When a boy from Fort Lauderdale’s juvenile lockup appeared in court wearing a protective mask and exhibiting symptoms of the flu, judges and public defenders wanted to know what precautions, if any, Florida juvenile justice administrators were taking to ensure that youthful offenders have not been exposed to the deadly coronavirus. In what has become…
Category: Experience
Private, public defense lawyers race a common enemy: the coronavirus
By Noreen Marcus, FloridaBulldog.org Miami criminal defense lawyer Edward Shohat and Gordon Weekes, the No. 2 public defender for Broward County, have something in common. Both are racing against time on behalf of a client–in Weekes’s case, many clients. Their fast-moving foe is the coronavirus, the invisible monster that threatens millions of Americans with COVID-19…
Broward Medical Examiner’s Office Toxicologist Fired Over Error
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Several Broward County defense attorneys are demanding a review of dozens, if not hundreds, of criminal cases following the firing of a senior toxicologist at the Broward Medical Examiner’s Office for falsifying data. But Broward County prosecutors say the situation is being blown out of proportion and did not affect any…
2 new inmate deaths inside Broward jails raise questions
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – Two new deaths inside jails in Broward County are raising new questions about the living conditions for the inmates inside of them. According to officials, certain inmates inside the jail no longer have visitation rights. One Broward inmate was in medical distress and could be seen slumped over after suffering…
Broward Public Defenders Accuse Head Prosecutor of “Institutional Failures” of Justice
State Attorney Mike Satz has been the top prosecutor in Broward County since 1976. He’s somehow won every single reelection bid, every four years, for the past 43 years. In that time, the criminal-justice world has changed around him: Prosecutors have come under increased scrutiny, forensic technology has improved, and prosecutors’ offices have adopted all…
Shocking Video Shows Florida Sheriff’s Deputy Calling a Black Man “Boy” and Grabbing Him by the Neck
“Abusive conduct of this sort is unacceptable.” SAMANTHA MICHAELS FEBRUARY 9, 2019 7:20 PM https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/02/racist-body-cam-footage-sheriff-deputy-florida/ A sheriff’s deputy in Florida was recently put under investigation following the review of disturbing body-cam footage. The video shows the officer approaching a black man, Allen Floyd, who was seated quietly on the sidewalk with a baby, and then…
Video of BSO deputy calling a black father ‘boy’ amid foul language sparks complaint
BY DAVID J. NEAL FEBRUARY 08, 2019 08:16 PM, UPDATED FEBRUARY 13, 2019 10:52 AM https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/broward/article225998300.html The actions of a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy with a history of making false arrests drew a complaint from the Broward Public Defender’s Office after bodycam video from a July 2017 incident emerged last month. Deputy James Cady confronts…
Deputy seen on bodycam calling black man ‘boy’ and grabbing him by the throat
Lisa J. Huriash Contact ReporterSouth Florida Sun Sentinel https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/dania-beach/fl-ne-deputy-bodycam-encounter-20190208-story.html A deputy is facing an internal affairs investigation after a video shows him calling a black man “boy” in an expletive-filled encounter that escalated into grabbing the man by the throat. Deputy James Cady’s body camera recorded his exchange with Allen Floyd outside a Dania Beach…
Body camera program kicks off for Fort Lauderdale police
Linda Trischitta Contact ReporterSouth Florida Sun Sentinel https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-ne-body-cameras-20181219-story.html After a little more than a year of testing body cameras with 35 officers, Fort Lauderdale police began their camera program Wednesday with training for officers who work SWAT, school resource assignments, motorcycles and patrol. It’s a big change from 2016, when elected officials cited privacy concerns and costs for not…
Cop who punched girl in viral video will not be disciplined
Linda Trischitta Contact ReporterSouth Florida Sun Sentinel https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/coral-springs/fl-ne-coral-springs-cop-punch-no-discipline-20181022-story.html A police officer will not be investigated for punching a teenage girl while subduing herat Coral Square Mall, an episode that attracted national attention when a cellphone video went viral. “No policy was violated,” Coral Springs Police Officer Tyler Reik said Monday. “The officers went through what they…