Here are three filings drafted by Francis White. Note that there are two briefs in federal appeals which are co-authored with Robert Barnes. The other brief is a sentencing appeal in a criminal case, drafted by White alone. I might try and find a trial docket for some motions by White to compare, since these are appellate briefs rather than pretrial motions. But they all look better than Rekieta's last filing imo.
Awesome. So, I took a look at the sentencing appeal written by White alone. I have excluded the Barnes co-authored briefs due to the collaboration. Some things I noted that stick out to me between the two White-exclusive filings.
The motion to suppress is very "fluffy," and full of grandiose language/claims. The substance of the sentencing appeal was about one page in length. Now I do not practice criminal law, but based on the respondent's brief, it was not something that could really be adequately developed in one page. That sentencing appeal was from last year, so it's not like White would have naturally developed such a difference in style in this period of time. The difference in writing styles between the two samples makes me question if external influences guided him in the motion to suppress.
The motion to suppress uses italicized citations while the sentencing appeal uses underlined citations. I checked the local rules applicable to both filings, and I do not see one or the other being preferred. This could be nothing, but most attorney's who draft a lot of briefs are dead set on keeping their filings consistent. This is also a habit that forms over time. This could also be nothing.
The motion to suppress is not neatly divided into subsections like the sentencing appeal. Again, just another "housekeeping" thing. You want to divide your sections (statement of facts, arguments, legal standards, etc.) into neat parcels for the judge.
I was thinking that one or the other could have been written by one of White's associates, but from his website, it looks as though he does not have any associates. Even if he did, Balldo is clearly a *very* needy client in that he will likely demand his attorney's full attention. I do not think White would pawn this off on one of his associates if he had one, for fear of Balldo firing him/threatening bar complaints.
The two filings DO look very different, however, in form and tone. It could be that it was ghostwritten by another attorney and simply filed by White. Now, this is speculation, but Balldo/barnes/anyone could have drafted the motion and given it to White to file. I am not familiar with how this specific court views ghostwriters, if they even care at all. This is not an uncommon practice, and might explain the stylistic differences.
IMO, gun to my head, I'd guess that the motion to suppress was written or heavily influenced by another. The Respondent's brief in the sentencing appeal was really nice, by the way. Props to Sarah Vokes.