HARD TO BELIEVE? NO! IMPOSSIBLE TO BELIEVE!

As the government has been invading the parental authority and restricting the tools at the disposal of parents to raise their children, it appears that the delinquency of teenagers has proportionally increased. I vividly remember the 4 or 5 beatings I received from my father, and I did not call D.C.F. In hindsight, I did not turn too bad after all.

Now that the government has successfully laid down what parents couldn’t do, I found out that with all the extra monies available in our budget, the government was now planning to send “well-trained staff” to visit your house and tell you what to do.

“It's outlined in sections 440 and 1904 of the House bill (Page 838), under the heading "home visitation programs for families with young children and families expecting children." The programs (provided via grants to states) would educate parents on child behavior and parenting skills.

The bill says that the government agents, "well-trained and competent staff," would "provide parents with knowledge of age-appropriate child development in cognitive, language, social, emotional, and motor domains ... modeling, consulting, and coaching on parenting practices," and "skills to interact with their child to enhance age-appropriate development."

Even better, the 19^th Circuit State Attorney’s office has drafted some policy which could result in the jailing of delinquents’ parents who do not “cooperate” enough with the system to try correcting the problems created in the first place by this same system…

Treasure Coast Parents Could Face Jail for Failing to Help Their Children in Court-related Activities _ TCPalm

Big Government must stay out of the way, and stop interfering with parents when it comes to the upbringing of their children. It has destroyed the want and damaged the ability of parents to raise their children properly in tying parents' hands and limiting their tools. The result of its involvement has resulted in an explosion of delinquency, and the development of disrespectful and law-ignoring teenagers. Its social psychologists have poisoned simple peoples’ mind with their “new techniques of training children,” which techniques have miserably failed.

It is time to return to parents the authority to raise their kids without any interference of Big Brother.

Here is exactly how bad laws come about.

The new law has nothing to do with folks who want to strap their gun on their hip… (that’s for law enforcement)

The new law is about protecting the innocent abiding citizens licensed to carry a concealed weapon who bend down and accidentally afford the public to get a glimpse of the weapon they lawfully carry.

Here come in stupid law enforcement and prosecutors. The person gets arrested by some mall cop with an Alaska temperature IQ. Some intake attorney, who forgot to use her common sense instead of systematically and unreasonably  applying the law, files the garbage case. The poor fellow has then no other choice but to either get his case tried or to plea to some serious charge…(no comment from me on jury trials).

Now comes the legislature, telling law enforcement the following: Since you are too stupid to use common sense in failing to realize that a firearm accidentally exposed by someone licensed to carry it, is not brandished (as brandishing has a “willful” component), we have no choice but to protect the public against your nonsensical imbecility.

And guess who are the morons who are objecting to the law?

BILL COTTERELL
FLORIDA TODAY CAPITAL BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE -- A bill allowing gun owners with concealed-weapons permits to carry their firearms openly cleared its second legislative hurdle in less than 24 hours this morning.

The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 10-3 for the proposal by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, over the objections of law-enforcement lobbyists and representatives of retail merchants. Dorworth said his bill is only intended to protect licensed concealed-weapons carriers who inadvertently show their weapons.

Marion Hammer, the veteran lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said there have been several prosecutions of law-abiding gun owners for "brandishing" their weapons by accidentally letting them show in public. She and Dorworth said 43 states allow open carry of guns by concealed-weapons license holders, but very few people choose to do so.

"It's not about strapping guns on your hips and walking around," said Hammer. "I don't know anybody who wants to do that."

Randy Miller of the Florida Retail Federation and Maj. T.J. Feeney of the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Department urged the committee to leave the existing concealed-weapons law alone. Feeney said that if people are wearing firearms openly, a police officer will naturally focus on them at any crime scene whether or not they are the cause of an emergency. Miller said shop keepers don't want to ask law-abiding customers to leave their guns outside, or tell "squeamish" customers not to worry about another patron who is packing a gun.

Miller said merchants know some of their customers are carrying concealed weapons, and nobody worries about it because they don't know if the guns are out of sight.

"It's don't ask, don't tell," said Miller. "We don't want to do anything to offend our customers."

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved a companion bill (SB 234) on Monday afternoon. Dorworth said he conformed his bill (HB 517) to the Senate version, which does not permit weapons -- concealed or not -- on college campuses.

Dorworth's bill now goes to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Judiciary Committee before reaching the House floor.

Here is exactly how bad laws come about.

The new law has nothing to do with folks who want to strap their gun on their hip… (that’s for law enforcement)

The new law is about protecting the innocent abiding citizens licensed to carry a concealed weapon who bend down and accidentally afford the public to get a glimpse of the weapon they lawfully carry.

Here come in stupid law enforcement and prosecutors. The person gets arrested by some mall cop with an Alaska temperature IQ. Some intake attorney, who forgot to use her common sense instead of systematically and unreasonably  applying the law, files the garbage case. The poor fellow has then no other choice but to either get his case tried or to plea to some serious charge…(no comment from me on jury trials).

