The new judge in the George Zimmerman murder case, Debra S. Nelson, wasted no time when she set a June 10, 2013 trial date at a routinely scheduled docket sounding this morning. The hearing lasted a whole six minutes.
This ends months of speculation over whether it would follow in the footsteps of the Casey Anthony case, which took nearly three years to end; from her arrest in mid-July of 2008 on a first-degree murder charge to her being found not guilty on July 5, 2011.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, “Zimmerman attorney, Mark O’Mara, was noncommittal about when he’d be fully prepared.”
One of Zimmerman’s defense attorneys, Donald R. West, filed a motion on October 12 asking the new judge to consider assigning a senior judge to assist in the hearings.
The motion cited several discovery problems to date:
Upon reviewing the discovery provided it became apparent that the state had failed to include information it had or should have had, or provided the information in a form that was useless for review by [defense] experts or investigators. The defense made specific oral, then written requests to the state to clarify or to produce this discovery.
It also includes other complaints, such as accusing the state of groveling over expert depositions and witness sketches, among other assorted frustrations and delays. While I can understand the frustrations, I fail to see why the problems couldn’t be handled by one fell sweep. In other words, the judge could issue a stern warning that both sides (to be judicially fair) produce discovery in a timely and organized manner. Why the motion goes beyond that by suggesting the “Appointment of a Senior Judge to Handle Discovery Matters Including Problems that Arise During Depositions” is beyond me.
It’s almost as if the defense is hinting that Judge Nelson might not be qualified to handle the whole case. Why?
Remember, Zimmerman waived his right to a speedy trial and the wheels of justice turn slowly, and at this morning’s hearing, O’Mara flatly stated that he had no idea whether he’d be ready by June 10 or not, so why is there a hurry now, and is the defense sending mixed signals?
This Court has a heavy docket, it may be weeks before the Court can schedule sufficient hearing time to address the many issues that have already arisen and will most certainly arise as the discovery phase of the case continues. In order to promote an orderly progression of the case toward a realistic trial date, promote an economy of resources and avoid delay and disruption of this Court’s docket it is suggested that the Court, at a minimum, schedule regular hearing time to address case issues. But, recognizing the heavy time demands this case will require, this Court is asked to consider requesting assignment of a senior judge to preside over discovery and related matters during the pretrial phase of the case.
Senior judges are retired judges, like O.H. Eaton, who serve on an on-call basis to assist in the absence of a judge, or to help one with a heavy docket. In this situation, Nelson wasn’t even given an opportunity to get her feet wet before this motion was filed. If I had gotten a letter like that, I’d dare say someone was blatantly questioning my competence before I had a chance to prove my worth. As a writer, I’d more than likely lambaste the person, but as a judge, I’d gracefully turn down the request and proceed on schedule. Judges, after all, are more thick-skinned than ordinary people like me.
In the quote from the motion, West wrote, “… promote an economy of resources…” I interpreted those words as meaning that regularly scheduled hearings and/or adding another judge to the case would save the county oodles of money. It really caught my attention, so I called the Chief of Court Services in Tallahassee. Is it cost effective to bring on a senior judge? No, right? Well…
Yes, it is.
Senior judges are paid a flat fee of $350, plus change, per day. That means you utilize a judge for the full 8 hours, if possible, which turns into a much more manageable $43.75 per hour. It would be foolish to have a judge show up for a 15 minute hearing because they would still earn $350.
Judge Nelson has two options. She can outright deny the request or she could take the motion into consideration. If she chooses the latter, it would set off a dynamic that would involve the administrative judge and the chief judge of the circuit. It would mean a mini-conference of sorts, moving up the circuit ladder directly above her. She wouldn’t be able to assign a new judge on her own, in other words, but she would be part of the decision-making process.
What I didn’t take into consideration with “… promote an economy of resources…” is that each circuit gets an allotment of senior judge days from the state. They are built into the fiscal budget, which runs from July 1 through June 30 of each year. If a circuit needs to go over that allotment, the state understands that courts are not going to make frivolous requests. There are checks and balances and formal mechanisms in place and the court would petition the chief justice for more days, so it’s not as if the taxpayer is going to be on the hook for wasted funds. There is also the option to have a magistrate handle some of the docket, but in most cases, they are limited, too, because of heavy workloads.
Nothing personal, but here’s the way I see it. If anything, this defense is responsible for a majority of the delays because of the motions filed to recuse two judges, including an appeal. This gave the defense time to square things with the state, and if these problems do exist, this is the matter that the defense should request the court address — not whether the judge can handle the docket. George Zimmerman already removed two judges and before the new one had a chance to sit on the bench, he questioned whether she is up to the job or not. Well, she is. At this morning’s hearing, she noted that she will be reassigned to the civil court in January, and that will free up her schedule and give her more time to continue with this case. Remember, Judge Strickland was in civil court when he was handed the Anthony case. There is nothing unusual about retaining cases.
Senior judges, for the most part, fill in when judges fall ill or a vacancy opens up. In the new judge’s case, it is neither. My questions are simple. What kind of message is George Zimmerman trying to send to the court? That he will never be happy no matter who sits on the bench? Or is he still gunning for one judge in particular? Either way, he’s out of options. Damn the torpedoes, Judge Nelson, full speed ahead. You are at the helm and George is downstream searching for a paddle.
Cross posted on Daily Kos
