JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Sunday, March 12, 2006

TALLAHASSEE LASSIES

Jason Grey checks in with Tallahassee news:

The legislature is trying to make it a 1st degree MM to refuse to blow even once. It would be nice to know that the intoxilyzer actually works as advertised. When my computer starts acting up and spits out crap I do what everyone else does, unplug it and it "fixes" itself.That's why monthly maintence checks are bullshit. Just cause it worked ok one day last month and again yesterday doesnt mean it worked ok in between.I don't see the metro dade crime lab using cops to maintain their equiptment.

And in the comments section, breaking news that the State Attorney's other son was arrested for tresspass over the weekend. This cannot be easy for the State Attorney. Unfortunately for her family, she is a public figure, so what they do makes the news.

OK. We are soliciting some help here. We have some credible information that one County Court Judge has been burning the midnight oil working with the State Attorneys Office to create a bill making it harder for people arrested for DUI to bond out. We know the name of the Judge. We know the bill. Before we publish our no holds barred condemnation of this Judge, we want to confirm just exactly what he did. Any help here?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

And I thought that judges sending memos to police departments telling them how to write good traffic tickets was bad!

Anonymous said...

Guy gets arrested for DUI while out on bond for DUI. Not picked up at the initial appearance because our computer systems don't talk to each other. Guy bonds out. Division judges pissed off.

Judge (alone or with SAO?) suggests to legislator that we should treat these offenders like DV arrestees, i.e., hold'em for 24 hours. Legislator happy to oblige (J.C. Planas).

Latest update, Brian T., he of nasty words to you, has guided the bill into oblivion. HB 409 was withdrawn.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I was incomplete. The bill called for ALL DUI arrestees to be held 24 hours. First DUI, second, who cares.

Good riddence to that bill. How many times does a 2d offender float through while on bond for a first? ten times a year?? But we should hold 6500 arrestees an extra day for that. LUDI-CRIS!!

Anonymous said...

Rumpole:

I can think of several problems with a judge working to pass a bill... is there something you're particularly irked about?

That is:
-- Are you ticked that the bill was shit?
-- That the judge was working with the State Attorney's Office?
-- Or is it a more general denunciation of judges pushing bills of any sort.

Anonymous said...

Warren S. is unstoppable. The man is a true leader and visionary. Once he replaces BHB, the office will return to its former glory. GO WARREN!

Anonymous said...

warren i want to wax your bald head.

Anonymous said...

Its actually rather amusing though to watch a guy who picked up a DUI in December, then come up for the next DUI that he picked up January in bonds while he was out on the previous DUI, get some ridiculously low 1500 bond and then deal with a county division judge who indicates, "I am not changing the bond status, this should have been argued at first appearance." And of course the bond duty judge would indicate that the defendant should never be asked what level DUI this would make for him and that its the state's fault that the computers are down and there are no traffic printouts so he gets the benefit of the doubt.

I would agree, that penalizing others for these limited incidents is overreacting. However, it is a bad position for the state to be in, if people start calling for blood as to why an alleged repeat offender is playing the system. It just seems like a raw deal without vaseline all around.