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Lista: ibap (Fique atento: dicas no rodape!)
Mensagem enviada por: "Gustavo Amaral" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
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Em tempos de discuss�o sobre controle externo, divulgo a not�cia abaixo.
N�o a defendo para o Brasil, pois acho que os membros do comit�, referido na
not�cia, n�o fariam outra coisa na vida salvo ouvir reclama��es...
GUSTAVO AMARAL
Lawyers vs. Federal Judges?
District's chief judge appoints 10 lawyers to screen gripes and give
juristsfeedback on improving efficiency
Mary Hladky
Miami Daily Business Review
October 22, 1999
Are you sick and tired of waiting for a tardy federal court judge who can't
seem to start court hearings on time? Have you all but given up on getting a
key ruling in an important case? Is steam coming out of your ears because
your case is stalled until a judge rules on a motion to compel discovery? Go
ahead and complain. In fact, Chief U.S. District Judge Edward B. Davis is
encouraging that.
Davis has appointed 10 prominent South Florida lawyers to the Federal
Judicial Evaluation Committee. Lawyers with a gripe or suggestion can speak
with individual members or the entire group, which will pass along the
comments to a particular judge or the entire federal bench when warranted.
The names of the lawyers will be kept confidential.
"We don't get feedback," Davis said. "This to me is something that causes
great difficulty."
Davis has appointed seasoned and respected lawyers with the expectation that
other practitioners will trust them to protect their anonymity. He also
expects that committee members will weed out petulant whining but report
valid or constructive criticism and comment.
Prominent Miami civil litigator and criminal defense lawyer Robert C.
Josefsberg chairs the new group, which also includes his law partner Aaron
S. Podhurst. Other members are U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Scott, Federal Public
Defender Kathleen Williams, James T. Hendrick of Key West, James Jay Hogan
of Miami, Henry Latimer of Fort Lauderdale, Edward A. Moss of Miami, Richard
V. Neill of St. Lucie County and Sidney A. Stubbs of West Palm Beach.
"Everyone blows smoke at [federal court judges]," Josefsberg said. "Everyone
says, 'You are terrific.' When you walk away, they say, 'What an idiot.'
Judges know this. They can never get any constructive criticism. They want
to know what they can do to improve."
Yet lawyers are afraid to speak out because of fear of repercussions. "This
committee is a vehicle through which the lawyers in the community can state
their complaints and suggestions and have it get to the bench without it
being a personal thing," he said.
The committee doesn't want to hear lawyers gripe about an adverse ruling.
Members don't intend to act as an appellate court. But they do want to know
about systemic problems or a continuing practice of a particular judge "that
is not in the best interest of the administration of justice," Josefsberg
said.
This concept isn't new. In fact, Senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence
King created a similar committee in 1984 shortly after becoming chief judge.
It was chaired first by Podhurst, then by Josefsberg, but was disbanded
after Senior U.S. District Judge Norman C. Roettger became chief judge in
1991.
King had the committee chair attend judges meetings so the comments could be
heard and discussed by all the members of the federal bench. "We got real
input," King said. "Sometimes there would be real discussions about it."
King recalls one of the complaints quite clearly, since it was about him.
The problem, King said, was that he often was late in starting court
hearings, and 15-minute breaks stretched to 30 minutes or more as he
attended to his chief judge duties.
"It was absolutely accurate," King said of the criticism. "By realizing I
was creating a problem for lawyers, I changed it. I have been conscious of
being timely ever since."
The committee also heard complaints about one judge, who King declined to
name, who had a huge backlog of civil motions awaiting rulings. After
discussion, seven judges volunteered to help resolve the pending matters.
King concedes that some judges didn't like having the committee. But Davis
said he is not aware of any resistance to it now. The need for it is has
become greater, Davis said, since the Southern District has grown to the
point that many lawyers don't feel they know the judges well enough to
comment personally about their procedures and practices.
Josefsberg said judges favor the idea. "If the bench didn't want us to do
this, it would be a useless venture," he said.
At least two of the more recently appointed federal judges have called for
such a program, King said. They are U.S. District Judges Donald M.
Middlebrooks and Alan S. Gold.
"I think it is very valuable if judges approach it with an open mind," King
said
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