By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
Bail reform came to Broward last year crafted to allow poor people arrested for misdemeanors and non-violent third-degree felonies, but who pose no risk to the public, to get out of jail without having to post any cash.
By Noreen Marcus
FloridaBulldog.org
Prosecutors say they will ask a judge to imprison for 35 years ex-Broward Sheriff’s deputy and self-styled justice reformer Jonathan Bleiweiss because he violated the lenient plea deal he struck eight years ago.
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.
By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony is fighting a recommendation that he be stripped of his state license to be a police officer for multiple counts of lying under oath, according to documentation obtained by Florida Bulldog.
The case now goes to an administrative law judge in Tallahassee for a “formal hearing” where Tony will dispute the “allegations of fact” contained in a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The case has not yet been filed at the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH).
In June, a three-person panel of the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission found “probable cause” to believe the allegations against the sheriff were true and that Tony’s police license should be yanked.
While revocation is an embarrassing blow that would mean Tony could no longer be a cop, he would remain Broward’s elected sheriff. Tony, who was certified in 2005, was a policeman in Coral Springs where he rose to the rank of sergeant.
Tony invoked his right to an administrative hearing on an “Election of Rights” form that is stamped as received by the Criminal Justice Standards Commission in early July. It is signed by both Tony and his lawyer, Stephen G. Webster of Tallahassee. Webster also represents the Florida Police Benevolent Association.
By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
May was a very good month for Roy Livingston Virgin. First, he was hired to be city manager of Miramar for five years with an annual salary of $270,000. Then, the office of Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor placed him in a DUI
