Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Florida Blogs -> South Florida Lawyers

Florida

: South Florida Lawyers

Free At Last!" Thank God Almighty I'm Free At Last!!"

I can't say for sure what was going through Miami lawyer Jonathan Schwartz' mind as Collier County Judge Mike Carr finally relented and allowed Schwartz to post bail. But a guy can dream, can't he:

A Florida judge who sent a Miami lawyer to jail for missing a trial agreed to set bond at $10,000 two days later.

The lawyer, Jonathan S. Schwartz, was released Wednesday night after posting bond, the Naples Daily News reports. He appeared in court earlier that day in shackles and handcuffs until he had a coughing fit and Judge Mike Carr ordered the restraints removed.

Carr of Collier County said he decided not to allow Schwartz to be released on his own recognizance because of a history of missing court dates. Carr said Schwartz had been admonished in 1995 for ignoring an order by a Broward County judge to appear in his court after failing to show up six times, the story says.

Carr held Schwartz in contempt on Monday, also citing his failure to seek dismissal of a bench warrant for a client, the Naples Daily News reported in an earlier story. Carr ordered Schwartz jailed for 10 days and told him to pay a $500 fine.

Schwartz didn?t show up for an April trial scheduled for a client who was charged with driving without a license. When the client couldn?t find Schwartz, another lawyer stepped in to negotiate a plea bargain that allowed the client to avoid jail. Carr heard testimony that the mix-up stemmed from attempts to find a substitute for Schwartz, who was attending another court hearing.

Schwartz had a substitute lawyer appear for him at an earlier hearing involving the same client, but he told the judge he could not locate the client. The substitute lawyer had never met the client.

Schwartz?s lawyer, Lee Hollander, said his client?s problems were caused by accepting too much work.

Hmm, pulling out the old coughing-fit ruse, eh?

Well played, sir.

Full post as published by South Florida Lawyers on June 20, 2008 (boomark / email).