JAABLOG'S ONCE UPON A TIME: MEMOS, SCRIPTS & LOE
All kinds of wacky stuff is ending up in our mailbox and ears these days.
Check out this memo from Michael J. Satz to all ASAs, dated October 1, 1998. It's titled "New Office Policies under the Criminal Punishment Code," and was sent out after the last round of major changes to the scoring system.
If you read this one literally, it seems to say that ASAs have absolutely no discretion on any cases where a defendant scores mandatory prison time. Supervisory approval must be obtained prior to any deviations from the terms of the memo.
For instance:
"2. For level 7 offenses (second degree felonies and higher) that after subtracting 28 points scores less than 60 months in state prison, any plea offer below 5 years FSP requires supervisory approval..."
Wow. We don't really think this one is still in effect, although #6 on the memo does codify the 18 months policy offers for cocaine sales crimes, which we were told on March 4, 2009 was still in effect.
The memo is very telling. Direct from Satz himself. We're told that doesn't happen very much anymore, and we can see why. Still, you'd have to be crazy to believe that the SAO's reprehensible rigidity comes from anywhere but the top man himself. It's no wonder the office is so ineffective against rising violent crime rates, while our neighboring circuits are scoring victories by not cramming the prisons with non-violent offenders.
Also, check out this transcript from February 5, 2009. Felony Judge Murphy is in a trial with Gary Ostrow and the always fair Nicole Bloom. An officer, who was under subpoena, failed to show after the jury was sworn. He was on a cruise.
Tony Loe rushes to the courtroom, and begs the judge for a continuance, on a case Ostrow categorizes as "a guy walking into a laundry room, allegedly taking a pair of underwear, if he did, out of the laundry room..." (page 6). Judge Murphy denies the continuance, and the trial proceeds, resulting in a ten minute not guilty.
Your tax dollars at work, ladies & gentlemen.
Speaking of Tony Loe, is it true that morale at the SAO is at an all-time low (pun intended). We're told folks are awfully unhappy about the micro-managing Loe's expensive rehiring, especially in light of the budget cuts, furlough days, and the plethora of dedicated, hard working, long term ASAs who never jumped ship. Hey Mr. Satz, aren't they "family" too?
Even worse, people feel that the money used to hire Loe back could have been used to protect the public. Now, now. We all know public safety takes a back seat to politics in Broward, but come on, it is obvious that criminal divisions manned by two overworked ASAs might eventually spell trouble. Couldn't Loe's salary have been used to hire two or three additional ASAs? And is it really true that the SAO may be having trouble taking on a full crop of new law grad lawyers this year? Goodness, gracious. Who will try all the residue cases?
That's about it, for now. Please keep the documents coming.
COMING SOON: JAABLOG'S "ONCE UPON A TIME" REVISITS
THE SAO'S HANDLING OF THE JUDGE JUNE JOHNSON CASE
*DBR: Cohen in Distress*
"In an interview, Cohen declined to comment about the merits because they concern cases pending before him. When asked, he said he has “no plans” to leave the domestic violence division...
(CAPD) De la Torre said it doesn’t make any difference whether Cohen resigned from the council because his past membership should still make litigants wary. He said his office is contacting clients asking them to sign similar recusal motions and expects private attorneys to follow suit.
De la Torre said Cohen ultimately may have to leave the domestic violence bench..."
DBR: 4th DCA disqualifies judge from fight over country club fees
DBR: Lawyers, staffers take street to protest salary cuts
Not Judge Abramson's Guilty Plea
Referee's Report Re Abramson
Abramson's Suspension Order
JAC & Bar zoning in on overbilling SPD
AP: Fla. judge's career finished over ties to stripper (Bogenschutz's client)
JNC opens up County Judgeship in Miami
Check out this memo from Michael J. Satz to all ASAs, dated October 1, 1998. It's titled "New Office Policies under the Criminal Punishment Code," and was sent out after the last round of major changes to the scoring system.
If you read this one literally, it seems to say that ASAs have absolutely no discretion on any cases where a defendant scores mandatory prison time. Supervisory approval must be obtained prior to any deviations from the terms of the memo.
