JAC ATTACK

 Many commentators on the blog are chatting about this NBC Six story: attorneys billing millions of dollars over the last decade for court appointed death penalty work. 

We first note that if an attorney was paid two million dollars over ten years, that's 200K a year and not an outrageous amount. 

We next note that our State Attorney withheld no shots, kicking and kicking again the attorneys who are accused of over billing. These are good lawyers who are zealous advocates on the worst types of cases, and they fight the Dade SAO as hard as possible defending their clients. 

We think it unseemly that Ms. Rundle has attacked these lawyers, effectively helping to prevent these experienced lawyers from getting appointed on new cases where they do not roll over and just plead their clients to the death penalty. 

The Dade SAO has a much bigger role in the problems of these death penalty cases. For example, did you know that 

1) The Dade SAO has a POLICY of asking for death on almost every death eligible case. THEN, they spend the next two years deciding if they really want the death penalty. Don't you think it should be the other way around? That they should treat the decision to seek death with the serious and solemn thoughtfulness that such a decision should entail? Instead, they automatically seek death, which automatically results in the appointment of two lawyers billing taxpayers, and then the SAO asks the defense to convince them why they should not seek death.  And now Ms. Rundle complains that lawyers are billing for the work they caused?? Really??? Shame on her. 

2) It takes an average of MORE THAN SIX MONTHS for a lead detective's report in a homicide case to be completed and released (many times it is more than a year). During that interregnum after arraignment the case sits while everyone waits for the lead's report. And yet Ms. Rundle complains in the article about how long it takes to resolve these cases.  If you want to shave a year off the process, kick your detectives in the ass and tell them to write up their report. And while you're at it, tell them to NOT DESTROY THEIR NOTES. What exactly are they afraid of are in those notes that require them to destroy them? 

And finally, this. The article is an embarrassment to our profession. Those lawyers, colleagues all, should know better. Nobody should bill 24 hours in a day. Even Rumpole sleeps 8-9 hours a day. No one should bill 355 days a year on the same case. Rumpole vacations for two months in the summer, and the winter ski trip, not to mention spring sabbaticals. No one should bill hundreds of hours listening to jail calls- bills that take up six and seven months of a year, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. 

It is very easy to get practice software that tracks legal work and billing. Handwritten records won't do. Get an APP. 

The public already doesn't believe these people charged with these crimes should get a defense. This type of billing makes it worse. And what makes it really really bad is that apparently ONLY MIAMI LAWYERS are the ones whose bills are being flagged for this. 

Ouch.  These lawyers are all good and decent people -we know most of them and the quality of their legal work- one name we didn't recognize- they are very good criminal defense attorneys. The clients and the courts lose out on their effective representations because of their sloppy billing. 

What a mess.