Our take: This was not an isolated incident. By the former ASA's own words, he had been flashing his badge at the club to avoid the door charge for years.
@Davidovalle305 has been tweeting all the details in the re-trial of the murder of Miami Officer Victor Estefan. Apparently there are issues galore in the slow moving trial.
We're about to get some new neighbors.
A developer is submitting plans to raze the Mahi Shrine (Motto: "Nobody knows what we do, and we like it like that") and create a 9 acre river walk area with 440 residential units a "big box retail building" with two towers and a lush waterscape with riverside restaurants. WOW! Table for two with a view of the freighter with the stolen bikes bound for Haiti please.
From the earthshaking Herald article:
River Landing, in a still-gritty location next to Miami-Dade County’s criminal justice center and the Jackson Memorial Hospital health district, does not aim to compete with the high-end retail and chic environs of the Design District and CityCentre projects.
"Still Gritty"? We prefer to think of it as 1970's holdover rustic charm. Maybe the coffee in Au Bon Pain is gritty, and we know for a fact the water in the water fountains is gritty, but the neighborhood of our beloved REGJB is not gritty. It has a certain undeveloped charm of sorts. Maybe.
PARKING UPDATE:
Defense attorneys lost half of the parking spots of the first row in an unprecedented power grab by the Dade Department of Health.
No news on lawsuits, protests, or any response by the defense bar to this distressing turn of events.
OUR COURTHOUSE IS GOING TO THE DOGS
So reports the Random Pixels blog. And they have a video to prove it.
See you in court. Hopefully there will be a parking spot for us when we return to the states
PARKING UPDATE:
Defense attorneys lost half of the parking spots of the first row in an unprecedented power grab by the Dade Department of Health.
No news on lawsuits, protests, or any response by the defense bar to this distressing turn of events.
OUR COURTHOUSE IS GOING TO THE DOGS
So reports the Random Pixels blog. And they have a video to prove it.
See you in court. Hopefully there will be a parking spot for us when we return to the states
28 comments:
Escobar case update rumpole please - Herald article in todays paper. Unreal that new evidence somehow surfaces after all of these years. Can you see why defense attorneys have to think the worse and believe that cops will lie and fabricate evidence at any opportunity. Its just plain fact that this stuff happens.
Another black eye for the fuzz in Miami and Miami-Dade.
My fingernails get gritty when I dig a hole in my back yard to plant a tree - it doesn't mean that I want to live in the hole.
For further comment, please see my previous comment re sanitaria rituals and the Miami River on yesterday's post.
Were these magic grits? Did you buy them from the same guy who sold Jack his beanstalk beans?
~ Random Quote Guy
Love how the SCOTUS bitch slapped the SCOFL in the dog sniff case
Hmmmm. Cops killer gets new trial after 25 years. Was sentenced to death. Confession is muy importante.
Now, lawyers find a tape in a box that shows that confession was not admissible. Turns out, detective lied 25 years ago to help convict a cop killer.
Hmmm. Makes you wonder doesn't it.
Hmm. Idiot client and his idiot brother left Miami and got into a shoot out with cops in California. The gave both life in prison. Here we are trying to execute them.
Now, state is offering life here.
Hmm. Does life in California mean no way you ever get out, like it does here?
Very interesting indeed.
Defense doing an amazing job tying the prosecution up in knots in this re-trial murder case. A text book example of how to be a great defense attorney and still be honorable.
California still has parole, so, in theory at least, you can be released from prison on a life sentence. But, as the Charles Manson case shows, getting out on parole in a high-profile life sentence case is not easy to do.
California has parole.
Ari Pregen was a good ASA. I dealt with him a number of times and always found him to be reasonable and willing to put time into his cases. He seemed bright and dedicated to his job.
We all do stupid things. Don't pretend that all of you current and former ASAs never flashed your badge at an angry motorist, to impress a girl, or to get into a club free of charge. We all did it.
The real issue is that county court ASAs are 24, 25, and 26 year old KIDS for the most part. This is their first job out of law school. They are just 3 years removed from college. Many of them are unmarried, have no kids, and like young 20-somethings, like to go out and drink. Friday night happy hours practically got me through each week.
