WEDNESDAY NOTES
What's up Doc Brannon's sleeve?Compare & Contrast - here's how they handle Driving While License Suspended ("DWLS") or No Valid DL ("NVDL") cases in Miami:
"No trial" option for DWLS or NVDL cases:
- The prosecutor will extend an offer to settle.
-The Defendant agrees in advance that if he or she does not obtain a valid Driver's License ("DL") by the time of a future hearing, then he will accept this offer.
-There will be no trial.
-The Court sets a hearing date which provides sufficient time for Defendant's to get a valid DL.
- At the hearing, if the Defendant has obtained a valid DL, then the prosecutor will dismiss the case.
- At the hearing, if the Defendant has not obtained a valid DL, then The Court will enter the agreed sentence.
- There will be no hearings after this hearing. However, a Defendant can re-set the hearing at an earlier time. Please call the Judge's secretary.
(the preceding was recently copied from a bulletin board in a Miami County courtroom)
A realistic, efficient, fair and grown-up approach to a non-deterrable crime.
Now contrast this with Satz's set them up for failure approach, where Defendants, if they can qualify in the first place, are run through a thousand flaming hoops, after which they're put on probation like proverbial "gerbils on wheels". It's expensive to the taxpayers and for the Defendants, inefficient, and indicative of the paternalistic/neurotic approach to "justice" in Broward County. Still, we should be thankful that the SAO even agreed to set this program up some thirty years after Satz took office, long after they had minted countless numbers of felons under the old laws by steadfastedly refusing to change charges when Defendants became licensed, as was common in other jurisdictions.
Brannon and the PD - the beef between the Public Defender's Office and forensic psychologist Michael Brannon has been simmering for quite some time, and it damn near boiled over today. Readers will recall Brannon venting his frustrations on the stand during a murder trial, when he took the opportunity to lash out at the PD, after they had cut his billings way back by proportioning their contracts more evenly amongst a pool of qualified doctors. Well, things have been getting worse, with the PD following up on concerns relating to the amount of time the always busy Brannon can devote to each Defendant by objecting when a judge appoints him to one of their cases. Today, they asked Judge Elijah Williams to appoint someone else, resulting in a hearing at the SAO's behest featuring Chief Assistant Public Defender Diane Cuddihy, who argued while Dr. Brannon (a maximum contributor to Williams' 2010 campaign) himself looked on, accompanied by none other than David Bogenschutz (another maximum contributor), who made a brief appearance on his behalf. In the end, Williams gave Brannon the appointment. Bogenschutz, for his part, asked for a transcript of the record, leading observers to wonder if this whole thing may eventually play out in other venues (there's a hearing tomorrow at 10:30 to see if Williams can release the confidential juvenile proceedings). Developing ...
Do campaign contributions play a role? - there's a lot of talk lately regarding the role money plays in the political process, and it's not just because crooked Scott Rothstein seemed to have had every politico in town (including house party guest Satz) groveling for his friend$hip. Howard Finkelstein has recently been giving well received speeches on this very topic everywhere from King's Point to your local high school, at the same time judges and other elected officials are shaking the trees for handouts, in preparation for the 2010 elections. Certainly, money, power, and political influence have always gone hand in hand everywhere, but, considering the depths to which Broward has recently sunk, shouldn't somebody besides the FBI be doing something about the rampant abuses?
Speaking of 2010 - stay away from places like McGuire's or the Samba Room until after the election. If you pop in for a quick drink after work it just might cost you $500, if your thirst happens to unexpectedly coincide with a fundraiser.
BROWARDBULLDOG.ORG on the Ross Toss - click here for Dan Christensen's article on the Lynch/Ross transfers. Both Dan and his partner in crime Buddy Nevins are reporting that this was a purely vindictive move by Chief Judge Tobin. Ironic indeed, considering it was Dan's amazing profile of then Chief Judge Dale Ross back in 1996 for the Broward Review that forever cemented Dale's rep as petty and vindictive. Still, while it's impossible to feel sorry for Ross, Dan may have a point. Simply stated, unless Tobin uproots the rest of the old timers who are clinging to their roosts and refusing to participate in the upcoming rotation plan, the Lynch/Ross moves will look like nothing more than payback for the roadblocks the Ross team threw up against Tobin after he took over as CJ.
This & That - click here for Buddy Nevins' puzzling (and since removed from BrowardBeat.com) post regarding Rothstein and the 17th Circuit JNC process (FYI Buddy - Scott was on the 4th DCA JNC, not the 17th) (thanks to "new nevins story HOLY CRAP"); Click here for the extra weird stuff going on with Huizenga's VOP; Click here for The National Association of Drug Court Professionals "All Rise" magazine, featuring testimonials from grads like Slash and Trey Anastasio.
