Bryson trial court order for punitive damages quashed in Bryson v. Scherer, but claim not extinguished:

Bryson’s request for “an immediate investigation” into alleged JQC leaks is denied, without prejudice:

Up to date JQC v. Bryson pleadings …

MIAMI: via Rumpole today “COVID ZOOM UPDATE“ –

From Andrea Wolfson, Administrative Judge, Circuit Criminal Division, 11th Circuit:

This afternoon we had our weekly meeting of the Criminal Jury Trial Task Force. Based on the dire information that was provided by representatives from the State Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office, I have decided to execute the attached amendment to the Administrative Memorandum regarding Hybrid Court Operations. It states as follows:

Effective immediately, ALL ATTORNEYS may choose to appear either in person or on Zoom. Each operating courtroom will continue to be staffed with an in person Assistant Public Defender, in addition to the judge, court clerk, bailiff, probation officer (optional) and correctional officer(s). Inmates will be brought to court only for hearings, trials, and very few pleas only with the judge’s express approval. As stated previously, if an inmate was not transported but wishes to accept a plea that will result in them getting out of custody, Corrections will bring them on Zoom on a staggered basis. If there is a surplus of inmate Zoom hearings on any one particular day, Judges Wolfson, de la O, and Tinkler Mendez will make themselves available to handle them. Interpreters will be appearing via Zoom unless needed for an in-person hearing, trial, or the types of pleas referenced above. As of this date, all other normal court operations will remain unchanged. (emphasis added)

In addition, for the judges – in the previous Administrative Memo where it advises people to mute their devices during Zoom proceedings, this does NOT apply to judges. You should have yourself on video and unmuted during your daily calendars, unless you go off the record for some reason.

Lastly, thank you all so much for your flexibility during this extremely difficult and challenging time. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time.

Best regards,

Andrea Ricker Wolfson

________________________________________________________________

BROWARD:

COMING SOON – 17th Circuit County Court Criminal Division: Is it beyond repair?

Since last week, judges Davis, Lynch, Garcia-Wood, and Holden have had to shut down dockets or go into quarantine due to possible exposure to Covid-19 in open court. Holden’s courtroom was shutdown just this morning.

Incubating ….

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

• 

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.