The following Brady notice started popping up in defense attorneys’ inboxes yesterday:

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For more information, click the link for the Sun Sentinel story by Rafael Olmeda …

There will be no Broward courtroom named for Chief Judge Jack Tuter in the near future.

And there will be no courtroom named for the late Public Defender Al Schreiber. 

So starts Buddy Nevins’ article from earlier today over at BrowardBeat, titled Courtroom For Late Public Defender?

Buddy continues:

Naming the courtroom for Schreiber at this time could be interpreted as an insult to Chief Judge Tuter, whose honor was stalled, according to (Broward County Mayor Steve) Geller. 

“We don’t want to get into a naming war,” the mayor says. 

So the naming issue seems dead for now.

No Tuter courtroom. No Schreiber courtroom. Just a courtroom. 

(Click the above link to read the full article)

The whole thing started after JAABLOG sent the following email to Tuter on Monday, with the subject line Al Schreiber Ceremonial Courtroom Request:

I am writing to ask if Chief Judge Tuter would support naming the Ceremonial Courtroom for the recently deceased Alan Schreiber.

I am not attempting to be impolite on this issue, given the fact Commissioner Bogen supports naming the courtroom for the chief judge.  However, given the stated, on the record concerns of a large number of Commissioner Bogen’s colleagues about carving out an exemption to the Broward County Administrative Code to allow the facility to be named for a living person, together with the towering presence Mr. Schreiber still exerts over Broward courts, I am hoping the chief judge would support such a measure.  Most assuredly, without Chief Judge Tuter’s blessing, it may be next to impossible to find a commissioner willing to execute the necessary sponsorship to put the item on the agenda for obvious reasons, so it is greatly hoped the chief judge will graciously step aside and support the measure.

If you could please let me know soon, that would be greatly appreciated.  In the meantime, if the chief judge would like to hear from other lawyers in support of naming the courtroom for Mr. Schreiber, I can make arrangements and gather signatures, if requested.

Unfortunately, and predictably, there was no response from Tuter, prompting this follow-up email yesterday:

 … At this point I will assume there will be no further response, and that the chief judge will not be supporting my request to either withdraw his name from consideration or to support naming the Ceremonial Courtroom for Mr. Schreiber. 

If I’m wrong, please let me know.

So there you have it. Buddy’s reporting has verified our concern that the County Commission would be reluctant to replace Tuter’s name with anyone else’s, even someone as accomplished as Big Al. And that’s a shame, since the chief judge could exercise humility and leadership and support the measure, which would most assuredly get it done.

Now, of course, it’s up to everyone Al helped to make their feelings known to both Tuter and the County Commission. We’ve contacted many prominent attorneys already who have promised support, and are waiting to hear back from BACDL. Together, honoring Al Schreiber in the manner he unquestionably deserves should be something that can transcend politics and be accomplished in the near future.

Developing …

The beloved Bossman, Big Al Schreiber, has died.

The stories and memories are boundless, as are the unprecedented number of successful attorneys in both public and private practice who got their starts because of Al’s generosity and encouragement.

Thoughts and prayers to the Schreiber family.