RUNDLE DROPS CHARGES AGAINST JOURNALIST

Fair is fair. The State Attorney immediately dropped charges against a journalist arrested by police who was out after curfew covering the marches. Journalists are exempt from the curfew order when covering the story of a march or others violating curfews. This was the correct decision. 
The WSVN story is here.

ERRATUM: The courthouse did NOT close yesterday. Your judges bravely held the fort and the line. 

Remember our motto: "Sometimes wrong...never in doubt". 

This is the flyer some protestors were handing out yesterday. 
Personally, we think they could have chosen a more flattering picture. 

REGJB CLOSED AS PROTESTORS COME

The REGJB is closed this morning as protestors have announced their intention to protest in front of the courthouse. The Judges' parking lot is closed. The valets have left. The few intrepid workers who wear black robes fled quicker than being at a table at Joes when the cheque arrives. 

The streets are closed off.   The feeling is edgy. 

It is April 30, 1975 Saigon. (For those judges who read the blog and were born in the 1980s, this refers to the inglorious end of the Vietnam War. Vietnam is a country in Asia where we fought a war and lost because of the same dominoes old men play on Calle Ocho. Really. Just Google Domino theory). 

If ever there was a time of the moment meeting the woman it is now. 

Our State Attorney could show up with hundreds of bottles of cold water for the protestors. She could meet with them and talk with them and let them know they are being heard. She could invite some of them to meet with her regularly. She could give them her cell phone and her email and stay in touch with them. 

Ahhh, we can dream,  but who are we talking about? 

Someone who has shown herself so far to be as tone deaf as President Trump trashing a Gold Star family. 
Someone who sends out newsletters in May that are so out of touch with reality that ...we are struggling for a simile here...it's like tweeting  "business as usual" just before Covid 19 shut down the world. It's like being inaugurated the Governor of Alabama and saying in your inauguration speech  "I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever." 

We hope it is not personal. We hope this is not stubborness. We hope our State Attorney is not drawing a line and refusing to acknowledge the protestors because we are pushing her. We hope she is bigger than that. 

"Kathy, I'm not good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of two little people do not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you kid."
Identify the quote from the movie. Win valuable acclaim. 

#WHEREISKATHY?
#PROTESTMIAMI 

RUNDLE TWEETS!

UPDATE: Item: In twenty seven years the State Attorney of Miami has not charged one police officer in a wrongful shooting case. Not one. Maybe they were all righteous shoots. 

Item: In 2016  Harvard Law School's Fair Punishment Project identified Miami-Dade County (and you know who) as one of four "outlier counties" in Florida that shared "a history of overzealous prosecutions, inadequate defense lawyering (Hey! Whatch you talkin about Willis?) and "a  pattern of racial bias and exclusion." 

She's not deaf. She knows our city is in Flames. Dozens of protestors have been arrested. Will they be ROR'd? How will the prosecutions proceed? Does she stand with the protestors? Just wait...it doesn't get better than this. 

In Michigan, Sheriff Chris Swanson  took off his helmet, told his officers to drop their nightsticks and he walked with the protestors in a show of solidarity.  The NY Times reports here. 

In  Dallas, Texas, law enforcement officers prayed with protestors. 

In Minnesota, the chief of police, interviewed on CNN repeatedly took off his hat as a sign of respect when addressing George Lloyds's brother. 




And our state attorney? What did she tweet? 

The May newsletter is out!! Hooray!  (Note the exclamation point is hers, not ours). All questions will be answered. 

Yup Our intrepid State Attorney had her own Steve Martin/The Jerk/The New Phone Books are here! moment. 

The leadership from law enforcement that our town needs has arrived...in the form of a newsletter that mentions  NOT anything about the protests. 
From the newsletter: "Other jurisdictions continue to look to us for insights on how they can better deliver justice." (We kid you not. She wrote this).

We can imagine this.  (Once again, satire, protected speech, no minimum mandatory sentences apply to us) The prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan where Sheriff Swanson walked with protestors this weekend. 
Top Prosecutor: "We need to do more. Swanson walked with the protestors and that was a great start. But we need to show a commitment to justice, so lets see what Rundle is doing in Miami...Hmmmm a newsletter. Huh. Well...." 


She could not be more tone deaf. 

MIAMI IS IN CHAOS AND THE QUESTION IS....

The Americans: There are times when all that is needed to settle us is a quick review of Gordon Sinclair and his classic: The Americans (A Canadian's Opinion). Do yourself a favor and watch it. 
This was a June, 1973 editorial that Mr. Sinclair, a well known Canadian commentator of the day wrote. It was set to music and he recorded it and it received a lot of air play in its time. In many ways, it is still relevant today. There is a measure of pride in hearing our country praised for a century of help to other countries of the world. We are a good people. We do put our scandals on our front pages for the world to see. From our pain and suffering will come growth and renewed spirit and strength. We returned to space this weekend- it was a private American company, displaying the entrepreneurial spirit that makes our country great that did it. God Bless America. 


