By Dan Christensen
FloridaBulldog.org
The chief investigator for the Broward Public Defender’s Office sued Fort Lauderdale last week alleging that a city policeman impermissibly obtained his driver’s license records while he was helping the FBI investigate police corruption in the city.
By Broward Public Defenders FloridaBulldog.org Josh Stein, a mentally troubled man of 38, died of an apparent accidental drug overdose the day after Christmas. Broward’s elected public defender, Howard Finkelstein, says Stein’s death can be traced to anxiety and stress caused by “cattle car justice” meted out in Broward’s Felony Mental Health Court.
By Howard Finkelstein
Special to BrowardBulldog.org
Editor’s note: Broward’s public defender writes to the chief judge to say the county’s mental health is backwards, cruel and unnecessarily costly and urges Broward to follow Miami-Dade’s lead.
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
John “Jay” Hurley, a Broward County judge who’s gained a measure of online celebrity for his brand of televised justice, will keep his post in bond court despite a call for his removal by Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein.
By Owen Mcnamee and Douglas Brawley
Special to BrowardBulldog.org
Twenty years ago eighteen members of a Broward Grand Jury issued a
scathing report that concluded the Broward County mental health system was underfinanced, fragmented and leaderless. They found the system was failing thousands of mentally ill and disabled persons and causing hundreds to wind up in jail or endure forced hospitalizations without needed treatment. Twenty years later, we are still failing this vulnerable population.
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Since the birth of drug court in South Florida nearly 25 years ago, so-called problem-solving courts have proliferated in courthouses across the country. Now a new idea that would take judicial specialization a step further could debut soon in Broward after its tentative approval Friday by Broward State Attorney Mike Satz.
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