SNAFU

 FDC is open for legal visits.  Wine Cheese and Masks are available for purchase through the vending machines. 

The Miami Dade Clerk's office (Motto: "Using Yesterday's Technology Today") * Calendar Function (whatever that is) is now working, causing millions to breathe a sigh of relief. The Dow went up a 100 on the news. 

And Omicron is still making everyone sick. 

In other words, an old military acronym is applicable: Situation Normal All F'd Up. SNAFU

QUERY: In a time of a pandemic, do you think it is appropriate to file a speedy trial demand for your client? WE DO NOT. 

Now before you write us nasty emails, there are legitimate exceptions, especially for incarcerated clients who are overcharged and will prevail at trial.  But to the extent smarmy defense attorneys who never try cases (you know who you are) who think they are being smart by filing speedy demands, we vehemently disagree. All you are doing is dragging our end of the profession down to the civil lawyer's status (sorry guys), and no one wants that. 

Yes, for you prosecutors who read the blog and fume at our cheap shots, we are on your side on this one. Now how about offering some reasonable pleas because this new wave has once again shut things down? 

* Good writers borrow but never steal. A wit sharper than ours came up with that saying for the Clerk's Office and we have permission to use it. 

A STATE SPEEDY TRIAL DEMAND

YAWN....😯
Count us as being supremely bored by the 60 Minutes interview of Stormy Daniels. She slept with Trump before he was. president. He paid her to keep quiet. And the sun rises in the east. What else is new? 

We actually were surprised by some of the "facts" we heard on Fox news Sunday morning whilst stuck in a NetJets airport waiting room, including that the Obama administration didn't want to ban bump-stocks and that Obama didn't want to raise the pay of members of the military.
That was surprising news.  If you can call what Fox broadcasts "news". 


STATE SPEEDY TRIAL DEMANDS???!!!!
Just when you think you've seen it all, some yahoo legislators have proposed Proposition 96 which, inter alia, will allow the prosecution to file a speedy trial demand. And this differs from the prosecution objecting to a defense continuance how? 

(10) The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay,  and to a prompt and final conclusion of the case and any related  postjudgment proceedings. 
a. The state attorney may file a good faith demand for a  speedy trial and the trial court shall hold a calendar call,  with notice, within fifteen days of the filing demand, to schedule a trial to commence at a date at least five days but no  more than sixty days after the date of the calendar call unless the trial judge enters an order with specific findings of fact  justifying a trial date more than sixty days after the calendar  call.

Prop 96 by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

SPEEDY TRIAL CONUNDRUM

Scott Saul said...
WHO KNOWS THEIR SPEEDY TRIAL ISSUES HERE?
The scene is Broward!
I have a client that was arrested, and had charges filed, for a felony and corresponding misdemeanor.Without ever taking a continuance and 170 days into the case, the State nolle prossed the felony. Because the client did not want to close the misdemeanor, the State had the Judge transfer the misdemeanor to county court. It took the Clerk's Office 3 days to create a county court case number.The day after the nolle prosse, but before the creation of the county court case number, I filed a NOE. I put the citation number on the pleading. The County Clerk's Office refused to take it and mandated that it be filed in circuit court (which was the still existing case number).

After 15 days passed, I filed a motion for discharge and set the motion.The Broward Judge denied the motion and struck my NOE. Her reasons were because;1) She felt that I should have requested a supervisor in County Court and forced them to take the pleading at that level;2) She felt that it was underhanded to file the NOE before a county case number was created and
3) There exists an "administrative order" where all lawyers must cc the Judge on the filing of a NOE. You must give them a courtesy copy.This order is not posted anywhere but I did not comply with it.(Can an administrative order expand, clarify or distinguish an enacted Rule of Criminal procedure?)

I feel that her reasons are no good. However, my concern is 3.191 (f). Under that rule, if a misdemeanor is consolidated with a felony, the applicable speedy trial time is the felony one.
Sounds logical!

In my case, if the felony is nolle prossed leaving just the misdemeanor, does the speedy trial time revert to 90 days or does the misdemeanor enjoy the 175 day period since it started out in a felony information? Did my filing of the NOE before the 175 days make it a nullity under 3.191( f)? Does a misdemeanor always get felony speedy trial treatment if it's point of origin is in Circuit Court? I want to take a writ on the Judge's ruling yet not if 3.191(f) makes her (seemingly) erroneous ruling immaterial.
Instead of bashing lawyers and spreading gossip, this is what the blog should be for? What do y'all think?