JAABWALK: NEW COURTHOUSE PLOY EDITION
The Doctor is IN
Today's JAABWALK is sponsored by Broward's new, cutting edge 5th Floor Hallway Foreclosure Court and Chief Judge Tobin's recent revelations regarding shackled prisoners. Obviously, the courtrooms are still being woefully mismanaged, even after allowing for the fact that judges don't like to share, or display any flexibility when it comes to their personal fiefdoms.
Only the civil courtrooms were audited (7th floor and above of the old courthouse). Criminal and dependency courtrooms, of course, are much busier, actively paying homage to 1950's style southern justice. Still, if they and the satellite courtrooms had been checked, it's a pretty safe bet that twelve to fifteen additional empties could be added to the list. Additionally, an after lunch stroll would likely add to the total as well.
Today's JAABWALK started at roughly 10:50 AM, and concluded at 11:07 AM.
TOTALS:
SIXTEEN CIVIL COURTROOMS AUDITED
FIVE IN USE
ELEVEN LOCKED
Drop an Anonymous Tip with an email address if you want the list of courtrooms.
(Sorry, Vic. You've done a great job cleaning up the Criminal Bench, but do you really think Broward deserves a new courthouse while Satz is still in charge?)
DBR: Broward Courthouse overcrowding forces hearings into hallway
"Chief Circuit Judge Victor Tobin moved Senior Judges Robert Newman and Robert Fogan, who handle the spillover uncontested cases, into the fifth-floor hallway because the courthouse is “out of space.” He set up a desk for the judges and tables for the attorneys.
Tobin said he wanted a permanent location for the hearings instead of shuffling judges among temporarily open courtrooms ...
Tobin said the move is within his discretion as chief, and he hasn’t contacted the county commission about the change.
“I found they are not responsive to the courts. There is no point in talking to them,” Tobin said of county commissioners. “We’re at the point where their opinion doesn’t matter to me.”
The commission formed a task force a year ago to study the aging wing of the main Fort Lauderdale courthouse and propose alternatives for new courtrooms or a new courthouse. After a series of meetings, the task force proposed building a new courthouse on the site of a neighboring garage and replace portions of the existing courthouse."
oh they will claim most judges are still on christmas and hanukkah and thanksgiving break
vic should be careful not to use ana gardiner ploys. we all know what's up with that. btw, where's ana? does she still work at the courthouse?
"oh they will claim most judges are still on christmas and hanukkah and thanksgiving break"
They probably are!
"Today's JAABWALK started at roughly 10:50 AM, and concluded at 11:07 AM."
Let me guess, it was after you were finished in court this morning, as were most smoothly runned division. Court starts at 830, not 10 minutes to 11. Do a walk b/w 9 and 930am. If results are the same your point will be made sufficiently.
As they are entitled to like everyone else to celebrate holidays.
The civil courtrooms are nearly always empty no matter what time of day. Obviously you are a criminal lawyer.
Uhhhhmmm. The holidays been over. They were on holiday before it even came in the judges are never there.
So what. Even if the rooms are in use until 10:30 the point is clear. They are not being efficiently utilized. Say a judge operates a "smoothly runned division" like you argue. How could they not easily combine dockets and courtrooms with other efficient judges to make space for foreclosures? Even if only 4 rooms were empty by 10:30 they could do it. But double digit empty rooms? Whatever happened to the civil courtroom system where they supposed to report to Tuter when room is busy by the way? This all stinks to politics.
Politics? You mean business as usual at old Broweird County, home of state attorney Mickey Statz.
Mike "me first, Broward second" Satz?
What kind of a freak wouldn't want to be late 60's with a guaranteed buck fifty a year 'til death?
He's got his health, why wouldn't he travel and live it up like a king?
Hmmmm must be a major power trip.
Addicted to power baby!
Herd and hurt them doggies!
Schwingggg!!!
Granny who? Haiti tragedy sucks for Haitians and HF haters.
"As they are entitled to like everyone else to celebrate holidays."
When are these tax dollar sucking ---Bimini Boatyard Bums not on vacation?
I gotta hand it to you. I was up there this morning and there were many empty courtrooms although I didn't count them. Does Tobin really think this kind of stupid game is gonna get them a new courthouse?
Got news for them, the voters will take a very dim view if this crap is made public. They think they've got allot of contested judicial races now?
It's not a good idea to try to hoodwink the people who would be paying for it. And its been voted down by public referendum already. What a bunch of jokers.
Courtwatch should have somebody sitting in every courtroom every morning to tell the taxpayers what they are NOT getting for their money.
