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STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant,
v.
GARETT GROSSER, Appellee.
No. 4D08-2434.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
December 23, 2009.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County; John J. Murphy, Judge; L.T. Case No. 08-2141CF10A.
Bill McCollum, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Joseph A. Tringali, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Michael J. Rocque, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee.
McCANN, JAMES W., Associate Judge.
The dispositive issue on this appeal depends upon the commencement date for the running of the time periods afforded by the speedy trial rule. Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.191(a).
The underlying alleged facts are that, on July 14, 2007, the appellant, Garret Andrew Grosser, and the victim, Alyssa Reitano, were at a party in the Lake Ida area of Palm Beach County when there was an altercation between them. Reitano attempted to leave in her vehicle and asked her friend, Melissa Watson, to drive because she was nervous and scared. Grosser followed Reitano’s vehicle onto I-95 southbound and started to cross in front of her vehicle trying to force her into the concrete barrier wall. Grosser was also seen throwing things at the victim’s vehicle. This continued onto the exit ramp of Hillsboro Boulevard in Broward County, at which time Melissa Watson tried to exit to get away from Grosser. At that moment, Grosser, at a high rate of speed, cut in front of Watson suddenly and slammed on his brakes causing the vehicle (driven by Watson and occupied by Reitano) to collide with the rear of Grosser’s vehicle.
After the accident, Grosser continued on, leaving the scene of the accident. Three witnesses stopped at the scene of the accident and gave a statement to the investigating state trooper.
The operative facts giving rise to this appeal are that on July 14, 2007, the trooper arrived at the scene of this road rage incident, and, after concluding his investigation, prepared and signed three Florida
Citizens’ Crime Watch is a non profit county-wide crime prevention program funded by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners, grants and donations. When neighborhood watch is fully operative, you and your neighbors become the “Eyes and Ears” of local police department, telephoning the police at the first hint of suspicious activity.
Citizens’ Crime Watch is a program that teaches members techniques to reduce the risk of being victimized at home, in their vehicles and in public places. It also trains members the importance of recognizing suspicious activities; evaluate them; and then how to properly report them.
Programs
Neighborhood Crime Watch Program—organizes neighborhoods of single family homes, apartment complex, gated communities throughout Miami-Dade County and its Municipalities. Educates residents in crime prevention techniques, personal safety and crime trends in English, Spanish and Creole. Learn about your local police department needs and establish a working relationship. Create a phone chain to commu- nicate with neighbors in times of need.
Youth Crime Watch—encourages positive peer pressure among students to report crime, change attitudes and take pride in their schools through its
series of crime prevention training programs and action
projects.
Business Crime Watch—implemented
to educate and inform the business
owner on how to better protect their
business, employees and customers.
A crime watcher is the telephone technician, the newspaper carrier, the letter carrier, the bus driver, taxi cab operator, the garbage truck driver, the at home Mom or Dad, and even a student on his way to school. Citizens’ Crime Watch operates most effectively at the neighborhood level where residents can become more unified by knowing each other and working as a team in protecting their area. Meetings are also held in Churches, Clubhouses and residents homes.
Home Security Survey—is the primary tool used in crime prevention to recognize, appraise and anticipate loss potential. A security survey is an in-depth on-site examination of your home and its surrounding property. The survey is conducted to determine its deficiencies or security risks, to define the protection needed, and to make recom- mendations to minimize criminal opportunity. Anyone desiring a security survey may contact our office or your local police department for this service.
Senior Crime Prevention—a uniquely designed Crime Watch program focusing on the specific protection needs of senior citizens. Educates seniors on subjects pertaining to but not limited: Identity Theft, Personal Safety, and Fraud.
Crime Prevention Seminars—group seminars designed to train citizens in how to be prepared for natural disasters, terrorism awareness, personal safety, drug awareness and specific crime preven- tion technique pertaining to their community. These seminars are assisted by local law enforce- ment trained in crime prevention.
How to Start
• Inform neighbors how Citizens’ Crime Watch works through informational flyers provided by Citizens’ Crime Watch.
• Identify a Neighborhood Chairperson and organize the first meeting. A 30% participation is recommended for an effective group.
• The meeting is conducted by a Citizens’ Crime Watch Coordinator and a Police Officer.
• After meeting a Telephone Chain and assignment of Block Captains is set up by the Neighborhood Chairperson.
• Citizens’ Crime Watch signs are to be placed at key entrances of the neighborhood indicating an active Neighborhood Watch group. There is no cost for the signs.
• Once a group is organized, the Chairperson or a member may attend monthly meetings to report your activities and learn what other Crime Watch groups are doing. These meetings are held the 1st Wednesday of every month at 10:00 am at the Citizens’ Crime Watch main office.
Citizens’ Crime Watch of Miami-Dade County is a free service offered to all residents of Miami-Dade
If you are looking for Law groups Both of these groups are a great resource. We answer many questions about Miami Criminal defense and they are quite exciting. Enjoy!
Today I was browsing around the internet and came along this message http://groups.google.com/group/misc.legal/browse_thread/thread/8d6423d8a8b252f5?hl=en This is very interesting and is very similar to the blame and shame campaign that was going on by the election.
The Supreme Court Ruled that there is “No constitutional right to obtain post-conviction access to the State’s evidence for DNA testing
The Supreme Court ruled that here is no Constitutional Right to DNA testing. This applies to DNA testing that was unavailable at the time the crime occurred. It should be noted that the Supreme Court handed down this decision even as forty-four states, including the Federal Government have laws that allow for DNA testing and for the Defense to have access to the Biological evidence for such testing.