For instance:
"2. For level 7 offenses (second degree felonies and higher) that after subtracting 28 points scores less than 60 months in state prison, any plea offer below 5 years FSP requires supervisory approval..."
Wow. We don't really think this one is still in effect, although #6 on the memo does codify the 18 months policy offers for cocaine sales crimes, which we were told on March 4, 2009 was still in effect.
The memo is very telling. Direct from Satz himself. We're told that doesn't happen very much anymore, and we can see why. Still, you'd have to be crazy to believe that the SAO's reprehensible rigidity comes from anywhere but the top man himself. It's no wonder the office is so ineffective against rising violent crime rates, while our neighboring circuits are scoring victories by not cramming the prisons with non-violent offenders.
Also, check out this transcript from February 5, 2009. Felony Judge Murphy is in a trial with Gary Ostrow and the always fair Nicole Bloom. An officer, who was under subpoena, failed to show after the jury was sworn. He was on a cruise.
Tony Loe rushes to the courtroom, and begs the judge for a continuance, on a case Ostrow categorizes as "a guy walking into a laundry room, allegedly taking a pair of underwear, if he did, out of the laundry room..." (page 6). Judge Murphy denies the continuance, and the trial proceeds, resulting in a ten minute not guilty.
Your tax dollars at work, ladies & gentlemen.
Speaking of Tony Loe, is it true that morale at the SAO is at an all-time low (pun intended). We're told folks are awfully unhappy about the micro-managing Loe's expensive rehiring, especially in light of the budget cuts, furlough days, and the plethora of dedicated, hard working, long term ASAs who never jumped ship. Hey Mr. Satz, aren't they "family" too?
Even worse, people feel that the money used to hire Loe back could have been used to protect the public. Now, now. We all know public safety takes a back seat to politics in Broward, but come on, it is obvious that criminal divisions manned by two overworked ASAs might eventually spell trouble. Couldn't Loe's salary have been used to hire two or three additional ASAs? And is it really true that the SAO may be having trouble taking on a full crop of new law grad lawyers this year? Goodness, gracious. Who will try all the residue cases?
That's about it, for now. Please keep the documents coming.
COMING SOON: JAABLOG'S "ONCE UPON A TIME" REVISITS
THE SAO'S HANDLING OF THE JUDGE JUNE JOHNSON CASE
*DBR: Cohen in Distress*
"In an interview, Cohen declined to comment about the merits because they concern cases pending before him. When asked, he said he has “no plans” to leave the domestic violence division...
(CAPD) De la Torre said it doesn’t make any difference whether Cohen resigned from the council because his past membership should still make litigants wary. He said his office is contacting clients asking them to sign similar recusal motions and expects private attorneys to follow suit.
De la Torre said Cohen ultimately may have to leave the domestic violence bench..."
DBR: 4th DCA disqualifies judge from fight over country club fees
DBR: Lawyers, staffers take street to protest salary cuts
Not Judge Abramson's Guilty Plea
Referee's Report Re Abramson
Abramson's Suspension Order
JAC & Bar zoning in on overbilling SPD
AP: Fla. judge's career finished over ties to stripper (Bogenschutz's client)
JNC opens up County Judgeship in Miami
Tony Loe being rehired at an excessive salary after he failed to produce in private practice is a bigger crime than most of the cases being arraigned today. He's just waiting for Satz to retire so he can take over. If you think Satz is rigid and out of touch, wait until Loe is in charge.
God have pity on the black men of Broward.
Hey, with regard to that Ostrow trial with Murphy, why did the case get past a DV? I mean, it sounds like the state was lacking the arresting officier...........they had enough to get it to the jury without him?
I couldnt agree more about Nicole Bloom being one of the most reasonable and just prosecutors in that office! More prosecutors like her should get the recognition they deserve in light of their membership on the endangered species list!
Not just Bloom....Loe, too, is one of the most reasonable and just prosecutors in that office. He too knows which cases deserve a break down and which don't. Remember, it is extremely important to keep the streets of Fort Lauderdale clean of all the old black men that score prison becuase of twenty and thirty year old priors.
Who is Loe kidding........Did you catch his quote, "if this had been a possession of cocaine case....."...That comment, by far, has to be the biggest crock to have hit the blog in moments!! What a joke.