What the judges are NOT getting with this charade is a NEW COURTHOUSE.
Any wonder why the court system in Broward stays bogged down? Its like a permanent vacation with some of these guys.
the truth is, we dont need a new courthouse b/c of the size or need for additional courtrooms. We need a new courthouse b/c this one is old, its moldy, it makes workers sick, it apparently gives people cancer, its breaks down alot, it ruins files, it causes headaches, its confusing (though the black line is a Godsend), its tired, its messy, its depressing, its a monument for the old corrupt broward with the napolean statue... Theres many other reasons, but size is not one of them (as Bill has pointed out). Do we really need one? Probably. At this economic time? Probably not. After the economy recovers? Definetly.
I agree with 1:05. No heat, constant water leaks, no air or to much air, mold, etc. I can't iimagiine any civil judge not being busy- 5,000 cases, docketing on-line. I know many hearings are done in chambers. As to the trials attorneys constantly beg off and settle no matter how many cases are set.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the present courthouse at all.
All the rest of the slop being thrown around is just more political tripe.
Kind of like we need more judges when the judges we have have schedules that include little or nothing in the way of work.
Somehow there are those that think once they become a judge they have reached the pinnacle of their careers and therefore think they should be able to glide their way to retirement doing as little as possible with the biggest office.
Hasn't that kind of thinking in government gotten us where we are today with the problems created by bureaucratic puffer fish waisting the tax payers hard earned money?
Judges are public servants, not Hollywood celebrities with budgets they can continue to raise and needless New Courthouses to be built to satisfy their sense of self importance.
The public has already put their feet down on a new courthouse issue by vote in this county and now they are trying to get it anyway through the Broward County Commission.
Only with the recent corruption scandals involving several commissioners and Ritter's gun toting politically obsessed father's newspaper debut, it's slowed down to a crawl lest connections be made to those that have allot of money to be made from the stupid idea of building a new courthouse.
That hasn't stopped the idea though and those that are trying to push it all the way to the bank at tax payer's expense.
This is Broward County and you can't believe most of what you hear and little you can see from it's corrupt politicians which include the judges and pilferers and squanderer of public funds over on the Broward Commission.
Stay vigilant, Stay alert. Note the names of those who are trying to push this issue.
When they start screaming about a new courthouse loudly enough, you'll know they are in it for themselves and their buddies with money to be made.
Cast your vote against any incumbent who tries to pull the wool over your eyes. They'll drop the stupid idea fast enough.
I got a better idea. Scrap all those judges and politicians instead.
Agree. BTW Vic is not very bright. I guess he forgot the infamous Ana Gardiner "closets" comment that got Ana a thorough lashing. Has anyone seen Ana?
I must be behind. Is there a way I can catchup on what this audit is all about? Are you saying there are unused courtrooms and we are holding court in the hallways?
We obviously need a new courthouse. Broward County should sell the prime land that the jail and courthouse sit on and build up another with easier access from I-95 or maybe take over the Tower across the street.
they all pay taxes too jag-off. you sound bitter, dont you get to take vacation?
I really don't understand this so called overcrowding issue in the Broward Courthouse when most of the courtrooms remain empty for most of the day Monday through Friday.
Why aren't the judges being rotated to use the courtrooms more efficiently? And why hasn't this issue ever been talked about by any enterprising investigative reporter?
It seems like such an incredible and laughable proposal to say we need a new courthouse at taxpayer expense when the one we've got is so underutilized.
This hallway justice ploy is so typical for Broward County. I'm really disappointed in Tobin for taking part in such a obvious ploy for the prop of a new courthouse. I expected more from him.
If the courtrooms are so bad as claimed by those pushing a New Courthouse idea, why has Stanton Kaplan flatly refused to give up his courtroom over on the old side of the courthouse for one on the new side? I mean, he's about 90 years old and the mold hasn't killed him yet.
The courtrooms are bigger, more spacious and empty pretty much half the work week. Who do these spendthrifts think they are anyway?
Because Stan Kaplan has his personal elevator for his wheel-chair built in there and a special handicapped accessible bathroom.
This new courthouse thing is ridiculous. It isn't needed. Better utilization of our resources would be more efficient. Why can't court administration participate in doing this? What is it there for otherwise?
We neeeeed rob carney back as CJ--he will show us how to fill the rooms. he don't need no stinkin brady; he don't need no stinkin evidence; he don't need no stinkin fair trials--he got them blue steal-your-life-eyed stare that convinces you he's the most honest man for the job. It's the Broward County definition of fair. He did it as a persecutor--he did it as a judge.
It's the code BACDL and the Bar swear to by act or omission (silence).