UPDATE # 3 : Sunday 10:30 PM. Things are quiet in Miami. Violent protests continue in other cities such as NYC. 

UPDATE#2: In a direct threat to the livelihood of FACDL members, the Miami protestors have  marched to  FDC where they are chanting "shut it down!" Personally, we prefer the "no justice-no peace chant." We have plans to dine again at 11 Madison Park, and for that we need clients. 

UPDATE: SUNDAY 4:30 pm: a large group of protestors are in downtown Miami marching towards the City of Miami Police Department (Motto: "How many cops does it take to throw a protestor down a flight of stairs? None. He fell..." ). There is a sundown curfew in the City. 

FACDL has a volunteer hotline: 786-759-0992- where protestors who need legal representation can call and be put in touch with an attorney who will represent them for free.  (We didn't read this on the listserv- that would be a violation of SALTII. We received emails from members about it).


Where is the State Attorney? 

Yesterday, as peaceful protests in Miami turned violent, Ace Miami Herald Reporter David Ovalle was at ground zero and tweeted that "Miami is in Chaos" as the protests turned violent. 

Melba Pearson, running for State Attorney tweeted this: "If you are in #MIAMIPROTEST and arrested for NON VIOLENT actions, DM me and I'll connect you with attys to represent you Pro Bono. If you are law enforcement I strongly encourage the use of civil citations instead of arrests as we are in Covid-19 crisis." 

In Coral Gables, Police Officer knelt with protestors and prayed. 

And our State Attorney? This was her last message on social media: "Ditto. Felicidades"- which was three days ago when she retweeted someone else wishing Senator Marco Rubio (R, Bewildered) happy birthday.

Does she know Miami, like in 1980 (McDuffie), 1982 (Police shooting in video arcade in Overtown)  and 1989 (Officer Lozano acquittal) is burning again?  Maybe not. This is how we imagine (satire- protected speech, can't be prosecuted, no minimum mandatories apply) a meeting between her and her Chief Honcho Don Horn:

KR: I got an email from a victim. Some law furniture was stolen and we placed the offender on probation and they wanted five years prison.
DH: I check on it and chastise the prosecutor. 
KR: Other problems?
DH: Well, have you seen that on the streets...
KR: Hang on. There was that manslaughter case we lost on self defense. Why didn't they death qualify the jury?
DH: It wasn't first degree murder. We cannot seek the death penalty for  crimes other than first degree murder.
KR: Well that should be brought up in Tallahassee next month. What about minimum mandatories?  Are they up? Remember our Motto: "A minimum mandatory a day makes the State Attorney Say: "I am happy and that is the way to prosecute crimes every day'." Are we saying that every day in assembly?
DH: We don't have assembly. There is this problem with the streets...
KR: We should have assembly. I thought the assembly task force recommended assembly. Can I see that report?
DH: Yes but there is rioting because of Minnesota and...
KR: It was Marco Rubio's birthday last week. Did he get my box? I ordered that fruit box where they make decorations with fruit. Can we tweet a picture of that out please? Oh look at the time, I have the Victim's task force meeting, then the police officers as victims task force meeting, then the judges need to listen more to victims task force meeting with judges, and finally the victims rally task force meeting where we are discussing the link between increased prison sentences for first time marijuana possession and a decrease in property crime. Gotta run....

In May and June 1980, after the acquittal of four Miami Police Officers who killed Arthur McDuffie, we walked into the Justice Building (as it was called at the time) as armed national guard troops stood outside. Miami Burned (see the amazing post with Roy Black and Abe Laeser here).  If you do nothing else today, read that post written mostly by Messrs. Laeser and Black. 

Three people were killed in a riot outside of the Justice Building after the verdict. The next day twelve more people died in rioting in Liberty City and Overtown. Police did not enter the area because of snipper fire. But we had a State Attorney-Janet Reno-  and Civic Leaders who acted. They went into the community and talked to people. 
A significant number of businesses were looted in Overtown and Liberty City and never returned. Old time Justice Building denizens will remember that "Wally the Bailiff" (Wally Leahy, who has since passed away) owned a butcher shop in downtown Miami that was looted and burned. He never reopened the business. His story was one of many at that time. 

Now we are in a time of crisis that is expanding. As the virus crisis started the State Attorney tweeted that her office would be open for  "business as usual". There were disturbing reports early on that staff workers were told they would have to use vacation and sick leave if they did not come into work. That of course changed when events overtook the nearsightedness of both the State Attorney and the Judicial administration (and the President) and the virus showed that it did not care what people did. It was going to kill indiscriminately, and it did. 

The riots across the United States are ostensibly because of the murder of George Lloyd. But if you think the economic pain, frustration and fear caused by this virus is not also fueling the social unrest, then you are clueless: business as usual. 

It would be nice to see the State Attorney lead. To have her appear at bond hearings and authorize the release of peaceful protestors and seek full prosecution of agent provocateurs - looters taking advantage of the protests.  

It would be nice to have a State Attorney who could lead and not follow.