I too am a big Bloom fan, but she surely cannot keep a straight face when she advises the court that the public be best served with an untimely, meritless continuance. Better serve the public by engaging in reasonable plea negotiations that would have given the state and the people of florida something to show rather than absolutely nothing after an outright acquittal on both counts.
I can't wait for the June Johnson expose. More Scheinberg gems to be mined I'm sure.
Can you investigate yourself and clear yourself of any wrong doing? In Broward County you can.
Nice too see Loe breathe a breath of fresh air into the office. Business as usual, I guess. Pretty sad when we start quasi-defending the unreasonable approach the SAO takes toward cases on the denial of a JOA/DV motion. Are we wearing down?
A lot of good people got burned in the JJ affair. Ask Murphy.
meritless continuance and straight face? When the defendant goes into a laundromat, steals some lady's pair of panties......gets stopped with the panties and a picture of his erect penis in his pocket. Thank God he skated! Jaablog, im a supporter, but tell the whole story. That D was a sicko and has a problem!
Anthony Loe just happens to be one of the best attorneys around. He's worth every penny Mr. Satz would want to pay him. He'd be a asset no matter where he is.
O.K. You want the whole story...the alleged panty-less victim could not distinquish the washer from the dryer she testified she used, on and off for years or explain why they would have been in her mothers dryer when she has her own and normally hang dries her personal laundry. Oddly enough, she was unable to accurately describe her Victoria Secret underwear size and a thorough reading of her cross examination exposes the majority of her testimony as, to put it mildly, unbelieveable. The fact that my client may or may not have had a problem has no bearing on the states ability to prove the crime alleged and do so without violating any defendant's constitutional rights. Ort better yet, if he has a legitimate problem, how bout what I asked for when the state was up against a wall....that my client be evaluated and as a condition of probation, follow up treatment? Instead, they got squat. They had their chance.
They often have their chance and screw it up all because they're overzealous in their prosecution instead of realizing in a spirit of compromise, they'd be getting what that want, just not all of it.
Let'm learn their lessons the hard way if they can't get the picture any other way. Good for you, Gary.
Gary good for you. I agree with the blog. These state attorneys create crime. They want everyone in prison. They have lousy cases they can't prove. But never a compromise. Never help for a sick client. As you said it. Instead the state attorneys get squat.
Are you saying he is the only one who can do the job? That no one in the office could have taken the job and done a great job? Really, why would the SAO be buying expensive "assets" at a time they are broke? He doesn't even work in a division or try cases.
Frankly, to replace a man like Mark Springer with Loe, when he didn't even work there, stinks real bad.
All of that legal mumbo jumbo aside...did your client really have a picture of his woody in his pocket?
I ain't say'n there is anything wrong with that, I mean doesn't everyone carry that type of picuture in their pocket?
Lowe is no Springer! Not even close.
I know of at least two people that do.
Lowe is a good man. Maybe he didn't like private practice. Ever thought about that?
After a jury is sworn, defense counsel prepared for trial, defendant present (liberty at stake), a state attorney announcing that they were prepared for trial, with an effective subpoena for a testifying Officer, and then at the last minute, the State pleads for a continuance based on the absence of Officer Caribbean not being able to attend due to the fact that he was having fun, Isn't that something that a SAO would SHOULD KNOW prior to announcing ready for trial. Judge Murphy did the Right thing, really the only thing, continue without the Officer. There is a Constitution, and I know its long, but perhaps the SAO may want to have it painted on the walls of their office. Why should a defendant's liberty be further encroached upon based on a Officer who failed to comply with a subpoena while having cocktails at the pool on a cruise ship? The State made a mistake and Judge Murphy, and Ostrow clearly understand the Constitution, and the case had to proceed. The SAO office, law enforcement in Broward County has become such an agency of impropriety and lawyers that point it out, like Ostrow, represent the beacon of hope. And even if Officer Caribbean had shown, I think it safe to say that the result would have been the same, NOT GUILTY. Another example of Gary Ostrow's unrelentless pursuit to save the rights of the accused in Broward County. It's comforting to know that there is a beacon of hope, with lawyers like him around. Frankly, this whole ordeal was "Ostrowlicious." You don't dispense justice with panty lying "victims," but rather fairness and constitutionality, principles that Gary, Judge Murphy, and the jury understood in ten minutes flat...
