UPDATE: Knowledgeable individuals have told us that "no one will be forced" to try a case until they feel safe. However, that doesn't completely jive with some- admittedly- off-the-cuff remarks by judges who have told lawyers in no uncertain terms that when trials begin their case WILL BE FIRST. Even those who wear black every day have a right to be frustrated with the slow pace of covid-19 recovery, but it would be a good idea for the Judiciary to state in no uncertain terms that while they are working hard-as they should- to get trials back on track, no lawyer or litigant will be forced to trial until they feel safe/are fully vaccinated.
Trials are the T word. And the T word is on everyone's lips and minds. The Feds pushed back trials until May 3, and then it is only supposed to be a "single civil trial" before the indefatigable Judge Ungaro. The State ...well suffice to say there are more rumors about State trials restarting in March than about whether the prior President will run again in 2024. Ovalle and The Herald reported an interview with Judge Soto in which she said that jury trials will start March 1.
Good! No, Great! Let's start jury trials right when the new, more virulent form of the virus will be the dominant strain in the United States, and Miami.
The new strain is doubling every ten days in the US. From the NY Times:
Federal health officials warned on Friday that a far more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain could become the dominant source of infection in the United States by March, and would likely lead to a wrenching surge in cases and deaths that would further burden overwhelmed hospitals.
"Hi, welcome to the Richard E Gerstein Justice Building Jury Duty room. The windows do not open. In fact no windows in this building open. You will be in a court room where the windows do not open and you will be in close contact with your fellow jurors, like that person over there- the one with his mask below his nose. Yes, there is a new and more virulent strain of the virus where even wearing a mask and staying six feet away may not protect you. But we have a very serious resisting arrest with violence charge to litigate, and after a year of no trials, we just can't wait, even if that means some of you get sick and die. So feel free to use the wipes to wipe down your chair and we have complementary hand wash and Cuban Coffee. So settle in and we will take your temperature twice a day, because we do not acknowledge asymptomatic transmission of Covid."
This is whistling in the dark. This is akin to being a lunatic president and just wishing the virus away or telling everyone it will be gone by spring, summer, or the day after the election. This is hope over science. This is wanting something more than understanding the challenges in getting what you want. This is reckless. This is dangerous. And this is wrong.
When everyone who gets summoned to a trial- from the person sitting high up wearing black, to the clerk, court reporter, corrections officers, lawyers, litigants and witnesses have two vaccines on board, then trials can begin. Safely. Smartly. With much less risk.
Until then, if jury summons go out for March 1, and the powers that be start trying to march people into courtrooms who are not vaccinated to try a case, we will be shouting from the electronic mountaintops that it is wrong and dangerous. Not just into the teeth of a virus, but into the teeth of a new, more virulent strain of the virus that is just as deadly, and more easy to catch.
The Biden administration just announced the purchase of 200 million more doses of vaccine. By the end of July the country will have 600 million doses of vaccines available, enough to vaccinate every American who doesn't believe Dr. Fauci is personally profiting off of the virus and vaccine. We are talking about waiting a few more months to save lives.
The decision is an easy one.
17 comments:
Heil Biden wants travel restrictions on Florida. Wtf does that mean? I can't go visit my elderly parents out of state? And u said trump was the authoritarian?? Hahaha u know who the party of govt control is and u are no ayn rand disciple supporting this facsist biden
Did any reader realize the guy in the Viking horns and animal skins was out on bond? And as we can see from the last comment he also reads our blog! Welcome. And take your Wellbutrin sir. It will help.
I e never seen more Americans have more contempt for each others opinions. As if one is more valid then the next. People need to chill. Smoke a joint that eight help too! And stop insulting the q shaman. He has been GOATED.
I have heard judges for 9 months say: You are number one. No further continuances. We will pick a jury no matter what. I will not continue this case again. Why haven't you taken all 94 depos in the last few months.
Hey judges: Stop being assholes and grow up. It's a fucking pandemic. By summer we will most likely be OK but, before then, back off with the bullshit.
Soto must be a Trumper to order jury trials starting on March 1. I wonder who will file the first lawsuit against her once someone contacts covid from having to attend a jury trial. This is just plain stupid.
As of today, the Covid 19 death rate per 100,000 residents in New York is 233 (second only to New Jersey's 251). [And that does not account for the evidently hundreds of New York nursing home Covid deaths that still haven't made it into the official numbers.]
