JAABLOG PRESENTS "You Make The Call"
"Sherman, set The Wayback Machine to July 1, 2003."TRANSCRIPT ALEMAN v. FELIX (Denial of request to release man dying from AIDS from Broward County Jail)
VINTAGE MEDIA COVERAGE (Mr. Felix passed away May 5, 2006)
YOU MAKE THE CALL.
SHOULD JUDGE ALEMAN HAVE RELEASED MR. FELIX?
I'll be the first to say she was right. Psych!Even the SAO wanted him out. She ain't right, IMHO.
boy the judges must be behaving when all this blog can do keep doing another aleman thread. I say she needs to go but isn't there anything to discuss? who was the judges daughter who got busted at nordstroms?
She invites Hospice into the jail?????????
she could have been more artful when she denied the motion
Did she wear latex gloves when she presided over the poor guy's hearing?
"and the jail make sure not only the medical needs, but dignoty of the defendant is preserved as to that."
you have got to be kidding me?!?!? what kind of dignity can someone have DYING IN JAIL?!? unbelievable.
WWJD?
i like how she just moved on to the next case...
"So the court will deny the motion of the furlough. Mark Moses--"
Just like nothing....
Two months to live in July of 2003.
Mr. Felix died 2 years and 10 months later in May 2006.
Maybe wanting to have medical testimony wasn't a ridiculous request.
Anyone think that if Michelson hadn't said to the court that he wanted a 6 month furlough and instead merely requested a 60 day furlough (coinciding with the amount of time the guy supposedly had left) with a status hearing at that time, the judge may have ruled differently?
Anyone else catch the fact that he was asking for a furlough for 3 times as long as the doctors claimed Mr. Felix had left was because the PD didn't want to have to check in with their client for his medical status?
Seems to me if they really wanted to build a case against her it would have been easy. All the Bogentrix in the world couldn't save her if the lawyers, staff, etc. had all been interviewed and told to tell the truth. Pattern of impatience or arrogance? How about irrational, nonsensical, obvious insecurities, which personality do we have today, UNCOMFORTABLE IN HER OWN SKIN WEIRDNESS that caused her to overuse her contemptuous powers and act like anything but a judge? Were all lawyers treated the same in there? Were they? Was that the kind of court the Broward leaders want? Hey jerks, how do you like it now that you're stuck with her in civil?
Maybe being out meant no jail diseases (heard of MRSA?)and better medical care? Or a will to live instead of dying in the dirt? Shame on you.
Read the the article "Did the judge fudge. public defender says judge misled the newspaper." The big issue here isn't that she may be mean or cruel (seems to be legal, unfortunately),but the pattern of people saying she may have misled them or played games of omission. Gardiner testified to it, Gottliieb seems victimized, she may have misled the newspaper, she is tricky, to say the least. She knew Katz was out of town when she ordered him there the next day, hmmmm Judge Sneeky Tweeky.
1021
You make great points. She could have done things in a nicer way but the facts are still the facts this "dying" guy lived over 2 years. She was right to ask for a medical opinion.
The only thing missing from the transcript is her former lead prosecutor snickering in the background.
Why was she right to want more records when it was stipulated to by the state? Was this guy a threat to the community?
She's a miracle worker. Cheryl Aleman made Dale Ross look compassionate after he overruled her.
Maybe she wanted more records since the PD made the stupid request for a 6 month furlough on a guy they were arguing had 2 months to live, and then backtracked and hemmed and hawwed about how much time the guy actually had left.
He had been sentenced. The PD acknolwedged the Court did NOT have the authority to modify the sentence at that point.
So he had been validly sentenced to 8 months on a VOP and they were requesting a furlough so he could die at home since they argued he only had 2 months to live.
WHY won't anyone address the fact that this whole discussion would be moot if the PD had actually made the rational request for a 2 month furlough (the time they claimed he had to live) with a status hearing to take place at that time regarding his condiiton??????
Michelson's comment is very telling about this.
HE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE TO FIND OUT HOW THE CLIENT WAS DOING AFTER 2 MONTHS.
HE ORIGINALLY DIDN'T WANT ANY SUPERVISION TO TAKE PLACE OF THE CLIENT (and only agreed once the ASA made the comment on that issue).
