florida

By Frank Parlato Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz wants to replace or drastically reduce the Assigned Counsel Program with either a government-run public defender’s office or an expansion of the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo. He thinks it will save money. Or if he doesn’t really think it, he says it anyway. Perhaps he really doesn’t know, because after all, he has published no studies. The comparison he makes – that of the model of nearby Monroe County – he makes without factual accuracy, along the lines of omitting half the truth or comparing the eating apples to onions and

How a Local Dispute Became a National Criminal Case, and Why New York Is at the Center The federal criminal case now pending against Miami-based real estate brokers Oren Alexander, Alon Alexander, and Tal Alexander did not begin with an arrest, a police report, or a criminal investigation. It began years later in Florida, through civil lawsuits, informal communications, and referrals that ultimately culminated in federal charges under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Today, however, the case is being prosecuted in New York, placing it squarely within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of

In a case fraught with allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, Shanna Gardner‘s defense team is taking a firm stance on her innocence as she faces charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and solicitation in connection with the murder of her ex-husband, Jared Bridegan. With the State of Florida pursuing the death penalty, the defense is alleging a troubling pattern of falsehoods and omissions that, they argue, have tainted the judicial process and put Gardner’s life at risk. Central to the defense’s position is a motion to unseal Detective Christopher Johns’s grand jury testimony, which they claim was riddled with inaccuracies. Key points