A RISKY MOVE FOR JUSTICE

Monday, October 28, 2003
Source: The Miami Herald

On a Sunday morning, attorney David M. Kubiliun found himself at a podium speaking into dozens of microphones from network news stations. The lawyer had left the public defender's office only two months prior and here he was holding a press conference defending three medical students who had been stopped by police after a woman in Georgia said they threatened a terrorist attack.

Kubiliun, 35, said the risky career move -- taking the case pro bono -- could have had several outcomes. But the he said he felt immediately that the three men were honest about their innocence.

''We have done so many interviews and sat across from thousands of criminals, and we both had no doubt these guys were telling the truth,'' Kubiliun said.

Kubiliun had been an investigator for 10 years at the public defender's office, then went to law school at nights and worked as an assistant public defender for three years.

Kambiz Butt, Ayman Gheith and Omer Choudhary were driving to South Miami to work at Larkin Hospital and were pulled over Sept. 12 after allegedly failing to pay a toll. Florida authorities were alerted after a Georgia restaurant patron said she heard the three men joking about the Sept. 11 attacks and indicating a terrorist event was looming on Sept. 13. The men denied any wrongdoing.

Kubiliun & Associates set their strategy with their clients hours after their release. The students said they didn't want to sue anyone -- they only wanted their reputations back. Now it was time to face the media.

''When we first got involved we received hate mail, but after Larry King we fielded phone calls in support of them,'' Kubiliun said of his clients.

Kubiliun stayed in Miami, where he worked with the press and appeared on Spanish-language television. He also started negotiations with the Collier County sheriff to get the videotape of the three students at the tollbooth, hoping to prove they paid the toll. Kubiliun said when the sheriff finally called and agreed to release the tape, three clients were in his office -- alleged prostitutes rounded up in a police sweep.

''The sheriff said it was favorable to our clients so we were jumping and cheering, and they were just smiling at us,'' he said.

The lawyers now have more than 45 cases ranging from defending people accused of DUI to those accused of murder. They practice from offices in Brickell and Hollywood.