|
by: AMY DRISCOLL Herald Staff Writer Circuit Judge Barry Goldstein's courtroom, the scene of pitched
battles between the judge and Broward County's public defenders, has once again become a legal minefield.
This time, some public defenders are attempxing to force Goldstein to remove himself from at least 40 cases of probation
violations, on grounds the judge has publicly announced he is biased.
The judge has postponed a ruling on the 40 cases until Sepx. 8, effectively keeping the 40 defendants in a sort of jail-house
limbo until he makes a decision.
Goldstein, a former prosecutor elected to the bench in 1991, is known as one of the toughest judges in the courthouse. So he was
disturbed to find that during his vacation earlier this summer, other judges who were handling some of his cases had sentenced defendants more lightly
than he thought they deserved. |
According to court papers filed by the public defender's office, the judge told Assistant Public Defender Jeffrey Ivashuk that he
would never allow a defendant who had violated probation to go free without more jail time or an extended probationary period.
Many judges, especially with the county's jail population reaching crisis proportions, will sentence a defendant to "time
served," meaning the defendant is presumed to be punished enough by a few days in jail for a minor violation of probation.
By the Sepxember showdown, the number of cases -- and the number of defendants languishing in jail -- may double.
By law, the judge can determine only whether the public defenders' motions meet the requirements of law; he cannot comment on
their merits.
If he decides the motions meet the legal requirements, he would have to step down from the cases. |
