UPDATE: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (SORT OF)
In certain cultures they call this a mea culpa:
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UPDATE MVZ RESIGNED TODAY Color us as : TOO LITTLE TOO LATE
A BOMBSHELL order rocked the REGJB Wednesday as Judge Wolfson found that the Dade County State Attorney's Office and ASA's Michael Von Zamft and Stephen Mitchell engaged in what we are calling a perversion of justice, witness tampering, disingenuous arguments to the Court, and general skullduggery that may warrant significant Bar sanctions in a death penalty case.
What outraged Judge Wolfson- rightfully so- was the attempted coverup as the prosecutors continually argued that the defense was NOT entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the allegations- allegations that were proven well beyond a reasonable doubt. For example Mr. Von Zamft, recorded on a jail call, telling a witness that if another witness did not want to testify as he wanted, he would "arrange" for her to be unavailable and just read her prior testimony. This stuff may well be criminal.
Word to our robed readers- when will you stop agreeing with prosecutors that defense motions do not need an evidentiary hearing? When will you start wondering what they are hiding?
Add to the wrongdoing detailed in the order, add to the obstruction of justice as to witnesses testifying additional evidence of prosecutors getting witnesses to meet at the City of Miami Police Department to review their discovery and coordinate their testimony- along with certain "favors" the police provided (use your imagination- it's worse than you can conjure up) and what we have is a bombshell of an order and conduct that shocks the conscience of the blog. And we are not easily shocked
And after you read it, think about this- If Mssrs. Mitchell and Von Zamft did this in this case- in which they were caught red handed- what have they done in OTHER CASES in which they got away with their perversion of the criminal justice system?
Maybe just maybe this will open some judges' minds if not their eyes.
Bombshell Order by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd
182 comments:
Yossarian was very moved very deeply by Judge Wolfson well written order and let out a respectful whistle.
And the Bar will do precisely dick.
I am Shocked that there is prosecutorial misconduct here
Some crazy $hit in there. A prosecutor talking to a guy convicted of murder and witness tampering about getting him together in the prison yard with a witness that needs convincing and/or about making a witness unavailable. Cheeses Christ.
This isn't Von Zamft's first rodeo with prosecutorial misconduct. See https://law.justia.com/cases/florida/supreme-court/2002/sc95831.html
The Judge's order is sophomoric. Clearly, the Judge's written product leaves much to be desired. Make your factual findings, apply the law to those facts and rule. No need to write a drama. She is obviously auditioning for an appointment to the 3d DCA, but if I were the Judge, I would insist on a law clerk who can write. Perry Mason? Alice in Wonderland? C'mon! MVZ's taped conversation with an inmate, about making a cooperating witness "unavailable" if she were to refuse to testify, is a nothing burger. Her refusal to testify would render her unavailable -- DUH! There was nothing in the taped conversation suggesting that MVZ was going to procure the witness's unavailability. No violation there. While that issue and the Brady issue, involving undislcosed benefits to a cooperating witness, do not warrant disqualification, the attempt to have Corrections allow the cooperating witnesses to be together in the yard, so they could impress upon one of them to "play ball," is very concerning in any case, much less a death case. And, MVZ's explanation is beyond belief. If it is true, that MVZ requested that Corrections, allow three cooperating witnesses to be together in the yard, for two of them to "rehabilitate" the third and thereafter lied about it under a oath, at the very least a suspension is warranted, if not termination.
A very well thought out and written order by Judge Wolfson. As a former PD under Phil Hubbart and as a private defense attorney Von Zamft was extremely aggressive and earned his nickname of "Mad Dog. Now, as an asa he has lost his ethical compass and as some prosecutors wants to win at all costs. Now MVZ will have bar issues. He may just resign his Bar license and cut off the inquiry as he is on his way to retirement anyway. While the defendant actions may deserve the death penalty, he is entitled nevertheless to due process by ethical prosecutors.Now, because of the apparent misconduct by MVZ and others the death penalty might be off the table. Reminds me of the unethical conduct by the SAO attorneys in the "cocaine queen" case of Gisela which ruined the state's case and lead to a lenient plea allowing her to escape many decades of imprisonment. Kathy needs to have highly qualified attorneys to come in and give ethic lectures to her prosecutors.
Let's be very clear here-the questionable conduct in the case, which if true is very troubling, is only attributed to Michael. Stephen Mitchell's only "wrong" is that he tried to defend his collegue -he himself did nothing improper or unethical and in knowing Stephen for as long as he has been at the SAO he is as careful and ethical an attorney as there is-Michael on the other hand once threaten to punch me out during the middle of a murder trial but that is a story for another time
It would be rare to ever see an order as masterfully drafted and as brave as this one. Judge Wolfson is a great administrator and a great judge. By penning this order as she has done, she has left the State Attorney with an enormous challenge to bring this sordid episode to an end which may have to result in CTSing a vicious murderer. The judge has left this turd in Kathy's hands and if not resolved, will probably lead to the recusal of the entire Third if appealed and the besmirchment of a fine office and our judiciary.
Hopefully, the office will recommit itself to the principles of Janet Reno and recognize that the job of an ASA is to do justice evenhandedly and to recognize that that office and the police are not buddies or partners.
It is this kind of order that makes you proud to be a lawyer.