Now comes the legislature, telling law enforcement the following: Since you are too stupid to use common sense in failing to realize that a firearm accidentally exposed by someone license to carry it, is not brandished (as brandishing has a “willful” component), we have no choice but to protect the public against your nonsensical imbecility.

And guess who are the morons who are objecting to the law?

BILL COTTERELL
FLORIDA TODAY CAPITAL BUREAU

TALLAHASSEE -- A bill allowing gun owners with concealed-weapons permits to carry their firearms openly cleared its second legislative hurdle in less than 24 hours this morning.

The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted 10-3 for the proposal by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Lake Mary, over the objections of law-enforcement lobbyists and representatives of retail merchants. Dorworth said his bill is only intended to protect licensed concealed-weapons carriers who inadvertently show their weapons.

Marion Hammer, the veteran lobbyist for the National Rifle Association, said there have been several prosecutions of law-abiding gun owners for "brandishing" their weapons by accidentally letting them show in public. She and Dorworth said 43 states allow open carry of guns by concealed-weapons license holders, but very few people choose to do so.

"It's not about strapping guns on your hips and walking around," said Hammer. "I don't know anybody who wants to do that."

Randy Miller of the Florida Retail Federation and Maj. T.J. Feeney of the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Department urged the committee to leave the existing concealed-weapons law alone. Feeney said that if people are wearing firearms openly, a police officer will naturally focus on them at any crime scene whether or not they are the cause of an emergency. Miller said shop keepers don't want to ask law-abiding customers to leave their guns outside, or tell "squeamish" customers not to worry about another patron who is packing a gun.

Miller said merchants know some of their customers are carrying concealed weapons, and nobody worries about it because they don't know if the guns are out of sight.

"It's don't ask, don't tell," said Miller. "We don't want to do anything to offend our customers."

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved a companion bill (SB 234) on Monday afternoon. Dorworth said he conformed his bill (HB 517) to the Senate version, which does not permit weapons -- concealed or not -- on college campuses.

Dorworth's bill now goes to the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Judiciary Committee before reaching the House floor.

The judicial system is running low in financial resource. Here is why…

Can you believe that prosecutors in Duval County charge, prosecute, and try cases where the accused was arrested for trafficking in hydrocodone, a first degree felony (up to 30 years in prison) based on her actual possession of a pill bottle, labeled as belonging to her husband who had a valid prescription for the Lorcet tablets the bottle contained?

The accused, who should never have been arrested, charged, and much less persecuted, had to proceed on the sole defense theory that she was holding the pills for her husband. She was prosecuted for what? I discussed this case with Cheetah, my 2 year old chimpanzee. Even she, looked at me with a perplexed face and asked me if these morons were at all in touch with reality. I did not know what to tell her.

How can any educated fellow agree that it is a crime for a wife to carry her husband’s lawfully prescribed and obtained medication? It appears that in Duval County, Florida, this simplistic logic escapes a bunch of legal scholars and others. It first escaped the copper who started this fine piece of criminal masterpiece investigation and arrested the accused. It then escaped the intake prosecutor who you’d think should have wondered if he or she should move forward with such evidence. It finally escaped the trial prosecutor who was ready, willing, and able to expose the accused to 30 years in prison, waste days of jurors, judges, witnesses, clerks and deputies’ time to prosecute such garbage.

One hundred thousand dollars is likely a very conservative estimate of the cost of this futile and worthless exercise, if we consider the trial judge, the appellate judges, the law enforcement officers and the FDLE experts involved in the investigation and the trial testimony, the prosecutors, the deputy bailiffs, the clerks, without forgetting the time wasted by the jurors.

Unthinkable, yet the unable felony prosecutor wrongly spewed the following:  “They want you to say, so what, they're her husband's pills, of course she can have them, but you know what you won't hear, when the Judge reads you the law, you won't hear that she had a right to have them because, after all, Hydrocodone is a controlled substance. You will not hear from the judge that it is a defense for this defendant to have the pills because her husband has a prescription. You will not hear that. If you do not hear that, then there is no defense in the law for this defendant to have the pills.” … and the final straw; the jury found her guilty of trafficking in hydrocodone.

Luckily, the appellate court overturned the case and told this fine bunch to try again…

McCoy v. State

The importance of an independent judiciary; An example of a bad judge.

The constitutional rights afforded to all American citizens sometimes work in favor of the criminal element of our society. If we let law enforcement trample these rights, they’ll trample them when it comes to this criminal element; they’ll also trample them when these rights should protect you.

For years, I have observed with aversion certain judges systematically rubberstamp the testimony of law enforcement officers. Pragmatism tells me that cops are more likely to vote than criminal defendants… and every few years, judges are up for reelection. Now, some appellate courts are finding that the problem has become so epidemic, that it is now a serious cause for concern.

