Zohra Bakhtary, a deputy public defender for three years, has spent at least one day a week for the past year inside Hafen’s courtroom on the sixth floor of the Regional Justice Center.
On Monday, she was arguing to keep a man who had violated probation on petit larceny charges out of jail when the judge told her to “be quiet.”
Bakhtary tried to interject.
“Zohra,” the judge said.
She spoke up again: “You’re making —”
“Do you want to be found in contempt?”
“Judge, you’re asking —”
The judge once more asked her to be quiet. “Now. Not another word.”
Bakhtary then said, “Judge, you’re,” before being cut off.
Hafen turned to his marshal. “Travis, right now. I’m tired of it. Right now.”
And Bakhtary was cuffed. She sat in the jury box, alongside inmates wearing jail clothing, while the judge finished hearing the case at hand.
Bakhtary’s client, a man who was arrested on theft charges about five months after he was ordered to pay a fine and perform community service in a similar case, was ordered to spend the next six months in jail.
“And then, Travis, go ahead and un-cuff Zohra,” Hafen said. “I think she’s learned a lesson.”
The judge later said in a phone interview that he’s had difficulty with Bakhtary for the past six months.
Somewhere, Alex Michaels is saying "you gotta be f'ing kidding me."
Long weekend coming up. And we need it.
does anyone ever see Jose Baez, Esq. in Gerstein? he is the papers today re Casey Anthony case allegedly telling his investigator she was guilty and had hidden the body.
ReplyDeleteHis bio says he is on faculty of Harvard Law. Can this actually be true?
Please, I am sure she deserved it. Lord knows there were a few pds I dealt with as an asa that should have been held in contempt. Seems like a good lesson, I am sure that the pd probably has been o interest in this being reviewed on the merits.
ReplyDeleteTHE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ReplyDeleteRump - check your emails - I sent you the transcript of the hearing for the case in Las Vegas.
Cap Out .....
captain4justice@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteTHE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
CERTIFIED LEGAL INTERNS (CLIs) .....
The Florida Bar Board of Governors met on May 20, 2016. The major actions of the Board and the reports received included:
A recommendation to the Supreme Court was approved to change rules 11-1.3 and 11-1.9 governing certified legal interns (CLIs) to allow them to begin work after applying to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners as a CLI registrant, being certified by their law dean and passing a Level 2 criminal background check, which can take one to two weeks. Currently, CLIs must pass a full Florida Board of Bar Examiners background check, which can take three to four months if there are no problems and up to six to eight months if not routine. Law deans say the timeframe for the full check discourages students from becoming CLIs with state attorneys, public defenders, and legal aid agencies. These proposed changes will be filed with the Florida Supreme Court in October.
Cap Out .....
That entire process is a monumental waste of time and energy.
DeleteJudge Thomas had a PD sit in the box for contempt but without cuffs.
ReplyDeleteBaez is a winner you are a looser and a hater. Baez went from selling bathing suits out of a card board box to wear Gucci suits and signing book deals. Deal with it.
ReplyDeleteTo 9:07pm, I've known a few ASAs who deserved to be locked up for some of the illegal shenanigans they pulled in cases. Get off your high horse.
ReplyDeleteJudges who cannot control their courtroom, much less their temper, should not be judges. I'm sure the attorney was annoying - hell, we all are. But the judge should not have responded that way. It was disgraceful.
ReplyDeletehe warned her; seems like fair treatment to me
ReplyDeleteIf the PD appeals it will be reversed. See Clay v. State, Rosenblatt v. State 397 So.2d 715 (1st DCA 1981)
ReplyDeleteI don't like Bloch either. He's horrible. I remember how he treated people at the county attorney’s office. He was in charge of screwing lawyers out of their fees.
ReplyDeleteI watched a very interesting thing in his court this week and his reaction showed how anti-defense lawyer he really is.
Multiple defendant case. All clients gets PD at first. In jail, client tells PD that there's a security tape that will clear him. PD sends investigator who is told that store owner doesn’t know how to play it back. Client and client’s family tell PD over and over that the tape will be erased on day 30 if not saved. PD and PD investigator do nothing. Tape is erased.
PD conflicts and client ends up with lawyer from wheel (name not to be mentioned) who works real hard for his clients and talks alot and wonders how he can call an APD and PD investigator as witnesses when PD represents a co-defendant. That lawyer moves to DSQ the PD on co-defendant’s case. PD fights it and then later agrees and conflicts.
The private lawyer calls Bar ethics hot line and they say he has no conflict but, everything must be disclosed to the judge and judge should decide how to handle it.
Wrinkle…. That defense lawyer is doing pro bono work for PD on case in other division making him look like he is part of PD office.
Guess what Bloch does? He discharges the wheel lawyer over the client’s begging that he stay on the case. All of us sitting there were wondering why on earth he would do that. The lawyer had no conflict, the PD did. Lawyer even explained that his involvement in the other case causes no conflict and if required, he would withdraw from the pro bono case.
The wheel lawyer explained to Bloch that the next lawyer will only get half a fee and it may be difficult to find a lawyer who will take a case with fee restrictions. Bloch seemed to enjoy knowing that.
Ahah. So, a judge concerned with courtroom decorum addresses an attorney by her FIRST name and treats her like a recalcitrant teenager being taken out to the woodshed. Shameful.
ReplyDeleteOnly a pain in the ass prosecutor who doesn't get what they want and actually had to litigate would think like 9:07. I'm curious as to why a person would think that a defense attorney sitting in the jury box with inmates would deter certain behavior? Don't they realize we sit in there regularly to talk to clients?
ReplyDeleteThe concept of disagreeing with somebody.... and then arresting /shackling them is absurd. Could you imagine if such treatment occurred in ny other sector? This is why there needs to be more qualifications before a person may become a judge.
ReplyDeleteRuling gives hundreds of juvenile murderers shot at new sentences
ReplyDeleteFlorida Supreme Court rules that the state’s parole commission doesn’t do enough to consider the youth of an offender
The decision applies to all juveniles convicted of first-degree murder before 1994
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article80036902.html
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2016/sc14-193.pdf
She was probably rude and continued arguing after the judge ruled and the judge had enough. I see it all the time. Attorneys have forgotten how to conduct themselves in court. They are flippant, they repeat themselves over and over again saying the same thing they just said and the judge has already ruled. Since we only have a snippet I can't truly say who was wrong but seriously go into and courtroom and you see more Alex Michaels and less Edith Georgies and that is a shame. If you're a good lawyer you don't have to be disrespectful to the judge or be a last word Larry, once the judge has ruled accept it and go file your appeal or a motion for reconsideration, ask for access to the record etc. but in the moment shut the fuck up and move on to the next case.
ReplyDeleteI guess no one else has seen the rudeness and Contempt of Judge Jose Rodriguez shows Defense Attorneys and Pro Se Litigants in foreclosure cases and how there isn't even the semblance of due process at his Plaintiff-Bank authorized denial of Motions to Cancel Sales docket.
ReplyDelete