Bullshit that Mitchell is as ethical as they come. Anyone who has dealt with him has seen him do shady shit. Wolfson obviously saw his behavior in at minimum not having the obvious realization that it is wrong to act to get cooperating witnesses together to coordinate their stories and get a solid one to lean on a wavering one, and concluded that his ethical compass was far askew. Just following orders is not an excuse, this is not the Army.
How are these lawyers still employed by Kathy? I can’t remember an order like this one ever in this district. 11:05 is out of his mind. They weren’t talking to other lawyers. The people they were dealing with killed multiple witnesses because they were witnesses. Telling them that a problem witness could be made “unavailable” is tantamount to green lighting a hit. Haven’t you seen the movies?
No 11:05 am, the Judge is not auditioning for the Third. If she were, she would rule in favor of the state. Those are the only people promoted by our republican governors. She was obviously trying to do the right thing.
Color me unsurprised.
Also does anyone know what happened with Joshua Hubner? The order says he argued this case and then resigned like a week before the order came out, he would otherwise have been barred from further participation in it also. The bar website still lists him at SAO.
It is about time that the unethical behavior of Von Zamft gets blown open. Who knows what the full extent of his prosecutorial misconduct is not just in this case, but in every case he has touched? I hope defense attorneys, judges, and defendants are sitting up and taking notes of how his transgressions came to light in this case and how to look for them in other cases with other prosecutors. Rundle has nothing to say on this matter? This has been her soldier for over 30 years, but the office is just going to stay mum? Something smells, folks. For decades now, we have all heard of misdeeds by numerous prosecutors on cases that are matters of life and death. Prosecutors engaging in hanky panky with detectives and witnesses even, rumors of kickbacks, coaching testimony, and the list goes on. Here is solid proof that it’s not just fiction. Time for all of us to begin filing the type of motions and demanding the type of hearings that guarantee our clients receive a fair trial by a honest prosecutor, if such a thing exists.
People that think there is nothing wrong with this misconduct are damn near as dangerous and disgusting as the prosecutors committing it.
Kudos to Judge Wolfson for have the courage to write such a great order. Too bad it happened on Von Zamft way out the door. He ruined a lot of lives with his dirty work, and under the guise of administering justice, he stripped many of just that.
I like Stephen Mitchell , he’s a good guy and I hope he’s extricated out of this
Hubner is legal counsel and as bright as he is unethical.
Finally…
In the country walk case, he represented the flipped wife and was accused of tailoring her testimony to fit what prosecution wanted.
Clifford Friend - alleged to have gotten inmate to flip who got caught lying about watching a tv show or something…. Defense at trial springs on state at time of show defendant was on phone and couldn’t have been watching show. This was his star witness.
Cat killer cases and dog sex case….. arrested kid and wouldn’t release charging docs and media had to go to court to get it— turned out to be bullshit…
Rabbi case -he knew gun wasn’t used or dna came back negatively on the gun and stayed silent.
To the extent that everyone keeps defending this guy, when will we acknowledge this is ALL wrong. This is not justice. This is not right. This is a black eye on the SAO and the State Attorney that will take years to remedy.
The Bar will go full force on this one. And the FSC will yank licenses. They aren't messing around with this shit.
Vom Zamft looks like Soupy Sales. Therefore, Vom Zamft is reprimanded and delegated to the remake of the Soupy Sales Show.
It's a little too late but glad it finally came out. MVZ and Mitchell are both unethical and are horrible to deal with together on a case. Whomever thinks that Mitchell is just following orders and is a an ethical attorney, you clearly have not dealt with him. Imagine all the cases that they have done this to. These are not the only two state attorneys that are "unethical" in this office. Moral is low and having senior counsel behaving like this with no repercussions from Kathy sends an example that it's acceptable. Judge Wolfson, thank you for doing the right thing here. I wish your colleagues would do the same. Unfortunately, some are just inexperienced and others allow simply don' t care and let this behavior to continue. It's comical that the office that is supposed to punish bad behavior cannot control or correct their own attorneys.
I always thought he looked like Jerry Springer.
Want results on this one? Anyone who has ever worked at SÃO knows that Kathy hates negative publicity. Send this order to local news outlets and it’s bye bye for Mikey.
WOW!!!! What a powerful and courageous Order by Judge Wolfson!!
Hopefully this will be a wake-up call to the other slime balls still lurking there. They feel so empowered by their position that they keep sliding ever deeper to the path of "the ends justifies the means."
There ARE a lot of very honorable and great prosecutors in that office. But the bad ones need to be weeded out NOW. They are a few left who see winning at all costs as their goal-not justice.
Are the order's references to Ivan Fernandez and Brownwyn Miller specifically critical of something they did/failed to do (not clear from the order) or just gratuitous?
I bet the opposite, MVZ resigns from bar so he has no consequences, he’s retiring anyway, and they don’t do anything to anyone else.
MVZ has always been a total jerk. I have watched him hide stuff in the past. Good riddance.
Tp 1:11 P.M.-I guarantee you that I have had 10 times the cases (including trials and PVH's against him) and 100 times the contact with Stephen Mitchell than you have over the years and I can say with certainty that he as careful to follow all rules and always err on the side of caution and being ethical not only on cases but also in dealing with defense attorneys-I challenge you to name one unethical actions taken directly by Stephen. And getting a tough plea to a Gang case does not count.
Joshua Hubner dodging bullets on The Blog for this one lol
Good guy? HA. He’s just as culpable and has done it before. The only extraction he should get is fired from the SAO.