How many more horror stories do we have to be exposed to before something is done about the utter lack of ANY DISCRETION in Broward's state attorney's office. Isn'the memo re the standard offer an ethical issue that the state (not to mention justice, common sense and due process)should evaluate n its own merits? NEWSFLASH....not every delivery allegation is the same!! Each case has its own strengths and weaknesses,for starters.....and for more reasons than I can articulate, should be dealt with accordingly. So can someone, anyone in Satz's office respond to this and entertain us with a response that explains how an office policy dictating a standard offer for a particular charge makes judicial and legal sense in light of the inevitable and inherent differences from one fact pattern to another? Any takers?
Come on. No one will respond, and not for the reasons you think.
The people close to him are making big bucks. Their pensions and continued high pay means he has to stay in office. They may not believe in his policies but they need him to stay in power for their own good.
As far as the rest of the office, the younger lawyers that make up the majority, I believe they wish he would quit already as much (or more) than the rest of us. They can't justify his policies, they don't like enforcing them, and they are powerless to do anything about him or the policies, if they want to stay employed.
Stop the whining, stop the questioning. Neither one will get you answers or change. The only way to stop the war on the poor and protect the citizens of Broward County from violent crime is to vote him and his cronies out of office. Focus on finding the right candidate, and pray to God for spiritual guidance to help our community. It can be done with His help..
Tony is an asset to Satz' office; Well respected, able and reasonable are words that come to mind.
i don't think i have ever heard the term reasonable used to describe loe before
tony low an "asset"?!? You are only off by two letters.
NO--absolutely NOT--do you think we're stupid--we stick together like s***t.
We are what we are and we do what we do because that's who wer are and Mike Tells us what to do. If you're so smart, ahy haven't you done anything--even left your name behind so we can get your a**. We'll just make a coupe calls to Aid-urea Quintela and Juan Arias and bury you. So tell us what YOU have done about it if there is something that should be done. And remember--Jenne's out now and he still has connections.
Arias? Isn't he related to Gardiner? I wonder if was asked any questions about Patanzo?
Jenne ain't ever gonna be able to run for public office again. Nor should he.
While Im still recovering from the shock of my experience this morning, its only fair that I report the positive, even if its a first in a quarter century. Maybe Mr. Loe thought he owed me one, but who really cares why.This morning, in the minutes prior to jury selection, I personally witnessed and was the beneficiary of a concept all too foreign to Broward County........Prosecutorial Discretion!! I am as shocked as anyone else who suffers the hardship of a prosecutors office that, relentlessly fails to exercise their ethical duty in terms of discretion in their prosecution of crimes. Tony Lowe actually considered evidence suggesting the 2 agg assault firearm "victims" were connected to a drug distribution ring, which became relevant when further evidence connected their illegal activity to the day of the offense.Once the defense witness, who was an alleged source of the weed the two victims purchased and endlessly consumed in the hours preceding the "crime" appeared pursuant to a defense subpoena, it was, among other facts, a good faith basis to negotiate straight probation and witholds on all counts. I want to commend Tony for restoring my faith in possibilities that, despite a history of hopelessness, suggest that their may actually be a light at the end of that prosecutorial tunnel! It would be unfair not to recognize Judge Geoff Cohen's act of supreme discretion by making significant inquiry with both myself and the state, so as to actually understand and establish the reasoning behind the states uncharacteristic offer before accepting the terms and conditions of the negotiated plea.....Im the first to admit that my undying pursuit for a greater system of justice that cries out for the likes of Judge Cohen and Tony Lowe works both ways! The court may very well haved, in its exercise of discretion, rejected the states offer........I would rather practice in such a respectable place where discretion is policy.....for better or worse! Is that too much to ask?
Tony Loe is an honorable and able prosecutor who knows when to work out a deal. No great discretion on Cohen's behalf. Cohen would naturally follow the lead of the division prosecutor.
Guns and Weed dealers in DVU or has Cohen already made the switcheroo?