From the Miami Herald article (click here):
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article232013192.html
According to the public defenders’ motion, the judge’s comments disparaging the mentally ill happened on June 6. It started when Reichel, the assistant public defender, lamented that so many clients suffer from mental illness.
“Judge Barket replied ‘I don’t buy it,’ or words to that effect,” according to a court motion. “He then stated that both his father and his girlfriend had come to this country with nothing and look at them now. He stated that his girlfriend was a refugee here and now she is a judge. He then discussed his father and how he had created his life from nothing.”
Reichel replied that “many public defender clients are not as fortunate and are unable to do that, and the Judge’s girlfriend and father are exceptions, rather than the rule.”
Barket then repeated his assertions, according to a motion by Assistant Public Defender Natahly Seoane-Soler.
“In this case, this court’s comments denigrating patients who suffer from mental illness more than suggests an unfavorable opinion of them,” she wrote.
Judge Barket, no legal scholar he from what we can see, previously made news when he granted a defense attorney's motion for JOA after the prosecution rested...and then told the defense to call their first witness. Most courtroom observers walked away from the incident believing that Hizzoner had no idea what it meant to grant a JOA. The Herald article on the Judge's ill conceived venture into the rules of criminal procedure is here.
Back to these nutty statements. One wonders what Judge Steve Leifman, who has spent his career educating lawyers and the bench about mental illness in criminal courts, thinks of his colleague 's view of mental illness.
In an "only in Miami" component to this story, the Judge made his comments about mental illness while sharing some donuts with the PDs during an in-chambers snack. "doNUTS"....get it?
BTW the Washington Post has decided the story has legs. The post article is here.
Yes folks, in 2019, Miami-Dade County has it's own Archie Bunker on the bench. Come see him and watch the antics.
*Not to be confused with Gen Anthony "Nuts" McAuliffe, who led the 101st Airborne in WWII. When surrounded by the Germans at Bastogne, McAuliffe replied "Nuts" to the German commander's request that he surrender.
20 comments:
Who is Barket's girlfriend?
When I wrote this post I just KNEW that would be the #1 topic of discussion.
I normally wouldn't allow it. And yet, the Judge injected her into the discussion. But at this time, just because the judge wasn't smart enough to keep his pie hole shut, doesn't mean two wrongs make a right. So we are not- repeat ARE NOT GOING TO ALLOW discussions of the good judge's squeeze in the comments section. For reasons the judge may or may not find pertinent, such a discussion would be just....crazy.
Gosh..... I was just askin'...... sorrrrrrry.......
The alleged comments were made when he invited them to his chambers for dunkin donuts. And this is how he is repaid? Unbelievable. What is said over dunkin donuts is sacred, not to be exploited. Were the donuts returned by the PDs...or they just laid in waiting, enjoying the donuts, knowing full well that were going to war, war not just on this particular judge, but on the very idea of eating donuts and speaking without fear, uninhibited, without fear of reprisals.
Let me take the other side of the conversation here and defend the judge for a moment. Many times mental illness is used as a dodge to get out of a crime.
I should know.
Thhhhhhhats all folks.....
Now this is a judge I want to promote. Good for him. Bad for the fake news trashing him.
I’ll take this one step further.
I believe that there are major depression and anxiety disorders that are inherent to being a trial lawyer.
I read about more and more lawyer suicides as time goes by.
It is an urgent subject to deal with.
I doubt that many of the misdemeanor cases and mostly DUI's that are in Kiddy Kourt have an inanity defense to put on.
Judges are public officials, and elected officials at that. The public has a reasonable interest in the associations of judges to other government officials. This is doubly so in the case of a judge being married to/dating another judge.
What happens if I have a case in front of Judge Barket and move to have him recused? Can his girlfriend give my client a fair hearing?
Or the reverse - what if unknown judge girlfriend gets bumped from one of my cases and it ends up in Barket's hands. Shouldn't I be able to know the relationship between the two judges?
This is not for you to decide for us, Rump. Its for each of us to decide on a case by case basis. And to do that, we need the information.
I appreciate trying to treat people decently and not dragging their friends and families into things - I genuinely do. But this is not an "innocent" girlfriend - the girlfriend is herself a judge and an elected official who is subject to the sunshine.
Great for the Judge, he got it right, both times!
getting bashed after granting JOA.....I thought this was a defense lawyers blog!
2:01 PM. Sunshine ends where the boudoir begins.
I do not think you have the right to know who the Judge is that Barket was canoodling with.
A judge may verbalize (think out loud) the pros and cons of any proposition. I'd bet that is what happened here. It's an illegitimate swipe to take the judge's comments out of context, or to have a deaf ear with a judge who expresses sensitivity to mental illness issues. I am not sure we've got the complete story but I'll not rely heavily on the version coming from the defense attorney.
Attacks on judges are like shooting fish in a bowl. Neither can defend themselves.
Question: Is the lack of belief of the Defense Counsel a swipe at all defense attorneys or just the PDs?
Figured it out myself.
He stuck his silver lined foot in his mouth.
Barkets background is landlord tenant, evictions ect. He has never tried a jury trial civil or criminal. and never handled criminal cases. Thats what we get with elected judges. At least he is not in circuit or at 73 West Flagler where he could do real harm.
I want to know if the ASAs in the room heard him say the same thing. Not that I don't trust the county court APDs, but I want the other side of the story (and this assumes that Barket will obviously deny that he made the comments in question).
Tired of the cry for a mental illness pass!
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