The criticisms of Aleman on this case could be legitimate if the PD hadn't put his foot in his mouth over how much time the guy actually had and tailored the request to that uncertainty in the first place.
The "hot story" on this matter was that a judge was condemning a guy to die in jail.
Had this been ANY other judge, there would not have been this hoopla.
You reap what you sow
I don't mean to criticize her for her well publicised beliefs. I wonder though, since she has been so outspoken about her devotion to a compassionate God, why does she seem less than compassionate in the way she comports herself on the bench? Ruling after ruling, zero tolerance or understanding for the weakness in mankind. Am I wrong?
The same kind of dignity they had when they committed the crime in the first place ... or. I know, the same kind of dignity their victim had? How about that? WWJD? He would say an eye for an eye
The PD's argument during the hearing that he wanted a 6 month furlough for the client with 2 months to live is like an old Henny Youngman Joke.
"I went to the Doctor and said that because of my condition he gave me 6 months to live. I wound up not paying his bill so he gave me another 6 months."
She ordered hospice into the jail for crying out loud. Give me a break, just plain mean.
I just read the script. She was always nice to me but I'd have to agree. This was unnecessary and a terribly ill advised decision.
first of all, maybe if you knew the facts of the case, you would not make such an ignorant comment. there was NO victim...that's why it's so hard to understand why aleman would do what she did. this was just a pathetic drug user who was only hurting himself.
why would she need medical records...would a lawyer and medical personnel from the jail make blatant misrepresentations. i dont think so.
lastly, don't you think it's interesting that both the STATE and the JAIL had NO OBJECTION TO LETTING THE GUY OUT.
she was just being her usual difficult self and, unfortunately, the facts in the case do not support any ridiculous justification that she can come up with. try harder next time.
JESUS would NEVER say "an eye for an eye". In fact, that's from the Old Testament.
L'Chaim.
michaelson also said that if the guy got better then he would go back into custody.
you can sit here and try to justify this malicious behavior but the bottom line is that she was WRONG. there is no excuse for leaving someone to die in jail. maybe if she didn't make the hospice crack she'd have better footing to stand on.
and, if she wanted the records so badly, why didnt she reset the hearing for the next day to get them? why didn't she reserve ruling on the motion till she got them?
oh, i know why--because she had every intention of letting a MAN DIE IN JAIL.
last point then i'm done with this--doesn't it say something that CJ Dale Ross stepped in and let the guy out. he's not exactly warm and fuzzy. hmmmm.
NOPE.
Let it be known that the JQC Complaint had NOTHING TO DO WITH her denial of the furlough request (which was a justifiable decision especially given the goofy conduct of the APD).
The JQC Complaint (eventually dismissed) was that after the Sentinel article came out bashing her on her decision, her final order was tailored in essence in response to that article.
That complaint was still dismissed anyway.
Judge Aleman for President of Venezuela, 2012.
You do the crime ... you pay the time. If the time happens to include time when you are sick ... so be it. Why WHY WHY should a convicted criminal NOT die in jail ... WHY? Is there a law somewhere that says - the sentence is life ... unless, of course, you get sick ... then you can be released so that you can die at home???? Give me a BREAK. He's a f'ing criminal. Suck it up - quit crying - act like a human instead of an animal - follow the laws and it wouldn't even be an issue would it?
The Honorable Jay Foster Brooks Hurley
Reports from Tallahassee are that an antique fire-truck was seen driving around the Capital this week.
Please start practicing --- "Yes, Judge Hurley", "Defense requests a 12th continuance, Judge Hurley," "May I please kiss your butt, Judge Hurley", and "No, you don't look odd dating someone 25 years younger than you, Judge Hurley".
Sounds good. One fine Republican Jurist replaced with another fine Republican Jurist
I wonder how many of the 63 that went out for Seidlin and Korda's spots will put in for Daamorgian?
I wonder if Cindy Guerra will pit in for it? She wants to be a Judge, She is the top AG in S FL and she is Chair of the Republicans in Broward.
not as long as Judge and Mrs Seidman are around
Check out www.politicalstrategies.com
Names must be spelled correctly.
What a great way to find out a judge's home address and their party affiliation.
Don't you think Cindy has the ear of the Governor, and she works very hard both for the Republican Party and for the Attorney General's office; she heads it up, here.