Dissenting, Justice Stevens said, “there is no reason to deny access to the evidence and there are many reasons to provide it, not the least of which is a fundamental concern in ensuring that justice has been done in this case.”
It is inconceivable that in this day and age, in light of the 240 people exonerated trough post-conviction DNA testing, there are still states that do not allow for post conviction DNA testing. Oklahoma, Alaska, Alabama, and Massachusetts, shockingly, all do not allow post-conviction DNA testing. All this, even as we know that seventeen wrongly accused people were saved from the Death penalty due to post-conviction DNA testing. They were saved from Death Row.
For Miami attorneys, the Bad news is that this ruling does not provide a Constitutional basis for DNA testing. The good news is, though, that Florida law allows for Miami criminal lawyers to demand Post-conviction DNA testing.
Even thought the Supreme Court refused to recognize a Constitutional right to post-conviction DNA testing, Florida Law does allow for DNA testing. Miami attorneys are saddened by the Supreme Court’s ruling but are still happy to report that post-conviction DNA testing is still available to persons convicted in Florida.
Still, It is sad to think that in this day and age, our system of justice does not afford every person the ability to prove his or her innocence. Now, more than ever, we should make every effort to promote DNA testing in our criminal justice system — whether before or after trial — in order to help ensure that only the guilty are convicted and never the innocent. This decision only creates new procedural roadblocks and unnecessary hurdles to getting at the truth in this and many other cases.
As Justice Stevens wrote in dissent, ‘The DNA test [the defendant] seeks is a simple one, its cost modest, and its results uniquely precise . . . . Yet [the state] refuses to allow [the defendant] to test the evidence at his own expense and to thereby ascertain the truth once and for all.’
As a South Florida criminal defense lawyer, I expect to hear from clients and prospective clients worried about the possible fallout from the Supreme court ruling regarding DNA testing in the near future.
Two formerly, before they were ill advised, well-off retired couples in Speyer, Germany, whose nest egg was almost entirely wiped out by bad investments in sub-prime Florida mortgages, vented their anger by kidnapping their investment adviser, James Amburn, in June. They took him to the vacation home of one of the couples near the Austrian border, bound him like a mummy and beat and tortured him over several days, fracturing two ribs. This in repeated attempts to punish him and extort his own property as partial compensation for their losses. Police rescued him after he managed to send a coded message by fax.
More along the same lines, does the jury convict? You Decide. Robert Caton, 50, was arrested in Andover, England, in May after he drove his Rolls-Royce through the front window of a Tesco store. His wife said he had been upset to find out that the bed they had ordered did not come with a mattress.
Some in national legal circles believe O.J. Simpson has a chance at freedom when the state’s Supreme Court justices consider allowing him to trade a prison cell in Nevada for the bright lights and beaches of Miami while he appeals his Armed Burglary conviction.
What many are talking about, though, is that Nevada’s only appellate court agreed to schedule oral arguments on August 3rd to hear OJ’s plea to be allowed to post a bond.
While for the Nevada Supreme Court, it’s unusual, for such a high profile case, the Supreme Court want to make sure they get it right. Denying the hearing outright could be perceived as denying due process.
Furthermore, in scheduling oral arguments, the Supreme Court might be motioning that some issues in OJ’s appeal have merit. In order to be eligible for bail pending appeal, OJ must show there is a potential of reversal on his appeal. OJ’s Miami lawyer, Yale Galanter, said that’s what he hopes.
“I know my burden is high. I know them granting bond would be a really rare thing,” said Galanter, whose wrote a thirty page appeal where he called OJ’s trial so rife with errors by the judge and the prosecutors that his conviction should be reversed.
OJ’s Miami Criminal Defense attorney said that OJ, who lives in Miami, is so famous he couldn’t possibly flee if he is released from prison.
“He’s got no place to go, no place to hide,” his Miami attorney said. “News crews follow him to the restaurant, to the golf course, to school to pick up his kids. He’s truly one of the most recognizable people on the planet.”
OJ turned 62 this month at Lovelock Correctional Center, 90 miles northeast of Reno. OJ’s been working as a gym janitor while serving nine to thirty three years for kidnapping and assault with a deadly weapon in the gunpoint robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers in a room at a Las Vegas hotel in September 2007.
Both OJ and his co-defendant have filed separate appeals which are pending with Supreme Court.
“Abuse of power,” and “a tarnish to the badge,” is the way law enforcement officials described the horrific acts committed by a Broward county sheriff’s deputy. The deputy was accused of sexually attacking victims — wearing his uniform, while in his marked vehicle and while on the job.
The Sheriff’s deputy was honored in March as employee of the year. On Monday he was booked into jail on fourteen charges including false imprisonment, sexual battery and stalking.
Detectives said that they were ready to file even more charges as they worked with seven additional victims. The Investigation started after a South Florida criminal defense attorney called the Fort Lauderdale police department to report that the Sheriff’s deputy had attacked his clients.
At the Law Offices of Menachem M. Mayberg, P.A., we fight for those who have been abused by the police and who need someone to fight for the truth. If you have been arrested or have been abused by the police, call for a free consultation. Call to Fight for Your Rights.
Law Offices of Menachem M. Mayberg, P.A.
Colonial Bank Building
1200 Brickell Avenue, Suite 1440
Miami, Florida 33131
Tel.(305) 695-8750
Fax(305) 397-0318