An appellate court cannot reverse a factual finding made by the trial judge… yet it can let the trial judge know in so many words that he is either naïve, unfairly bias, and/or an imbecile, as the District Court of Appeal did in this case. Here are the two testimonies made part of the record:

POLICE TESTIMONY:

The detectives drove their unmarked car into the parking lot of the complex. They got out of their car and “nonchalantly” or “casually” approached Ruiz. One detective “calmly” asked Ruiz his name and he “calmly” replied that it was “Freddie” and that “he had his identification in his apartment, if [the officer] would like to see it.” One detective said that he wanted to see it and Ruiz led the two law enforcement agents up to his apartment. Ruiz went inside and “motioned” or “nodded” at the detectives to enter, so they went inside. Ruiz walked through the living room into the bedroom; one detective followed and waited at the entrance to the bedroom. From this vantage point, the detective saw a scale and silver spoon with cocaine residue in the scoop part of the spoon. The detective asked Ruiz if the substance was cocaine, and Ruiz admitted it was. The detectives then “detained” Ruiz and read him his Miranda rights.

Ruiz was most cooperative-he told them that additional cocaine was located in a Barbasol shaving cream can and “weed” was inside his dresser drawer.

DEFENDANT TESTIMONY:

Ruiz also testified at the suppression hearing.

His version of events differed substantially from that of the detectives. Ruiz was on his way back from the store when three officers stopped their vehicle in front of him, jumped out with their guns drawn, and told him not to move. Ruiz did not think he was free to leave. One officer frisked him and asked for his identification. Ruiz said he did not have any identification and the police said they would arrest him if he could not produce some identification. Ruiz said that his identification was in his apartment. The officers escorted him to his apartment. After he opened the door, the officers went inside and searched through everything. Ruiz did not give the officers permission to enter his residence.

Following these two statements, “The trial judge found the officers “very credible” and Ruiz's “testimony” “not credible.” Based on the “totality of the circumstances,” the court found that “this was a citizen's encounter” where Ruiz allowed” the police to “come in” to his apartment.”

Here is what the 4^th DCA is telling the good Judge Andrew L. Spiegel:  “The profusion of consent cases requires trial judges, the gatekeepers of the Fourth Amendment, to critically evaluate the testimony given at hearings. Cases like this one call into question the fairness of some trial court proceedings. On the pages of the record, the story told by the police is unbelievable-an anonymous informant gives incriminating information; police surveillance uncovers no criminal conduct; the defendant is “nonchalantly” and “casually” approached by the police on the street; the defendant cooperatively leads the police back to his apartment to obtain his identification and invites the police inside, where a detective sees contraband in plain view, a fact certainly known to the defendant when he issued the invitation; after his arrest, the defendant tells the police about all the hidden drugs in the apartment.

Yet, as an appellate court, we must defer to the express finding of credibility made by the trial court. We were not there. We did not see the witnesses testify. If believed, the detectives' testimony supports the court's ruling. This case demonstrates the importance of an independent judiciary. This case involves the search of a person's home, but were the factors bearing on the voluntariness of the consent scrutinized “with special care?” Without an unbiased and objective evaluation of testimony, judges devolve into rubber stamps for law enforcement. The judge may have punctiliously performed the duties of his office in this case, but, when considering the large number of “consent” cases that have come before us, the finding of “consent” in so many curious circumstances is a cause for concern.”

I summarily Googled the good judge’s name and the search returned little information. Just a few tidbits which I found worthy of reporting:

1:            It appears according to JAABLOG that Siegel’s wife is a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy.

2:            In his courtroom, a mouthy defendant in handcuffs and shackles was Tasered, and

3:            On 4/27, four days into the trial of a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy charged with falsifying reports and official misconduct, he dismissed the more serious offenses, concluding that prosecutors couldn't substantiate the charges. (Reported by Wanda J. Demarzo and Nikki Waller)

For whatever reason, Judge Siegel was unable to determine which testimony was to be believed. Making intelligent and fair factual findings is the one most important quality expected from a trial judge, as the application of the laws comes after the factual findings are made. If Siegel does not have the ability to make an intelligent and fair factual finding in such a clear cut case, does he qualify to continue to adjudicate people’s lives? I think not! He is not fit to be a judge!

And to the judges above politics, whose purpose is to remain the gate keepers of our Fourth Amendment and to enforce our Constitution (and they know who they are), I thank you and I respect you.

Westlaw_Document_03_23_08

Read the article below and have a good laugh… or start crying.

When two police officers break into cars in a parking garage, these are criminal mischiefs. If you or I break into cars in a parking garage, these are burglaries of a conveyance…

When two police officers break into cars in a parking garage, the State Attorney does not prosecute, because they paid their way out and got alcohol treatment…

Now the funniest of all: “The West Palm Beach Police Internal Affairs Department is still investigating whether they broke department policies.” They are still trying to find in the WPB police department policy book “Law enforcement officers are strongly discouraged to commit felonies…”

So what do we have in WPB besides hanging chads? Selective prosecution courtesy of State Attorney McAuliffe, hanging dingle berry felon cops on patrol, and a brilliant Internal Affair Department wondering if being arrested for committing burglaries breaks the department policies.

