FAKE NEWS NO TOTAL SOCIETY LOCKDOWN & COUNTY COURT UPDATE

This is not an approved post that has not been approved by anyone but us as to the fake news. Read below for the APPROVED Judge Faber email on county court procedures. Lots of good phone and email addresses if you need them. 

There is  a DANGEROUS/PELIGROSO text going around saying that by the weekend the president is going to lock the country down and close all the stores. THIS IS FAKE. DO NOT BELIEVE IT. DO NOT PANIC AND RUN TO THE STORE (but if you know where there is any toilet paper we would appreciate a tip). 

Here is the link to the story that the lockdown is fake. 

https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/false-claims-of-nationwide-lockdown-for-covid-19/


THE FOLLOWING EMAIL  FROM JUDGE ROBIN FABER  HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR ALL AGES BY THE MOTION PICTURE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA:

I hope this email finds you all in good health. There’s been a lot of questions and misinformation out there and I want to make sure we are all on the same page going forward concerning the County Criminal Division.  We are very concerned with how to slow the spread of this virus and keep people out of our courthouses while this emergency lasts but at the same time we have to be cognizant of the due process rights people have in this nation and allowing emergency access to the Courts for our cases despite this crisis. 

This week we have closed our branch and regular division courtrooms at REG and allowed everyone remote access to their responsibilities including all judges and staff. The State and the PD have worked creatively to ensure we can do our jobs despite this crisis and I applaud them for that. We have a system in place for emergency motions to be reviewed and for contested emergency hearings to be held through our jail division judges.  Going forward into next week there will be some additional changes going on that affect that:

Effective Monday 3/23 and continuing at least until 3/27 (while public access has been suspended), the two Jail Divisions calendars will be cancelled.  Doing that gets those persons out of REG as well but does affect how we are dealing with emergency issues. We will still be covering those but in a slightly different manner.

Bond Hearings/Jail Arraignments – On weekdays these calendars will continue to be heard in Courtroom 5-3 and we already have a rotation of judges in place through 3/27. Assuming this continues beyond that date we will have a rotation of County Criminal Division judges and some volunteers from the Circuit Criminal Division to cover them daily. I will be working on a master list going forward to assign specific dates to these judges and they will come to REG to cover these calendars on those days. It appears that each of the judges who have agreed to cover these bond hearings/jail arraignments would have to cover once about every 2 weeks.

Access to the Courts – I have had a number of conversations with the Clerk’s Office about how to do this in a way that maximizes review yet tries to limit exposure to REG. They are on board, as well as the State Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office, in the manner in which we are proceeding.

Our current branch and regular division at REG judges will review emergency matters brought to their attention as before. All phones to our judicial chambers are being monitored and answered. If that assigned judge determines the matter is an emergency, and all requests to set aside bench warrants are considered an emergency, then it will be reviewed. If it is not a true emergency then the proponent will be told they must wait until the Courts are opened back up to handling non-emergency matters. The judges will be exercising their discretion in determining what is, and what is not, a true emergency. Requests to turn costs into community service hours are not, in my opinion, an emergency matter. The process of review is slightly different for PD’s and private attorneys from pro se defendants, but both will have their matters reviewed and considered if it is an emergency. It all starts with the branch or division judge at REG who is assigned that case.

For PD’s and private attorneys: They will contact the assigned judge first, Once that judge confirms it is an emergency, the JA/Judge will advise the attorney to contact the State Attorney’s Office to see if that emergency request can be agreed to. If agreed to, the attorney would need to send a package consisting of the Agreed Order and the proof of the State Attorneys agreement (usually an email) to the assigned judge so that they have the evidence that there is an agreement to sign the Agreed Order. That will be in turn forwarded to the judge assigned bond hearings the next business day who will print it out, sign it, and file it with the clerk at the bond hearing. If the State cannot agree, the division judge may decide to grant the emergency request anyway. If so they would let the attorney know who would then submit a proposed Order along with a copy of the State’s email objecting to the relief sought, which would be given to that bond hearing judge to sign and file so there is a record of the state’s objection. If it is an emergency matter that a judge will not agree to sign without a hearing, then the JA would use the schedule of bond hearing judges to give a date with at least 3-days notice to the Clerk’s Office, the Attorney requesting an emergency hearing, the State Attorney, and the assigned Bond Hearing Judge. A hearing would be held on the date set after the bond hearings are concluded, usually about noon, so a judicial determination could be made with a video record of the proceedings. The Attorneys could appear telephonically if they needed.  Bond hearing judges will not sign any orders unless directed to by the assigned judge or there is a hearing set.

