PDS FIRED?

SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES YESTERDAY. SORRY. WE'RE BACK UP AND RUNNING.

We received this comment:

Anonymous said...
Carlos and Bennett did it again. Instead of firing any of the old guard who mostly have no more passion for the work, make over 100k, and are already financially set for life, they fire the young attorneys making less than 50K who are just out trying to start a career. Those of us with inside contacts know exactly who was fired. And just because they all officially resigned does not mean that they weren't fired. When I was a new attorney, if I was given the option of resigning instead of being immediately terminated, I would have resigned every time. You have a future to think about and no one wants to start out a career getting fired from their first job.

Rumpole would like to know whether any assistant public defenders "resigned" last week. We edited the comment by leaving out a final line, containing an invective that made the observation that a certain substance "stinks" which was not, in fact, any new scientific discovery. Rather it repeated a well known fact.

The Broward Blog reprints this post from Bob Norman's article in the New Times on controversial Broward Circuit Court Judge (and accused "leaving the scene of an accident" driver) Ana Gardiner, who "suddenly" decided that rather than be chief administrative judge in criminal court, a stint as a regular ol' judge in civil court is just what she needed. She was apparently just following Judge Moreno's often quoted observation: "too many chiefs, not enough indians."

The article is HERE

Former Dade ASA Illona Holmes takes over Gardiner's slot.

Remember Rumpole's simple advice for Miami defense attorneys considering taking a case North of the Border: DON'T.
Just follow that simple rule, and your life will be much easier.

BILL GELIN ON JUDGE GARDINER

Broward lawyer Bill Gelin posted this on the Broward Blog and it bears repeating here:

Because I believe it is highly unlikely that Broward State Attorney Mike Satz will take the necessary steps to uncover the truth in the controversy involving his friend Judge Gardiner and his prosecutors, it is once again up to the rest of us to make sure justice prevails in Broward County.

Therefore, I am preparing a witness list for the JQC for an investigation of Judge Gardiner. I am looking for information, evidence, or witnesses who can prove or disprove allegations that the Judge and certain Assistant State Attorneys (whether or not named in the New Times article) may have compromised criminal prosecutions. Please email me at wgelin@yahoo.com with the heading "Re Judge Gardiner". You can also send information through the "Anonymous Tip Box" or through an anonymous email address, or through a comment on the blog.

Additionally, I am preparing public records requests for the State Attorney, the Public Defender, the Clerk of Courts, the Department of Corrections, and BSO. The goal is to compile a list of current inmates who may have been improperly prosecuted or who are currently being prosecuted before Judge Gardiner.

I will do my best to assure they receive a copy of the New Times article, so they may pursue or preserve any remedies that may be available. I am also interested in contacting individuals who may have completed their sentences, though I feel current inmates should be the priority. If you have the name of an individual defendant who you feel may have been mistreated, please send the name and case number along.

I will also be contacting the Supreme Court, The Innocence Project, The CCRC, and federal authorities on the death penalty issue. I would appreciate it if anyone experienced in death penalty matters could contact me with additional suggestions on how to proceed with this particular situation.

The death penalty allegation, if proven, would have to rank as the most egregious malfeasance by any judge I have ever heard of. However, as serious as the death penalty matter may be, I believe the allegations regarding Mr. Patanzo, the former lead prosecutor in Judge Gardiner's division, warrant even greater scrutiny. The sheer volume of defendants who may have been impacted, to say nothing of the tenor and inexplicable zealousness of the pre-ROC prosecutions and sentencings (which often required action by the 4th DCA), demand it.

Lastly, I call on Judge Gardiner to come forward immediately to publicly refute the allegations or to admit them in the interest of restoring integrity to the numerous prosecutions that may have been compromised. Judge Gardiner is, of course, entitled to the same protections as any judge accused of wrongdoing. However, most JQC proceedings have to do with aberrational behavior by judges that typically does not impact prosecutions. In this situation, a man’s life hangs in the balance, and hundreds, if not thousands, of prosecutions have been called into question. I therefore hope that Judge Gardiner will subordinate her individual rights to the greater need of restoring integrity to the Florida and US Constitutions, which will remain tarnished until the Judge and the Broward State Attorney’s Office are cleared of all allegations.
Bill Gelin

Rumpole says: This is a remarkable undertaking by a lawyer who practices every day in the Broward courthouse, before judges -many of whom are probably friends of Judge Gardiner.
But when something is wrong it is wrong and Mr. Gelin possess rare courage take this battle on.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Attributed to Edmund Burke.

Judging Ana

UPDATE: For those of you who follow these things, three NYPD officers were acquitted today in Queens, NY, by a Judge, of all charges in the shooting death of an unarmed man exiting a Queens strip club the night before he was to be married. The trial lasted seven weeks. The trial was heard by a veteran and well respected Judge.
The NY Times Story is here:
NOT GUILTY.

It is not believed that the Judge was drinking with or having sex with any of the attorneys related to the trial.

Now to Judge Ana Gardiner, of North Of The Border, where apparently we cannot say the same thing:


These links are on the Broward Blog but the stories are just too juicy for us to ignore here.

First, here is the link to the New Times story on the many loves and friendships of Broward Circuit Court Judge Ana Gardiner.
JUDGE ANA

And here is the link to Bob Norman's story on the nasty letter the Judge had her attorneys send him:

JUDGE'S GAMBIT

All in all another day North Of the Border.

How about our colleague Fred Haddad's comments? "judges and prosecutors and defense attorneys have been drinking together and having sex with one another for years in Broward County."

"Not with us" Rumpole replies.
Of more concern to us is who was paying for those overpriced drinks at those snooty Broward pick-up joints?

Well there you have it. Flirting with attorneys while on the bench.
Canoodling with prosecutors who are trying a death case before her and everyone having a good laugh at the horrible crime scene pictures. But for the conscience of a law student who witnessed the event, we might never know of the pleasures of prosecuting a case in Broward.

See You In Dade County Court, where no Judge has ever bought us a drink, much less made a suggestive comment.