SHAMPOO. RINSE. REPEAT

A Rumpolian trip to a detention center is a rare event, what with the oratorical skills your blogger possess during bond hearings, and the infrequent but successful and "scythe-like" use of habeas corpus writs to bring recalcitrant robe-wearers into line.  
Practice-tip: Upon securing the release for a client in the face of prosecutorial opposition, begun every future hearing with a gentle remainder that the client is present although the prosecution assured the judge at the bond hearing of the dire consequences should she be released. 

A few-weeks ago we found ourselves at the eponymously named "Turner-Guilford-Knight" facility to visit with a potential new client whose calls for help had landed on our desk. 
To enter TGK we went through the standard security screening and then approached the desk with our client's information. The desk is about fifteen feet from the security screening apparatus.  

To the credit of the corrections' officers, our request was handled politely and professionally and within a few moments we were invited in to see our potential client. 

At which point, five minutes after first being screened, we had to clear a second security screening machine. Off again came the belt, watch, shoes, pen and keys out of pocket. An inconvenient dance we had just done with the prior screening machine a few yards away. 

Query- Why the second screening?  Entry into DCJ, Metro West, even FDC requires one simple screening. But at TGK there are two screenings within moments of each other. 

We are all for security. But this is unnecessary. It is a waste of valuable Rumpolian time as well as the time of our brother and sister criminal defense attorneys. It's inconvenient, and most of all it offends our sense of logic. One key to life is moving through it with as little waste of time and effort as possible, especially during work hours. 

So now is the time for FACDL to dust off the cob-webs, finish tallying the dues for 2019, order some grilled scallops as an appetizer for the upcoming awards banquet, and ASK CORRECTIONS WHY TWO SCREENINGS ARE NEEDED AT TGK AND TGK ONLY? 

Coming next: Another long-awaited and well-written and even better received  constitutional calendar whose author is bursting to have it shared with the world. 

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO ATTORNEYS: DROP DEAD

We thought that the DOC had caved. We thought that the problems with attorneys not being allowed to see clients except through a solid plate of cloudy plexiglass through which you cannot give a client a card or see an a-form was over. 
You thought so too. 

We thought wrong. 

Black is white. 
Hot is cold. 
In is out. 
Yes is no.
All Animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others. *

And the DOC agreed to allow attorneys see clients in person, except it didn't. 
And the problem was resolved, except it wasn't. 

Enjoy today's email and kudos to Rick Freedman for fighting the good fight. Buy him a beer the next time you see him at a Dolphin's game.  (the highlights in red are ours, not Mr. Freedman's. Judges sometimes read the blog and need a little assistance.) 

Assistant Director Junior:

Thank you for taking the time today to speak with me about the issue of the attorney visits at your MDC&R facilities and the ability of the attorney to see an inmate in a "barrier free environment" and not under glass, pursuant to Directive D11-003 issued February 15, 2011 by your Department.

I called you as a representative of FACDL, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  You currently have two designated representatives from our organization that you meet with regularly, Michelle Estlund and Marcos Beaton.   You did indicate that you meet with them Quarterly and that Ms. Estlund and Mr. Beaton have done a great job representing the interests of FACDL and the criminal defense bar.

The only reason I felt the need to get involved in this matter was because, in 2010, I was the FACDL representative that negotiated with Director Ryan, and the Legal team of Ty Williams and Pat Jones the Directive that is currently in place.  We worked on this Directive for a full year and, by all accounts, it has been working nearly flawlessly for the past five years.

Recently, we received a few emails from attorneys who were being denied the ability to visit with inmates in a barrier free environment.  These attorneys were NOT the attorney of record for the inmate.  They were told that they could only see the inmates in a glass environment.  More importantly, the officers were all confronted with the matter of that not being in accordance with the Directive - and all of the officers responded uniformly - this is the way we have always done it.

After receiving these emails from these attorneys I took it upon myself to speak with Pat Jones and her staff in your Legal Unit.  I was assured that the matter was addressed at the Command Staff Meeting that took place on Monday, July 20, 2015.  I sent an email out to all 750 members of FACDL and informed them as such.  I did ask the attorneys to please email myself, Ms. Estlund or Mr. Beaton with any issues they had subsequent to last Monday's meeting and we asked the attorney to be specific as to date, time, location, officer's names, etc. when they encountered any problems with the enforcement of the Directive.

Last Friday, July 24th, we got another email.  The incident took place at TGK that day.  It happened at 11:01 AM and the Officer was Officer West.  An attorney, not of record, wanted to visit an inmate.  The man had been arrested on July 23rd and the PD was appointed.  The attorney said that Officer West was extremely polite and very professional.  But she told the attorney that, because he was not the attorney of record, he had to see the inmate "under glass".  The attorney, knowing about the Directive, and our emails of the past two weeks, pointed this out to Officer West.  He asked her to go to her Supervisor.  Officer West eventually agreed to let the attorney see the inmate in a barrier free environment but the attorney was told that "this was an exception to the rules".