I know of one defendant in Brevard County who was sent to prison for 2 or 3 years for breaking into a coke machine… and stealing $23.00. His mistake: he did not work for law enforcement.

Officers In Auto Vandalism Back On Force

2 West Palm Beach Officers Charged With Criminal Mischief

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Two West Palm Beach police officers who were caught breaking into cars in Jupiter were back on the job Thursday night.

Christopher Clark and Timothy Pike went back to work after passing all tests needed find out if they were fit for duty.

The two are now working without restrictions.

A bar manager in Abacoa said he caught the officers breaking into his truck in a parking garage last September.

The officers were charged with felony criminal mischief, but the state attorney won't prosecute those charges if the men pay for the damage they caused and enter alcohol treatment.

The West Palm Beach Police Department's Internal Affairs Department is still investigating whether they broke department policies.

Let's imprison first and investigate later!

Carolyn Miller was arrested because the baby she was babysitting died.  Not overly educated, and likely not overly bright, it appears that she failed to handle the matter properly. Instead of calling 911 and reporting the death, she panicked, and placed the little body in a cooler. At this stage of the investigation, as the autopsy failed to indicate the cause of death, NOTHING shows that the child did not die naturally from ISDS (Instant sudden death syndrome.) The police have no indication of any foul play, and are waiting for the blood results to see if there is any other reason why the baby could have died. This could take weeks. So at this stage, what do we have? A baby who died for an unknown reason and a baby sitter with a low I.Q. who did not react in a way society would expect one to react in the same situation. She is charged at this point with child neglect, and improper disposal of a human body, and the bond was set at $5,000.00, per the schedule. The child neglect is not supported by any evidence, and is therefore pure speculation.

Now, a Brevard county judge raised the bond from $5,000.00 to $150,000.00 which will preclude Carolyn to get out of jail until someone determines if she committed any serious crime at all, as at this stage of the game, the only mistake she made was to dispose improperly of the body of a baby, a 2^nd degree misdemeanor for which people would usually be released on their own recognizance.

Somewhere I read that in our country, we were considered innocent until proven guilty… and innocent people should not be locked in jail unless they represent a danger to society or are unlikely to show up in court… I don’t see either applying to this case.

Baby's cause of death unknown

Suspect's sister disputes charges

BY J.D. GALLOP • FLORIDA TODAY • January 26, 2011

Janelle Richardson planned to celebrate last week as she turned 21. But by Friday, family members say the young Titusville mother of two children grew increasingly worried after a longtime family friend and baby sitter who was caring for her 7-month-old could not be reached.

"Janelle was crying before I even took her to the police department," said 31-year-old Latanya Burch, Richardson's cousin.

A day after baby sitter Carolyn Renee Miller led Titusville Police to the body of Ja'Veon Mitchell, an autopsy Tuesday did not provide investigators with any firm determination of what led to the boy's death.

The review of Ja'Veon's death, however, continues to be an "active homicide investigation," Lt. Todd Hutchinson of the Titusville Police Department said in a statement.

Miller was charged Monday with child neglect and improper disposal of human remains hours after telling police that Ja'Veon died in her care. Family members say Ja'Veon was left with Miller on Tuesday so the child's mother could celebrate her 21st birthday.

Police said additional charges could depend on results from toxicology reports, which could be returned within two weeks.

Miller told police during more than six hours of questioning that, instead of calling authorities for help, she wrapped the baby's body in a sheet and put him in a small cooler. Police said she then took the cooler to her boyfriend's home on Deleon Avenue and hid it in the backyard.

"It's really a sad situation all around. But I know my sister and she's being railroaded in every sense of the word," said Lisa Madden, who talked with a tearful Miller the day she was being interrogated by detectives. "Maybe she panicked. She said she woke up and the baby was dead. She was scared. When a thing like that happens, I wouldn't know what to do."

Police said Ja'Veon's mother, identified as the 21-year-old Richardson, would frequently allow Miller to keep the child for days at a time.

Madden said Miller, who has no known address, had kept Ja'Veon on and off since he was born. Madden said Ja'Veon was Richardson's second child and that Miller offered to baby-sit the boy, sometimes at her home.

Court records show Miller has had run-ins with the law. She was arrested twice in 2004 on drug possession charges, once in 2006 for breach of the peace and once in 2008 for petit theft. But Madden said that was only one side of Miller's story.

"Everybody knows my sister would keep all the children in the neighborhood . . . for years," Madden said.

Madden said Richardson also was friends with Miller's 15-year-old daughter. Miller also has a 17-year-old son who lives in Georgia with his father.

"My sister is just a sweet, loving person, and she'd be right here with that baby in my house. Sometimes she'd have to call Janelle and say, 'The baby needs milk.' All I could think was Janelle needs to come get her baby," Madden said.

Richardson was searching for Miller by Friday and confronted Miller's daughter. Richardson's cousin Burch took her to the police department Sunday to file a report.

"I found Miller and I asked her where my cousin's baby was. . . . She said she didn't have the baby and hadn't seen her for two weeks. She just kept lying and lying," Burch said.

