MEDIA 1/8
SENTINEL:
MIKE MAYO: SHADES OF LIONEL TATE:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbmayocol0108sbjan08,0,137122.column
"They're tripping on land mines over there at the State Attorney's Office, because they're hamstrung by the past," (Jim) Lewis said. "They almost have to do it the same way this time. If not, it's going to be, 'How come Tate was charged with first-degree murder and this kid wasn't?'"
Said Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein: "What Florida needs is a law to treat them as juveniles until they're 18, and then have them assessed by courts when they reach adulthood to decide what the best course of action is. ... In cases like this, it's normal for us to want someone to pay and pay big time, but it doesn't mean we should throw reason out the window."
TOUGH CALL FOR STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbjuviemurder0108sbjan08,0,6271129.story
DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW:
"COMPLEX LITIGATION UNIT ALLOWS THREE BROWARD JUDGES TO HANDLE COMPLEX BUSINESS CASES":
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=46496
CHILDREN OF LATE US MAGISTRATE SUE OVER WITHHELD INFORMATION CONCERNING COURTHOUSE MOLD:
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=46497
"Klein, a popular magistrate who worked in the Dyer building, died suddenly of a mysterious pulmonary illness in 2006. Klein's children hired (attorney) Goldfarb after reading an article in the Daily Business Review about a report citing large amounts of mold and unsafe conditions in parts of the old post office building."
ST. PETE TIMES:
PINELLAS-PASCO CIRCUIT JUDGE ANDREWS WINS THE STATEWIDE "DISTINGUISHED JUDICIAL SERVICE AWARD":
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/01/08/Northpinellas/Bar_honors_judge.shtml
"Every year, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Michael F. Andrews brings fellow African-American judges and dozens of at-risk youths together for a day of plain talk and encouragement.
In sessions called "Judicial Forums," Andrews aims to get the black teenagers acquainted with the legal system. He also hopes the young men will see positive role models in the black men on the panel who found ways to overcome their own disadvantages and become judges."
ORLANDO SENTINEL:
JUVENILE SEX OFFENDERS SHOWING UP ON FLORIDA'S SEX OFFENDER WEBSITE:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/orl-sexoffender0608jan06,0,6294035.story
"(A) new state law requires posting their faces and addresses on the Internet along with adult rapists and pedophiles. Some legal experts say this goes against the purpose of juvenile court where rehabilitation and confidentiality are key. The courts restrict public access to the juveniles' legal files, but their identities and addresses are now available with a click of a mouse."
BOSTON GLOBE:
FED JUDGE CHASTISES DOJ:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/01/05/
us_judge_chastises_dept_of_justice/
"The chief federal judge (Wolf) in Boston has urged the new US attorney general to crack down on prosecutors who commit misconduct and to force Justice Department lawyers to be truthful in court...
Wolf also wrote that "the department's failure to be candid and consistent with the court has become disturbingly common in the District of Massachusetts."
What To Do With Killer Kid
Tue Jan 08, 2008 at 09:06:05 AM
DAILY PULP BLOG
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2008/01/throw_away_the_key.php
The Sun-Sentinel's home page leads with a question:
"Tough choice: Should boy, 12, face prison in murder?"
Tough, you say? Let's see, the kid beat a 17-month-old girl to death with a baseball bat because she was crying when he was watching TV. Then he lied about what happened to dispatchers.
Should he go to prison? Hell yes, and I'll venture that it wouldn't bother the vast majority of the population one bit if the kid went away for the rest of his life.
The Sun-Sentinel and Miami Herald are both tiptoeing around this story like this was just some childish mistake. Neither newspaper is identifying the killer, protecting his privacy at the expense of the public, which should know who he is. They're comparing him to Lionel Tate, who killed a girl while he was playing with her, a far cry from beating a child to death to shut them up.
I have a 12-year-old son myself, so I'm aware that children of that age can be immature. And the kid shouldn't have been left with a toddler. But they know right from wrong (as did the killer, evidenced by his lies) and the heinous nature of the crime shows this kid obviously has some deep-seated problems that aren't going to go away anytime soon. Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo raises the question of creating a punitive middle ground for children who commit heinous offenses. He basically argues that the kid obviously shouldn't go free when he's 18 but also shouldn't be put in prison for life.
Thirty years seems about right to me. But given a choice between the two extremes, I'm going for the latter. And it's not that tough choice at all.
UPI
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/01/07/high_court_lawyer_can_phone_it_in/8103/
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that nothing in its own precedent prevented a lawyer from participating in a plea hearing by speaker phone.
However, the unsigned opinion cautioned that the justices weren't ruling on whether such a practice should be allowed.
Joseph Van Patten was charged with first-degree intentional homicide under Wisconsin law, but he pleaded guilty in Shawano County to a reduced count of first-degree reckless homicide. His lawyer wasn't physically in the courtroom for the plea hearing, but participated by speaker phone.
The judge imposed the maximum 25 years in prison.
Van Patten appealed, arguing that representation by speaker phone was "presumptively ineffective" -- ineffectiveness of counsel is often a key element in reversing a conviction or sentence. A federal appeals court agreed.
The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the appeals court Monday but kept its ruling narrow. The justices indicated they weren't ruling on whether such a practice deprived a defendant of due process rights.
"Our own consideration of the merits of telephone practice ... is for another day," the opinion said, "and this case turns on the recognition that no clearly established law contrary to the state (sentencing) court's conclusion justifies" overturning the sentence.
(Wright vs. Van Patten, No. 07-212)
Jim Lewis - What a hack. Why did Tate spend time in jail? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Nice briefcase though.
Can you imagine a judge here calling out one of the Satz mob for dirty trix like the judge did in Boston?
Never will happen.
like Tate was the state's fault. It was primarily his attorney's fault.
The state must charge this kid as an adult, then offer to reduce the crime charged below 1st degree murder... Then make a similar deal that was made to Tate, and hopefully Gordon Weekes wont be too swayed by the calling of "fame" for his own name and then take the plea and avoid another tate fiasco. Its all up to his attorney.
I agree (about the way this will go) And you can get a YO on a murder 2, if somehow the State makes a lousy offer that is rejected (assuming you get a intelligent judge).
The State could not have foreseen the mess when the offer was rejected on Tate, but it was their typical overeaching to nail a 12 year old with murder one to begin with. I'm sure they learned their lesson after the fiasco last time (and it's an election year).