FACDL had this to say about the SAO and all that...
And oh yeah, we are getting reports that our friends at NBC 6 Miami just covered the below press release and asked for the SAO for a response but were told everyone was busy with seeking prison on resisting arrest without violence and NVDL trial because crime is crime and that's the fact jack. It takes a whole bunch of prosecutors to scope out witnesses on a case, get them together to get their stories straight, get them some food and arrange a conjugal visit, and then rush to cover it all up. So it's understandable they could not immediately comment. Ya.
For Immediate Release
April 19, 2024
The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL) is appalled by recent and ongoing unethical conduct by the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office, along with retaliatory targeting of criminal defense lawyers.
In one case, State of Florida v. Corey Smith, Judge Andrea Wolfson issued an order on March 6th, 2024, plainly identifying instances of unethical and potentially illegal conduct by Miami Dade assistant state attorneys. FACDL has been advised that the senior prosecutor subject of that order was allowed to resign with no further consequences. FACDL also has learned that a second prosecutor implicated by Judge Wolfson’s order faced no discipline whatsoever.
As referenced by Judge Wolfson in her order disqualifying the two assistant state attorneys, it’s apparent that the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office has lost sight of its ethical obligations to the citizens of Miami Dade County and its duty to the rule of law.
Another case, State of Florida v. Kim Clenney et. al.,the defendants are similarly subject to seemingly unethical conduct. The Defendant Courtney Clenney is charged with second degree murder in a companion case. It would appear to be a straightforward matter on its face. Courtney claims that her stabbing of an abusive boyfriend was justified. The State believes otherwise. Instead of ethically addressing a very serious matter involving a homicide, the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office has allowed one of its assistant state attorneys to run amuck, targeting criminal defense lawyers acting in their function as client advocates and creating a distraction.
Without a trial date in sight for the homicide, the case has featured a young prosecutor leaking attorney/client communications of the defense to the press. Going further, the same young prosecutor has engineered the arrest of the defendant’s parents. In doing so, this same prosecutor has implicated opposing counsel, respected and longtime defense attorneys, in claimed criminal conduct. The actions of this prosecutor are so far outside the norms of the criminal legal system that it is apparent he is using his State Attorney badge as a sword and not a shield. Worse yet, this conduct has been brought to the attention of his supervisors, and no discipline of any kind has been enforced. The Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office has surpassed mere acquiescence of unethical behavior and is now encouraging it.
The purported criminal conduct consists of no more than reviewing, in the context of the fact-specific case, possible defense evidence. This is a standard, necessary obligation of the defense lawyer in every case where such evidence may exist. Not doing so would be malpractice.
Without repercussion, the prosecutor has dug through reams of electronic attorney/client defense communications—conduct worthy of investigation by the Florida Bar and the court.
Speaking to the courts in pursuit of this tangent, the young prosecutor’s affidavits contain glaring omissions of relevant fact. Specifically, omitting that there was an attorney client relationship between the targets and the attorneys and that all information was gleaned because of the State and law enforcement reading text messages between the defense team and their clients.
In normal circ*mstances, more seasoned, managing prosecutors would step in. For reasons that remain unclear, that has not occurred. What does seem clear is that Miami Dade State Attorney has fostered conditions permissive to a toxic culture. As a result, within this culture, prosecutors act contrary to their ethical duties. Ms. Fernandez Rundle’s prosecutors seem to be encouraged to disregard the rules of court and conduct in favor of a “win at all costs” approach. More representative of that culture is the disdain with which the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office apparently views the vital Constitutional function of defense counsel.
In their most recent filing, the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office plainly accuses two respected criminal defense attorneys of conspiring to commit the very offense with which their clients (Ms. Clenney’s parents) are charged. Specifically, the State is alleging that the act of defense attorneys reviewing material, ignored at their client’s apartment by law enforcement, is, in and of itself, a crime. This position shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the role of a criminal defense lawyer and outright disdain for every citizen’s Sixth Amendment right to effective representation of counsel.
More disconcertingly, by naming those lawyers and accusing them of a crime in conjunction with discharging their duties, the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office abuses its authority.
In Florida, charging a person with a crime falls entirely within the purview of the respective State Attorney’s Office. That power is almost wholly unreviewable and must be discharged ethically and with great care. While most state attorneys understand the weight of this authority and act accordingly, the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office seems not to simply overlook but rather condone ongoing misuses of power.
Readers of Florida legal documents are familiar with the concept that criminal offenses are charged, and potential criminal penalties sought, to protect the “peace and dignity of the State of Florida.” In the case of Ms. Clenney’s parents, charging decisions and resulting arrests have instead been improperly made to protect the ego of a young prosecutor.
Worse yet, the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office has now doubled-down and is attempting to bully or target the lone check and balance on its power—criminal defense lawyers.
Ms. Fernandez Rundle’s young assistant has besmirched the names of two of FACDL’s members and all but threatened them with arrest and prosecution. This arrest and prosecution would flow from defense lawyers having the temerity to zealously fulfill their Constitutional roles.
The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers will not tolerate this abuse of their members. The Association, on behalf of its involved members, demands an immediate and formal apology.
Addressing the citizens facing criminal prosecution: all criminal charges pursued substantially to protect the ego of a young assistant must be dismissed. Further, considering the available facts in both Clenney and Smith, FACDL is calling for the dismissal of the offending prosecutors and a full, independent ethics review within the Miami Dade State Attorney’s Office.
For more information contact Luke Newman, FACDL President atluke@lukenewmanlaw.com.