So, today, I spoke with Captain Richardson at TGK.  She was aware of the incident of last Friday because Pat Jones had discussed it with her.  (I had spoken with Pat Jones about the incident that same Friday afternoon).  Captain Richardson told me things that were very different from what Pat Jones was telling me.  I discussed those issues with you directly.  Without naming names in this email, (we already discussed it on the phone today), Captain Richardson's superior was telling her that there is no Directive in place; that only DSOPs matter; that there is no DSOP on attorney visits; and that the policy is that attorneys who are not attorneys of record can only see inmates "under glass".

Captain Richardson explained to me that she told her superior that, "how can an attorney speak with an inmate under glass when they can't hear each other".  As you may know, family members were slipping contraband through straws and through the little holes in the glass.  So they replaced the glass with no holes.  That makes it near impossible for an attorney to hear an inmate when the attorney is forced to meet an inmate "under glass".  Captain Richardson took it upon herself to tell her day staff Officers to let attorneys, who are not the attorney of record, have a short 30 minute visit with the inmate in a barrier free environment.  But she told me that this was in contradiction to what she was being told by her Supervisor.

Please note that this problem is not one limited to TGK - we have been getting emails about the same thing happening at Metro West.

You agreed that the Directive was in place, that the Directive is still the controlling practice of MDC&R, and that you would make sure that all Commanders, Captains, Sergeants, Lieutenants, and Officers, etc. became aware of and/or were re-introduced to the Directive.  You did ask us to be patient as you have a large amount of employees and it would take some time to get the message out to everyone and have them reacquaint themselves with the Directive.

I appreciate your taking the time to speak with me and I understand that it make take a few days to get the word out to all your employees.  Please feel free to call or email me with any updates on the issue.

Thanks again.

Rick Freedman

* George Orwell, Animal Farm. 

WE DIDN'T BLINK

There was a very public showdown recently. It played out in public. On one side, a renegade, flouting the rules, whipping the public into a frenzy. On the other side, an autocratic "rules must be obeyed" mentality.

People took sides.  The old line "rules" people wanted the status quo. The renegades wanted change; the rules were oppressive and unfair to the people. 
Interested parties tried to mediate, with limited success. 

Germany vs. Greece.  France and Italy tried to mediate the standoff.

Justice Building Blog vs. TGK.  
FACDL tried to mediate. 
Greece blinked. 
We did not. 

Members:

 

Following up on Brian Kirlew's email of last week, as well as my emails about the same subject, we wanted to bring all of the members up to speed on what is happening. 

 

A meeting took place today at the MDC&R Headquarters.  This was their weekly Command Staff meeting and all of the Captains' that run each facility were present at the meeting.  Legal Advisor Patricia Jones was also present and advised all those present at the meeting of the issue concerning attorneys' visits to inmates' in a barrier free environment.  All of the Command Staff were reminded of the Directive and policy in place and all were asked to communicate the policy to their sergeants and officers.  We were assured that the issue has been addressed and they hope it will now resolve the problem that has been happening for the past 2-3 weeks.

 

They again asked me to ask each of you, if any of you run into the problem again, please email: myself or Marcos Beaton atmbeaton@royblack.com and Michelle Estlund at mestlund@estlundlaw.com with specific details of the incident.

 

Some of you have expressed a concern if your name is used when we speak with MDC&R about any specific incidents.  If you feel this way, you can email us anonymously if you so desire - we will not use your name even if you email us directly.  What Corrections really needs is the date, time, location, and officer's name that told you that you could not see an inmate in a barrier free environment.  If you are ok with us using your name, and/or the inmate's name, please let us know.

 

Once again, we hope this solves the problem.  This Procedural Directive concerning Attorney and Professional Visits has been in place for nearly five years and it has worked nearly flawlessly during that time. We hope it continues to work as it was written and that you have no further issues. 

 

Thank you all for your emails and feedback.

 

Rick Freedman

DON'T BUY GO SET A WATCHMAN

TGK UPDATE:
Nothing much occurred this weekend in the standoff between corrections, Miami Criminal Defense lawyers and FACDL (the Bermuda Triangle) except that we received more emails that corrections officers are giving lawyers a hard time about seeing their clients and are making snarky comments about this blog, and that FACDL has scheduled a meeting with two corrections officials pictured below who have promised to get to the bottom of this problem. Stand by. 

These jailers will solve the problem, You can trust them. 

GO SET A WATCHMAN. 

A writer's drafts are private. Period. They should not be published without the express consent of the writer. 

