Category: Prisons
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Despite state law, bail reform comes to Broward in bid to end unjust treatment of poor, minorities
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
In a move that on its face is at odds with Florida law, Broward’s chief judge ordered an end to the assessment of cash bail for most defendants charged with non-violent, third-degree felonies or misdemeanors before their first appearance in court. -
Broward’s jails have hundreds of cameras inside, but Sheriff Tony won’t release video when deputies are accused of brutalizing inmates
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
A “disturbing trend” of the brutalization of inmates in Broward County’s jails has prompted Broward’s Public Defender to call for “a full and transparent investigation into how and why these incidents continue to happen.” -
Florida’s troubled prison system wants to shut down lawyer-to-inmate phone calls that can reveal cruel and illegal conditions
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Florida prison officials want to change a rule to keep lawyers from talking to inmates who may need their help; the new rule would place inmates who could be defense witnesses completely out of earshot. -
Pay-to-play lives in FEC decision not to enforce ban on political contributions by Boca prison contractor The GEO Group
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
In a ruling that undermines an 81-year-old anti-corruption law prohibiting pay-to-play political contributions by federal contractors, an impotent Federal Election Commission last week disclosed that it allowed Boca Raton private prison contractor The GEO Group to get away with making hundreds of thousands of dollars of otherwise illegal contributions to Super PACs. -
Pandemic invades Broward’s jail system; So far, no Miami-Dade inmates test positive
By Noreen Marcus and Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
As feared, the COVID-19 virus now has invaded Broward’s jail system. On Thursday, the Broward Sheriff’s Office disclosed that two inmates have tested positive for the deadly virus. No inmates in the Miami-Dade County Jail system have tested positive yet. -
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.
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