I tell everyone michael von zammffff is very bad and full of bulsheeet and unethical ashole and jerk and I fight vith him all time and judges always back him but up now he gets vhat he deserves...i say to him vhat I say in court that get me in trouble...fuk you von zampfffffffff
who laughing now?? meeeeeee
oh dis no roumanian mumble because I no longer member of bar caus I'm dead so I not mumbling fuk you i am yelling FUK YOU VON ZAMPFFFFFFS
MVZ had retired after finishing DROP and was re-hired. So many ironies for a prosecutor, like returning to the scene of the crime.
How many people has MVZ trained in his way?? How much more taint exists in that office??
120 pm guess Judge Wolfson disagrees with you. So do the objective facts of Mitchell being cool with and defending a fellow ASA trying to get the jail to place cooperating witnesses together explicitly so one can influence another, and telling a witness who no longer wants to cooperate that he will be able to use her testimony if she's dead, and telling a witness killer in jail that it's in his interest for that witness to be unavailable.
You have to give a lot of credit to these defense lawyers. Showing up to Miami as outsiders and taking that office to task by blowing the lid off of all this crazy shit. MVZ probably wishes he could make that lawyer who flat out called him a liar and racist “unavailable.” We owe that man a drink for saying what needed to be said.
MVZ should end up in prison. Disgraceful.
Again, you have not mentioned one independent, unethical action, and with your twisted logic if you defend a terrorist, murderer, or someone who is tampered with a witness (Which I’ve won trials on all of these charges) and you tell a jury that they’re innocent and defend that person are you acting unethically. And again, I find MVZ’s actions reprehensible But don’t put them on Stephen Mitchell.
You now have to question every case these guys have worked on. I met MVZ many years ago and what's come to light does not surprise me. Unfortunately he's not the only one from that office to flaunt the law over the years.
You now have to question every case these guys have worked on. I met MVZ many years ago and what's come to light does not surprise me. Unfortunately he's not the only one from that office to flaunt the law over the years.
Agree with DOM. This is an epidemic, especially in that office. I’ve heard of a murder conviction and life sentence that was vacated and reduced last year due to Brady violation. Don’t think it was a MVZ case. SAO didn’t fight it. Made it go away quietly. I think De La O was the judge. He’s also Admin. and his office is next to Wolfson’s. Betcha she knew of his case when she wrote this order.
The hypocrisy in here is dizzying. I’d expect less delusion at a Trump rally in a dementia ward. How many times did I see the PDO openly tamper with and harass victims by guilting them, misleading them, or outright lying to them? How many more times will we see two private defense attorneys team up with one as the “victim’s attorney” in order to block the state’s access to a child witness or a DV victim? How many times was a defense attorney revealed to be lying ON THE SPOT with zero reaction from the bench? It’s as if a bunch of shit-covered pigs heard a fart from the racehorse in the next pasture and proceeded to hold their noses and gag.
Brilliant
BS
It means they skate because they wear robes now.
8:32 - Hypocrisy would be saying that it is ok when one side acts unethically and not the other. Ethics aren’t optional. If defense lawyers are acting unethically they should likewise be held to account. It is, however, worse when someone in a position of public trust, and who wields tremendous power, acts unethically. A defense lawyer who acts unethically may cause a guilty person to go free. Everyone should agree that isn’t ok, nor is it the goal of the justice system to “beat charges.” But a guilty man going free still pales in comparison to when an innocent man is imprisoned or sentenced to die for things they did not do because a jury and system trusted an unethical prosecutor.
To MVZ, Mitchell or whoever the ASA is at 8:32, all of that is probably accurate, and more. But I’m sure we don’t have to explain to you the institutional and constitutional differences between the obligations and ethical considerations of a prosecutor and those of a defense attorney. Having saved all that time explaining this to you, I’ll use the time instead to express my concerns should you currently be an ASA. Because with that philosophy, you’re as dangerous as MVZ.
Stephen Mitchell and Josh Hubner are being accused of making arguments the judge didn’t like. Period. Read the order.
The hypocrisy in some of the above comments is astounding. Hubner and Mitchell are being attacked by the same people who will happily lie to judges and juries to get the W.
And what does it say about your own ethics if you have supposedly seen unethical behavior for years and you failed to report it to the Bar???Get off the bandwagon and try to act like a human being.
No those two unethical prosecutors were found by the court to have attempted to cover up MVZ’s misdeeds that they knew about. They didn’t want the the court to hear the evidence they knew the defense had. IRS called obstruction of justice and they should be prosecuted. Read the order.
Look in the dictionary under “lame”. There’s a copy of Kathy’s press release.
Um no they won’t.. the bar gave a 6 month suspension only for what Juan Mercado did and that was disgusting.
What philosophy? That defense attorneys should stop pretending that they have no ethical obligations or duty of candor, while baselessly projecting the actions of one prosecutor onto the entire office? I observed my colleagues to be uniformly honest and conscientious, going above and beyond to avoid even the appearance of deception. You folks, on the other hand, would be held to a higher standard of conduct in a WalMart than you are in a Dade county courtroom. I’m not interested in comparing the atrocity of a lie from a prosecutor against the atrocity of a lie from a defense attorney; they are equally capable of doing the right thing.
There is a culture at that office that worships MVZ from the VERY TOP down. It’s not one prosecutor. It’s a culture that cheered him supported him and now is covering up what he did. I’m not guessing. I’m getting emails from people who know.
This entire office is rotted from the inside out. Change is needed.
That settles it then. I’m sure KFR will find this rationale persuasive. Especially in an election year.
