By now everyone has seen and read and sent to a dozen friends the Miami Hearld Article about the Miami State Attorney's Office (Motto "666") "Deal with the Devil." Here null
So now it's time for your discussion here.
A few rules.
Be nice. Call them stupid, dumb, corrupt, willfully blind, willing to win at all costs, constitution-ignoring prosecutors, just do not be mean- because the truth hurts.
NO decent prosecutor who had any respect for the law would engage in what Mr. Von Zamft did- and perhaps it is time Ms. Rundle reads David McCullough's wonderful book on Harry Truman because if ever there was a head prosecutor who needed to step forward and say "The buck stops here" it is her. And sadly, she has not done so.
She has obfuscated, and delayed decisions, and made a series of bewildering appointments of new prosecutors (who really are old prosecutors) and not addressed what the overwhelming view of the comments on this blog are- THERE IS A CULTURE OF WIN AT ALL COSTS AT THE MIAMI DADE STATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE.
When is the last time Ms. Rundle praised a prosecutor for dropping charges? We think never- as when you are in court and hear front line ASAs tell you over and over again that they need approval from their chief, who needs approval from their chief, to withhold adjudication, or not seek jail on a first resisting with violence because the....(everyone now) VICTIM WANTS MAX!!!
It is a culture of "if the defense wants it, we oppose it". We do not hear the phrase "do justice" mentioned often, and when we do, it is only in the context of....(everyone now) VICTIM WANTS MAX.
There is a perverseness to the Miami State Attorneys office abandoning their duty as a prosecutor to seek justice for what a complaining witness wants. And it is our view that culture and mindset set Ms. Rundle and her office on the path to the crimes of Mr. Von Zamft. Because once you abandon the desire and courage to seek justice to appease people who are emotionally attached to the case, then anything can happen because the mindset becomes that the ends justify the means, and that is exactly what Mr. Von Zamft and his minions believed.
They knew better than judges. They could cut corners because they decided the defendant was guilty and they were damned if they were going to play fair and not rig the case by rigging witness testimony.
The lack of courage to stand up to a complaining witness led to the lack of oversight and lack of supervision and lack of courage to stand up to what is now becoming clear- a personality cult of Mr. Von Zamft and his group of prosecutors who believed themselves to be the real guardians of justice. They did not believe in the justice system. They just believed in themselves and that they knew better than everyone else.
The whole thing stinks to high hell and while this issue is crying out for leadership Ms. Rundle is notable only in her mumblings to study the issue and get back to us.
Shame.