JAABLOG MBE:
Q - It is illegal to engage in sexual activities in Florida with:
a.) the girl
b.) the ape
c.) the ape with the girl in the next room sleeping
d.) none of the above
HINT: The girl is seventeen years, 364 days old
JAABLOG Content Killer - today's PSCC meeting was canceled. The statutorily mandated quarterly meeting that accomplishes nothing that no one ever wants to go to was killed for the second week in a row with the following email:
"Due to a lack of quorum the Public Safety Coordinating Council Meeting scheduled for today, November 19, 2009 at 3:00 PM is being rescheduled. We will make every effort to coordinate with all schedules to ascertain the best date/time for a meeting to be held sometime in early December. Thank you for your patience and consideration."
And with that, we take the night off.
COMING SOON: BROWARD CORRUPTION, RACISM & GREED
Brannon is looking a little silly these days still trying to play by the old rules.
And Judge Willams really has no business, dare I use that word, appointing Brannon over the objection of any party.
I fear some of these judges might have to learn the hard way that these hefty campaign contributions can really get in the way of the proper administration of justice.
Does it surprise me about Judge Williams? Not one bit after what I've seen about the guy.
It seems to be quid pro quo and more from some of Broward's Judges. For now that is.
Seems like so much Hocas Pocas to me.
Whats the big deal anyway with judge rotation whether it involves Ross, Lynch or any other judge? They should all be rotated. That's the way it is in every other circuit. Will Broward County ever get beyond its petty judicial politics?
Say what you will, but the Nevins article about Rothstein's contributions to the Republican Party on the date of Crist's appointment of Hurley looks a little stale under the circumstances even by Broward's Standards.
Maybe the Doc should seriously consider becoming a vegetarian.
Tobin has the power to encourage the slacker judges to participate in the rotation plan whether they want to or not. He should use it. After what Ross and Co. have done to our judiciary, he should be sent to a satellite to serve out the remainder of his sentence. Both of them.
Now THIS picture is funnier than hell--PERFECT!!!
Howard is right about the corrupting power of money in our local elections, especially in judicial elections where for the most part, it is a select few who seem to put the most money in, and get the most benefit out.
It's not surprising that two attorneys who came out of the PDO who are now running for judge (against the same incumbent as well) have gone a different path than the typical courthouse palm grease for their fundraising -- Jahra has been actively seeking small donations from out in the community and Nate went out of his way to say he won't accept a penny from the lawyers who have appeared in County Court.
Seems like the "gospel of Howard" on this point is taking root.
If I had to guess I'd say Big Red is on the losing end of this stick and at the end of his schtck.
Is he really gon for 3 weeks? God forbid Ross, Lynch, NHI Greene or other non Bil fave's took off like this he would have the public records request already to Rieman.
Bill, you should do a list of how much time each judge takes off each year.
Bring back Jaabwalk
And well it should. Broward has been known for this type of greasing of palms for a long time. Once it's shown for what it is, the gig is gonna be up. This type of pole greasing at public expense should come to a sudden halt with what we've seen with any number of examples.
Finkelstein happens to be right on the pulse of public corruption concern and has some good ideas on how to stop it.
Doesn't look kosher with Rothstein possibly influencing the Governor's selection of judicial appointments.
Maybe the PDs should sit in on all future psyche evals.
What's up his sleeve? Less than what there used to be. Sour apples.
Heard Nate talking earlier this week at a social event up in Coral Springs to some folks. Commenting about how in many Circuits, judges specially set hearings at 8am and as late as 4:45pm or 5pm depending on witness needs/availability so cases can move through the system quicker, and saying there's no reason that can't happen here.
With rotation and other ideas from other parts of the state coming, maybe the early morning/late afternoon hearings from Palm Beach and elsewhere should come to Fort Lauderdale. It's time the judges started working a full day like many of the people that appear in their courtrooms do.
The best "judicial rotation" is to vote out the lazy ones and get some fresh blood in there --
Go Jahra, Nate, Sandra and everyone else challenging a sitting judge.
The only ones working overtime here are the ASAs putting poor blacks in prison for the same things whites do.
The first judge to make 8am and 445pm hearings available and actually show up on time for the early morning ones, having read the materials, gets my vote.
Hell, the first one that commits to showing up on time for 830 or 845 dockets and won't take the months of November and December (*and July, August, etc.) as vacation, gets my vote.
the article is back up on bbeat.com
why doesn't the JAC create a wheel for psychologists like they did for spd's...that will do away with the greedy pigs out there who think they're entitled to everything.
oink. oink.
yeah I don't have a lot of sympathy for brannon after he billed millions and millions to the state
Next Jaab story:
ALL JUDGES ALWAYS LATE FOR COURT, WHILE EVERY ATTORNEY AT THE BROWARD COURTHOUSE IS ON TIME 100% OF THE TIME.
