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News Coverage
Feb. 18th 2005-
Resentencing Press Release...
Reported By F. Straus
As
Niels Lauersen stood in court before Judge
William
Pauley, III, to be re-sentenced,
the New York State Court of Appeals in Albany declared “In
a unanimous opinion, the judges in Albany said
that in light of Crawford v. Washington, 124 S.
Ct. 1354, they have no choice but to declare invalid
their own precedent on the use of a co-defendant's
plea allocation.” ( New York Law Journal
2/18/05; Pre-'Crawford' Precedent On Hearsay Ruled
Invalid, 'Thomas' No Longer Controls in New York,
Panel Says).
Dr.
Niels H. Lauersen, age 69, refused to take responsibility
for his crimes. He read eloquently
from a handwritten statement. Dr. Lauersen, dressed
in a navy blue prison uniform, said; "I am
sorry I wasted four years of my time being locked
up. I had never turned women away because they
could not afford fertility treatment”. "If
I had done that, I would be a king today, not a
poor man like I am today," he said.
The
government’s case provided evidence
that Dr. Lauersen had submitted false bills worth
$3.2 million to pay for fertility surgery for his
patients that insurance companies did not cover.
The entire case was based entirely on plea allocations
also called PLEA AGREEMENTS
FROM FORMER PATIENTS which
HAS SINCE BEEN DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND required
two trials; spanning a period of over 3 years.
Judge
Pauley; stated “that Mr. Lauersen
had been a model prisoner, that he had brought "many
hopefully productive people into this world" through
his fertility treatments. He
added “that
New York law has since been revised to require
insurance companies to cover some fertility treatments.”
The judge then sentenced Dr. Lauersen to serve
5 years and 10 months instead of the original sentence
of 7 years and 3 months he received in October
2001. This leaves Dr. Lauersen 17 months of hard
prison time to complete before he can be released.
Judge Pauley than reinstated the order
for him to pay the original fine
of $17,500 and restitution
of the full amount of $3.2 million for the fertility
fraud. In
lowering the sentence , Judge Pauley III, cited
Mr. Lauersen's
age, the likelihood of Dr. Lauersen’s
deportable status and the four years already served.
Dr. Lauersen's counsel had asked for time served
from the court.
This
was one of first sentences to be revised in federal
court in New York since a United States
Supreme Court decision in January that made sentencing
guidelines no longer mandatory, thereby giving
judge’s new discretion in determining punishment Update:
March 2006 - As a result of Niels Lauersen's
refusal to follow sound advice concerning his appeal
Judge William Pauley. III, felt
the court was forced to deny his application for
appeal and his brief; 3/31/2006 Judge William H.
Pauley III Signed the final order and directed
that the clerk of the COURT mark this CASE CLOSED.
So Ordered.Refer Docket No. 05cv5337 ORDER denying
this Motion moves to vacate, set aside or correct
sentence as to Niels Lauersen (1); denying Motion
for Extension of Time as to Niels Lauersen (1)Petitioner
moves to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence
purs. to 28:2255. This court has considered all
of Lauersen's other arguments and finds them to
be without merit. Additionally, Lauersen's request
for leave to amend his petition is denied, as any
amendment would be futile. According, Lauersen's
motion to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence
purs. to 28:2255 is denied without need for an
evidentiary hearing. Because Lauersen has not made
a substantial showing of a denial of a constitutional
right, a certificate of appealability will not
issue. In addition, this court certifies purs.
to 28:1915(A)(3) that any appeal from this order
would not be taken in good faith. ).
At
this point all of Dr. Lauersen's legal recourse
had been exhausted within the United States
Court system.
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