Go Set A Watchman is a draft of To Kill A Mockingbird. Harper Lee submitted Go Set A Watchman (GSAW) in the 1950's. It was rejected but an editor told Lee that she was interested in the back stories of Scout and her father when Scout was a child. 

Lee re-worked the book and from that To Kill A Mockingbird emerged. GSAW, while a novel, ended up as a draft of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Lee had more than 50 years to re-submit GSAW for publication for all the reasons people now want to read it. It's a good (not great) novel; it gives a fascinating insight to the construction of Mockingbird and an insight into the creative process of an author. All of these are wonderful reasons to want to read GSAW. But GSAW belongs to Harper Lee and she had more than fifty years to consider those reasons, and all the objective evidence is that she firmly and completely decided NOT to publish GSAW. 

Now Lee is 89, a stroke in 2007 left her mostly deaf and blind, confined to a wheelchair and nursing home, with (an unscrupulous) attorney acting as her guardian, a lawsuit against her former literary agent over the copyright to Mockingbird and a fight with Lee's family over who will manage her finances. And against this backdrop some  shyster claims to have stumbled upon the manuscript of GSAW? 

This is not some great literary find of a lost novel from a great author. This is a novel rejected for publication that served as a draft for Mockingbird. Those close to Lee knew the story and the existence of GSAW as, obviously, did Lee, and the novel was not submitted for publication. 

Oprah Winfrey wanted Lee on her show several years ago. Lee refused but eventually agreed to meet Winfrey for lunch. Lee explained that for most of her life when people met her they thought and wanted her to be Scout- the charming and precocious tomboy who narrates Mockingbird. But, as Lee explained, she really was Boo Radley, the mysterious and shy recluse who was mocked by the neighborhood children and misunderstood by most of the town (and played by a very young Robert Duvall in the movie). 

The publication of GSAW amounts to nothing more than the exploitation of an elderly and incompetent author who, when she was at the height of her powers, and through her whole life, made a conscious decision to leave her first draft/rejected novel in the locker she stored it. 

The rest of the world is going along with this horrendous exploitation of an elderly artist, but that doesn't mean you have to. 

Leave Lee alone the way Boo Radley wanted to be left alone. 

Don't buy the book. 

See You In Court.

THE EMAIL YOU DIDN'T GET

FACDL (dues, dues, dues and dues) loves to send out emails. 
"If anyone can cover the 4:30 traffic calendar in Hialeah and also tell me the rule number for discovery I would appreciate it. And so and so is a jerk." 

But here is an email you didn't receive. 

"Dear Members:
It has come to our attention that criminal defense attorneys are being denied the right to see clients at TGK. Seeing a new client 'under glass' is totally unacceptable and we have met with the supervisors of TGK and they have assured us that this was a mistake and that this will not occur again. We here at FACDL are grateful for the opportunity to serve. Please buy tickets to next year's banquet where we will honour the team of thirty-seven courageous lawyers who against all odds, met with corrections and resolved this issue.

Sincerely,
FACDL. 
ps. Your dues are due."

Here is an email we did receive. 

Dear Rumpole:
I am an innocent victim caught between your war with TGK and my client. 
I saw my client earlier this week at TGK. I have been his lawyer for two years. Trial is next week. I saw my client no problem. Then today I went, and here is what happened: 
Corrections: You can't see him. 
Me: Pardon me? 
CO: My system is down. I can't verify you are his lawyer. 
Me : I have been his lawyer for two years. Here is my NOA-stamped. 
CO. (Looks at NOA quizzically as if it is stamped and written in  Korean. Then calls over another officer who shakes her head. This is not good.) This is two years old. 
Me: Yes, I have been his lawyer for two years. 
CO: I don't know that. You can see him under glass. 
Me: We are going to trial next week. I saw him for three hours Monday. We are reviewing depos. I can't see him under glass. That won't work. 
CO: Sorry. 
Me: So you're saying every time I come I need a recent NOA? How recent?
CO: If you had one stamped this week it would work. 
Me: Do you understand that once I file the NOA I am the lawyer and the court doesn't require me to file an NOA every week. 
CO: How do I know he didn't fire you last week?
Me ( Glancing at the computer) I can't think of any reason why if he fired me I would want to see him. 
CO: I cannot verify you are his lawyer. You can see him under glass and then go tell your defense attorney buddies on your internet blog about how we mistreat you all here. 
Me: (shocked) Ma'am I can assure you if this is what that is about I have nothing to do with that blog.
CO: This is about my computer system is down and I can't let you see him without me verifying you are his lawyer. 

Rumpole: I give up. I walked away. As I understand it, TGK is now after you and they are going to get you through us and now I am going to have to go to the clerk's office tomorrow and get a stamped new NOA every time I go to TGK for the rest of this week. Please Rumpole, you started this and now innocent victims are caught in the cross fire. 

