ZOOM

 You want to Zoom. 

We want to Zoom.

So who doesn't want to Zoom? 

Spoiled Judges who like dragging people to Court for five-minute hearings, global warming (which they are not allowed to say in Florida anyway) be damned as the beneficial effects of keeping hundreds of lawyers off the roads and home does not matter to the Judge who likes to have a big audience watching them say "I'm sorry counsel, but I am just following the law. If you want it changed, that is role of the legislature not the judiciary" in the hope that the ruling reaches the Governor's office. 

But here are the new changes to the applicable rules from your Florida Supreme Court (Motto: "Respecting precedent in all cases that do not hinder the Republican Agenda"). 

Zoom Opinion Disposition by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

CHAMPIONS

 

YOUR FLORIDA PANTHERS ARE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME

For those of you who did the Miami thing and showed up mid-way in the third period and were upset that you didn't see any goals or fights, you missed a great game. The Cats scored first but the Oilers quickly answered. Then the Cats went up 2-1 and played championship defense and shut the Oilers down for two periods and won a hard earned Stanley Cup Championship. 

We admit we had a strong financial interest in the Oilers winning the Cup- like a buy a few bottles of Opus One kind of interest.  But we made enough on their 3-0 run to even the series at 3-3 to be happy. And we congratulate your Florida Panthers for bringing a championship to Miami. 

Enjoy it. This might be the last Championship Miami sees for a while- unless they repeat next year. 

HOCKEY SEASON HAS ARRIVED IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Yup, Monday will be the day that Miamians wait for.  A championship game seven for a local team. Your Florida Panthers have blown a 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup playoffs and on Monday will host game seven for the championship. Now is the time for South Florida fans to pay that 5K for a ticket, show up in their Amazon bought Panther jerseys and loudly announce that they have been to every game this year. And since we are doing this Miami-Style, go out to dinner at Prime 112 first before making the third period of the game (which is the final period for all you front running phonies). 

Here's what you need to know. The star of these playoffs is Connor McDavid. And just how good has he been? Historically good.  The bad news for you front running phony Panther fans is that Connor McDavid plays for the other team- which if you're just hopping on the Panthers' bandwagon you need to know is the Edmonton Oilers. 

McDavid has 42 points so far in these playoffs. The only players with more: Wayne Gretzky with 47 in 1985, Mario Lemieux with 44 in 1991 and Gretzky again with 43 in 1988.

McDavid has 34 assists- breaking Gretzky's record of 31 in 1988. 

McDavid became the first player in Stanley Cup history to score four points (not four goals) in back-to-back games. He did it in games 4 and 5 this year against your Panthers. 

So here is your chance front running Miami phony fans. A real game seven on the line. Grab those Black Amex cards and get your seats and show up and pretend you live and die with the Panthers.  This will be your only opportunity for a while. The Heat stink and the Fins are good, but probably not super bowl good- although for a while last year we thought they were. 

 

HOOO BOY

 You know when Mr. Markus starts a post with "hooo boy" that his federal world has been rocked. Well that's what happened today when he reported on the NY Times article that your judges in the SDFL have been whispering in Judge Cannon's ear that  "this one is not for you" and had advised her when the Trump documents case came in to send it south to the Ferguson Building where another, presumably more experienced judge would have handled the case. 

The Times named Chief Judge Altonaga as one of the two judges who advised Judge Cannon to give it up. The other judge was not named- which of course lets our readers engage in one of their favourite games- "who is it?" 

Be nice in the comments, and give your best guess and your reasons why you think that particular judge advised Judge Cannon to transfer the case. 

Mr. Markus's blog post is here- head on over, he could use the readers. 

We love the movie Rounders, and as soon as the story broke about Judge Cannon being counseled to give up the case, all we could think about was the final hand and Teddy KGB waving his finger and saying "You're on a draw Mike. No, this one is not for you."  If you scroll ahead it's at about 3:37. 