I wonder what some of the current and aspiring judges who are very close with MVZ think about all of it and whether they’ll continue to flaunt photo ops with him?
During my time as a baby ASA, I often read the blog which was usually replete with comments about how unethical the office was and how corrupt the environment was.but it actually never really was as some disgruntled in the defense bar claimed bc their counters weren’t accepted. But this is incredible. Hiding evidence and tampering to such an extent is abhorrent in a petit-theft, let alone a death penalty case. I feel for the next of kin and what must they be going through having to see what’s happened in this case. There are some very honest to goodness people in that office and they are left to deal with the brunt of fall out.
I can picture Wolfson sitting on the Third alongside Fernandez and Miller. Kodak moment.
Rumor is MVZs PAID intern which he bragged about demanding from KFR under his special contract to prosecute Smith is crapping his groupie panties and now complaining about sao - rumor is he got busted for removing or attempting to remove docs/files from mvz office after order came out and without permission. We hope this is not true.
To the commenter that keeps insisting that Mitchell's conduct was ethical because all he was doing was defending his fellow prosecutor - that wasn't his job. Mitchell's job is/was to advocate for the ends of justice. If MVZ needed defending, he should have done it himself or hired a defense lawyer. Prosecutors cannot serve the interests of justice while simultaneously defending the unethical behavior of their trial partners. So long as Mitchell was wearing a prosecutor's hat, he couldn't also defend MVZ. THAT is the problem - it's not that a lawyer can't do what Mitchell did, it's that a prosecutor can't do what Mitchell did.
Wait, wait, wait...conjugal visits?
I wonder how that conversation went.
MVZ: I need you testify
Witness: I won't do it
MVZ: Well what if I arrange for you to have sex with your girl?
Witness: Well, now, why didn't you say so before? What do you need me to say?
(Mikey what's wrong with you?)
Although Mitchell and Hubner may seem like otherwise decent prosecutors and lawyers, those defending them here by comparing them to defense lawyers defending their clients fail to understand a major distinction between their role and that of defense lawyers. Defense lawyers are representing clients/ defendants with a sixth amdendment right to a trial, a presumption of innocence, due process rights, attorney client privileges, etc. while Mitchell and Hubner are prosecutors, who have not just a duty of candor to the court like any lawyer, but the duty to seek justice and act in a way that respects a criminal defendant's rights. Even the rights of a really bad guy and defendant. Arguing to a judge in the way they did - nothing to see here judge- operated to cover up a colleague and fellow prosecutor's malfeasance and violated the defendant's rights which they swore to uphold. Defense attorneys routinely must tell clients, who have rights that MVZ simply does not enjoy in a hearing like the one at issue, NO. This is not like MVZ was sued or charged with a crime and he hired these guys to represent him. The Judge has every right to be angry with their conduct. Its goes beyond making an argument that the Judge did not like. Stop rationalizing what these lawyers did by complaining about what some defense lawyers do. That they failed to appreciate that what MVZ did was wrong and shamefully defended his actions speaks volumes about them and the SAO. Truth!!!
10.03 needs a lesson in ethics. This is absurd. Is he a lawyer?
A fitting end to the career of an underhanded, dishonest and, unfortunately, very talented trial lawyer. This order describes who he has been for his entire career.
If KFR doesn’t want to get ousted by the Governor she should give this defense team whatever they ask for. I went to law school with one of the lawyers and he isn’t someone to back down on anything. I’d bet there is a lot more coming and it is going to be glorious to watch that office crumble to the ground after all the shit they have gotten by with for years.
Please explain what you mean by “rotted.” Do you man the administrative structure? The Chiefs? The Organized Crime ASAs? The different specialized unit ASAs? All the ASAs? My question is not intended to prove an argument, I really would like to know what you mean by that statement.
No, Rump, the entire office is not rotten. KFR should have gotten ridden of MVZ long ago but, she is so short staffed that she forgot that her job is to supervise and not to just stand back and watch. It is very, very, very, very hard for me to believe that Kathleen Hoague is corrupt and she is a major player in management there. I have known a bunch of high level bosses for over 30 years and NO RUMP, they are not all corrupt or "rotten."
How do you think KFR is going to proceed "transparently" with her office and the community??
To 10:53 AM order says “However, during the hearing it became apparent that there was a serious issue regarding possible witness manipulation by the Assistant State Attorneys on this case - not only in the past, but also in the present.” Mvz supposedly bragged that former asa judge B Miller had many strategy conversations with him, the former prosecutors in the case and Kathy herself throughout this evidentiary hearing, up until the very last hearing day when that jail call was played that helped sink MVZ and Mitchell. If true, no bueno. I like judge M and I hope she doesn’t become a casualty to mvz bad judgment arrogance and recklessness.
Good job Rump. You managed to get 57 comments withouth mentioning three words: Judge Milton Hirsch.
I have the HIGHEST respect for Kathleen Hoague.
I also have several emails informing me that the intern was caught destroying files in MVZ ‘s office at his direction. The intern should be interviewed by law enforcement at once.
There are, indeed, many ethical and upstanding ASAs in they office. Amongst the top brass, the following come to mind: Kathleen, Abbey, Talpins, Rosen, and others. However, MVZ had an open reputation and for KFR to have kept him for so many years, and for he’s taken him back after retirement, speaks volumes of her judgment. She’s lost her way. What are the chances that this scandal gets her an opponent? Who should it be?
