The facts are pretty much known now. Indeed, Newsweek has picked up the Miami Herald story and run it nationwide.
While sitting on the appellate court in Miami, Judge Bronwyn Miller had on an on-going text correspondence (and perhaps multiple phone calls) with the elected State Attorney about the Corey Smith case where Judge Miller is a witness. She did this while other prosecutors went into court and told circuit court judges that Judge Miller was not speaking with anyone without a subpoena- which was a bold-faced lie to the court.
Judge Miller reviewed the appellate brief of the Attorney General in the Smith case and told the elected State Attorney the problems in the brief and changes to be made. This is a shocking breach of ethics if not morals. Although not assigned to the case, upon her elevation to the Third District Court of Appeals, Judge Miller had to have abandoned any pretense of advocacy for any side in any case. Even where her Court would have ruled against a case she prosecuted, Judge Miller was required- in our considered opinion- to want only that her Court reach the correct decision- even if that decision negatively opined about her prior work as a prosecutor. Such is the exalted role of an Appellate Judge- in our opinion. Essentially sacrificing her personal opinions and feelings for the desire only that her Court get it right-even if she- in her prior position- "loses". Judge Miller did not do this- she in fact did the opposite.
And finally, Judge Miller opined against the ethics of defense attorneys in general, giving rise, in our opinion, to the well-founded belief that she cannot be fair in any criminal case moving forward.
Any- and we do mean any- first year assistant public defender has more ethical decency in their pinky that Michael Von Zamft demonstrated as a prosecutor in the Dade County State Attorneys Office. How could she possibly denigrate the ethics of our profession in light of what we all know MVZ did? Such a statement was shocking in its ignorance and disrespect for our profession. A profession that hands out an award named after President John Adams in honor of his defense of British Soldiers accused of murder in Boston. A profession that routinely goes into court and saves the lives of wrongly convicted men and women when their actions are ridiculed and view with skepticism- until they show that they are right, and the system got it wrong.
Judge Miller was elevated to the most rarified air of the bench- the appellate court. Her actions are indefensible, and she has, in our opinion, forfeited the right to serve in such an exalted and important role.
That is our opinion.
What say you?