Anyway, Rounders is as good a poker movie as you're ever going to see, and if you haven't seen it and want to, then do not watch the clip as it will spoil the ending for you. 

"Hanging around...hanging around...Kid's got alligator blood." 

And of course the coup de grace"You're right Teddy, that Ace didn't help me...I flopped the nut straight!" 

Great writing. And while we are on the subject, if you want to read a great poker book, Positively Fifth Street is as good as it gets. 

SAY HEY

 On this Juneteenth day, let's take a break from the acrimony and accusations.  We were planning on talking about how, growing up- feeling enlightened about race although at times we lived in communities that were not- we had no idea about Juneteenth and that it really did not enter our consciousness until relatively recently. 

And then the greatest baseball player of all time died. 

Willie Mays, the Say Hey Kid died Tuesday at 93. 

His stats speak for themselves. 660 home runs. Life time 301batting average.  3,292 hits. 12 Gold Gloves. Rookie of the year in 1951 after starting out hitting 1 for 26. Two time MVP.  Baseball is a game of stats, which is one reason why we love it. But it is so much more than stats and Willie Mays was so much more than stats. No player ever had the combination of power, speed, athleticism, arm, and grace.  Babe Ruth combined power and athleticism (he was a pitcher first), but you do not hear people talk about his arm or speed on the base paths. Hank Arron is the closest to Mays, and you can make an argument for Clemente, but in the end, Willie Mays stands alone. 

When you watch the most famous catch in baseball history,  there are a few things to keep in mind. It was game one of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds. Vic Wertz was the batter.  The ball was hit to centerfield which measured 483 feet at its deepest. Mays took off on a full run and his back was to the ball when he caught it at around 450 feet. The game was tied 2-2 in the eighth inning and Cleveland had runners on first and second- so the catch, in a tied world series game, had added stress and importance. 

And then after the catch, in one fluid moment Mays turns and throws a bullet to second base holding the runner. The catch would have been enough for mere mortals, but Mays was not a mere mortal. His throw is also one of the greatest in the history of the game. 

The game ended in the tenth inning. Mays set up the winning run by walking and then Dusty Rhodes hit a home run off of Bob Lemon and the Giants were on their way to a four-game sweep. 

Many have athletic ability. Many can perform under the stress of the moment. But it is the rare person who can use all of their abilities at a time when they are needed most. The man met the moment in Game One of the World Series in 1954 and it was the first of what would be many moments for the greatest ballplayer of all time. 

NACDL WEIGHS IN

 The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL Motto "We charge dues too") weighed in on the scandal and mess that is now the Miami State Attorneys Office (Motto "Bringing witnesses together to coordinate their testimony for a lot longer than we will admit") 

Washington, DC (June 17, 2024) – Prosecutorial misconduct plagues the criminal legal system, and defense attorneys play a crucial role in exposing it. As evidenced by numerous cases brought to light by the Florida defense bar, it is rampant in that state and corrective action is long overdue. As widely reported, the most recent case involves unethical and unconstitutional use of a jailhouse informant, a recurrent theme in the annals of law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct and an issue that is ripe for reform. NACDL joins the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and its Miami Chapter in calling for the States Attorney to take immediate action, including the creation of an ethics oversight unit, to address the prosecutorial misconduct and determine its root causes. “Until this serious problem is remedied, our legal system will continue to suffer, and the respect accorded it by the public will continue to diminish,” said Michael P. Heiskell, President of NACDL.

Janet Reno built this office into THE finest prosecutors office in the nation, and the current administration destroyed it, mostly out of fear that they could not beat lawyers like the late and great Alex Michaels who routinely kicked their ass in murder trials. Shame on them. All together now: SHAME. 

The Miami State Attorneys Office is now synonymous for unethical conduct by prosecutors. SHAME. 

COURTS BACK OPEN

The Feds and Broward are back open (whoo hoo!) and Miami - the city that never sleeps- never closed. 