When is MVZ’s Happy Hour? Gotta clear my night with the family.
One of Hubner’s dumbest moves was the scathing email he sent to defense urging them to withdraw our “false/fabricated” allegations or he would make the proper referrals.
Wait till the scandal breaks about the murder of Lucy Fernandez and the cover up to protect the captain who crashed his boat into channel marker 15. Guy admits to having “two beers” and says a make believe boat caused the crash.
If you r well connected this city it is the best town to get arrested. Rest in peace beautiful Lucy. Shame on the cops who protected the captain and on the prosecutors who lack the courage to fight. Hacks.
Heard Trump is vetting MVZ for AG now. He likes what he is hearing.
“Rumor is..” , “Groupie panties” are you serious? Are we in middle school ?
Judge Miller is one of the most ethical people I have ever known. For all of you trash talking and hiding behind “anonymous” put your name behind your comments and stop being cowards.
The large majority of ASAs in the office are hardworking, conscientious, caring individuals who are being paid far too little and devoting far too much of their time and sanity to the fight to maintain public safety and vindication for crime victims. They put up with so much— from defense attorneys, judges, and even their own witnesses— for little more than the sake of justice. To see all these comments bashing the office as a whole is sickening. I’d love to see these frauds put on the white hat for one day… TODAY, in 2024, not back in the heyday when people respected prosecutors. Folks, you can condemn these actions without slandering those who break their backs to keep YOU and YOUR FAMILY SAFE.
That guy Von Zamft is POS. He does a lot of shady sheatttt then leak things to the media. Karma there’s more coming. Let’s see how long KFR protects you now. There’s more cases keep digging y’all
A whole post should address how the unbelievably rude and nitpicking Hirsch has obviously been possessed by a demon. It is inexcusable how he treats so many. If a regular person acted so rude to people, they’d get beaten senseless. He should be a subject of the JQC. Why would somebody choose rudeness over kindness?
At 5:40pm, say the Anonymous writer. Hilarious!
What Judge Wolfson has done is very well done. I do not think that hse is interested in headlines or in penning a new chapter in Profiles In Courage. I suspect that she is interested in resolving this case as quickly and fairly as possible. If I were the State Attorney and received an order like this, I would be intersted in working out a solution as quickly and fairly as possibel, to avoid the embarrassment of alumni of the office, judges, and currrent ASAs.
What happened here is terrible, but so is the defendant. Any result negotiated for him is a "found" result. So, while we may all want to feel good about the idea of a witch hunt at the State Attorney's Office, that is not in the interest of the defendant here.
Like many others who read the SAO press release, I did not buy it. They know that for the most part they do not care. They just want results. If they cared, they would get rid of the other bad players that they know that they have. So, for now, while there is still a judge who will call balls and strikes without worrying about the political repercussions, the case should get resolved before the rest of it has to be determined. And, rather than taking bows for your great brilliance, you should just point out how brave this judge is.
1:34 P.M. If Trump is looking for that high a degree of ethics, he can just keep Biden's AG. The system sure avoided a hot when he was not picked for the Supreme Court.
I'm a defense attorney and I agree with 10:09 PM.
There are many good, compassionate, ethical ASA's in Kathy's office which by the way is one of the best in the state.
To add to the list started above of really decent prosecutors:
Shawn Abuhoff
Todd Bass
Robert Forman
Michael Monjemi-not sure of the spelling.
Yale Sanford
There ARE MORE for sure but but their names don't come to mind right now. Some have left the office.But please others add to the list of the decent ones. It will have a ripple effect of increased decency.
@3:47: Shawn Abuhoff signed off on a search warrant for every electronic in the home of a defense expert and criminal defense attorney. Tell me again about how it's just a few bad apples.
No women come to mind.
Joro Forman* and Michael Monajemi* also notice no women on the list…
While I agree that there are hard working and conscientious prosecutors that work at that office, they are not necessarily on that list at 3/11/2024 at 3:47pm. A good many have been driven out of that office due to the internal politics and bureaucracy, especially after the pandemic and after certain individuals were elevated. The good ones are leaving or have left. So I am happy to start the list of fair and just prosecutors with their morals and ethics intact: Kim Rivera, Natalie Snyder, and Marie Mato. Jessica Caso would have been on that list, but she got driven out of the SAO after 23 years of service.
No Asians listed either. So racist.
Amber Dawson was one of the most ethical and civil rights minded attorneys I encountered during her short tenure there. She was tough, and she cared about her cases which were worth carrying about. But she always gave me fair pleas in light of all the circumstances. Coming from a former APD, not all of them are abominable snowmen.
HAHA this is laughable. Mitchell is MVZ Jr.
He works right along side MVZ making it happen. MVZ doesn’t do this alone on cases. Mitchell comes in and plays dumb. It’s all a prosecutorial misconduct set up. I have specific examples. But thanks to this foundation and beauty of an order it’ll be exposed by way of motions to vacate, not in the comments section. #StayTuned #MitchellisNext
As someone who sat in the hearing every single day, Mitchell and Hubner 100% did more than make
argument (we will ignore the fact that Mitchell probably doesn’t even have a Lexis/Westlaw log in — never heard him make a decent legal argument)… these men didn’t even know the obligations or retaining files on death penalty cases, saying the file only had to be retained for a year after conviction and that’s why they couldn’t find documents… found an alleged Brady notice mid hearing that nobody had ever seen in 20 years (and still haven’t seen an authentic copy with a file stamp). They were principals, conspirators, accomplices, whatever you want to label them as. Equally guilty.
