We’re told Johnathan Lott has been appointed to replace John Murphy on the circuit court …

Hunter Davis to Civil; Lorena Mastrarrigo to H. Davis; Frances Viamontes to Farmer/Garcia-Wood; Marina Garcia-Wood to Usan; Mike Usan to ROC Fein; Martin Fein to old Murphy; Corey Friedman to First Appearances; Kal Evans to Diaz …

Congratulations to Woody Clermont, who won November’s sole competitive judicial race in Broward County …

*UPDATE* –

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8:00 PM:

We’re told today’s internet outage in the courthouse is having much more serious implications than courthouse employees being able to knock off a little early this afternoon.

The reportedly cut county fiber optics cable is still holding up jail releases and bookings.

Release orders can’t be updated, and we’re told digital phone lines are also down in the jails. Roughly forty individuals are awaiting processing from booking.

All of this information is completely unofficial, as is the county’s reported goal of having everything fixed by midnight.

In the meantime we’ve alerted the Sun Sentinel, so stay tuned for updates …

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1:36 PM – 17th Circuit Notification:

The 17th Judicial Circuit network (Internet) is down. The issue is not isolated to the court and is part of a larger countywide issue. We have not been provided with an estimated time as to when it will be restored. We will continue to provide updates as information is received.

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COMING SOON? – “Judge, my client has thirty less convictions than the President of the United States!“

We didn’t get more than a few minutes into this recent interview before being compelled to post:

HAROLD PRYOR SAYS @ 3:47 : … “one thing I wanted to point out and I I wanted to really um hammer in on or or really illustrate the point um my office whenever we make a decision or whenever we look a case our goal isn’t to to to win a case um our goal is to seeK Justice um and I wanted to change that my part of my goal and part of my job as I always say in my my my office is to Rebrand um or not just Rebrand but bring us back to what the original intent of a prosecutor is or a criminal justice fighter is and that is to seek Justice I think we we perverted or we we really messed up the idea or the concept of what a prosecutor is right um a prosecutor was seen as someone that’s tough on crime a prosecutor is seen as someone that wants to win at all costs get a guilty verdict at all costs um and that’s not the intent the job of a prosecutors to seek Justice and what I often tell my prosecutors in my office in the Broward County’s office is that um our job is to seek the truth to seek Justice and Justice is so many different things” …

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JAABLOG Q: IS JUSTICE SERVED BY PRECLUDING CONSTITUTIONAL SUPPRESSION MOTIONS ON POTENTIALLY RACE-BASED TRAFFIC STOPS?

“I think we we perverted or we we really messed up the idea or the concept of what a prosecutor is … a prosecutor is seen as someone that wants to win at all costs … “

COMING SOON – Harold Pryor, Harold Pryor, Harold Pryor …

Does Harold Pryor’s Drug Trafficking Unit (DTU), the minimum-mandatory wielding, questionable traffic stop loving special unit have a policy precluding Motions To Suppress during plea negotiations?

Or is it more of an unwritten rule, stretching back to the days Mike Satz was blocking the path of law enforcement accountability whilst speeding the mass incarceration highway?

Whatever you want to call it, whether real, perceived, or wholly imagined, it does seem DTU prosecutors have a particular distaste for litigating stop and other motions, to the point not many are filed (or certainly heard) for fear of Defendants’ losing offers typically involving prison time below the judicial discretion-robbing, draconian, mandatory penalties as charged in the aggressively filed original Informations. Sometimes the deals are welcome, of course, while on other occasions innocent or drug addicted individuals, or victims of flat-out, unchecked illegal police tactics, may have their lives destroyed. And all because they can’t risk a hearing or trial challenging the evidence, searches and seizures, or the traffic stops themselves.

We’re not alone in our concerns. Plenty of private lawyers have felt the pinch, while a few others we are aware of have been allowed to file motions without getting burned.

For his part, Gordon Weekes, Broward’s elected Public Defender, had this to say earlier today:

“I spoke with my division Chiefs and attorneys concerning DTU cases, and I found there is a longstanding pattern of forgoing suppression hearings to support plea negotiations, particularly when compared to other divisions.  It is my understanding that if a motion to suppress is filed or goes to hearing with DTU that plea negotiations will be withdrawn. 

