There is chatter that judges want to do away with zoom.
And why wouldn't they?
It helps lawyers.
It helps litigants, many of whom cannot afford to pay for parking.
So why wouldn't those who wear black all the time and don't feel respected unless they sit above everyone else want to end the single most helpful innovation in the law since Westlaw made Shephardizing a case as easy as clocking on a button?
Ah, but as we dive deeper into this pending contretemps, it turns out it is not all of the judiciary. We paint with too broad of a brush. So who could it be?
It's not the DCA judges. They're busy cutting back on oral argument, so any lawyer lucky to get an invitation to appear is going to jump on it.
And it's not the Circuit bench because they need to wrap things up early and polish that DCA / US District Court application.
The feds never really had it. Plus you don't get hearings on most matters. Write a motion, prepare an order denying it, keep track of your CJA hours, and you're all set.
So who could it be that feels undervalued, disrespected, and needs to throw a temper tantrum like North Korea so they won't be ignored?
Why it's the County Court criminal judges who want to do away with Zoom!
Why?
Because they will not be ignored. They are doing really really important stuff and unlike those pushovers in Circuit, they need lawyers and litigants on bended knee, begging for their attention so the important business of imposing a w/h or adj and court costs and time to pay can be resolved with the Solomonic wisdom they all possess and just need everyone else to know about. ("Did you see the way Judge XYZ adjudicated that woman which means she will lose her SNAP assistance? Brillant! Just Brillant.") And if the poorest people in the system miss work and have to pay for parking, which means they cannot shop for food for the next day, then....just work harder, duh!
They can do what they wish. We never go there anyway. But we will tell you this, they drag defendants and lawyers to county court every day for their nonsense and do away with Zoom, we will harp on this every day until our last day blogging (June 30, 2026). And we will give credit to those behind the push to do away with Zoom. Because there is no reason the judges who do away with Zoom should not get all the credit they deserve. Over and over and over.
So as they say in pleadings,
Kindly Act Accordingly.
24 comments:
Jason Pizzo for Governor!
If you are retiring as of June 26, are you going to give a blanket pardon to Bondi? A guy on a roof was yelling that she is great. Also, the Florida Bar did, so why not acknowledge the effect on the current quality of our legal ethics and system that could never have reached the record altitude it is at now without her?
Rump your title should be who’s been off the Reservation!
The judges are right to make all hearings live. Keeping stuff on zoom was the
worst idea ever: it is a disservice to the clients (who can't confer with the lawyer during the zoom hearing), it must make communication between ASAs and defense counsel difficult (the defense lawyers complain on the FACDL-Miami listserv that ASAs don't immediately answer e-mails, forgetting that a 1-minute conversation takes far less time and is more likely to be fruitful than an e-mail which must always take longer to craft; remember that e-mails are carved in stone). And it keeps the lawyers from being seen by the public, the court, and other lawyers: I have been helped many times by a timely suggestion in court from a fellow lawyer who knows that particular judge's preference or moods.
As one who has sought, due to hearing loss, to get live hearings in circuit court, I have been stalled again and again. The opposing counsel doesn't want to leave her Fort Lauderdale office, 5 minutes from Brightline, to attend a hearing in Miami. So have a lawyer from their Miami office attend. (Their Miami office is at a Metrorail station) Now I am wondering if the judge ever comes to the courthouse. Why is this so difficult?
It would be OK with me if the judges wanted to use the federal model, but that would be mean they need to actually read the papers. That's not an insult; lacking law clerks, handling the paperwork by him/herself would be overwhelming for any judge, no matter how dedicated.
Explain
And people say we don’t post opposing opinions.
One of the biggest flaws of the criminal justice system is it being stuck in the past ( look at those ridiculous antiquated sentencing guidelines, over-rigid minimum mandatory penalties, a bond schedule created in the 80's, etc). Zoom is highly necessary since the world has drastically changed. Housing is astronomical forcing people to move out of the metro area ( the gentrification of South Fla is getting so bad) , the costs of parking is tough in our hyper inflationary city and the traffic is horrendous at all hours of the day. Most criminal defense attorneys are sole practitioners necessitating the taking of cases in different counties. For completely unexplainable reasons, a criminal case can be set at RJG, DVCourt, or the many satellite court houses ( due to graft and corruption with zoning) . The vast majority of us work on volume ( I wish I could receive $25,000 for a F3) forcing us to tend to many court hearings at the same time. I am sure Zoom may create some administrative challenges for the judicial branch but I would think perfecting those quirks makes more sense than dragging people all over the place. Judges, please develop some empathy for us!