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming: 

AS THE STATE ATTORNEYS  OFFICE TURNS 

In previous episodes, the SAO was rocked first by a scandal of epic proportions involving amongst other things, the coordination of witness testimony. 

That topic has not been spoken about enough. Is it ethical for prosecutors to coordinate the testimony of their witnesses? 

We think not. Not even close. Trials are supposed to be a search for the truth. And if two witnesses see and recall things differently, coordinating their testimony is a perversion of the trial process. 

But then, pretty much everything we are learning about MVZ was a perversion of the trial and justice process. 

When is Ms. Rundle going to form an outside committee of former judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys to review every conviction MVZ had his dirty mitts on? 

This is step one to restoring confidence in her office, which is deeply and darkly broken.  

Someone in the comments section had it right- Alex Michaels was right all along about Von Zamft.  

YOUR NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGE IS ....... KEVIN HELLMANN

 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING .....

YOUR NEXT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE IS .....

ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER KEVIN HELLMANN

According to AI, the chance of getting struck by lightning in your lifetime is about 1 in 15,300. The chances of an Assistant Public Defender getting appointed to the bench by Ron DeSantis went up dramatically last night, (now 1 in 92), when the Governor chose APD Kevin Hellmann to fill the open seat created by the elevation of Judge Gamez.

Kevin Hellmann joins Ayana Harris (Miami-Dade CC 2019) and Barry Dickson (Escambia CC 2020) as the only assistant public defenders appointed to the bench by the Governor while still employed as PDs.

To understand the magnitude of this appointment, Gov. DeSantis has appointed 276 judges in five years and THREE were sitting PDs. By contrast, 87 sitting ASAs/ AUSAs/AAGs, were appointed to the bench in the same amount of time. That’s right 87 to 3. 

Kevin Hellmann must be very special. 

Hellmann went to Harvard undergrad followed by Brooklyn Law School and he joined the Miami-Dade Public Defender's Office in 1996. He has dedicated his entire 28-year career there and is currently a Training Director in the office.

Overall, DeSantis has appointed 276 judges to the bench between January of 2019 and June of 2024. In that time, 175 of those 276 (63.4%) were employed as an ASA, AUSA, or AAG at some point in their careers. By contrast, 16 of the 276 (5.7%) were APDs or AFPDs at some point in their career.

Congratulations to Kevin as he persevered like few others have done through the JNC process. Kevin applied to the JNC 14 times and his name was on the shortlist to the Governor's office a total of 12 times since he began his quest for appointment.

This is a great loss for the Public Defender’s Office but a much bigger gain for the citizens of Miami-Dade County.

Congratulations, Your Honor.

As Kevin always likes to say in closing:

Public Defender Pride !!!

CAPTAIN OUT ....... 
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

WEATHER CLOSURES

 For Thursday,  Broward and the Feds are closed and Miami Courts are OPEN because we do not let a little rain spoil our day. 

Judge Sayfie has urged non-essential employees to remain home and Zoom (e.g., robed readers) and we second that along with noting that it is a perfect day for your favourite ASA to stay home and get a few games of chess in, because as we all know, Miami ASAs loveeeee chess. 

Stay safe and dry. 

Oh yeah, and congrats to former Dade PD Kevin Hellman who was appointed by you know who to the County Court. He persevered and kept putting his name in and eventually the governor probably got tired of seeing it so just appointed him. Well done KH. 

DISCOVERY

 The comments section on the blog has exploded in a manner not seen since the heady early days of our humble blog when blogging and commenting on a blog was a new experience- comparable to the first time you posted a Tik Tok on that matcha you sipped. 

What caught our eye in the nearly three hundred comments (eat your heart out DOM) was the one that said that Michael Von Zamft routinely gave a discovery lecture to new prosecutors in which he compared discovery responses by the prosecution to a chess match, and encouraged prosecutors to walk close to- if not over the line- when fulfilling their constitutional duties to provide discovery to the defense. 

