The highly regarded Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals

Eli Stutsman is an appeals lawyer with experience in federal courts across the country. One of his cases required an appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, a very highly regarded Circuit located in the Midwest. The case is US v. Chube II, 538 F3d 693 (7th Cir. 2008). Eli Stutsman argued the case on September 28, 2007, and Library Staff has included this case in its listing of “Notable Oral Arguments” heard before the Seventh Circuit over the past 15 years.

A big victory for physicians

This Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion is a big victory for any physician practicing anywhere in the United States defending against Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) lawyers, drug diversion investigators, or federal prosecutors, because this opinion best illustrates the difference between the civil standard of care and the criminal conviction standard, and the harm that will befall physicians when these two distinctly different legal standards are confused or conflated.

This Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ opinion was also a huge victory for Eli Stutsman’s clients, two Gary, Indiana, physicians, because it vacated their 15-year and five-year sentences, and returned their case to the federal trial court for re-sentencing. Perhaps more importantly, after an additional two and one-half months of intense litigation with the DEA’s attorneys (the U.S. Attorney’s office) and a series of thoughtful rulings from the Federal District Court (the trial court), both physicians were released from federal prison pending re-sentencing. Overall, this case would be a gratifying win for any appeals lawyer.

An appeals lawyer with demonstrated results

If you need an experienced appeals lawyer in any of the federal appellate courts, Eli Stutsman may be able to help. Call 503.274.4048 to learn more about his appellate practice.