Some ASA’s plea offers are so ridiculous it forces you to take the case to trial.
Agreed
I’ve been to calendar calls with my client ready to plead and the judge asked me and everyone in a similar stance to call the JA to set a change of plea hearing. No one should ever have to go to a sounding, calendar call or arraignment in person. Zoom is modern and easy. Some of these public servants will have you wear a powdered wig and show up in a horse. Grow up!
When there was talk of some judges seeking to eliminate Zoom when the Pandemic lifted, I proposed creating the “Zoom PAC.” A political action committee funded by criminal defense lawyers (donating $100 each) with the pledge that we would fund and run a candidate against any judge who refused to conduct Zoom hearings for those mundane Calendar Calls, Soundings, or Status Conferences. It got to the point that papers to create the PAC were drawn up. Even if the offending judge was not defeated, their summer and their bank accounts were ruined. Message sent.
Thankfully, with the hard work of the FACDL the Florida Supreme created a rule that hearings under 30 minutes are presumptively Zoom applicable. The PAC was not needed. The papers (digitally) filed away.
Recently, Judges in Broward have started to eliminate such useless hearings, setting everything “for trial.” If you are not ready, file a motion. Otherwise, don’t expect a continuance the day of the trial. I don’t know how this will all play out but the time we used to waste going to court for nothing hearings is likely (and thankfully) gone for good.
If not? Well, the Zoom PAC is still lurking out there.
Yes, it is time to end Zoom. The pandemic is over. It has been for a long time. Clients cannot possibly get a fair trial when they cannot confront witnesses against them in person. Miami Dade is the only place in Florida and the country where this is happening at the trial setting. If anyone knows of any other county in Florida doing Zoom in criminal cases and traffic infraction cases at the trial setting, please chime in. Nobody else is doing this. Nobody. Require that officers and witness against your client all appear in person. Like it has always been the case. Enough already. Time to end this dysfunctional, dystopian situation. Clients and the profession deserve it. The accused have the right to confront witnesses against them in person.
There are a handful of ASA’s that have made the Miami Justice system into a draconian system.
Young ASA’s must break the chains of “minimum mandatory” offer below guidelines.
Whatever happened to facing your accuser? That's my issue.
Tell me you don't try cases without telling me you don't try cases. No one is trying cases with witnesses on zoom. There's a whole clause in one of those big amendments that addresses this.
The issue is that the new administration wants defense lawyers and their lawyers appearing in person on trial days - but NOT state witnesses. Pre-pandemic, everyone had to appear. If the state didn't have witnesses, it was a KNP. If the witnesses were there, then plea or trial. The new proposal is a pressure campaign to force our clients to plead guilty without knowing whether the state could actually proceed. It's fundamentally unfair.
US District Court Judges have staff. Lot's of staff. There is a huge expense devoted to helping them process the paper. Florida will never pay for the cost of shifting to the federal model. We will have the worst of both worlds.
Leonard Thompson has turned kounty Kourt into mess. The're demanding jail on almost everything now. When is Kathy going to get rid of him? Leonard is despised by all three sides in Kounty Kourt.
consider the pain of indefinitely waiting on a zoom scheduled administrative meeting and contrast that to the pain of driving to the courthouse and indefinitely waiting for the same administrative meeting. which is the lesser of two evils?
Where do we send our checks?
Speaking of going off the reservation, a grumpy judge just went through yet another JA.
I hear it's the DV judges.
You all know you can go over his head if you are unhappy. Leave him alone with your nasty comments and send an email to his supervisor if you are unhappy, copied to him. He is a good kid trying to do what is right. He will learn if you don’t make him the devil.
Espinosa again?
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