Florida To Tourists: Come On Down, The Kids Are In Prison

To the "ho-hum" of the nation, the national media reported back in May, and last week, that in November the United States Supreme Court will take up the issue of whether life in prison without the possibility of parole for juveniles convicted for non-homicide offenses is a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.

Here's a story from the LA Times.

According to Amnesty International, "The United States is the only country in the world that does not comply with the norm against imposing life-without-parole sentences on juveniles."

While about 2,500 juveniles are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole, 109 are serving life for other crimes.

Our own attorney general and gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum isn't interested in addressing the issue of whether life in prison without parole for juveniles who commit non-homicide crimes is cruel and unusual, he's just arguing that it's too late to raise the issue. I think when defense lawyers do things like that it's referred to as a "technicality."

Here's a shock "Florida leads the nation in sending teenagers to prison for life with no possible parole for crimes such as burglary, assault or rape. It has at least 77 such inmates. California and six other states also have at least one.

Two years ago, California prohibited sentencing juveniles to life in prison.

Don't worry about Florida, as our government lawyers are arguing in their brief, these juveniles who commit these violent non-homicide offenses are "threatening the state's bedrock tourism industry."

The crux of this issue is that we've given up on our kids. We don't care. Put 'em all away. Whether they're 14, 16, 17, who cares. Hell, we arrest 8 year old kids all over the country for things their punishment used to be sending them to the principal.

Get them off the streets, forever.

Especially in Florida, where Mickey lives.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com



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Cutting Budgets, Scaring People

After a week away, I returned and did something I probably won't do again. I read every day of the newspaper that was published while I was gone.

The news of the day, or week for that matter, is local governments setting budgets. Every city, county, village, is reeling with lower property values. Budget cuts in Miami-Dade County are to be $444 million.

The issue brings out the same tired debate: How do we keep doing the same thing with less money? How do we fund basic services (police, fire, trash pickup, libraries, etc...) and social services, and all the pet projects, capital projects, and keep paying salaries?

We can't. Everyone knows that, no one wants to discuss it.

In the criminal justice arena, the debate is simple: the minute governments start talking about budget cuts, do everything to scare the public into thinking that their "public safety" will be compromised.

Fear, works, everytime.

I know I'm a defense lawyer, and that anything I suggest is only to help criminals and attack the police, but this is my blog, so I'll write my suggestions anyway. (Cue the law enforcement talking points)

[1] Cease all speed traps and other planned traffic enforcement.

Speed kills, I know. But it really doesn't. Going 40 in a 30 in my neighborhood won't kill anyone more than going 20 in a 30 will. Going 90 on the expressway may kill someone, but there's not as many speed traps there as there are at that stop sign in the neighborhood where no one has ever stopped for 20 years. Enough.

[2] No one should be taken to jail for misdemeanors, except for domestic violence.

Yes, that includes DUI. I know, DUI is serious, the guy could have killed someone. But he didn't. Take him home, make him get a ride home, give him a promise to appear. What's the purpose of having a bunch of drunk people in jail for a few hours, except to satisfy the public's desire to see drunk people in jail?

Not a single other misdemeanor should require a night in jail at arrest.

[3] Remove all mandatory minimum penalties. All of them.

Mandatory minimum penalties are expensive. They cause more cases to go to trial, and have contributed to our aging prison population, which has exponentially increased prison health care costs.

Let's put the discretion back in the hands of prosecutors and judges. Victims can still have all the input they want.

[4] We can't prosecute everything. Let's start acting like it.

There is a county in Florida where 95% of all arrests are prosecuted. Why? What happened to looking at a case and saying, "yeah, he did it, but we have to prioritize how we spend our prosecution resources. I know "public safety."

Public safety refers to murder, rape, robbery, other violent crimes, DUI, and domestic violence (maybe I left something out). Public safety is not affected by selling flowers without a license, driving without commercial vehicle markings, peeing on the sidewalk, drinking in public, and other "get the homeless off the streets" crimes.

[5] Prosecutors need to "strongly encourage" legislatures to stop enacting new criminal offenses.

Every year, some prosecutor somewhere loses some case and drafts some law so when that case comes up again, he won't lose. Then we start prosecuting people for "battery on a lifeguard during a riptide."

We have plenty of laws. Too many.

[6] Stop sending everyone to jail for everything.

