POTAYTO, POTAHTO* (DTU EDITION)

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It is my understanding that if a motion to suppress is filed or goes to hearing with DTU that plea negotiations will be withdrawn.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!

73 thoughts on “POTAYTO, POTAHTO* (DTU EDITION)”

  1. 3

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    Wow. I’m sure the Judges will be happy. If these stupid cases could be motioned they wouldn’t languish for years on end.

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      100% lazy imho.
      There’s no other rationale.
      Why else as officers of the court that swore an oath to the Constitution wouldn’t they want all motions heard.
      Weekes is 100% correct.

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        Mr. Gallagher was in charge of DTU before Neuner took over. He’s retired now. Gallagher was in charge when the scandal with his secretary Ginger Downs happened. Neuner and Daus and I think Goodman were the DTU ASA’s when Downs got caught but I could be wrong about that.

      2. 0

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        You are incorrect, and I can say with certainty that this position on the part of the SA’s long before Gallagher came into the DTU. Gallagher took over my position when I left. The first question, does Harold Pryor ‘s office have the stated policy is answered with a resounding “Yes”, deeply imbedded in unreasonable institutional Intransigence. Clearly this archaic policy requires serious reconsideration

  2. 11

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    Klinger is one of the dumbest human beings on the planet. So good luck with that.
    Ask Julio why he isn’t prosecuting dirty cops anymore. Why don’t you ask JRice why she left the office?
    You’re buddying up with and taking advice from Julio, a guy whose primary objective is remaining on the good side of the cops he’s meant to prosecute. He doesn’t seem like any pinnacle of truth and justice I’d care to speak with.
    And in closing, klinger should never be allowed outside of his dungeon. Thank you for having me.

    1. 4

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      Disagree about Klinger, I think he is a smart guy. But putting Julio in charge of prosecuting cops is a clear signal that you don’t want to prosecute cops. Julio is a joke. Why would Harold even hire that guy? He was never impressive in any way.

      1. 11

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        Harold has proved himself to be a disingenuous politician like the rest of them. He promise progress. He lied. Hiring a cop lawyer to “prosecute” cops is a message to the police unions: “don’t worry guys. I’ll never prosecute any of you. So when I make my next political bid, don’t forget the fat checks and endorsement. Kiss kiss.” It’s despicable.

        1. 5

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          Don’t understand why Harold would bring Julio on and place him in the worst possible position. The optics are really bad. Put him someplace else Harold. It is not a good look. It looks like you just want to give cops and the unions a favor. Those are just the optics. It’s bad.

        1. 2

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          Klinger is not stupid. He handles all public record requests and knows everything about public records. Could write the Sunshine Law. I don’t know Julio to say but he has come off as pretty arrogant in the office and gets paid as much as Gina and Neva? Why???

            1. 3

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              That is probably the biggest salary Julio has ever had! 😂😂
              He also has to work very little for it. How many cops has he convicted (or at least charged) with corruption since he started? I’ll wait, but I think the answer is ZERO.

          1. 2

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            You think klinger is really really smart because you *think* he knows everything about exactly one statute? Got it. Low bar.

    2. 1

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      The poor guy was 3rd chair in the Peterson case. Gomes probably was the only one there who could actually passionately argue and cross-examine

  3. 11

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    Oh yeah and that’s all correct concerning dtu revoking offers if you dare practice law in front of them.

  4. 8

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    It all boils down to basic laziness on behalf of prosecutors who don’t want to get off their butts to do their jobs. Pryor is just the manifestation of the incompetence and idiocy that unfolds in the SA every day.

    1. 2

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      Duh!

      It be Broward, and we ignore MLK down here

      Don’t vote on character, c’mon nah! Vote on skin color

      Here in racist Broward (and Chicago, SanFran, NY etc) we be all about Melanin!!

      Woo Hoo! Gimme a “colorful” airline pilot vs a “competent” pilot

  5. 11

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    Pryor is a despicable state attorney! How can he allow the DTU unit to withdraw a plea offer because the defense attorney files motion to protect his client’s constitutional rights? Pryor’s word means nothing! He promised transparency and fairness. So a defense attorney takes the risk of not filing any motions for his client and being stuck with a bar complaint or accepting an offer from the state for his client without doing his due diligence. Wow some real reform Pryor! Great news story, if you asked me

    1. 3

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      Either file a Bar complaint against the ASA or …..STFU

      Yes it IS UNETHICAL to revoke an offer simply bc defense filed a motion to protect 4th amendment rights.
      But none of the BACDL type lawyers have the cohones

  6. 4

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    Why is Kamala targeting black men as pot heads and needing money? Harris and Obama degraded the intelligence of the black male voters with their racist, degrading comments. She’s a black chick that thinks she can become President but black males are pot heads and broke?

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