This is indefensible. We compare it to the Nixon smoking gun tape of June 23, 1972 between Nixon and HR Halderman in the Oval Office. 

If this is true, then the culture of the Miami States Attorneys Office is broken and Ms. Rundle needs to resign. She cannot remain State Attorney when her office was training young prosecutors to not do justice. It is as simple as that. We do not make this statement lightly. But then the existence of this lecture is grounds for disbarment for attorneys who gamed the system and did not fulfill their constitutional duties as prosecutors. There is no excuse for playing games with discovery when lives are at stake. Period. End of discussion. 

Discovery is not a game. It is a solemn obligation that prosecutors have to provide the defense with all the information they have about the case. If they hold back information, especially exculpatory Brady material, then innocent people go to jail. Discovery is not a game. It is not a chess match and there should be no decisions about it. The defense should get what the prosecution has. Period. 

We once had a case where we stumbled upon the fact that a cooperating co-defendant had given a statement and the lead prosecutor intentionally withheld it while we deposed the co-defendant. His excuse- the statement was not inculpatory so he didn’t need to provide it. 

Now we understand why he did what he did. 

We call upon the FACDL to draft a motion in which prosecutors are forced to disclose whether they received the MVZ lecture and whether they have engaged in discovery following his suggestions.  The motion should be distributed and every defense attorney should file it. We also call upon the Miami Dade State Attorneys Office to provide that lecture- the comments indicate that the Power Point exists. 

How long has this been going on? How many thousands of defendants were deprived of the information in their cases that they were entitled to? 

This is serious. If true, this is proof that the culture of the Miami State Attorneys Office is broken and cannot be fixed with the current administration - who knew what was going on and stood by silently as the rules of discovery and fairness were perverted by the ignorance and ego of a chief prosecutor out of control.  “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke. 

If a generation of prosecutors has been trained to game the system, then the Miami State Attorneys Office is broken beyond repair. 

This discovery lecture is the smoking gun that may bring our State Attorney down. 

Here is the comment 

We have been asked to repost because it seems to have disappeared:
Spoiler Alert! Every year for decades Von Zamft “taught” all new and current prosecutors (hundreds a year) about discovery. He generally used three outlines (most recents the training director gave out in 2022 and 2023). Two of these three outlines encourage all Miami Dade prosecutors to prepare their witnesses to testify TOGETHER in a GROUP. Page 5 of MVZ outline “Joint Meetings. Do not be afraid of this. There is no rule against it and it is not unethical. If you do this, decide how you want to group them; for example all witnesses on same or similar point. Police officers.”
Page 3 of outline number two “Joint meetings. Can be very helpful. At times will trigger each witnesses testimony…not unethical.” Miller was training director at one time at SAO (so was MVZ ironically). Based on the above, is it any wonder why prosecutors believe there is no problem to have witness collaboration meetings (as Wolfson found in Smith) to “discuss” or coordinate their testimony or discuss legal theories as a group or “help each other remember” or why it’s acceptable to provide a lead detective report to a lay witness in preparation for trial or why it’s acceptable to place witnesses together in same police conference room to prepare them for testimony together or put them in the jail yard together to get their stories straight??? For anyone to say this is not a taught and accepted practice at the Miami SAO and that it is not an accepted culture at the SAO is beyond laughable when it is being taught, and permitted to be taught, by MVZ to hundreds of ASAs every single year. The prior commenter also got it right where ASAs were given a discovery or Brady training outline years ago with a pic of a chess board and were told discovery and Brady obligations were analogous to a game of chess. (That came out either in the media or on the blog.) Once everyone at the SAO gets really honest with themselves and others, we all can try to move forward.