"I really don't know what happened. We've known (Renee) for a long time. . . . I just don't want to think that she did this. Something just had to go wrong."

"(Richardson is) OK and as well as can be expected," Burch said, adding that the grieving mother was staying with relatives in Titusville.

"It's sad on all sides," Burch said.

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- A Brevard County judge increased the bail on Tuesday for a Titusville baby sitter who was jailed in connection with the death of an infant.

Carolyn Miller's bail was raised to $150,000, which is up from just over $5,000, on charges of child neglect and the improper disposal of a human body. A public defender objected to the increase and said the bail is "far in excess" of the typical bail imposed for such charges.

After an autopsy on the body of JaVeon Brushan, 7 months old, police announced the cause of death is still undetermined. Authorities are awaiting the results of toxicology tests that could take several weeks.

JaVeon's body was found Monday in a cooler in the back yard of a home on DeLeon Street in Titusville. Miller had been baby-sitting the child since Thursday.

Police said she told them the child died mysteriously while Miller was napping on Friday. She did not report the death, police said, but instead disappeared until police located her Monday.

Police said in a statement Tuesday they will no longer discuss the case for fear the release of information could jeopardize the investigation.

Democracy in Tunisia and Egypt? Not so fast!

Let’s not get too excited about what is happening in Tunisia and now Egypt. Democracy is not always the panacea. In fact, this is not about democracy, it’s about control.  Remember what happened in Iran? We dumped the Shah, and within days, Khomeini who spent 14 years in exile (Iraq and France), reemerged in Iran. The rest is history… 

First, not all societies are ready for democracy. Second let’s recognize that pretty much all African countries’ leaders have been forever corrupt. Based upon these premises, would we rather see some type of ecumenical government or a religious tyranny in North Africa? Let’s not forget that 99% of the Tunisian population is Muslim, and 80 to 90% of the Egyptian population is Muslim.

The choice is simple. These countries are either going to have a government alike the regime that kept Egypt somehow stable for the past 30 years, or they will become Muslim dictatorships. No! Democracy is not for everyone…

Palm Beach State Attorney McAuliffe has a different set of statutes for his cops too...

The factual information I used in this blog is based upon two memos drafted on January 12 and 17, 2011, by the Palm Beach county prosecutors.

Reginald Scurry is a captain with the Jupiter police department. It is alleged that on June 12, 2010, Scurry committed a battery or, as supported by the facts, an aggravated battery on his spouse. It resulted in an injury to her head. All the eyewitnesses but one Jenna Mitchell, either work under Scurry, or their spouse works for Scurry. Curiously, yet expectedly, Mitchell’s account of what happened appears to have been the more factual, candid, honest, and undiluted of all. She said that Scurry yanked his wife by the wrist and dragged her across the yard. As he dragged her, she fell; and Scurry who was very angry at his wife told her “get up fucker, get up.” Jessica Tyson, another witness, yelled to Reggie to stop. The females who were up front helped Mrs. Scurry to get up. It appears that the fall resulted in laceration(s) to her head, which required stitches. Blood was later found in her car. At the hospital, Mrs. Curry, under pressure, told Nurse Haley that her husband did it, and made other several damaging statements, which I am confident, would have been admitted at trial under some theory.

The rest of the very thorough investigation shows a series of well documented obstructions, tampering, and false statements made by law enforcement personnel. With these facts, and all the others outlined in the attached PDF memo, ANY REGULAR JO would have been arrested, and likely charged with felonies.
SCURRY; January 12, 2011; Memo from Chief Assistant Elizabeth Parker to Scott Richardson and Michael McAuli...

I disagree with the opinions that the facts did not support a battery or aggravated battery charge, as I have seen hundreds of batteries charged with much less evidence than the evidence developed in this case. Batteries are regularly proven without the help of the victim.

More concerning is the pattern of tampering, which it appears, will remain unaddressed by McAuliffe, Palm Beach State Attorney. Is ignoring the problem condoning the behavior?

And still more concerning is the fact that the officers involved in this pattern of deception, dishonesty and tampering will be the same people who will continue enforcing the law, and that is a creepy thought.

Even though I disagree with Chief assistant state attorney Elizabeth Parker’s opinion that the State could not proceed with the battery charge, she at least, recommended that Scurry be charged with providing law enforcement with false information. (F.S. 837.055. Whoever knowingly and willfully gives false information to a law enforcement officer who is conducting a missing person investigation or a felony criminal investigation with the intent to mislead the officer or impede the investigation commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.)
Being well aware of the inner working of state attorney’s offices, I will speculate that Ms. Parker had already been constrained in her ability to do the right thing when she wrote her memo.

Now five days later, January 17, 2010, one page memo , written by First Assistant Scott Richardson and addressed to Chief Assistant Parker emerges. It adds insult to injury.
SCURRY; January 17, 2011, Memo from First Assistant Scott Richardson to Chief Assistant Elizabeth Parker ad...

