BREAKING NEWS ...................
3RD DCA ISSUES THEIR OPINION ON PUBLIC DEFENDER CONFLICT CASE
While I have no doubt that Rumpole will provide you with a more comprehensive review of the very important decisions reached by that august body in Southwest Dade, one opinion today needs to be immediately reported .....
The State of Florida and Office of Criminal Conflict
and Civil Regional Counsel, Third District Court of Appeal Region
Appellants,
vs.
Public Defender, Eleventh Judicial Circuit,
Appellee.
http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D08-2272.pdf
The 3rd has reversed the decision of the Honorable Judge Stanford Blake. The panel of Judges, SHEPHERD, CORTIÑAS, and SALTER, JJ. issued a 20 page opinion. They collectively asserted their genuine heartfelt feelings for the Public Defender's Office and their individual assistants for the inadequate level of funding that is provided to them by the legislature. But, they said, this case is not one that belongs in the Courts, instead, the P.D.'s beef is with Tallahassee and that is where they should take it.
They pointed out that any concerns for clients receiving inadequate representation must be decided on a case by case basis, and not by permitting the collective withdrawal by the PD from nearly 12,000 cases. They also pointed out that the legislature amended the laws regarding withdrawal from a case in 2007 and that excessive caseloads in simply not a grounds that would permit withdrawal from a case.
So, Mr. Public Defender Martinez (formerly BHB), in a nutshell, the 3rd is telling you to take a hike, up the Turnpike, then to I-75, make a left turn at I-10 and stop in the town where 120 House members and 40 Senators and 1 Governor decide, in dollars and cents, what constitutes competent representation under the 6th amendment.
...... turning to other 3rd DCA opinions issued today, one can sum up the day as follows: JUDGE BARBARA ARECES -2 : STATE OF FLORIDA - 0
While Judge Areces occasionally gets knocked on this Blog for her lack of experience in the field of criminal law, today, the 3rd DCA spanked the State of Florida and affirmed Areces on two separate cases.
In State v. Trujillo, (http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D07-1814.pdf), the State tried a "backdoor approach" to something they could not fit through Judge Areces' front courtroom doors. The panel recognized it and said no. The actual issue surrounded the defendant’s motion to compel the identity of the confidential informant. The interesting part of the read, worth quoting in full here, comes from CJ David Gersten:
"Although not germane to this appeal, I harken back to my first reversal as a circuit judge. The reversal involved a similar situation, where I ordered disclosure of a confidential informant. Assistant State Attorney Tom Robertson, the State’s division chief, petitioned for certiorari. This Honorable Court reversed me, holding that the disclosure of the identity and whereabouts of the confidential informant was not necessary to the defense. See State v. Perez, 438 So. 2d 436, 439 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983). This footnote is proof of a trial judge’s elephantine memory. Though many trial judges claim they do not mind reversal, I believe that the sting of reversal never disappears. "
In State v. Suarez, (http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Opinions/3D07-3342.pdf), the State again lost to Judge Areces. In this case, the Judge granted a Motion to Dismiss based on expired statute of limitations. The defendant was charged by Information with grand theft and burglary. Thereafter, the State issued a warrant for the defendant’s arrest while he was incarcerated in a federal prison located in Florida. The Statute of Limitations ran before he was served with the warrant. The State argued that he was "absent from the state for the purposes of the statute". The defense argued that he was in fact "physically present and not absent from the State of Florida". The Court affirmed the dismissal.
CAPTAIN OUT .........................
22 comments:
F the 3rd. What do non lawyer politicians in Tallahassee know about anything, especially adequate criminal representations
What a bunch of crap this whole PD conflict thing is? Get back to work hombres. Get Martinez, Stein, Weed, Robinson, Osborne, DeMaria and the other administrators into the courthouse and help the clients instead of just playing to the media. Keep a minimal amount of lawyers over at juvy and send the rest to felonies. Same for County Court. Give your ERU lawyers
a caseload. Give your training attorneys a caseload. Stop paying Bennett 50k a year as a consultant and hire another attorney.
I wonder are you guys really into helping the clients or are you into
making yourselves look good. Stop the BS and get to work.
You just got smacked down. PCA!!!
All the money and effort you wasted the past year fighting this ridiculous issue could have been spent actually helping clients.
Of particular interest is Page 14 of the PD appeal decision. According the 3rd DCA, the PD had funding for 16 new attorney positions over the past 3 years which they did not use. Instead they chose to give raises to current PD's.
I wonder which attorneys got those raises - knowing those old 5th floor PD's, they gave themselves
raises instead of hiring more pit lawyers to help the clients.
Pathetic.
Thanks Captain. I've been on a plane all day. California is nicer than I remember.
Congratulations to Jordan Lewin on a NOT GUILTY in a home-invasion robbery with a flip before Judge Jimenez. This is the second acquittal by a jury that Jordan gets the defendant on a home-invasion robbery. The defendant owes his life to Jordan.
Can not be true. No One at the PD , atleast not the trial lawyers got raises nor cost of living adjustments in more than 3 years.
7:21 and 7:34, I second your statements. Way too much fat over at the PDs office. BHB, you did a fine job as a PD and are now collecting a well-earned fat pension. If you want to be a "consultant," do it pro bono. You don't need the money.
Look at the SAO. I am no fan of Katherine Fernandez Rundle, but just about every bigwig over there handles an actual case and appears in court from time to time. Laeser, Waksman and Gilbert may have made well over 100K a year, but they earned their salary in the courtroom and mentoring younger ASAs.
Hahahahahahhhahahahhaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......
Barbara rocks.
I'll tell ya, I have gone to trial against lewin and seen him in other serious trials recently and there may not be a better young defense attorney in the building
Rick Freedman told the Miami Herald that he is still the president of FACDL?
Does he need another blog lashing?
The ruling is correct and it is time for the PD's Office to get back to work. The politics of appropriations has no place in the courts. If the courts can't effect that process for themselves, why for the 11th Circuit PD?
Blake was wrong from the start. Brummer was wrong from the start. Rundle never had standing. This was showboating 101.
9:50 - order the salary list and I am sure you will see raises. Brummer testified under oath that instead of hiring new lawyers, he decided to distribute the money to his current crop of lawyers.
To 9:47 PM: Thank you Jordan. And to 7:21 AM: Thank you Jordan's mom.
The longer Miss California can stay in the news cycle the better. Nancy Grace needs to do a month of Miss California and run that clip of her in the white bikini over and over again. We need to hear what Mark Eiglarsh has to say about Miss California. More investigative reporting about her. This pagent matter is crucial to our national security!
That was an old quote of Rick's. The reporter did a cut and paste job like some of us do when we file pleadings.
8:40:00 AM, you've got that right!
Eiglarsh arrives at the REGJB in a chauffered black Lincoln TownCar Limo everyday.
I was wondering who's car that was
Whose car?
Who's is a contraction of "who is".
How can we agree if we speak a different language?
Maybe his DL is suspended!
I was wondering who is car that was. Happy now?
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