For Pro Se Defendants: A similar procedure would be in place, but the JA /Judge would have to send notice to the State Attorney of the request if it is deemed an emergency by the assigned judge. If the State agrees, then the State would provide the Agreed Order along with the email of their acquiescence, and the judge would then forward it to the bond hearing judge for signature and filing. If the State Attorney objects, and the assigned judge still wants to sign an order, then they will have to prepare an Order and copy that with the State’s objection to the Bond Hearing Judge to sign and file. If it is objected to and the judge will not sign, then the JA/Judge would advise the pro se litigant when and where the hearing would be held using the same 3-day notice procedure. Telephonic appearances would be allowed so the pro se litigant does not have to travel to REG.

Below is a list of the State Attorney contacts:

For Branch Court:

Traffic Criminal: Karina Harduvel - KarinaHarduvel@MiamiSAO.com

Misdemeanor crimes: Michael Monajemi - MichaelMonajemi@MiamiSAO.com

For REG:

Alvarez-Zane: Kelsey Shelton - KelseyShelton@MiamiSAO.com

Nunez: Mary Corbin - MaryCorbin@MiamiSAO.com

Harris-Nelson: Dominique - Paul DominiquePaul@MiamiSAO.com

Martinez: Chloe Castro - ChloeCastro@MiamiSAO.com

Woodward: Joshua R Paikowsky - JoshuaRPaikowsky@MiamiSAO.com

Seraphin: Christian Rojas - ChristianRojas@MiamiSAO.com

Newman: Ashley Ramkishun - AshleyRamkishun@MiamiSAO.com

Jails: Kaitlyn Mannis - KaitlynMannis@MiamiSAO.com

If they cannot be reached you can contact their Chief of Misdemeanor Court:

Elvia Medina Marcus – ElviaMedinaMarcus@MiamiSAO.com

Below is a list of the judges for our misdemeanor bond hearings scheduled through 3/27:

Thursday 3/19 – Judge Woodward

Friday 3/20 – Judge Harris-Nelson

Monday 3/21 –Judge Martinez

Tuesday 3/24 - Judge Alvarez-Zane

Wednesday 3/25 – Judge Harris-Nelson

Thursday 3/26 – Judge Alvarez-Zane

Friday 3/27 – Judge Martinez

Below is a list of all of the pertinent Clerk’s Office employees who must be contacted in the event of an emergency hearing set after the Bond Hearings:

Emilio Vega-Camejo - Emilio.Vega-Camejo@miamidade.gov

Yvette Rodriguez - Yvette.Rodriguez@miamidade.gov

Maria Sosa - Maria.Sosa@miamidade.gov

Sandra Bazile - SandyB@miamidade.gov

Manuel Carames - Manuel.carames@miamidade.gov

(Rumpole notes that the FDA requires less people to approve compassionate use of a drug. The clerks have too many chiefs and not enough Native Americans).  

These procedures that we have put in place are not intended to be permanent. (DUH) Rather, they are intended to preserve our health and provide access to the Courts in these time of crisis. As soon as the Chief Judge lifts the orders preventing public access the Jail divisions will immediately open up and the branch and regular divisions at REG will begin to reconvene. We think these procedures will accomplish our goals of safety and security in a prudent manner and help us carry on the fair administration of justice our County requires.  

Please contact me if there are any questions in this regard.

THANK YOU JUDGE FABER- Many people may not know that Judge Faber has been in court every day of this crisis handling calendars and solving the problems. That's what leaders do- they lead from the front by example. You've set an example similar to one of our heroes- General Norman "Dutch" Cota. You can read about his life here. 

his life here