Then, Richardson writes: “Your analysis of the potential charge of perjury was detailed. However, it failed to address the critical requirement that a perjury charge must be based on a false statement under oath.” Au contraire! Ms. Parker’s memo dated January 12 reads on page 16: “…These statements were not given under oath therefore, perjury cannot be charged.” Did Richardson read Parker’s memo?
The last part of Richardson’s memo, is some kind of legal contortion which fails to justify the State’s conclusion that it would not pursue the false information charge. In doing so, Richardson also takes a low blow in belittling Ms. Parker for her failure to consider or include in her memo the legal fantasies the former dreamed up. Here they are:
1. Scurry’s statements were unrelated to his duties as a police officer. (Absolutely nothing to do with the statute.)
2. The statute Ms. Parker recommended was only recently enacted. (Is there a new Palm Beach policy requiring some kind of ripening of newly enacted statutes before they can be enforced? Please!)
3. There are no cases interpreting the statute. (The statute is quite clear, and that may be why… Many statutes are used to charge people every day, which have not been reviewed by appellate courts.)
4. The statute requires that the false statement be made during a felony investigation. Domestic battery is a misdemeanor. (And aggravated battery and tampering with evidence are felonies).
Did the Palm Beach state attorney’s office ever use the good old F.S. 843.02. ? (Resisting officer without violence to his or her person. Whoever shall resist, obstruct, or oppose any officer as defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), (3), (6), (7), (8), or (9); personnel or representative of the Department of Law Enforcement; or other person legally authorized to execute process in the execution of legal process or in the lawful execution of any legal duty, without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.)

In conclusion, let me briefly opine. The State Attorney is an elected employee. Law enforcement is an important electoral force for the position. Sadly enough, this appears to be more important to McAuliffe than ethical behavior. The system is corrupt, and corruption must be exposed.

The White Knight Or the Black Widow? Palm Beach chief prosecutor shows the art of politics, is far more important than Justice...

Since I could not post this article from the Palm Beach post, I had no choice but to copy and paste. Once again, selective law enforcement and prosecution is not Brevard’s exclusive, yet it must be exposed.

Here is the link:

http://www.page2live.com/2011/01/18/plenty-evidence-no-criminal-charges-against-jupiter-police-captain-reggie-scurry/

Plenty evidence after 6-month probe, but no criminal charge against Jupiter Police Captain Reggie ScurryPosted by Jose Lambiet. Tuesday 18 January 2011 3:54 pm Reggie Scurry (The Palm Beach Post)

 After a six-month investigation in which several Jupiter Police officers may have lied and tampered with evidence to protect one of their own, State Attorney Mike McAuliffe opted not to charge criminally a controversial police captain accused of causing a gash to his wife’s head. 

JPD Capt. Reggie Scurry was placed on leave with pay in June when the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’s violent crimes unit was called in for the domestic violence probe.

The investigation showed that Scurry’s wife, Cobi, told a nurse who stitched up her head at the Jupiter Medical Center that Reggie pushed her out of their car during an argument outside the house party of another Jupiter policeman, according to a memo from the Office of the State Attorney obtained by Page2Live.

Cobi, 33, told the nurse she fell from the car and onto the driveway, injuring her head. And Reggie, 35, allegedly called her “heffer” as she lay on the ground! Still, he returned to work Thursday after McAuliffe’s office notified the JPD of the decision not to charge him.

Scurry, a former Jupiter High football star who headed the criminal investigations division before his suspension, has been assigned to desk duties. He’s now under the JPD’s Internal Affairs scrutiny. If found to have violated department policies, he faces disciplinary action could include a suspension, demotion or firing.

Chief Frank Kitzerow, who promoted Scurry despite his role in a well-publicized off-duty bar fight at Abacoa in 2007, said he doesn’t believe the State Attorney’s memo will cause citizens to look at his department differently.

“Obviously, we have issues regarding some of the officers named in (the memo),” Kitzerow said. “But the community understands we stand for integrity and honesty.”

McAuliffe, who’s up for reelection next year, refused to discuss why he decided not to prosecute Scurry or go after witnesses who lied.

Here is what’s undeniable about the Scurry saga, according to the memo:  Late on June 12, Reggie and Cobi Scurry showed up at the house of JPD Officer Telly Tyson about 11:30 p.m. to watch the broadcast of an ultimate fighting event. All guests, except for one, were Jupiter cops or spouses of cops.

Witnesses at two gas stations near Tyson’s house called 911 an hour later to report a woman driving a car while bleeding from the head. By 1 a.m., Cobi Scurry was at the emergency room, pulling her hand away from her husband’s when he tried to hold it.

The rest of the story? Depends whom you ask, since no one at the party seems to have seen much!
And that’s one reason why Reggie Scurry remains free of criminal charges.

Among the inconsistencies:

– Cobi changed her statement several times, according to Chief Assistant State Attorney Elizabeth Parker’s memo. At one point, the woman claimed being so drunk that she blacked out several times. Surveillance tapes at the gas stations showed her behaving like a sober person.

