JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Monday, March 23, 2026

12 YEAR OLD RELEASED ON BOND

 Judge Richard Hersch, (soon to be retiring?) found no proof evident, no presumption great, and released one of two 12 year old suspects in a capital sexual battery. JM D'Escoubet and Kellie Petterson of RC3 secured his release after a lengthy Arthur Hearing next week. Well done!

Query: Should any 12-year-old ever be held in an adult jail without bond in any case? 

Such prosecutions cannot help but remind us of young George Stinney, 14 years old, and executed shortly after his arrest for a crime on a white woman. He was so small he couldn't fit and be held in the electric chair. How our legal system treats juveniles is just shameful. 



And what about the Arthur hearing standard. NPE NPG is a mouthful of obscure legal terms. We know the standard is higher than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but beyond that its a jumbled mish-mash mystery. 

Hows abouts we all get together and re-phrase the standard so everyone is on the same page and everyone can understand it? 

Something like: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt to justify a hold with no bond?  Or 

The highest proof possible in a criminal prosecution

Or 

Proof beyond nearly any doubt of guilt sufficient to hold a defendant without bond?


 

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

https://flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/2486137/opinion/Opinion_2025-2545.pdf

Anonymous said...

You place blame on the criminal justice system. My question is where are the experienced ASA's who handle these cases? If you are holding a juvenile without bond, shouldn't there be at least two layers of review? Especially with sex abuse cases involving juvenile defendants. These cases are notoriously weak. Just saying.

Anonymous said...

They should let him out and he can stay at your place.

Anonymous said...

The didn't do nuffin crowd, the heroes of the left.

Anonymous said...

I would gladly let this young man stay at my place. He clearly needs adult supervision and guidance. 12 year olds are not criminals.

Kissimmee Kid said...

Great result! Who is Deborah Prager?

Anonymous said...

JM is one of the best attorneys in Dade County! Well done!

Anonymous said...

***. If I needed a sophisticated, brilliant and charismatic criminal defense lawyer - no matter where in the country I was indicted - I would only retain David Marcus or Phil Reizenstein. Or perhaps both.

Anonymous said...

12 year olds are not criminals but victims of bad parenting and a bad social economic environment.

Anonymous said...

Hey Rump, Perceptions of prosecutors as "insufferable," "heartless," or "arrogant" often stem from the immense, unchecked power they hold in the American justice system, rather than just individual personality traits. (Except for someone that is unethical and unbearable think Corey Smith case). Defense attorneys and legal observers frequently describe them as self-righteous, overly rigid, and focused more on winning cases (conviction rates) than achieving justice, which can make them difficult to work with.

Anonymous said...

Something is happening at SSSS Rumpole. It’s moving up just like you said.

I loaded up on it and NVIDIA.

Thank you. But - I’m worried about MICROSOFT?

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, do you have the constitutional fortitude to admit you were wrong about Trump’s Iran regime change scheme? Not so easy, was it? Do you, like most men, fear that your penis will fall off if you admit to being wrong? It probably won’t. Why not go out on a high note, denouncing the masculinist creed to which you’ve adhered lo these many years. People can change. Change is good. You’re a tough guy. You can do this.

Anonymous said...

Let’s play a game. Things only ASA’s say.

Anonymous said...

The experienced ASAs are gone (or at RC3)

Anonymous said...

Kids as young as 12 are not considered likely to commit capital or life felonies, so the System is completely unprepared for them. There have been a few local cases, but they are (thankfully) still vanishingly rare. The focus needs to be on what can be an alternative, when a case like this one (horrible in every detail) does occur? Including what is happening with the 2 still in custody?

Anonymous said...

I don't understand why it is so difficult to simply order the child held in a juvenile facility. Sure, America, if you want to be cruel try him and punish as an adult, but why cant he just be held in juvie until he is tried?!