These suppression motions are constitutional safeguards that must be addressed to ensure the credibility of both the investigating officer and the investigation itself. Both the Defense and the State should welcome these hearings, as they are essential to upholding procedural and constitutional protections. Suppression hearings hold law enforcement accountable to the community, especially in cases where alleged trafficking is discovered through routine traffic stops, which is frequently the case. Exercising constitutionally guaranteed rights should never come at the cost of losing a plea offer.”

So, what gives? Is there a policy, or not?

One thing’s for sure – there’s a ton of confusion out there, and that’s definitely not a good thing, particularly in an era when the credibility of the justice system is under attack from all sides. Not to mention, of course, the pain and suffering visited upon individuals (and their families) who may have needlessly gone up the road for way, way too long.

Toward the goal of eliminating all confusion on DTU’s practices and procedures going forward, and to ensure police accountability, we’ve been emailing and speaking with various higher ups at the SAO, and we need your help.

Post a comment here if you have any insights that can help clear up the confusion, or that we can relay to the SAO for clarification. If you prefer, drop us a private line here. And if we’ve got the whole thing dead wrong, then please don’t be shy – let us know that too.

For now, we’ve been directed to speak with the SAO’s Chief of Special Administration, Steven Klinger, and to Harold Pryor’s media relations office in anticipation of a meeting with Pryor himself. The meeting was suggested last week by Julio Gonzalez, the head of the SAO’s Public Corruption Unit. We’ll make sure all your questions and concerns are heard, and will report back.

The more information you can provide the better, as we believe Harold’s stated commitment to transparency, fairness, and the integrity of the criminal justice system he leads in Broward County can be brought to the fore to protect everyone’s constitutional rights, whether accused of a misdemeanor, a murder, or a drug offense …

*LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF!

11:52 AM:

All 17th Judicial Circuit and Broward County Courts will reopen for normal operations tomorrow, Friday, October 11, 2024. – From: 17th Circuit Emergency Message

From an SAO email sent today, effective 10/1/24:

The State Attorney remains committed to doing the most good for all our employees. However, with the many Legislative increases, the current ASA compensation structure no longer works for this office.

In order to maintain our competitive salary structure for the foreseeable future and to remain equitable to all our employees, we made the following changes to the salary structure.

• All floors have been eliminated and raises are a fixed amount.
• The three year Commitment and (commitment letters) have been eliminated, as they were not beneficial to the needs of the office
• Years of Service (YOS) increase will now begin at the 5 year mark. This in effect will benefit all those who remain at the office for 5 years, not just those who previously signed commitment letters. (Those who have already signed commitment letters will be given the remainder of their $5,000 at the 5-year mark).
• There will be a cap of $10,000 on the total amount of increases given during the 12-month fiscal year period, regardless of whether it is a promotion, YOS, or merit increase.
• There are two exclusions from the$10,000 cap: (1) Promotions to ASAIC, and (2) one-time retention incentive increases – these two will not be included in the calculation for the cap.
• Effective date10-1-2024

Please see the new compensation structure attached and direct any questions to our Fiscal Department -Lilian Spamer (954) 831-8042or Veronica Rodriguez (954) 831-7784.

Thank you.

Neva Rainford-Smith, Esq.– Executive Director
Deputy Chief Assistant State Attorney
Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit

4:11 PM:

Please be advised that the 17th Judicial Circuit and Broward County Courts will be OPEN on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, and CLOSED on Wednesday and Thursday, October 9 and 10, 2024 in anticipation of Hurricane Milton. We are continuing to monitor the path of Hurricane Milton and any further updates to court operations will be made using this unified notification system. We anticipate reopening on Friday, October 11, 2024.

3:40 PM:

Broward and Palm Beach Schools are closed Wednesday and Thursday.

WHAT WILL JACK TUTER DO? OPEN OR CLOSED?

SS – Broward’s top prosecutor settles lawsuit with former employee who accused him of anti-white discrimination (10/5/24)

“Details of the agreement were not available Friday, and both sides declined to comment with the issue still pending. Because the State Attorney’s Office is a government agency, details will eventually be made public” …

JAABLOG: Newman 1, Pryor 0 (9/24/24)

ATTENTION BROWARD JUDGES:

JQC v. ASHTON

… NOTICE OF FORMAL CHARGES JQC v. ASHTON