– Reggie Scurry told PBSO he doesn’t “remember” his wife falling at the party or calling her a heffer but remembers having an argument. He changed three times the statements about his whereabouts after the party. Each version was debunked by cell-phone records. “Cell tower records are evidence that Reggie Scurry was not truthful,” Parker wrote. 

– As his wife was being treated, Scurry and one of his officers, Jason Van Steenburgh, drove to the gas station where her car was parked. Both cops denied removing evidence from the vehicle. Yet, surveillance camera videoed Van Steenburgh picking up something inside then throwing it out. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself in follow up interviews with PBSO. Reggie Scurry is seen cleaning up blood from the seats, disrupting a de facto crime scene. 

In the end, Parker considered charging Reggie Scurry with domestic violence but couldn’t because Cobi, the victim, was deemed uncooperative. A testimony by the nurse she confided into would not be admissible in court. 

Parker looked into charging him with perjury, a felony, but couldn’t because PBSO detectives failed to place Scurry under oath.

Finally, Parker pushed to have him charged with lying to police during an investigation.

That, too, was nixed during a meeting with McAuliffe. Lying to police is prosecuted only if the false information is provided during a felony investigation, and domestic violence is a misdemeanor!

Three years ago, the aftermaths of a bar fight between Scurry and a 23-year-old, Gregory Holzer, tore the JPD apart. One cop, John Banister, quit his job after claiming that Scurry and other officers twisted the facts so that Scurry would appear to be the victim.

Holzer, who had a criminal record and may have used a racial slur, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and faced 30 years in the slammer after leaving Scurry bloodied. The office of then-State Attorney Barry Krisher dropped the charges against Holzer when The Palm Beach Post started questioning the facts of the incident.

Last week, the State Attorney’s office outraged Page2Live readers after refusing to prosecute a PBSO deputy, Cheryl Griffin, maimed in a boat crash during which she allegedly was drunk.

And don't forget to check the SAO reasons:

Here is a new idea: investigate first, arrest later (if it is warranted)

In Brevard, we had Preston and Harrass II, his wonder dog until Judge Gilbert Goshorn ordered the dog to perform a basic tracking test after Preston claimed the dog had alerted to a suspect’s scent at a crime scene six months after the murder. Understandably, the dog failed, Preston was finally discredited and innocent people who had spent many years in prison were released. In South Florida, they have Dr. Melinda Merck, a different animal; Merck is director of veterinary forensic sciences for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She also co-founded a veterinary forensic science training program -- dubbed "Animal CSI'' -- at UF. The veterinarian expert extraordinaire appears to specialize in the manufacturing of State evidence from scratch. As to CSI, her claimed expertise will likely be restricted to be used in TV shows, as her credibility in court is shot. In both cases, one smells a rat.

In June 2009 an innocent man, 18 year old Tyler Weinman, was accused of, arrested for, and charged with 19 felony counts for the alleged cruel killing of cats. The case was based upon Merck’s findings that a "crime" had been committed. The arrest and the charges were supported by Merck’s shoddy necropsy findings. Tyler Weinman was quickly libeled as the “South Florida cat-killer” by the media and the cops. He was eventually released on an offensively high bond which could only have been set so high for political reasons, by a judge who was likely pressured by the media as he was relying upon Merck’s phony data. Eventually real experts in the field determined that the information provided by Merck was baseless. These experts’ findings revealed that the cats had been killed by other larger animals, likely dogs, as revealed by the puncture wounds consistent with bite marks from large predators. It was Merck’s failure to peal the skin of the cats (necropsy 101), which resulted in her failed diagnosis.

Merck, in providing the sloppy necropsy analysis, destroyed an innocent young man’s life. Was it incompetence, laziness, malice or recklessness? or did the narcissistic queen veterinarian expert had some sickly hidden agenda?

One would think that after such a stunt, her credibility would be at best questionable. The Dade county State Attorney’s office did not think so!

As if IT was not enough, a few weeks later as the judicial system had barely buried Merck’s pussy case, the latter then claimed to have found some severe vaginitis in Christie Brinkley, a two and a half year old Great Dane. Merck determined that Christie’s little flower showed unusual stress, stress which could only have been inflicted by her deranged master. Even further, she claimed that human semen was found in Christie’s urine. And here we go again, the concept of the complicated timeline: investigate first, then arrest if warranted, seem to escape some cops and some prosecutors. Let’s act first and think later! Let’s destroy another citizen’s life. Once again, based upon Merck’s findings, innocent victim number 2, Armand Pacher, is arrested and charged with some serious felony which could have landed him in prison for five years. Thankfully, he had the financial means to retain counsel and pay for six experts who ripped apart, once more, Merck’s findings. Here again, the State had no choice but to drop the case. The prosecutor, Michael Von Zamft, did not even have the balls to acknowledge that the case could not be prosecuted because the State had relied on erroneous information provided by the same useless so-called expert: Merck. Von Zamft wrote in his final memo: “The state's decision to [drop] the case is based upon the lack of presently available physical evidence, and not on any concerns that Dr. Melinda Merck was either incorrect or exploitative.” Michael, cut your bullshit, honesty is a better policy.