In Florida, that rate is 131/100,000 -- lower than 25 other states.
I am so utterly weary of politicians at every level leveraging this pandemic for political point-scoring, and it is disappointing -- but perhaps unsurprising -- to see the Biden administration trotting out a plan that very obviously does the same.
Source: https://law.justia.com/codes/florida/2016/title-vi/chapter-48/section-48.23/
Most judges will not force us to go to trial if we are not comfortable or vaccinated but there are a very few that don't care and will try to force us to trial no matter what. And with the UK variant, who will bet against a COVID outbreak during the first 2-3 trials.
Can anyone confirm existence of administrative order requiring attorneys to be present for arraignments in Dade because of COVID? Was just advised of such by a County Judge.
Jury summons for the week of 3/1 are out. I have one hanging on my fridge.
Trials? Whatever.
How many criminal judges are in the building? How many want to work past 3? How many cases can be tried in a week? How many speedies will be dropped? How many in custody defendants will take priority? How many judges will realize that they can get rid of cases much more efficiently via a plea blitz versus trying one case a week?
Like I said. Whatever.
It’s wonderful that Mr. Kuntz believes that Cuomo fudges the numbers to serve his purposes and Desantis does not. I don’t, and I’m not going into any room with a jury panel, a court staff, a defendant plus family, a judge and a bunch of cops until my wife and I are vaccinated. If personal, anecdotal evidence is accurate then the pandemic is worse than reported. I personally know at least 20 people who have been in the hospital recently and a couple that died.
If they want us to try cases then designate us as essential front line workers and give us our choice of vaccine. We can take our shots during motions in lim!
Whatever happened to the good old days of plea blitzes-that would be a perfect way to get rid of a lot of cases out there-Judge Sayfie are you listening?
I’m stunned at Robert Kuntz’s statement about “political point scoring” on the pandemic. Counting lives saved and lives lost are essentially the ONLY POINTS that matter in a political score card. History judges political leaders on those points. The only reason to be “utterly weary” of the scoring system is because the point performance by the previous administration is abysmal.
Anonymous @11:44 I fear you missed my point, likely because I made it inartfully.
I completely agree with you -- the only "points" that matter are lives saved and lost. The single most meaningful number, I think, is the one I cited: deaths/100,000.
The "political point scoring" to which I was referring was, in particular, the Biden administration plan "leaked" (which really means floated) that day or the day before about restricting travel to Florida -- an obvious political slap at a governor who was (still is?) a Trump ally. Demonstrably, FL has done better than about half the states, and not as well as the other half -- and has done FAR better than NY, where Cuomo was lionized and given an Emmy (for goodness' sake) for his performance.
But my "weariness" arises for the fact that nearly every media and political player has treated nearly every aspect of this year-long story entirely from the perspective of partisan gain or loss. Blame Donald Trump's offensive and polarizing personality for that if you like. My point is that every single damned thing becomes a game of Team R versus Team D. As in the comment of. . .
. . . Anonymous @7:39, your comment hasn't aged terribly well in the last few days, as the depth and breadth of Cuomo's "fudging" has become more apparent, as his defense of his actions in yesterday's public address was thin soup of distraction and bald lies. Cuomo is responsible for the deaths' of many thousands after directing hospitals to send Covid positive elders back to car facilities, and it is quickly becoming apparent he was involved in a cover-up thereafter. He broke New York's economy, shut everything down, and seems not (even on the numbers to which he admits) to have done very well compared to 48 other governors. Even those media outlets that idolized him for months are turning on him now, and well they might. As for DeSantis, see the numbers above. He's attempted a balanced approach that doesn't kill the economy but still protects vulnerable people. He's done so imperfectly, but to empirically better results than, say, Cuomo. [But note that you're the one who brought up DeSantis -- the seeming reflex of every Team D apparatchik the moment anyone points out Cuomo's obvious failings. Exactly my point about it all being a about political point making.]
Add to all of the above the indisputable fact that measures taken in reaction to Covid have killed people, too. Ask any pediatrician, or oncologist, or mental health expert. Whether we have helped more than we have hurt still seems to me to be up for grabs. (The choice wasn't lock everything down forever versus do nothing; but middle grounds were often ignored.) Likely we won't know until history takes a look -- and can do so sufficiently removed the current environment where every single damned thing about this subject gets devolved down to partisan politics.
We all know Birdy isn't very bright,
Bright enough to be elected Chief 4 times, Scott/David.
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