(County courtrooms outfitted for misdemeanor, out of custody jury trials set to commence next week, were locked and unavailable for inspection this morning)
JAABCAM (FVOP-19 EDITION)
All posts by Jaaber
ACLU COVID-19 JAIL SETTLEMENT
MIAMI HERALD – ‘I almost died in there’ (3/17/21)
” … In the year since COVID struck, the Broward jail system has had 378 detainees and 323 staffers test positive.
The Miami-Dade Department of Corrections has had more cases and was less forthcoming with data. After numerous requests for information over more than a week, spokesman Juan Diasgranados said the jail would not provide the cumulative number of positive tests for detainees or staff, even though the facility is responsible for providing the healthcare of those it detains. Diasgranados would say only that the current tally of active cases is 30 detainees and 64 staff. Diasgranados said “less than five” detainees have died of COVID, but would not provide a specific count.
The Herald obtained more specific information from a different agency: Jackson Health System. The county’s public hospital network, serving the poor and the incarcerated, among others, said Miami-Dade jails have had 1,864 detainees and 846 staffers test positive since the virus manifested itself. Jackson placed the death count at three.
Diasgranados said high case counts in the early stage of the virus were due to a “proactive” approach to testing asymptomatic detainees. Broward, in contrast, has apparently not focused testing on detainees without symptoms ...
… Complaints prompted a class-action lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which has resulted in a settlement not quite finalized because of the multi-phased procedure for completing such litigation. Provisions, some of them already implemented, include expanded COVID testing, rules barring COVID-negative detainees from being housed with positive detainees, and giving medically vulnerable detainees twice-daily temperature checks … “
Background – “ACLU v. BSO” (6/5/20)
IN-PERSON FVOP DOCKETS
*UPDATE*
VP1 ZOOM LINK – 960 685 10573
VP2 ZOOM LINK – 916 6923 0148
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Here is the VP1 – Fein docket for next week’s FVOP hearings, and here is the VP2 – Murphy docket.*
We’ll update soon with Zoom links and more …
*Dockets are subject to change …
WITNESS THE CHANGE …
Broward courts are set to reopen next week for in-person Final Violation of Probation (FVOP) trials. Witnesses and attorneys must appear in-person, while friends, family, and observers will only be permitted to attend via Zoom.
Status hearings are being held this week, with the easy to fix cases, mostly those not designated as VFO, for “Violent Felony Offender,” getting resolved to county time or reinstatements of supervision, just as they’ve been for months now on the regular in-custody Zoom division dockets.
The problem, of course, remains the VFO qualified offenders, those individuals with qualifying offenses they’re on probation for, or have as priors, even if they’re old. VFO is a deceptive term; it’s possible, and common, for someone who has never thrown a punch, or having committed a violent act a long, long time ago, to be held as VFO, even if they’re on probation for a non-violent charge. The majority of the cases being set for trial next week seem to involve VFO’s accused of “technical” violations of the type highlighted in the Gardiner article above, not involving new arrests while on probation. Since the pandemic started, the SAO and many judges have been resistant to stating that many of these Defendants are “not a danger to the community,” the requirement to a VFO being spared prison and put back out onto their original probationary or modified new terms. This has caused a backlog in the jails and, it’s believed, jumpstarted the need for the extremely short-noticed FVOP reopening next week.
The status hearings we’ve observed thus far in anticipation of next week’s trials have yielded few surprises. As previously stated, the easy ones are being handled, while prison time is being doled out on others. Many stiff prison offers are being rejected, and those cases are keeping their previous haphazardly assigned trial dates for next week, since the judges don’t seem willing to state any type of position on dangerousness, preferring to wait until next week. Anyone hoping for more flexibility on behalf of the SAO under Harold Pryor in these situations, given the “technical” nature of most of the violations, are most certainly disappointed.
And now the main point: next week’s live-Zoomed trials offer a historic opportunity for anyone interested in criminal justice reform to easily witness how a large segment of the mass incarceration problem, specifically violations of probation of a technical nature, are traditionally handled in Broward County. There are, of course, plenty of serious offenders who have earned a trip to prison, but there are many others who may be sent up the river for long stretches that many believe shouldn’t be under a modern, reform-minded State Attorney.
Be sure to spread the word. A lot of things have gone down unnoticed in courtrooms across the country over the years that have contributed to the mass incarceration crisis that would shock the average layperson, but with Zoom, can now be easily observed from the comfort of home or office. It’s just about the only good thing we can think of coming out out of the pandemic, so if you’re committed to change, spread the word, and stay tuned here for dockets and Zoom links for next week’s Zoom FVOP trials …
DELAY!
The Soft Reopening has been delayed. The Stakeholders reportedly met yesterday, and decided to push back the proposed March 8th date for misdemeanor jury trials.
Felony “Technical” VOP’s are still slated to start in-person on March 15th in two courtrooms, with Marty Fein and John Murphy presiding. So long as there aren’t new law allegations, the VOP’s will be status’d before Fein and Murphy, and if not resolved, set for FVOP in-person. The VOP procedures are still a work in progress, so don’t hold us to anything. The jury trial delay is, however, a done deal …
ROCQUE 1, LEVY 0
DBR – Broward Judge’s Contempt Order Against ‘Disruptive’ Defense Attorney Reversed (3/1/21)
The 4th DCA today reversed and remanded the contempt order issued by Jill Levy against Mickey Rocque. The SAO conceded Levy’s error in taking Mickey into custody prior to the hearing, and the remaining issues will now be heard by successor judge Mindy Brown. The opinion is here.
Congratulations to Mickey and Fred Haddad, who prevailed based on this bang-up brief. The SAO’s answer brief is found here.
Stay tuned for the next hearings, which may involve some interesting witnesses …
COUNTY JUDICIAL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES
With the courthouse soft reopening fast approaching, featuring a limited number of in-person county court jury trials starting March 8th, and two operational felony courtrooms going live on March 15th for in-custody VOP’s (Marty Fein and John Murphy initially presiding), it’s hoped the pandemic blogging doldrums will soon be cured. With so much pent-up frustration on behalf of all parties directly involved in or staffing litigation, JAABLOG should once again have plenty to write about once things start to get back to the standard Broward abnormal.
In the meantime, as with the trial stats, we’re still relying on tried and true traditional blog fodder to keep you entertained.
Accordingly, click the links below for the most recent financial disclosures filed by the 17th Circuit’s county judges, courtesy of a PRR to the Florida Commission on Ethics. As anyone interested in this stuff knows, the county disclosures are not as readily accessible as circuit court disclosures, which can be easily searched up at the Division of Elections by year of a judge’s most recent election.
Enjoy!
COMING SOON – COMPOUNDING REOPENING PROBLEMS: SAO FTU EXODUS …
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES:
NATASHA DEPRIMO (SOE)
ALLISON GILMAN (SOE)