You can pay them next to nothing and crush them under a bureaucracy of chiefs, but give a kid some alcohol and a badge and bad things will happen.
ASAs are not cops (although try telling that to some of them). There is no legal reason for any ASA, at least at the county court level, to have a badge.
I understand that veteran ASAs who handle homicide duty will need badges to access crime scenes. Once an ASA reaches that level, perhaps a badge is in order. But for the first 3 years of their careers, why does an ASA need a badge?
Take the badges away.
Well said and well reasoned.
Prosecutors or ignored the first rule they taught us in the PDs office for trial: Its not the shumie you know but the shumie you don't know that gets you in trial every time.
Badges?
Badges?
We don't need no stinkin' Badges!!!
6:44 and 8:27: You got it!
And the sad part of the story is that he would have kept his job but for lying to Horn and Salomon. Had he fessed up initially they woul have put him on probation.
When Fake Mr. Granoff and I would go duck hunting just outside of Bartow, I would simply flash my badge at the poor duck and it would surrender on the spot. No need to pull the trigger.
DSINJC,
FJG
I wont make up my mind on this troubling incident until I hear from the man, the myth, the legend- Fake Risivy.
Not sure if he could have been doing this for years. I understand he was hired just last year. In any event, it appears he may have watched this video one too many times.
We don't need no stinkin' badges
I agree that it's time to re-examine the issue of giving badges to ASA's. 6:44 makes some great points. I'd refrain from issuing badges to ASA's until they make their three year commitment.
BTDT
Isn't this the same prosecutor that went after Carlos Miller from Photography Is Not A Crime? From what I remember, this ASA tried to prove a point by trying to hang Mr. Miller out to dry. Thankfully Mr. Miller was found not guilty and we can still, for the time being, take pics in public. Maybe now that the ASA is in private practice he can still frequent the t-bars and get some cash paying clients for himself - and fringe benefits.
Every ASA, former and current, uses their badge for the 50% discount at Big Pink. Why is this any different?
I've honestly never taken my badge out of my purse. Honest to god. Anyone who would flash it for any discount, let alone a discount lap dance, deserves to be fired.
Interesting article in this week's edition of The New Times how everybody's hero, Federal Judge Bob Scola was in large part responsible for the untimely death of a young woman while confined in Federal custody. Joel DeFabio also looks very bad in this article. Read it for yourself and make up your own mind. There is more to being a good Judge and a good attorney than making lots of money.
What or where the hell is Big Pink?
A 25+ year ASA.
We didn't "flash" our badges, they just happen to be next to our drivers license.
Kinda like how many cops does it take to push a guy down the stairs........ NONE. He fell.
I feel bad for the guy who supposedly acted like a complete jerk, its a tough lesson to learn in life but if he is smart he will be better off for it.
Big Pink. Not the best eats in the world, but was convenient and fun. Off Collins.
Nice to see Carlos Miller posting at 9:47. Welcome to the blog.
ASAs used to be able to carry guns, in and out of the courthouse. They are still considered law enforcement officers under Chapter 119, as they should. It is clear there needs to be some revision or improved education on the office policy on badge use, but dont take the badges away. MAny of these young ASAs worked hard in law school and chose to be a prosecutor in Dade County, not for the "trial experience" or because they couldnt find another job and Kathy hired them (there are of course some of those I am sure) but because they genuinely want to make a difference. For every douchebaggy ASA incident over the years there are many more talented, honorable, fair, ethical ASAs fighing for the people of Dade County. We dont thank them enough, we certainly dont pay them enough. The least we can do is recognize them with a badge - a symbol and reminder they are an officer of the law and an upholder of justice. It is not a VIP ticket, and most good ASAs know that. It is just a reminder of their great degree of responsibility and they are in their position to protect people that cant do so for themselves. Let them keep the badges.
Many ASAs worked hard in law school and chose to be a prosecutor based upon their desire to make a difference?
Some ASAs truly want to be prosecutors. Most do it because they can't find a more high-paying job or they want the trial experience that big firms can't offer.
No ASA with less than 3 years in has any need for a badge. If you need a badge to remind you of your obligation to the State Attorney's Office and the people you serve in the community, you don't belong in that line of work.
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