SUBPOENA STANDOFF AND A HURRICANE SONG

UPDATE: STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS WILL BE CLOSED THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. 
ALSO UPDATED: THE SUBPOENA HEARING WILL BE WEDNESDAY AT 10:00 AM BEFORE JUDGE BARAKAT.
(We see something in the upper atmosphere of Canada which will move this storm away just far enough to brush us. You heard it here first.) 

More importantly than court's closing is the availability of Starbucks. We will keep you updated on those openings/closings.  

The City Of Miami Beach is not accepting subpoenas, otherwise validly served, for police officers for depositions on their day off. 

The statute below,  is unclear

The lawyer who has the issue (rhymes with Batalano) has a motion scheduled today (Monday) before Judge Barakat. Apparently in this case there are six officers with six different days off requiring the lawyer to set them on six different days, incurring six separate court reporter appearance fees. 
Such are the problems from which Solomonic Judicial wisdom appears. We shall see. 

48.031

 (4)(a) Service of a criminal witness subpoena upon a law enforcement officer or upon any federal, state, or municipal employee called to testify in an official capacity in a criminal case may be made as provided in subsection (1) or by delivery to a designated supervisory or administrative employee at the witness's place of employment if the agency head or highest ranking official at the witness's place of employment has designated such employee to accept such service. However, no such designated employee is required to accept service:

1. For a witness who is no longer employed by the agency at that place of employment;

2. If the witness is not scheduled to work prior to the date the witness is required to appear; or

3. If the appearance date is less than 5 days from the date of service.

The agency head or highest ranking official at the witness's place of employment may determine the days of the week and the hours that service may be made at the witness's place of employment

IRMA:

Before most of the ASAs and a few of our Judges were born, Miami had a long-time radio host named Mike Reineri.  Whenever a hurricane would threaten, Reineri would sing a little song "We don't want no hurricanes coming round here." And it worked all through the seventies and eighties, right up until Hurricane  Andrew. 

So take a moment today, pull your eyes away from Channel Seven's apocalyptic predictions- the stock videos of long lines at Home Depot, the empty shelves at Publix,  the fights at petrol stations, and close your eyes for a moment and sing a little song: "We don't want no hurricanes coming round here." 

And maybe, just maybe, if you watch Fox news and believe in the power of prayer....the President will resign!  

COURTHOUSE SHUTDOWN
Irma will be approaching Cuba on Friday, which we think is a good day to shut down the State and Federal Courts and give employees time to make final preparations. While we don't wish destruction on anyone, the mountains of Cuba could do lots of damage TO the storm, and lessen its impact wherever it makes landfall. 

While initial projections had it turning north and perhaps impacting the Carolinas, it now appears Irma could churn through the Florida Straits, brush Miami and the Keys, and hit the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen with the Gulf's warm waters (which, according to the White House has NOTHING to do with global warming, which is a Chinese fake-news fraud designed to ...never mind, it just gets weirder from here) and slam into Mexico or Texas. 

Nothing about Irma is good. Stand by; prepare; sing the song; read the blog; and hope for the best. 

It's gratifying to see that the City Of Miami Beach has taken our motto to heart and is fighting the (subpoena) power!