Judge Julio Jimenez died this past week. He was a good man and a good Jurist. My wife and I both tried cases before him. One thing you can say about Julio is he gave a great trial. If you lost it usually wasn’t a good thing for your client but at least your client was treated fairly, and with respect. Rest in Peace. You will be missed.
Judge Darrin Gayles was appointed by Governor Charlie Christ to the 11th circuit court bench. I am proud to say that I had the honor of being assigned to his courtroom as a public defender when he was first appointed to the county court bench. I can’t say enough about Gayles but ill start with this:Judge Gayles is kind, caring, considerate, and judicious all at the same time. He brings much needed perspective and compassion to the Circuit Court. In the 11th Circuit we are blessed to have many good judges. But the great ones, well those are few. I believe that Judge Gayles will be as great on the circuit bench as he he was on the county court. Good luck and congratulations.
Judges should get involved when they have the power to do so and when it’s the right thing to do irrespective of who the victims are. Now sometimes judges cannot get involved because the criminal guidelines do not allow them to get involved. Im not talking about those scenarios. I’m talking about situations where guidelines are not at issue. As lawyers, defense or state, we learn over the years the value of a case. What it’s worth in terms of punishment. Its very subjective but the funny thing is that if you get a group of seasoned criminal lawyers in one room I bet they would be off by months when valuing a case in terms of what the punishment should be. So why don’t judges get involved more often? Politics. Plain and simple. Judges are elected in Miami Dade. A judge maybe afraid of stepping on victims shoes, political fallout, making one side unhappy or just because of sheer inexperience. Fear is an unattractive attribute to have as a judge. It just isn’t sexy. Some of the better Judges in the 11th circuit criminal court in Miami Dade are: Judge ROBERTO PINERO, ROSA RODRIGUEZ, NUSHIN SAFIE, IVAN FERNANDEZ, REEMBERTO DIAZ, DIANE WARD, DARYL TRAWICK, ELLEN SUE VENZER, LUISE KRIEGER MARTIN, SAM SLOAM and JORGE CUETO to name a few. These are Judges with perspective, who can run their courtrooms effectively, who you dont want to play loose and fast with and have the character makeup to make the tough decisions. Now if a defendant is lucky enough to get in front of one of these judges he should also bring with him a seasoned, experienced lawyer who #1 knows the judge and #2 is able to make the legal and factual arguments that will be persuasive. Who your lawyers is can make a big difference. Sometimes a judge may not get involved because he isn’t aware that legally he can. A good lawyer will know his case, know his judge and know what arguments will work best. So pick your lawyer wisely, trust him or her and hope you’re in a courtroom where the judge gets involved.
Today my client was set for trial. The charge was trespass. I was ready for trial with witnesses and all, when the case was called up the state called out for it’s witnesses. I was pretty confident at this point because the state usually doesn’t call out for its witnesses when they have all checked in. However my heart sank when from the back of the courtroom the two state witnesses, who happened to be Miami Beach Police Officers, stated they had just arrived. The witnesses walk up to the front of the courtroom and the state asks…..(ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?)…the state asks “do you have the marijuana?” The officers, puzzled, look at the state and say no. “State Announces a NOLLE PROSSE!” I grabbed my client and practically dragged him out of the courtroom. They NOLLE PROSSED it because the Officers forgot to bring the marijuana to trial. Remember my client is on trial for Trespass. Anyway, im not complaining. Next week when my aggravated assault case gets called up for trial and the state announces ready i will a ask, “well…do you have the marijuana?”
LOL. A day in the life a criminal defense attorney in Miami Dade.
a picture tells a thousand words
Congratulations to my friend and client Carlos Miller at Carlosmiller.com for being in the race for the best blog in South Florida. He is at number two at this moment, right behind the Miami Dolphins blog. Wow. What an accomplishment.
The other day i had the pleasure of sitting in ABP with Richard Margolius. What a rock star. (Ric Zweig) Yeah i know what some of you will say. He’s got long hair, is a bit eccentric and has that look like he is going to throw your ass in jail if you speak out of turn. But who else would have the cojones these days to take a 25 years min man and offer a 366 just because he believed it was the right thing to do??? Some years ago while a public defender i had a young lady who was 17 years old. Her and her boyfriend had gone to Columbia and come back with enough powder to get a her a 25 year min man. Fortunately for the adult boyfriend he was arrested and tried by the feds and ended up with a little jail and probation while my girl was charged in state court because of her age and subject to the mandatory minimum of 25 years. For months I battled with narcotics and the state attorney pit prosecutors, pleading and begging for her not to have to serve the 25 year min man. No success. But one day Richard Margolius fell from the heavens and covered for Judge Dennis. My girl was a great student, I showed her grades, showed pictures of her family, explained how she was set up and lied to by the much older dead beat boyfriend who was serving federal probation and moments later, Richard Margolius did the ballsiest thing i have seen any judge do in my 11 years of practice. He went bellow the min man and gave her a year and a day on top of the time she was in on already (she had been in for 9 months already).
They just don’t make them like that anymore!
Today a person very close to me started picking a jury in Broward in front of a judge who will remain anonymous. So far it hasn’t gone very well. Apparently this judge is very angry and upset about something. Why? Why do some judges have such poor judicial temperament? I have been in front of judges you can throw rocks at and wont flinch while others flip out, cut you off and yell at you in front of the jury for attempting to do a thorough voir dire.
I can tell you that as a former public defender who spent most of his career in difficult courtrooms I have learned to really appreciate a jurist with good judicial temperament. A judge who doesn’t get angry easily, that allows you to argue within reason, treats lawyers with respect, that makes you look like Roy Black in front of your clients, who may rule against you 9 times out of ten but will always listen and give you a fighting chance. Its your courtroom, everyone knows that but remember its a courtroom not Camp Lejune.
Today my firm got a not guilty in 10 minutes before a very tough judge and stubborn prosecutor in Broward. The trial was on a misdemeanor for a case that should have been PTI but not offered. The case was a must win because a plea to the charge would have subjected him to removal. His case was a weapon related offense which immigration doesn’t like very much. There can be big immigration consequences for a criminal conviction involving a weapon. Needless to say Priscilla carried the flag for the office and came home victorious. Her cross examination was more like an operation. She skillfully took apart the victim by impeachment through omission and entering some collateral evidence which went to motive and bias.
I just wanted to take the time to congratulate a colleague and close friend of mine who was appointed yesterday by our governor to the bench. Lourdes has spent her entire career at the public defenders office helping the less fortunate. As my senior attorney and training attorney I appreciated her upbeat and always positive encouraging attitude. I never ever felt under her thumb while working for her. She gave us guidance, latitude and supervision. A fantastic boss! I remember a time when I wish i was invisible because of a small problem I run into. Lourdes was there for me the whole time keeping me positive and upbeat. I am proud to call her my friend. Congratulations Lourdes, you will make a great judge.
