanwhile, he wound up being held in criminal contempt after urging his fans to e-mail Gettleman. The resulting deluge reportedly crashed both the judge’s BlackBerry and his court computer. (Gettleman thought he had not made his e-mail address public, but Northwestern University School of Law, where he teaches as an adjunct, had included it on his faculty Web listing, the opinion notes.)

Click here to read the full report

Court Spares Infomercial Pitchman From Jail

May 20, 2010

Google.com

An appeals court in Chicago has ruled that an infomercial pitchman won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s e-mail inbox.

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Kevin Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction on Thursday. It says a judge cannot find a defendant in contempt on the spot and without a hearing unless the offending action occurred in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters. Gettleman argued that a contempt ruling was appropriate because his computer was part of his court.

The judge has overseen a long-running legal battle between Trudeau and the Federal Trade Commission.

Click here for the full report

Infomercial Pitchman Avoids Jail

May 20, 2010

KWQC.com

An appeals court in Chicago says infomercial pitchman and author Kevin Trudeau won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s computer with e-mails.

The appeals court on Thursday dismissed Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction, saying an act of contempt must occur in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were both jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters.

The appeals court disagreed with Gettleman’s finding that Trudeau had in effect committed contempt in the presence of the judge because the computer was a part of his court.

Trudeau has been fighting a battle with the Federal Trade Commission before Gettleman.

Click here to read the full report

Infomercial Pitchman Avoids Jail

May 20, 2010

CBS2Chicago.com

An appeals court in Chicago says infomercial pitchman and author Kevin Trudeau won’t have to serve a 30-day jail sentence for getting his supporters to flood a federal judge’s computer with e-mails.

The appeals court on Thursday dismissed Trudeau’s contempt of court conviction, saying an act of contempt must occur in the presence of the judge.

U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman had found Trudeau in contempt after his computer and BlackBerry were both jammed with e-mails from Trudeau’s supporters.

The appeals court disagreed with Gettleman’s finding that Trudeau had in effect committed contempt in the presence of the judge because the computer was a part of his court.

Trudeau has been fighting a battle with the Federal Trade Commission before Gettleman.

Click here to read the full report

Update on Oral Arguments in Court

As you all know, we presented our oral arguments in front of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in my criminal contempt case today.

Click here to listen to each side of the oral arguments heard today.

And click here to read what the media has said about today’s hearing.

Yours in Health,
KT

Update on Criminal Contempt Case

Today, we filed our reply to the opposition brief in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in my criminal contempt case.

Click here to read the reply

-KT

Update from Kevin!

Today the opposition submitted their brief in my criminal content case.

Click here to read their side of the story and click here to read mine.

We will be back in court for oral arguments on April 8th. Stay tuned for updates.

Judge won’t give infomercial pitchman approval to visit Canada while appealing 30-day sentence

February 25, 2010

Canadian Business

By Mike Robinson

A federal judge refused Wednesday to give infomercial pitchman and author Kevin Trudeau permission to visit Canada next month while appeals his 30-day criminal contempt sentence in Chicago.

U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said Trudeau’s $50,000 bond, which also requires him to surrender his passport, was set by a federal appeals court. The judge said he has no authority to interfere with the higher court’s order by giving him permission to go to Canada.

While the bond set by the appeals court does require the passport be surrendered, Gettleman noted he saw nothing in it that would specifically bar a visit to Canada. But he said he was not certain of just what it allows.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” he told Trudeau.

Trudeau — who sells books advocating “natural cures” for a variety of ailments — has been fighting a court battle since 2003 with the Federal Trade Commission over alleged misleading advertising for a diet book.

Gettleman last week found Trudeau in criminal contempt, sentencing him to 30 days and fining him $50,000 — later reduced to $5,000 — for urging his supporters to flood the judge’s computer with messages praising his remedies.

The hundreds of messages that followed crashed Gettleman’s computer and inundated the judge’s BlackBerry while he was teaching a course at Northwestern University law school.

Trudeau left court Wednesday with attorney Thomas Kirsch II, who said they were still deciding whether to take their travel request to the appeals court.

Trudeau said he wants to visit Toronto and Vancouver for unspecified business reasons. The appeals court has yet to decide if it will hold a hearing on the appeal of Gettleman’s sentence.

Click here for the full report

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