I met with Judge Gardiner earlier today regarding the new "VOP Blitz" procedure.

A little history first.  Many suggestions have been made to reduce the jail cap, and much progress has been made (currently the jail is at roughly 88/89% capacity, down from roughly 101%, when this issue first hit JAABLOG).  The numbers are, however, still too high.  Judge Ross had previously suggested a full time VOP judge to bring the numbers down, while Howard and BSO, I believe, want a full time magistrates judge.

Judge Gardiner has looked at both positions.  She told me that she has decided to try the "VOP Blitz" path first as an experiment.  If it works, it might become a regular occurrence, thereby obviating the need for a full time VOP judge and freeing the resources for a full time magistrates judge (who could also handle any remaining overflow VOPs).

Here's how it will work.  Judge Gardiner will handle the test run on June 1st (1:30 p.m.).  Anything that doesn't resolve on that day will be set for FVOP the week of June 4th or June 11th.  She wanted to make it perfectly clear that she's only handling the June 1 sequence, and that she's not going to be the full time Blitz judge (she will stay in ROC Court full time, in addition to her new administrative duties).  The Blitz will be alternated and assigned to the majority of the criminal judges, since the judges with heavily impacted dockets cannot shut down to run a Blitz docket.  She even hopes some of the civil judges with criminal experience might also step in to help run Blitz dockets (Horowitz was one name she mentioned). 

The only cases designated for the Blitz are cases with TECHNICAL violations only, irrespective of what number violation the case may represent, taken from all divisions, regardless of the age of the case.  Judge Gardiner told me it has been extremely difficult to identify the cases and manage the caseload in general, because the computer systems are pretty much antiquated, with lousy search capabilities.  All of the cases had to be gone through by hand, so some VOP cases may have been assigned for June 1st with new law violations attached.  If this is the case, just bring it to her attention, and both cases will be reassigned to the original division.  If the "Technicals Only" Blitz works, Judge Gardiner hopes to expand the scope to include VOP's with 3rd degree felonies attached, which, if plausible, should have a huge impact, due to the fact that 3rd degree felonies comprise a major portion of the overall criminal caseloads.

Judge Gardiner told me there are relatively few cases set for her June 1st docket.  Roughly 3-4 cases per division were removed, except in heavily impacted divisions such as Judge Siegel, Judge Gold, and Judge Michael Kaplan's, where she estimates 6-9 cases per division may have been reassigned (of course, doing the math, it looks like a lot of cases will be set for one afternoon, so I'm guessing she anticipates a lot of cases will be set for Final).

I then expressed to her that many lawyers are less than excited to appear before her on June 1st, due to her legendary sentencing history.  Judge Gardiner seemed a little surprised by this, and pointed out that she will not be wearing her ROC Court hat as the Blitz judge.  I then pressed a little further, relying on my experience as a public defender assigned to her division before she was in ROC Court, where it was common knowledge that if you went to Final and lost, the client was going to get burned real bad.  She was a little surprised by this statement as well, reflecting that she understands people develop reputations, but that people need to give the Blitz status hearings and Finals a chance. 

"People need to see what it is," she said, strongly emphasizing that each case will be handled on a case by case basis, with all the facts being given her strict attention.  "Warrants may be dismissed as not willful and substantial, or because the State may be unable to proceed due to witness problems, reinstatements may occur even after a finding of violation, with or without modifications, as well as BCJ or FSP if the facts deem it necessary."

So that's it.  It's definitely a "wait and see" scenario.  I personally haven't had any of my cases reassigned for June 1st, so please post or let me know how it goes.  It sounds to me like a pretty good idea to move cases, however it does disturb me that there really is little consistency from judge to judge, and that so much of a Defendant's fate seems tied to whichever judge happens to be the Blitz judge for that week (and what kind of a mood he/she is in).  I suppose it cuts both ways, so long as just as many "probation" judges are assigned to Blitz as are "prison" judges.

Lastly, I was able to ask Judge Gardiner some general questions relating to her plans in her new role.  She told me she is educating herself in the materials and numbers in order to try and get a proper view of the situation, before she and the Chief Judge make any additonal changes. 

She has already spoken with Howard, Craig Esquenazi (JAA, Erick Schwartzreich (BACDL), and Mike Satz, but she told me unequivocally that she's open to any suggestions ANYONE may have.  I believe she is signaling that it's not just for bar leaders, constitutional officers, media, or prominent attorneys anymore, and that, in a new spirit of openess, everyone's opinion is important. 

Of course, everyone will agree that it's not practical for Judge Gardiner to meet with every attorney in town, so she suggested that some method be developed to aggregate suggestions, complaints, and concerns, which could then be prioritized and presented to her.  An example of the types of issues that have already been discussed and are under consideration include the current necessity for no bond holds on all VOP's, the possibility of setting a standard bond schedule for VOPs involving only technical violations, the lack of alternative community based programs due to lack of funding, and problems of communication with the Clerk's Office re setting court dates quickly. 

I also took the opportunity to ask her to explain why she thought this county is so out of whack with our neighbors, specifically telling her that the Department of Corrections statistics show that Broward County sends people to prison at twice the rate per capita of our neighbors Palm Beach and Miami-Dade.  Judge Gardiner said she had not seen the numbers, but wants to see them.  Most importantly, she told me she would welcome the opportunity to evaluate the methods and procedures used in other counties, and would consider working toward implementing any viable, positive change.

I want to thank Judge Gardiner for taking the time to meet with me.  It's obvious that this blog can be used in a positive fashion to facilitate a free and open dialogue, open to all sides, to help speed reforms.  Please take the opportunity to post your suggestions, ideas, complaints, or comparisons as to how Broward may learn from other counties' criminal justice systems (anonymously or not, it makes no difference), and maybe Craig or Erick or Howard can get a list together for Judge Gardiner to evaluate. 

JAABLOG's standing invitation remains open to anyone (defense, state, LEO, Judge, etc.) who wants to post as an author on the main page, in the true spirit of creating an open dialogue and moving Broward forward (send email to info@jaablaw.com if you wish to become an author).

Bill Gelin