All posts by Jaaber

THE BIG DAY

Today is the big day.

The day to worry about the health and safety of your family and friends.

To worry about responsibilities to your clients.

To worry about bringing in enough money from your practice to pay employees and support your family, or likewise stretch your paycheck to make ends meet.

It’s like any other day, and during the pandemic, it’s extra daunting, to say the least.

We’ll get through this together. As Americans and Floridians, we always do.

The election and voting period for Florida Bar Board of Governors and President, which ends today, Monday, March 23rd at 11:59 PM, doesn’t, as they say, amount to a hill of beans in this crazy, scared world right now. But when we do weather the pandemic and corresponding financial crisis, the issues hampering attorneys trying to make an honest living under a system of Bar governance that seems more lacking than ever in these trying times will still be there, getting worse. For this reason, as concerned as we all are with the present, I hope you can take the time to cast a vote for change if you haven’t done so already.

Whether I win or lose, I thank you for participating, and for reading. Long time visitors here know my motto has always been “If you can’t beat them, pressure them.” The underdog is always waging a war of attrition, because it’s the only way to push the needle and make things even a little bit better. I therefore renew my pledge to fight for attorneys’ rights and the ability to tell the unfettered truth without fear of harassment if elected to the Board of Governors, and to continue to do so right here as I have for the last fourteen years if not.

Thank you for your time, attention, and consideration.

Bill Gelin

VOTE HERE FOR BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND FLORIDA BAR PRESIDENT UNTIL MARCH 23RD AT 11:59 PM

(Disclaimer/Unsolicited Mass Communications – anyone subscribed to JAABLOG not wishing to receive blogs regarding Bill Gelin’s candidacy for BOG Seat 17/1 of the Florida Bar should immediately UNSUBSCRIBE to JAABLOG)

BREAKDOWN FOR ANTONIO BROWN!

Administrative Order 2020-23-Temp
EMERGENCY ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER
CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)

PRR SENT TO SAO THIS MORNING:

Antonio Brown. Did Chuck Morton or Kelly Hancock speak with Mike Satz or Jeff Marcus directly or through intermediaries, on the phone, or in writing (email or otherwise) on behalf of or regarding Mr. Brown’s case?

Did Mike Satz or Jeff Marcus, whether or not they spoke to Hancock or Morton, issue any type of directive, suggestion or guidance on this case, or suggestion who should handle it for case filing?

Did they speak with Ted Daus or Maria Schneider? Did Morton or Hancock meet with anyone else in the SAO in this matter besides possibly Jeff Marcus or Mike Satz?

Why isn’t it filed?

Is Ted Daus still the assigned case filer? If he isn’t anymore, why? Is it true he recommended a 1st degree felony?

How often is an assigned case filer taken off a case, and how often, if they are involved, do Mike Satz or Jeff Marcus get involved in non-homicide or police officer victim cases?

SAO RESPONSE:

It would be inappropriate to comment on a pending case but formal charges have been filed against Antonio Brown and Glenn Holt.

Brown is charged with:

Burglary conveyance unoccupied, a third-degree felony

Misdemeanor battery, a first-degree misdemeanor

Criminal mischief, a second-degree misdemeanor

Holt is charged with:

Burglary conveyance unoccupied, a third-degree felony.

FEBRUARY 25 TEXT TO CHUCK MORTON:

(i)s Antonio Brown the first time you have represented a Defendant in criminal court?

FEBRUARY 26 CHUCK MORTON TEXT RESPONSE:

Nope. Did it early in my legal career before I began working for the State Attorneys Office.

People commonly assume that my legal career only consisted of my work as a prosecutor. After graduating from law school in March, 1975, I had two jobs before coming to Broward’s SAO in December,1976. My first job was as an attorney with Legal Aid of Broward County where I represented Broward’s low income community, primarily in civil matters as defendants. In my second job, I was an associate attorney in private practice with the law firm of W. George Allen. My work there included representing clients who were accused of crimes, i.e., I represented clients accused of crimes in the state (County/Circuit) courts and also in municipal courts before the municipal courts were abolished in the November, 1976 general election.

CHUCK MORTON FOR THE DEFENSE!

VOTE HERE FOR BOARD OF GOVERNORS UNTIL MARCH 23RD

VISITATION UPDATE

Stakeholders have been apprised of how coupons will be distributed. This information is for PA’s. Remember, the service is available for a low fee anyway, but coupons can be picked up at BSO’s Video Visitation Center for anyone looking to save a few dollars. It’s believed the first thirty minutes is $5.00.

There are 600 coupons reserved for PA’s, to be allotted three per IC client per week, on the theory three jail visits for one client per week is sufficient. Just show the BSO people at pickup how many IC’s you have, and get your tickets. If they run out, more will be distributed soon. Coupons are specific to where an inmate is housed.

MORE GOOD NEWS – this service may be something made available full-time after the crisis passes, for the regular small fee. Obviously the vendor would love it, and so would most lawyers looking to quickly communicate some information or have a question answered, so definitely wait and see …

CLERK’S STAFFING UPDATE

The following PRR concerning staffing was sent earlier today. The Clerk’s response is below.

We also are working on trying to straighten out the 1% pay raise issue discussed in the comments, but the responses to our questions will take some time to digest and analyze.

Additionally, we’ve got an Antonio Brown PRR brewing with the SAO, so stay tuned.

Here is the PRR and answer re Clerk’s staffing, which seems to indicate good news is coming …

VIDEO VISITATION!

  1. Register here with Securus. You need an account, if you don’t have one already. It takes roughly twenty-four hours to establish, so do it soon for visits that need to be accomplished quickly. The jail may be closing at some point now that video visitation is up, so get it done.
  2. Important – Lawyers click the portal for attorneys, and register with a picture ID and your bar card, so as to ensure the meeting isn’t recorded.
  3. After the registration waiting period, you can schedule remote visitation and conduct a non-recorded interview from anywhere in the world. You can also go to BSO’s Video Visitation Center. They can be reached at 954-982-6925.
  4. Shift change closures apply, the same as in-person visits. Last visitation in the early shift must be set by 1:30 PM, and the late shift starts at 3:45 PM through last call at 8:45 PM.
  5. Scheduling should not be that competitive, as visits are linked directly to the cells, specifically the day rooms by a client’s individual cell.
  6. Coupons will be distributed by BSO shortly, and they are only necessary to get around the Securus paywall. You can use a credit card to pay the five bucks, or get a free coupon code.

SHERIFF DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE NATION RELEASING NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS

VOTE HERE FOR BOARD OF GOVERNORS UNTIL MARCH 23RD

CLERK’S EMPLOYEES NEED HELP!

We’ve been contacted with cries for help emanating from the Clerk’s Office. Employees are scared. Although not confirmed, one tipster wrote a worker was even told to remove a face mask while on duty.

Clerk’s employees, unlike judges and JA’s, may not all be able to work remotely due to secure computer networks, but can’t they be put on rotating schedules, or as candidate for Clerk Paul Backman wrote on his election Facebook page, utilized in skeleton crews until the crisis has passed?

Take a look below at what Backman wrote, and offer your own suggestions. The health and safety of all public employees is paramount, so let’s see what can be done.

Time is of the essence …

SDFLA BlogChief Judge Moore issued the following order, which in effect puts the District on “telework” except for a skeleton crew …