We can only hope that these two victims of the State and the police will be made as close to whole as possible in successfully suing these irresponsible accusers. Sadly enough, it is their only recourse, as their name is now soiled forever.

The Brazilian pepper tree, Florida nightmare or fine cuisine spice?

This tree is one of the worst pest plants in Florida. By law (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) one is not allowed to possess, collect, transport, cultivate, and import for possession, collection, transportation, cultivation, except as provided in Rule 62C-52.004, F.A.C. It has invaded 700,000 acres in Florida (2008).

“Schinus terebinthifolius” was brought to the state in the early 1800's from South America to be cultivated and sold as an ornamental plant. It is a member of the Anacardiaceae family (poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and poisonwood.)

Now, the other side of the coin; “Schinus terebinthifolius” is often grown in other countries, for culinary purposes. The dried berries are commonly called Pink Peppercorns or “Poivre Rose.” The berries have a sweet peppery flavor and are often used in French cuisine. I use them crushed in a vinaigrette or crush and use as a coating for a filet mignon or pork tenderloin. I found them on Amazon.com selling for $20 to $60 an ounce, while they are so abundant and free to pick in our beautiful state. When crushed, the seed releases a sweet, volatile, pine-like aroma faintly smelling like piperine oil, the key component in true black pepper. The flavor of Pink Peppercorns is sweet, warm, fresh and camphorous with a lingering astringency but little heat. According to Floridagardener.com, bees love the plant's flowers and make honey from their nectar. Raccoons and 'possums eat the fruit of the plant and contribute to its spread by passing the seeds in their scat. Fruit-eating birds such as the migratory American Robin also adore the fruit and can seed wide areas by passing the seeds in their guano. It is reported that certain birds and other wildlife during certain times of the year adore the berries of this plant for their narcotic effects.

My recipe:  Filet au poivre rose. In a small pan, mix a handful of dried pink peppercorns,  a cup of heavy whipping cream, a teaspoon of beef base and a shot of Cognac or Brandy. Reduce until it reaches the desired thickness (about 60%), If it gets too thick just add a little cream.

Leave your filets out of the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours before preparing them. Cook your filets in a hot pan with butter. And make certain you eat it rare!

Mockery of justice in Sanford.

1.      The facts as alleged in the media: The defendant found a stranded woman, passed out in a car on the shoulder of Interstate 4. He tried to help her, thought she might agree to have sex with him, and then was interrupted by an Altamonte Springs police officer who spotted the pair in the back seat of her car in a parking lot. The female told jurors she had had at least 10 beers that night and doesn't remember what happened. The jury found the accused not guilty of rape. The alleged victim did not find the case important enough to even show up at sentencing…

2.      The defendant's prior record: three years in prison for conspiracy to traffic marijuana… (nothing sexual or violent)

3.      The judge in the case at hand said she had no option under state law but to send him to prison for LIFE.

4.      How could it have been a kidnapping if the alleged victim testified that she does not remember agreeing or not, as she was allegedly drunk?

5.      Is this our justice system at work? Is this why we have more people in prison than any other civilized or uncivilized country?

With this set of facts, if they are correct, how can anyone suggest that the accused deserve in any way to spend his life in prison?

SANFORD – A judge today gave a life sentence to an Orlando man convicted of kidnapping a woman whom he found drunk and passed out in a car on the shoulder of Interstate 4. Winel Castro-Molina, 34, was convicted Dec. 2. He also was charged with rape, but the jury acquitted him on that charge. Assistant State Attorney Gino Feliciani pointed out that Castro-Molina had been released from federal prison, where he'd served time on a drug charge, less than three years before the abduction.

In that case, Castro-Molina was guilty of conspiring to traffic marijuana and was sentenced to three years. He was released in 2006.

Today's sentence was imposed by Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson, who said she had no options under state law, given the defendant's prior conviction. After today's hearing defense attorney Eric Trivedi called the outcome "a very, very bittersweet victory." Castrol-Molina committed no crime that night, Oct. 29, 2009, Trivedi said. He found a stranded woman, tried to help her, thought she might agree to have sex with him then was interrupted by an Altamonte Springs police officer who spotted the pair in the back seat of her car in a parking lot. When Officer Todd Smith walked up to their car, the woman's skirt had been pushed up around her waist, he testified at trial. The woman, now 27, told the officer she did not know Castro-Molina and did not know where she was, how she got there or what was going on. She told jurors she had had at least 10 beers that night and doesn't remember what happened. She was not at today's sentencing. Trivedi said that several weeks before the trial, Castro-Molina said no to a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for eight years. The defendant did not want to agree to anything that would have branded him a sex offender, Trivedi said.Castro-Molina did not testify at his trial, but he confessed during an interrogation by Altamonte Springs police. During most of that session, Castro-Molina denied the rape, but police kept insisting he was lying. After Det. Kevin Acosta told Castro-Molina he'd throw him in jail if he denied the rape one more time, Castro-Molina changed his story.

Defense psychologist Gregory DeClue testified at trial that the confession was not given voluntarily.