Exactly. Like, ummm, why do we think Hubner silently resigned BEFORE closing arguments on 2/28? He knew shit was going to hit the fan and that he threw some of it.
Let’s be honest, the commenter is probably Mitchell… hiiii Mitchell 🤣
Well, she failed with the transparency in the first sentence of her statement…. Because well, MVZ didn’t resign. He had already retired in 2023 and moved the GA. He was getting paid $62/hour to handle Smith case. It was always his last case. No resignation happened. He just rode off into retirement as planned. Terrible dishonest ruse.
Says Anonymous 🤣
The intern is David Hazday, be careful not to hire him in your future…
Yes, I too think Milton Hirsch has become a total jerk and a dictator.
Dear Mr./Ms. 4:46 pm:
It's very hard for me to think that Shawn Abuhoff is bad. He dropped charges against my client once he found out my client was innocent. He went to the scene with us 2 times to verify what was going on. How many ASA's would do that?
Also, I thought KFR had a policy of no search warrants on defense attorneys unless she signed off on it.
If any of this is more than mere rumor, please contact me michele@borchewlaw.com
more context needed he may have signed off on the request but a Judge signed it (assuming it was executed).
Shawn Abuhoff dismissed an attempted second degree murder case with 3 victims, 2 of whom were shot, after the deposition of one of the victims. That eye witness/victim was a friend of my client and originally stated client was the shooter. At the depo he said he wasn't really sure. Without my urging, at the end of the depo, Shawn asked that I get the transcript and send it to him ASAP. He had the case dismissed in less than one week. He's more than honorable in my book! My client WAS innocent BTW.
I had several other innocent clients taken to the brink of trial facing life when their innocence WAS EVEN MORE OBVIOUS.La'Tiarra Calloway, the prosecutor and her supervisor in ROC court were blind to the obvious facts shown and stated on body worn cameras. I plead with them until I was sick of showing them the obvious.Case finally dismissed by the state in court when their flawed victim recanted at the SYG hearing. My innocent client spent more than one year in jail waiting to be exonerated . What a waste of taxpayers money!
If KFR was smart, she'd hand over this disaster of a case to ASA Laura Adams. The state, defense and the court would be able to sleep knowing there is no bullshit going on.
I worked at the SAO when MVZ was there. I always got a bad vibe when he appeared. Seemed like a rogue ASA.
I want to add Alex Bergida to list of really decent prosecutors.
I have found ASA Kim Rivera very likeable but a tad sneaky. Like hiding that the DNA of a state witness was on a gun found at the scene of a shooting. My client's DNA was not on it. No Brady was filed. Found out at the depo of the lead. It wasn't in her OIR report either.
As a criminal defense lawyer who started as an assistant pd , I find it a bit disingenuous to say that the miami state attorneys office is some a bastion of corruption that needs reform. I’ve practiced law all over the country and apart from the eastern district of ny, there is no better place to practice. I find the prosecutors fair and I have always obtained good results. Go practice in Broward a few years back and then come talk to me.
This is not the excuse the behavior in this case but let’s try to be fair. These were rogue murders who were terrorizing the streets of the city. I haven’t read the judges order , but nothing MVZ does would shock me. As a trial master points out, he earned the nickname Mad Dog. that said, I reject the notion that there’s some systemic corruption going on with Kathy Fernandez Rundle.
Almost nobody likes Laura Adams (including me) but, I will admit, she doesn't hide evidence. She just over charges everyone and nit picks you to death. I swear she objects about your font size. She once wanted to violate a defendant because his ankle monitor had the battery die when the client was inside the probation office doing a report. Yup, she did that.
The real troubling thing here is trying to get a witness into an area with others who would want to kill her. This deserves disbarment for all of them.
Assistant State Attorney Wally Hernandez is the most ethical Mario Kart player at the SAO. He will never throw a red shell at you in the final lap.
Assistant State Attorney Joseph Robert Foreman was the most ethical ASA/DoorDash delivery person. Always fair on pleas and always got my Chiptole to me quickly.
Amen 1:55PM.
I'm a defense counsel too and have found the majority of the ASA's I have worked with have been hardworking, decent human beings. One of them will now be our newest Judge, Christine Hernandez.
BTW: add former ASA now Judge Laura Shearon Cruz to the list of very honorable ASA's.
If you are saying an ASA is ethical because they dismissed a case when there is reasonable doubt, then you really don't understand this job.
Amen 9:03. I won't accept any cases in front of Hirsch paid OR appointed!
Really liked the article that pointed out that the same people who were doing all these unethical things are the ones telling us Corey Smith is worthy of being executed. Why do we trust them about who the Defendant is at all? Seems like we probably shouldn’t believe anything they have to say about anything…
Is Mitchell gone?
I like Laura Adams’s. She’s tough smart prepared and honest as the day is long. I trust her.
I, too, believe that for the most part, the Miami State Attorneys Office is one of the fairest in the state. I have a significant practice in Broward County, which provides me with significant context, and I have friends across the state who tell me about what goes on in their jurisdictions.
Do we have problems in Miami? Yes. I just tried a case that should never have been prosecuted (with not guilty verdicts across the board). But we have far fewer problems than any other jurisdiction in this state. Some of the problems start with the inexperience of the ASAs. And many of the problems have been caused by our lunatic governor, who has suspended two Democratic State Attorneys. If you were a Democratic State Attorney with Governor Desaster looking to fire you, you would be very cautious before you allowed any progressive actions by your office.
