Jay Kimball was denied a court-appointed lawyer and when he could not afford to hire an independent criminal defense lawyer, he was forced to start trial defending himself. The FDA and the Government prosecutor withheld favorable evidence, particularly about prior FDA and Government contacts with consumers who were told to go to Mexico to buy Jay's product. The trial court refused to let Jay argue to the jury that his products were supplements and not drugs or to introduce evidence about the safety of Jay's products. The Government put on experts who in studies not produced to the defense had contradicted their testimony that these products were dangerous.
Jay was physically worn out and was unable to cross-examine these experts. The FDA had not followed their own rules in dealing with Jay, but the trial judge wouldn't let Jay comment about this either. The judge also admitted, over objection, evidence illegally seized during a grossly overbroad search of Jay's home and Jay's business. The Judge also allowed testimony by the girlfriend of one of Jay's associates who falsely related inadmissible hearsay statements suggesting Jay had directed the destruction of evidence. These are but some of the errors to be pursued on appeal.
In addition, Jay has always appeared in court as directed and has never posed a flight risk. Despite Jay's obvious sincerity and his interest in clearing his name, the trial judge denied Jay bond on appeal. Even worse, even though there were no real "victims" and no consumer complaining about Jay, the trial judge aggravated Jay's sentence, ruling that literally every enhancement in the federal sentencing guideline book applied to Jay's case. Instead of a minimal sentence, Jay ended up sentenced to more than ten years in prison, despite clear legal authority that says the judge was wrong. A terrorist recently sentenced by this same judge and accused of trying to blow up power plants in Tampa was sentenced to less than half what Jay received.
In sum, Jay did not receive a fair trial, was wrongly denied release, and was illegally sentenced. I very much hope that I can get involved to undo these egregious results.