80 YEARS AGO TODAY

80 years ago today we hit the high mark of our country. You can make the case that the high mark occurred on July 20, 1969 when we landed on the moon. But for us it was June 6, 1944 when over 25,000 Americans dropped into Normandy, France and landed on the beaches at daybreak to free France and Europe and defeat fascism.  

In the words of General  Mark Clark which are inscribed at the American Cemetary in Normandy: 

IF EVER PROOF WERE NEEDED THAT WE FOUGHT FOR A CAUSE AND NOT FOR CONQUEST, IT COULD BE FOUND IN THESE CEMETERIES. HERE WAS OUR ONLY CONQUEST: ALL WE ASKED WAS ENOUGH SOIL IN WHICH TO BURY OUR GALLANT DEAD.

This day has always fascinated us. From the decision Eisenhower had to make to go, hoping his weather forecasters were correct about a break in the weather, to the 18-19 year old boys in the airborne who had unceasingly trained their minds and bodies for over a year to jump from C47s into Normandy at night to secure the access roads to the beaches, and hold them until the landings, to the men of the 4th Infantry division,  including our grandfather- a Jewish haberdasher from Brooklyn with a young daughter at home (our mother), who landed in the first wave on Utah Beach and fought his way inland and liberated the town of St Marie du Mont.  

There are tens of thousands of stories about the landings and the days after. We know many of them, but for today we focus on this day being the pinnacle of American greatness. 

We love this picture of Ike talking to the Airborne just before they loaded and jumped.

Citizen soldiers went up against the most professional army of the world and beat them in every battle. Yes, many of the front-line Axis troops in Normandy were conscripts from Poland who were not motivated. But lying in wait were professional Panzer and SS divisions who were met by the boys of the 101st Airborne who gave these professional soldiers their first battlefield defeat and continued to beat them all the way back to Germany where they surrendered.

We call them boys because they were. Until night fell on June 6 and then they were men. 

We think of this day and all the unsung heroes, and our heart is filled with pride that such men existed in this world. They were born into the depression. They had lived hard lives. And yet, they loved their country so completely that they answered the call- and prevailed. 

If you want a treat, read this article read this article and listen to the audio of Wright Bryan  who was the only reporter on a C47 carrying paratroopers into Normandy. He narrated on tape that you can listen to about the pilots and airborne soldiers as they flew and then jumped into Normandy. It is an outstanding piece of reporting.  We think this is a link that works. 

Things are bad now. A criminal is a legitimate threat to win the presidency again. 

Global warming is frighteningly real. 

Our political system appears broken. 

Our local State Attorneys Office, once the pride of the nation, is deeply broken and flawed. 

But we are living in a Democracy paid for by the lives of those boys- who became men on June 6. They were heroes one and all and we owe them just about every blessing we have. 

Take a moment, and in your own way, thank them for being who they were. 

Some of the inscriptions on the walls at the American Cemetary at Normandy- everyone who has a chance to go, should. 

THE BATTLE BELONGED THAT MORNING TO THE THIN, WET LINE OF KHAKI THAT DRAGGED ITSELF ASHORE ON THE CHANNEL COAST OF FRANCE.
General Omar N. Bradley
U.S. First Army Commander

TO US IS GIVEN THE HONOUR OF STRIKING A BLOW FOR FREEDOM WHICH WILL LIVE IN HISTORY; AND IN THE BETTER DAYS THAT LIE AHEAD MEN WILL SPEAK WITH PRIDE OF OUR DOINGS.
Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery
21st Army Group Commander

YOU CAN MANUFACTURE WEAPONS AND YOU CAN PURCHASE AMMUNITION, BUT YOU CAN'T BUY VALOR AND YOU CAN'T PULL HEROES OFF AN ASSEMBLY LINE.
Sergeant John B. Ellery
U.S. 1st Infantry Division

NOUS N'OUBLIONS PAS, NOUS N'OUBLIERONS JAMAIS, LA DETTE D'INFINIE GRATITUDE QUE NOUS AVONS CONTRACTEE ENVERS CEUX QUI ONT TOUT DONNE POUR NOTRE LIBERATION.
René Coty
Président de la République Française

TRANSLATION

WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN, WE WILL NEVER FORGET, THE
DEBT OF INFINITE GRATITUDE THAT WE HAVE CONTRACTED WITH THOSE WHO GAVE EVERYTHING FOR OUR FREEDOM.