Laura was my chief many years ago. She is great and the people of the county owe her huge thanks for her years of service. She easily could have made a ton of money in big law or in house. She is excellent.
Gone on vacation
Less we forget the worthless check scandal where the SAO let the SOLs on a bunch of worthless check cases lapse. Office was quick to blame the paralegals (even though we all know the attorneys in economic crimes were to blame), and even named the paralegals in the Herald. The SAO is always looking for a scapegoat.
Have you heard the story of when the SAO successfully obtained the $10,000 raise they were seeking from the Florida legislature for all ASAs? 2021/2022? SAO went on about how essential the raise was, how ASAs needed at least 10k more per year to survive, yadda yadda. SAO only gave the ASAs 5k, the other 5k, allegedly, went towards the ASAs benefits to offset the SAOs costs with regerd to increased benefits. Then, surprisingly, the chief assistants all received a 30k raise. Makes you wonder where that 5k really went, or how much the chief assistants had to pay towards their benefits… follow the money
120+ comments. Is this a record on the blog?
It is all well and good that some people have had good experiences with some of the attorneys within this office. But, everyone knew this motion was going on. There were dozens of ASAs on zoom for every bit of the hearing. The courtroom was packed during the arguments. KFR was supposedly being briefed daily about it. And not one single person from that office stood up and said "what happened in this case isn't ok." They all went along with it when MVZ launched criminal investigations into the Defense team. They all went along with it when Josh threatened the lawyers with bar complaints. They all went along with it when MVZ admitted to speaking with DOC inmates on burner phones and providing benefits to witnesses without disclosure. They all went along with it when Mitchell jumped up and down and screamed that everything that had been exposed was no issue.
Silence can speak volumes. The moment the defense filed that motion KFR should have launched her own immediate internal investigation which should have then immediately resulted in the firing of all three of these prosecutors and referral to another office to investigate whether their actions warrant criminal prosecution.
KFR should stipulate now to the 3.851, strike a deal with the defense and pray that the Governor doesn't send her packing for being complicit or incompetent. The fact that they didn't even acknowledge the fuck up until they got called for it shows that they still hoped to proceed along with business as usual. Nothing changes, the handful of decent ones will leave, the shit ones will stay, and all of our clients get fucked by this office. Those of you claiming to work in other places where it is worse, you're suffering from stockholm syndrome here. It's bad here. From the top down. It's been bad for years. Decades. KFR needs to go. Most of that office should go with her.
Why has no one mentioned that Carolina Sanchez is an ethical prosecutor?
It's worth noting two things in the comments: (1) most of the ASAs on our "good" list are no longer at the office. We should ask why - and we should also ask what's left. Laura Adams cannot be the ethical compass of the entire office. And (2) when we are naming the good ones instead of the bad ones (because there are too many bad ones to name), there's a systemic problem.
It seems like so much of the posts about MVZ are people who he won his cases against. Anybody out there who actually beat him in trial when he was an asa?
Joshua Amador, the new chief of Domestic is fantastic. Smart, honest, hardworking, respectful, and fair. More prosecutors like him and you wouldn't need judges.
Have I missed this in the Herald or have they just not bothered to cover it?
1. Because she….isnt.
End of reasons.
He dropped my homicide after we litigated it.
He got a job offer in January, don’t be ridiculous.
Systemic problem my ass. Truth is most criminal lawyers are left leaning social workers. Ever notice that the good ones are
center / center right in their views. FACDL has always been run by self promoters types or social workers too. Those gangbangers got what they had coming to them. Mad dog deserves 30 days suspension and a public reprimand. So ordered.
The greatest team in America!!!!
Sandra Miller Batiste was caught red handed by the 3rd DCA. She prosecuted a really horrible Opa Locka cop. She had a phone call on tape that completely exonerated the cop. She intentionally hid it and when discovered after trial and during appeal, she lied and said she thought it was somehow privileged. DCA judge Ivan Fernandez, a former cop himself wrote the opinion and said he was amazed an experienced ASA could be so bad.
See Nos. 3D15-49 and 3D14-2936
Lower Tribunal No. 13-13315
________________
German D. Bosque,
Appellant/Cross-Appellee,
vs.
The State of Florida,
Appellee/Cross-Appellant.
She hid evidence on one my cases too. I wouldn't trust her with a can of soda.
@122. Frank Rubio kicked his ass and so did David Macey. MVZ picked his cases carefully, like Gail Levine. The fact that he lost at all under those circumstances should tell you something.
Yeah, March 14 at 1:22 p.m., I beat MVZ in trial.
Never worked for the state, but like many here, I did spend a number of years at the PDO.
I imagine a similar dynamic. There is an incredible gap between "pit" attorneys, making whatever salary was approved that year, and the baby boomers who made a career out of the job when that was still possible.
As a baby PD, you'd see these attorneys show up in court for capital offenses, or you'd have them as your SSA. There were some with 5th floor offices you didnt know what they did. You DID know they made twice or more than your salary and apparently bought a house in Miami and raised kids while PDs... nothing within the realm of possibility for you.
They'd talk among themselves of "DROP" or other shit that never did, and never would, have bearing on your life.
You knew, as everyone did, that you'd be there 2-5 years and then have to leave.
So I don't blame the old-timers for never really getting to know us. One in a dozen of us were lifers, probably fewer, and those only because they were independently rich.