Rumpole says: 
Fear not, FACDL is on the case. 

UNDER GLASS

TGK (and only TGK as far as we know) has a new/old policy: If you are not attorney of record, you cannot see the client in person, you must see him/her under glass. We have been seeing clients at TGK since it opened, but as you will see in the email below, TGK officials  (and only TGK) have the audacity to look attorneys in the eye and tell them "this has always been the policy." HA. 

We received this email:

"Rumpole, this week I was hired to represent a defendant. An hour later I went to see him in TGK. I knew something was up when the officer at the desk was staring intently at my ID, the computer screen, back to my ID, then back to a computer screen. Then she called over a supervisor who did the same.  'You can't see the defendant. You are not his lawyer.'
Me: 'Then why did I just run his father's credit card an hour ago for fifteen thousand dollars if I am not his lawyer?'

Highly Trained Front Desk Officer (HTFDO): 'Sir, you ain't his lawyer. If you wuz, it would say so on the computer.'

Me: "Perhaps the computer is mistaken.'
Supervisor of HTFDO: 'You need to file papers wit de court."

Me: 'So if the defendant was just arrested and wanted to interview lawyers, no one could interview him until they first filed papers?'

HTFDO: 'Right.'

Supervisor HTFDO: 'No. Den you see him under glass.'

Me: 'How do  give him my card or read his arrest form.?
No answer. 
Me: 'When did the new policy come into effect.'

Supervisor HTFDO: "It's always been dat way.'

Me: 'Then why in twenty-two years is this the first time this has ever happened? And why when I was at DCJ yesterday seeing a new client I didn't have to see him under glass?'
Supervisor HTFDO: 'It's always been dis way sir.'

Rumpole, let me tell you what seeing a client under glass at TGK means. Not only is there a thick glass between you making communication nearly impossible, but at the bottom of the sitting area is a thick metal plate with three rows of seven small holes. To speak to your client, you both need to bend down and yell through the holes. When doing this, you and your client are bending over and can't see each other. It is ridiculous and demeaning and nearly impossible to carry on any kind of meaningful  interview with the client. Please help. "

Rumpole says: We are certain FACDL is on the case. We are sure they are at this moment forming an Facdl/AdHoc/TGK/Visitation/New Client/Under Glass/Private Attorney/committee. 
We know on good authority this committee is comprised of many of the same people currently working on the Greek/EU crisis. So you can expect the same quick and efficient response to your problem. 

Now on to TGK. TGK is an outlier among corrections departments. It pains us to say this, but even the Broward County Jail doesn't do this- although there's nothing to say that TGK hasn't given them a good idea. TGK has drawn a line in the sand. The sixth amendment be damned. The right to counsel?  That just means that no lawyer shall be allowed to see or interview a prospective client. 

We are sure TGK has a good reason for this new/old policy. How can you interview a client and get them to hire you if you cannot meet them in person, give them your card, and review their arrest report? TGK Brass responds- "No my problem. We are bureaucrats, not deep thinkers."

Hey! How about those twenty bondsmen-runners hanging around the lobby hustling clients and stealing cases and working with dirty lawyers? TGK responds- "As long as those dirty lawyers aren't meeting with the clients in person, we are doing our job."

Whew. For a moment we were worried. 

Hey! What about bad corrections officers who abuse inmates? 
TGK responds: "Huh? So long as those inmates-beaten and bloody- don't meet with lawyers who haven't yet filed a notice of appearance, no harm -no foul."

Criminal defense attorneys of Miami Unite! You have nothing to lose except seeing clients under glass.
THIS POST DOES NOT COME DOWN UNTIL TGK FIXES THIS RIDICULOUS PROBLEM. 

See you next in 2020 when President Trump appoints Miami Traffic Magistrate Gonzalez the new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. 

THE JAIL IS JUMPIN....BULGER GUILTY

A Bahstan federal jury Monday  convicted James "Whitey" Bulger of most of the counts he was charged with, but did acquit him on several murder counts where flip witnesses testified that Bulger did not pull the trigger.  Here is the Boston Globe's report. 

Ace Herald reporter David Ovalle has done it again!
Click here for his report, complete with surveillance footage from TGK (motto "We have an open door policy")  (that was just too easy) which shows an incident in the maximum security section of the jail where all the door mysteriously open at once. Even more mysterious, the footage shows that at least two inmates were  ready for the doors to open, because once the doors opened they jumped out and quickly armed themselves and went to attack a third inmate who is the alleged  leader of an inner city gang. 

We don't believe in coincidences. 
Something is rotten in TGK. Somebody intentionally pushed a button and opened all the jail cell doors. 

See you in court.