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DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL

Thomas H. Bienert, Jr. (CA Bar No.135311, admitted pro hac vice)

Whitney Z. Bernstein (CA Bar No. 304917, admitted pro hac vice)

BIENERT KATZMAN LITTRELL WILLIAMS LLP

903 Calle Amanecer, Suite 350

San Clemente, California 92673

Telephone: (949) 369-3700

Facsimile: (949) 369-3701

tbienert@bklwlaw.com

wbernstein@bklwlaw.com

Attorneys for James Larkin

Paul J. Cambria, Jr. (NY Bar No. 1430909, admitted pro hac vice)

Erin McCampbell (NY Bar. No 4480166, admitted pro hac vice)

LIPSITZ GREEN SCIME CAMBRIA LLP

42 Delaware Avenue, Suite 120

Buffalo, New York 14202

Telephone: (716) 849-1333

Facsimile: (716) 855-1580

pcambria@lglaw.com

emccampbell@lglaw.com

Attorneys for Michael Lacey

Additional counsel listed on next page

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

United States of America,

Plaintiff,

vs.

Michael Lacey, et al., 

 

Defendants.

Case No. 2:18-cr-00422-PHX-DJH

DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 1445 Filed 01/03/22 Page 1 of 5
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DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL

Gary S. Lincenberg (CA Bar No. 123058, admitted pro hac vice)

Ariel A. Neuman (CA Bar No. 241594, admitted pro hac vice)

Gopi K. Panchapakesan (CA Bar No. 279856, admitted pro hac vice)

BIRD, MARELLA, BOXER, WOLPERT, NESSIM,

DROOKS, LINCENBERG & RHOW PC

1875 Century Park East, 23rd Floor

Los Angeles, California 90067-2561

Telephone: (310) 201-2100

Facsimile: (310) 201-2110

glincenberg@birdmarella.com

aneuman@birdmarella.com

gpanchapakesan@birdmarella.com

Attorneys for John Brunst

Bruce Feder (AZ Bar No. 004832)

FEDER LAW OFFICE PA

2930 E. Camelback Road, Suite 160

Phoenix, Arizona 85016

Telephone: (602) 257-0135

bf@federlawpa.com

Attorney for Scott Spear

David Eisenberg (AZ Bar No. 017218)

DAVID EISENBERG PLC

3550 N. Central Ave., Suite 1155

Phoenix, Arizona 85012

Telephone: (602) 237-5076

Facsimile: (602) 314-6273

david@deisenbergplc.com

Attorney for Andrew Padilla

Joy Malby Bertrand (AZ Bar No. 024181)

JOY BERTRAND ESQ LLC

P.O. Box 2734

Scottsdale, Arizona 85252

Telephone: (602)374-5321

Facsimile: (480)361-4694

joy.bertrand@gmail.com

Attorney for Joye Vaught

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DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL

Defendants Michael Lacey, James Larkin, John Brunst, Scott Spear, Andrew Padilla, and 

Joye Vaught, by and through their counsel, appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the 

Ninth Circuit from the Order (Dkt. 1444) filed December 29, 2021. The Order denied

Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice (Dkt. 1355) filed October 20, 2021, which asserted, 

inter alia, that the Double Jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States 

Constitution precludes a retrial. 

The appeal of an order denying a double jeopardy motion constitutes an immediately 

appealable final decision. Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 661-62 (1977). This is because:

the guarantee against double jeopardy assures an individual that, among other things, 

he will not be forced, with certain exceptions, to endure the personal strain, public 

embarrassment, and expense of a criminal trial more than once for the same offense. 

. . . Obviously, these aspects of the guarantee’s protections would be lost if the 

accused were forced to “run the gauntlet” a second time before an appeal could be 

taken . . . Consequently, if a criminal defendant is to avoid exposure to double 

jeopardy and thereby enjoy the full protection of the Clause, his double jeopardy 

challenge to the indictment must be reviewable before that subsequent exposure 

occurs.

Id. Moreover, because Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice was not frivolous, and the 

Court’s lengthy Order denying the motion does not even suggest otherwise, “the district court is 

automatically divested of jurisdiction to proceed with trial pending appeal.” Chuman v. Wright, 960 

F.2d 104, 105 (9th Cir. 1992). See also United States v. LaMere, 951 F.2d 1106, 1108 (9th Cir. 1991); 

United States v. Dunbar, 611 F.2d 985, 988 (5th Cir.) (1980) (absent “written findings determining [] 

the [double jeopardy] motion is frivolous . . . the trial cannot proceed until a determination is made 

of the merits of an appeal”).

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED this 3rd day of January, 2022,

BIENERT KATZMAN LITTRELL 

WILLIAMS LLP

s/ Whitney Z. Bernstein

Thomas H. Bienert, Jr.

Whitney Z. Bernstein

Attorneys for James Larkin

Pursuant to the District’s Electronic Case Filing Administrative Policies and Procedures Manual (Oct. 2020) § 

II(C)(3), Whitney Z. Bernstein hereby attests that all other signatories listed, and on whose behalf this filing is 

submitted, concur in the filing’s content and have authorized its filing.

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2

DEFENDANTS’ NOTICE OF APPEAL

LIPSITZ GREEN SCIME CAMBRIA LLP

s/ Paul J. Cambria, Jr.

Paul J. Cambria, Jr.

Erin McCampbell Paris

Attorneys for Michael Lacey

BIRD MARELLA BOXER WOLPERT 

NESSIM DROOKS LINCENBERG AND 

RHOW PC

s/ Gary S. Lincenberg

Gary S. Lincenberg

Ariel A. Neuman

Gopi K. Panchapakesan

Attorneys for John Brunst

FEDER LAW OFFICE PA

s/ Bruce Feder

Bruce Feder

Attorneys for Scott Spear

DAVID EISENBERG PLC

s/ David Eisenberg

David Eisenberg

Attorneys for Andrew Padilla

JOY BERTRAND ESQ LLC

s/ Joy Bertrand

Joy Bertrand

Attorneys for Joye Vaught

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I hereby certify that on January 3, 2022, I electronically transmitted the attached document 

to the Clerk’s Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic 

Filing to the CM/ECF registrants who have entered their appearance as counsel of record. 

/s/ Toni Thomas 

Toni Thomas

Case 2:18-cr-00422-DJH Document 1445 Filed 01/03/22 Page 5 of 5