This created a completely bifurcated culture. If you were a hot young girl, you might get invited into the boomers' trials, but otherwise, they were faces in the elevator.
Im sure the same is true in the SAO. In other words, if there is rot at the top of the SAO, it tells you nothing about the culture of the C prosecutors, the county prosecutors, the people in juvie. Different universes.
Maybe when the boomers finally age out of the offices (is that ever going to happen? Christ almighty), and there is a reasonable distribution of salary, you might create an office culture of people all-in-together, of lawyers who might just feasibly afford to make a career and have a family while working as ASAs or APDs.
But so long as the economics are such that even renting in Miami requires $100k+, that a long-time prosecutor makes 3x what a pit lawyer makes... you will NEVER have a monoculture at these offices. You'll have a top, and a completely disconnected bottom of 27yos who are steady monitoring insurance defense jobs as a way out.
This is a joke right? Josh is this you?
The Miami Herald hates criminal defendants, especially criminal defendants of color, particularly black and brown people of color and trans people.
I agree with the culture aspect of this sentiment and that it’s impossible to afford cost of living as a PD… however, being disconnected due to age or ranking I think is a personal failure of younger PDs and ASAs. No one should have to drag or invite young attorneys to trials. Show up. Follow important cases. I used to hate when courtrooms are packed with ASAs and no APDs. My class of PDs would pack courtrooms.
Mad dog should be charged with tampering with witnesses on a capital felony.
https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article286377215.html
Beat him twice. Lost once.
One of the few I’ll agree on.
Lol oh yes, and set his last day on the eve of closing arguments in the biggest case of the decade…. To leave Von zamft (who doesn’t even know how to read head notes) to do closing arguments. Convenient :-)
Other than a complete overhaul of the current administration and its chief assistants, what else could they do to reform that office? Especially after the MVZ scandal. It seems that nothing is ever done and that they are waiting for this scandal to die down as well.
To Anonymous at Thursday, March 14, 2024 5:35:00 PM
You have apparently not seen Joshua Amador in Court. OR you are Joshua Amador...
Between the position being published, applying, getting/finishing interviews, job offers and negotiations, acceptance and start dates, and two-weeks notice… it’s not a short time.
And he left to a govt job, which is notoriously known for not being quick. Also, it wasn’t a quiet resignation. Guy had a happy hour and everything. Or are we to believe the ~50 ASAs that left in the last year were because of Corey Smith?..
Nailed it.
Run for State Attorney it’s an election year.
Policy at SAO has always been to “investigate” misconduct for an incredibly long time and by the time the investigation reaches its conclusion (which is always favorable to KFR’s political ambitions) no one remembers what happened.
I have had many cases with Josh, he’s a gentleman and credit to his office
It’s been decades. No one stands a real chance against her. Plus her coffers must be full by now. Voters could care less about the MVZ scandal, or that she rarely charges cops, or conviction integrity, or that some of her ASAs are less than honest and play dirty. She’s got voter appeal, the perfect last name, and the gender to go along. Gonna be more of the same.
That whole office is filled with misconduct they had an “A” ASA working who didn’t pass the bar.
Nailed what?
WTF?! Who? When? How did they miss that?
Wasn’t she the ASA, or the supervisor, in the sex batt. case of Andrew Taylor case? D was re-indicted after judge Ward granted motion to vacate and for new trial, and after he filed for state compensation, and the SAO offered to drop the new charges if D withdrew his claim for compensation. Sounds pretty sleazy.
You’re only as clean as your dirtiest colleague. Mitchell watched MVZ and did nothing, and for that he has no business prosecuting anyone because they clearly believe and have demonstrated they are above the law.
HAHAHA #MitchellisNext I love this
10:03 is clearly Khalil Quinan.
Who is dick?
Kathy needs a new circle of “friends”
Time of Judge Al Milian to take another run at Kathy.
Jason Pizzo should run for State Attorney.
He’s a great guy. A pleasure to work with.
Who is getting nailed?
Define ethical?
3/17 @ 6:34 the CLI/tiktok star from Miranda that’s being investigated by Broward SAO? That one?
Fantastic guy. Probably the smartest prosecutor in the office next to Santiago Aroca.
50 ASA’s left? How many support staff has left? About twice as many.
TikTok star? What are you talking about?
She needs an internal advisor to handle and advise her on more than just operations or running divisions. All of her underlings are GI bureaucrats, and none is politically saavy or can gauge the community’s pulse. Until she gets fresh blood at the top she’s going to continue to have these scandals and blunder their response.
Nothing will be done. They can’t even fashion a proper response. There are some common sense fixes to this scandal, don’t have to work there to figure them out. But there’s no will. Besides, this is probably her last term. Why would she change anything when it will be someone else’s problem soon? At this rate her legacy will considerably diminish. Because you better believe that this won’t be the last scandal or the last ASAs who’ll fuck something up big time.
What case? What happened? Who was the ASA that violated Brady?
Al Milian should take another shot at it! I think he’s got it!
They can’t get any ethical bright legal minds to work there.
Prosecutors have a disconnection from reality. They view the world from their own delusional perspective. They lack empathy and compassion to everyone around them. They have narcissistic borderline schizophrenic personalities.
Win at all cost
Both sides arguably have a disconnection from reality but it’s unfortunately a result of being jaded due to the high volume of cases (and accompanying drama).
Hence the nickname “mad dog”
If you can’t handle it go private only select cases you want.
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