Florida State Courts Ensure that "Justice for All" Continues During Hurricanes

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1 Page 1of 5 Supreme Court of Florida Wednesday, October 26, 2005 For Immediate Release For More Information Contact: Craig Waters, Court Public Information Officer (850) Florida State Courts Ensure that "Justice for All" Continues During Hurricanes TALLAHASSEE By Tuesday, the storm tallies were coming into Florida Chief Justice Barbara J. Pariente's office from across the state courts system: Broward County's courthouse lost at least 175 windows during Hurricane Wilma, with much of the glass blown inside a building now closed to the public, its courtrooms unusable. Yet this morning, Broward courts began holding emergency legal hearings required by law at the county jail. These include first appearances of people accused of crimes. On the opposite side of the state in the Fort Myers and Naples areas, judges under the direction of Chief Judge Hugh D. Hayes had begun fanning out to jails in all of the counties of the 20 th Circuit as soon as Wilma had passed. Judge Vincent P. Murphy went to Collier County, Judge W. Wayne Woodard to Charlotte, Judge Jack Lundy to Glades, Judge James D. Sloan to Hendry, and Judges Thomas S. Reese and James R. Adams to Lee. The scene was repeated this week in courts from the I-4 corridor to Key West, part of statewide court emergency planning that had its roots in the 9/11 terrorist attacks and was battletested in the bruising 2004 hurricane season. plan. Florida's state courts continue dispensing justice even in the midst of disaster. That is the

2 Page: 2 Heroes of the Hurricanes "There are many heroes of the hurricanes," said Pariente. "But I must say that we especially owe a debt to our trial court judges who go out to the jails in storm-littered streets to hold first appearances and hear other emergency matters such as domestic violence cases. This year and last, some of these judges even left their own damaged homes to serve the public." That service is vital. During the 2004 hurricane season, for example, hundreds of people around the state were arrested for curfew violations, a relatively minor offense. Many of these might have languished in overcrowded jails or else been released with no punishment except for the fact that judges came in quickly to hold first appearances, set bond, and release them pending future proceedings. Domestic violence can increase sharply in hurricane-damaged areas, meaning that Florida judges must be readily available to issue injunctions against abusers or handle related matters. In some instances, judges have even gone to damaged hospitals to hear Baker Act cases involving people who may need mandatory psychiatric care because of the danger they pose to themselves or others. "It is a tribute both to our planning and our personnel that these operations go virtually unnoticed," Pariente said. "That is because they go off without a hitch. Everyone would notice if the system failed and the people were denied the vital public safety function our courts fulfill in times of crisis." Pensacola 2004, Treasure Coast 2005 Other examples abound. In the 2004 hurricane season, the judges of Escambia County already had a fully developed plan before Hurricane Ivan devastated the Pensacola courthouse. They were able to move court operations to the local civic center and, with the cooperation of local elected officials, remain there even though FEMA tried to occupy the same space.

3 Page: 3 "I was especially touched," Pariente said, "by one example of incredible bravery I heard about when I visited Pensacola shortly after Ivan struck. Sheriff's Sergeant Jody Villar remained on a duty in the Escambia County Judicial Center to try to minimize damage there during the storm. As he did so, his own home was destroyed." This year in advance of Wilma, Florida's Treasure Coast court facilities in St. Lucie and surrounding counties drew from their experience as one of 2004's "hurricane magnets." As soon as the danger of Wilma became evident, they began meeting with local officials at the Emergency Operations Center to coordinate in advance of landfall. "The one good thing about a crisis," said senior deputy court administrator Lisa Savage, "is it is so impressive at these EOC meetings to watch and be part of the different branches of government and county and state entities pulling together no matter who is budgeted for what and working together in solving problems for our communities." Keeping the Keys Courts Open Pariente said that other examples of heroic action during Hurricane Wilma came from the Florida Keys, which suffered severe flooding and raking winds. Judge Peary Fowler held first appearances at the Key West detention center until the storm hit, and court interpreter Star Garcia continued to translate even though her home was damaged. Garcia simply used a courthouse office as her temporary home and kept working. In the upper Keys, Judge Reagan Ptomey began performing essential court functions as soon as the winds died, and moved his secretary and her family into his own home when theirs flooded. Court Security Officer Kenny Alonso had to swim out the window of his mother's flooded house but still reported to work to help Deputy Vashon Watson stand watch over the courthouse to minimize any damage during and immediately after the storm.

4 Page: 4 Today, Judge Luis Garcia is on duty to handle any essential emergency legal cases that arise as the Keys begin recovery and cleanup. Local Response Coordinated with Local Officials In hard-hit Broward County, court managers also found that a cooperative response is key to meeting the community's needs. Court Administrator Carol Ortman said that court officials are now working alongside the clerk of court, sheriff's officials, public defenders, and state attorney's staff to get their local justice system back to full speed as soon as possible. Every state court in Florida has an emergency plan that stresses the need for continuous planning for a rapid response in full cooperation with other local officials. These plans were developed after the Florida Supreme Court mandated them, following recommendations of a 2002 report prompted by the 2001 terrorist attacks. The ultimate goal: keep the courts open; keep the people safe. Role of the Florida Supreme Court Implementing the plans is mainly a local responsibility, though the Supreme Court continues to have a supervisory role because the Chief Justice is the administrative head of the entire state courts system. A standard feature, prominently used in the 2004 hurricane season, includes daily "hurricane calls" between the Supreme Court and local court officials with the Chief Justice presiding when necessary. These statewide conference calls begin as soon as the hurricane threat is established and continue during the recovery phase. These calls emphasize scaling back to emergency "mission essential" functions when required and can include offers of aid or assistance from one court to another elsewhere in the state. The Florida Supreme Court has accommodated attorneys whose law offices were damaged or stripped of windows in the professional districts of Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Some

5 Page: 5 appeals scheduled to be heard next week at the Court in Tallahassee now will be postponed until these attorneys can recover from Wilma. The Supreme Court also provides help in other important ways. Court closures impact large numbers of people ranging from those summoned for lawsuits or criminal complaints, jurors, witnesses, attorneys, sheriff's officers, and court staff. Communicating with them can be hard following a major storm To address this problem, the Supreme Court maintains a phone hotline in Tallahassee at (850) and posts court closure information on its website at to keep the public informed about storm effects. The Chief Justice has authority to extend all legal deadlines in areas affected by the hurricane by issuing "tolling orders." These orders are always issued after a court has reopened, are retroactive, and ensure that no one loses a legal right because courts were closed or inaccessible. Orders tolling time limits due to Hurricane Wilma will be issued by the Chief Justice in the next few weeks. "This is part of the overall effort to make sure the promise of justice for all continues even after a Florida hurricane," said Pariente. ###