When I first became a public defender, I was told by a supervisor "some of our clients belong in jail." Some people belong in jail, but we have reached a point where probation and diversion is the exception. Why is that? I think it's to satisfy the public's thirst for jail. We're all paying for it, but no one seems to care. "Lock 'em up." OK, morons.

There is a move afoot to have more diversion options for first time drug offenders, but most of these "commissions" are filled with "former" everythings. Former judges, former prosecutors, former cops. Why is it that only "former" people have the guts to propose reasonable reforms to the system? We all know the answer.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com



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JUDGE, A Client Is Not A Lawyer's Keeper

This morning, while waiting for my case to be called, I popped into another courtroom after hearing a police officer in the hallway say "man, he's on the warpath today."

Upon entering the judge's courtroom, I heard lots of yelling, from the judge.

"WHERE'S YOUR CLIENT?"

"WHERE'S YOUR LAWYER?" "YOU BETTER CALL HIM AND GET HIM HERE."

Over and over again.

"Call and get him here?"

Really?

Now as lawyers, especially criminal lawyers who are normally in court several days a week, we know how this works. On any given day a judge is "tired of" clients being late, lawyers being late, interpreters having to be in other courtrooms, court reporters being late (and heavens forbid needing a break), and all the other typical "stuff" that occurs in criminal court.

I understand. But you're the judge, and yelling about it, resolves nothing.



There are things in life called "traffic" and "accidents" and "lines at security." I know you don't drive in the same traffic, as you travel like the Jetsons. I know you have reserved parking, and don't wait in line. Most others do.

With all due respect, deal with it. There's a difference between someone willfully not showing up to court, and someone who is trying their best in the big city.

Deal with it.

And one more thing; stop yelling at the client because his lawyer is not there. His lawyer was paid to be in court and is responsible for him or herself. That poor client did nothing but write a check and follow directions. Why are you stressing him out for something he didn't do?

Say what the other judge said today; "We'll pass the case for your lawyer." Then you can tell your assistant to go yell at the lawyer.

And use your inside voice.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com



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Immigration, Meet Laches

Laches (f. French, lachesse, laches ) [1] is an equitable defense, or doctrine. The person invoking laches is asserting that an opposing party has "slept on its rights," and that, as a result of this delay, that other party is no longer entitled to its original claim. Put another way, failure to assert one’s rights in a timely manner can result in a claim's being barred by laches. Laches is a form of estoppel for delay.

I can't link to the story, because it's an Incisive Media, National Law Journal, Daily Business Review "you want to read online you gotta pay story," but here's the short version:

Guy comes to American from his native Italy at the age of 13 in 1961. In '77 he's convicted of arson and criminal mischief. I don't know the details, but with the attachment of a criminal mischief charge, I can't imagine it was a raging wildfire.

He's paroled in '84, marries a U.S. Citizen in '91, has four children and ran a restaurant.

Great.

Then he goes to Italy and is detained upon returning to the U.S. He's released while the gubmnit decides what to do, which is eventually to have him deported, sorry "removed." (Sounds so much nicer)

In 2001, 24 years after his conviction, he's ordered back to Italy, the country he left 48 years ago.

I know, I know, "he should of thought of that when he lit the fire," "We need to get rid of all these criminals," etc..... I know where this country's collective head is on this issue.

The "reluctant" 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals cited "considerable confusion" in federal court decisions around the country and left it to Congress and Homeland Security to "reconcile."

Our courts appear to happily stay out of two places, Immigration, and the Bureau of Prisons. These agencies have almost unbridled power.

I have a personal story here.

A friend, convicted of "driving the car" during a small drug trafficking operation was convicted and sentenced to 2 years in prison. He was also ordered deported.

Upon his release from prison, he walked out, and started his life. He got married, started a business, got credit, all under his real name. The gubmit did nothing, for 22 years.

Then, at 6:30 a.m. one day. they came and got him. He now lives in his native country. He hasn't been there in over 25 years.

He was and is no threat to anyone. The gubmit knows this.

This goes on everyday. Some stories are noticed, others just a "day in the life" of our sick twisted immigration policies.

All in the name of "public safety," right folks?

It's time to introduce the concept of Laches as a defense on immigration cases. This is a pathetic, draconian use of our laws, and it's time a valid defense of Laches is permitted in these cases.

Brian Tannebaum is a criminal defense lawyer in Miami, Florida practicing in state and federal court. Read his free ebook The Truth About Hiring A Criminal Defense Lawyer. To learn more about Brian and his firm, Tannebaum Weiss, please visit www.tannebaumweiss.com



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