Politics
Last Call for 4.1.26 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is blasting Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier over calls to impeach a Tallahassee judge following the signing of “Missy’s Law.”
In a statement released Wednesday, the association said the Governor should “respect our constitutionally mandated separation of powers and quit using the criminal legal system and the lives of Floridians to bolster his political career, impugning along the way the good names of public servants who can’t fight back — judges.”
The criticism comes shortly after the Governor put his signature on Missy’s Law, which requires defendants who plead guilty or are convicted of certain crimes to remain in custody until sentencing. Supporters say the measure is designed to prevent tragedies like the death of the law’s namesake, but criminal defense attorneys say the statute nukes judicial discretion.
FACDL President Tania Alavi said the law’s rigid structure creates practical problems for courts that routinely separate plea hearings from sentencing dates for logistical or case-related reasons.
“Missy’s death was a tragedy; it should not have happened, and our system let her down,” Alavi said in the release. “But the answer is not a rigid rule without discretion, especially for pleas. People should not be jailed when even the judge and prosecutor don’t believe it’s appropriate.”
FACDL said the case that prompted the legislation wasn’t spurred by judicial negligence, but by prosecutors who allegedly failed to provide the court with critical information about the defendant’s history before the defendant was released pending sentencing.
Per FACDL, Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper was not informed that Daniel Spencer had been investigated for molestation or for allegedly abusing Missy’s mother. “Absent such knowledge, the judge had no particular reason to hold him until sentencing,” the association said.
The group also took umbrage with the Governor’s and AG’s lack of criticism for a different judge who allowed release pending sentencing, “who is not (and should not be) facing the same demands for impeachment.”
FADCL added, Most in the criminal legal system agree that it is flawed. But when the parties each do their jobs and do them well, the system is the best humans can devise.”
“… Our judges have difficult jobs. They make decisions daily that affect lives, sometimes tragically. That is a heavy burden judges bear, and attacking them does not make them do a better job. It makes them afraid to be independent thinkers, doing the best they can for us. If all parties stay in their lanes—prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, and politicians — we will usually get the justice we deserve.”
Evening Reads
—”Five takeaways from the birthright citizenship argument” via Adam Liptak and Ann E. Marimow of The New York Times
—”Could you convince Donald Trump your child is a U.S. citizen?” via Jacob Hamburger of Rolling Stone
—”Why Trump didn’t predict the gas-price spike” via David Frum of The Atlantic
—”The tale of the tape: Trump repeatedly pledged to cut gas prices by 50%” via Judd Legum and Rebecca Crosby of Popular Information
—”The longest (partial) government shutdown in U.S. history” via Riley Beggin of The Washington Post
—“The Trump whistleblower making a long-shot bid to win over deep red Florida” via Elizabeth Bernstein of The Wall Street Journal
—”The new era of militia influencers” via David Gilbert of WIRED
—”Ron DeSantis weighs in on SCOTUS birthright citizenship case: ‘Cheapens the process’” via Liv Caputo of the Florida Phoenix
—“How are Florida’s politicians reacting to Trump’s Gulf oil exemptions?” via Michael Van Sickler of the Tampa Bay Times
—”Our radical plan to replace the NBA draft” via Nate Silver of the Silver Bulletin
“Coming to America was a big deal in 1865, 1866. You couldn’t just hop on a plane and get here, stay three weeks, and hop on a plane and go back to foreign countries. That wasn’t the way it worked.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, arguing against birthright citizenship.
Put it on the Tab
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
Slide a Money Maker down to U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who posted a record $22 million haul for his Governor campaign in Q1.
You’ll need to wait until they return to our pale blue dot, but four Moonshots are in order for the astronauts embarking on the first lunar mission in half a century.
Blaise Ingoglia landed himself a Super Red by locking down the Florida GOP’s endorsement for his bid for a full term as Chief Financial Officer.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Magic, Heat battle for playoff spots
With a handful of regular-season games remaining, the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat are both fighting for postseason seeding as the Magic host the Atlanta Hawks (7 p.m. ET, FanDuel Sports Network – Florida) and the Heat face the Boston Celtics in Miami (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The Magic (40-35) begin the evening in eighth place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind sixth-place Toronto. The top six teams in each conference get an automatic spot in the playoffs, while teams seven through ten must earn their way in via a play-in round.
Orlando has lost seven of the last 10 games, but topped the Phoenix Suns 115-111 on Tuesday.
After tonight’s game, Orlando goes on the road to face the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans before returning home to face Detroit and Minnesota. The final two games of the regular season are away at Chicago and Boston.
Both the Magic and Heat have secured spots at least in the play-in round, but both could reach the top six with a hot finish to the season.
Miami (40-36) sits half a game behind Orlando in the standings with one fewer game left to play. The Heat have also lost seven of the last 10 games, and like the Magic, are coming off a win. Miami topped Philadelphia 119-109 on Monday.
After facing Boston, the Heat host the Washington Wizards before going on the road for three straight games, two at Toronto and one at Washington, before concluding the regular season on April 12 at home against Atlanta.
___
Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.