Gelin should rename Jaab to:
THE ANTI-SATZ, ANTI-BRANNON, ANTI-ALL JUDGES and PRO-FINKELSTEIN BLOG
The rotation plan would have exempted both Lynch and Ross. Since the plan was not implemented, Chief Judge Tobin appears to give the lawyers what they wanted the rotation of a judge. No Judge has the right to create a fiefdom, including former Chief Judges.
"No Judge has the right to create a fiefdom, including former Chief Judges."
Very true -- however, the Chief Judge's rotation plan does just that.
If you had 20 years in as a judge, you could block a transfer.
If you had 5 years in a division, you could block a transfer.
The whole plan was poor at best, left a bunch of judges where they were, didn't give a true "rotation" (which is sorely needed), and allowed the current Chief Judge to grant "exemptions" to any judge who was subject to the "plan" and didn't want to move.
NOT A REAL PLAN -- NOTHING CHANGES. The Chief could give out exemptions to curry favor, he exempted all the most senior judges and those that were longest in their divisions to curry favor, and only the ones that WANTED to transfer would really be rotated.
I CALL B*LLSH*T!!!
Here's my rotation plan, in 2 sentences.
"Every two or three years, each judge is rotated by random drawing to a new division. If the random drawing results in a judge being assigned to the same division (e.g., criminal, family, dependency, etc.), the judge redraws until a new assignment is pulled".
This rotation plan is in use in a number of other circuits and seems to work just fine.
No political games, no currying favor for the next Chief Judge Election (which should also have a 2-term limit anyway), no stale judges with their sense of entitlement to their personal fiefdom.
Problem solved.
Excellent!!! 4:18 Excellent!!! Great Rotation Plan.
CJ Dictator Dale Ross is gone but we now have CJ Dictator Vic Tobin. I'd like to see some new blood step up and no tuter is not new blood, neither is backman.
Wonder if someone is runnin that practices in a bunch of different counties, and then someone posts about a rotation plan that gets used in other places all over the state.
Wonder who's blogging and not working this afternoon.
Although the plan sounds pretty damned good to me. At best, we get new blood every few years and at worst, if we have someone who's really mucking up a particular division, they're only there for 2-3 years at most and the damage gets limited.
All anyone has to do is put Brannon under oath and ask him if he ever starts a round of evals as 9-l0PM on a Sunday night (jail logs will show yes) if he say no, he is a liar!!! Next, ask him how many evals he usually lines up on a unday night (jail records will show he calls ahead and has anywhere between 5-8 inmates pulled from their cells and shipped to the intgerview area as early as 7-8 PM to await his arrogant arrival. Next, ask him if he gives every inmate the 45-60 minute eval the state/taxpayer is paying for. If he says yes he is a liar b/c if he did he would leave the jail at 3 AM Monday morning. The jail log will show he spends no more than an hour there, thus giving ustaxpayers and the sick and sufferings 8-10 minutes for the hour he billed us for. To say nothing of the boller plate/cookie cutter nature of his reports only differing upon who is paying for his boiler plate, defense or presecution. And all the p;oor defendants, if they only knew that even when he is hired for your side, the SAQ is always the puppeteers of red Roberts. hut him down Howard, he was a con man 25 years ago in his red tights, he only changed careers but nit his stripes and spots. This state is broke, the education system is broke, but Mike Brannon feels he is entitled to full pay but work 15% of the time he was hired for ???? RED, THOS DAYS ARE OVER, PLUS YOU DON'T GIVE A TINKERS DAMN ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE DEFENDANT, GETTING THEM EITHER HEALTHY OR WHERE THEY SHOULD BE, ONLY Your wealth !!! nd you'd sell your soul to the devil to increase it, instead you sold your soul to Satz. Oh, yea, that's one and the same.. Mike, if you are so good you can figure out a defendants mental health in 10 minutes, well done !! Then plks charge us taxpayers for the 10 minutes and make up your financial shortfall by writing a book." Evelyn Woods's speed forensic psychology " bet you Oprah would push it to a best seller.
Is Brannon still trying to worm his way onto the JNC?
Enough of this political trash play in Broward.
Why won't anyone just do their damn jobs and shut up?
Brannon could use a reality adjustment. He played to many ends against the middle and now he wants to cry about it? He's absolutely no better than any number of qualified psychologists and I don't care how many judges' campaigns he contributed to either.
There are plenty of fine people to chose from. Judges should know better than to play this game. It'll come back to haunt them big time. You just watch when a JAC accounting is requested. It wouldn't surprise me if it happened either.
Two words: Pompous Ass.
Gee, what's that old saying: "What goes around, comes around." Does anyone remember that Ross and Co. routinely transferred perceived enemies to satellite court, or to a lesser division. So, he is getting what he deserves. If anyone wants a story on slacker judges, has anyone ever kept track of how few hours Judge Trackman and Judge Skolnick spend in the courthouse. Those county civil judges work maybe an hour a week.