BEELZUBUB

 By now everyone has seen and read and sent to a dozen friends the Miami Hearld Article about the Miami State Attorney's Office (Motto "666") "Deal with the Devil."  Here null 

So now it's time for your discussion here. 

A few rules. 

Be nice. Call them stupid, dumb, corrupt, willfully blind, willing to win at all costs, constitution-ignoring prosecutors, just do not be mean- because the truth hurts. 

NO decent prosecutor who had any respect for the law would engage in what Mr. Von Zamft did- and perhaps it is time Ms. Rundle reads David McCullough's wonderful book on Harry Truman because if ever there was a head prosecutor who needed to step forward and say "The buck stops here" it is her. And sadly, she has not done so. 

She has obfuscated, and delayed decisions, and made a series of bewildering appointments of new prosecutors (who really are old prosecutors) and not addressed what the overwhelming view of the comments on this blog are- THERE IS A CULTURE OF WIN AT ALL COSTS AT THE MIAMI DADE STATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE. 

When is the last time Ms. Rundle praised a prosecutor for dropping charges? We think never- as when you are in court and hear front line ASAs tell you over and over again that they need approval from their chief, who needs approval from their chief, to withhold adjudication, or not seek jail on a first resisting with violence because the....(everyone now) VICTIM WANTS MAX!!!

It is a culture of "if the defense wants it, we oppose it". We do not hear the phrase "do justice" mentioned often, and when we do, it is only in the context of....(everyone now) VICTIM WANTS MAX. 

There is a perverseness to the Miami State Attorneys office abandoning their duty as a prosecutor to seek justice for what a complaining witness wants. And it is our view that culture and mindset set Ms. Rundle and her office on the path to the crimes of Mr. Von Zamft. Because once you abandon the desire and courage to seek justice to appease people who are emotionally attached to the case, then anything can happen because the mindset becomes that the ends justify the means, and that is exactly what Mr. Von Zamft and his minions believed. 

They knew better than judges. They could cut corners because they decided the defendant was guilty and they were damned if they were going to play fair and not rig the case by rigging witness testimony. 

The lack of courage to stand up to a complaining witness led to the lack of oversight and lack of supervision and lack of courage to stand up to what is now becoming clear- a personality cult of Mr. Von Zamft and his group of prosecutors who believed themselves to be the real guardians of justice. They did not believe in the justice system. They just believed in themselves and that they knew better than everyone else. 

The whole thing stinks to high hell and while this issue is crying out for leadership Ms. Rundle is notable only in her mumblings to study the issue and get back to us. 

Shame. 

HOCKEY AND A JUDGE POSTS AN OPINION

And suddenly we are all Panthers fans. 

Yes, your Florida Panthers are in the Stanley Cup finals and Miamians, as is their wont, are jumping on the bandwagon, ready to show up to games and tell anyone who will listen what great Panther fans they are and how they never miss a game. 

Memo to you front running phonies- Hockey has three periods, and a score is called a goal. Just saying. 

POSTED

What's the deal with the Judge who was reversed by the Third DCA for not releasing a defendant where the prosecution did not file charges- he posted the decision on his door. WTF? 

Kudos for the PDs who took a writ and backed the 3rd DCA into the uncomfortable corner of admitting, much to the chagrin of our DeSantis Drones, that you cannot keep someone in jail who doesn't have charges pending. 

So what's the deal with the posting? Angry? Happy? Puckish?  Persnickety? 

Opinion_2024-0939 by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd