In nearly every profession, ordinary citizens are at the mercy bureaucrats who protect their own cronies from the consequences of bad behavior.
In the medical field, for example, doctors have historically been notorious for remaining silent when they suspect medical errors or outright malpractice committed by their colleagues. A New England Journal of Medicine report published on October 31, 2013 notes several reasons why doctors don’t report the mistakes made by other doctors, one of which is the fear of hostility they will receive from their peers. The report notes that if it were not for this fraternal “code of silence,” many of the preventable medical mistakes resulting in unnecessary harm to patients, and even fatalities, might have been avoided.
A similar scenario occurs in law enforcement when police officers are suspected of covering up for the misconduct of their colleagues. Although most of these accusations are eventually proven to be unfounded, the perception of a “blue wall of silence” persists. Unfortunately, that perception continues unabated because the misbehavior of just one corrupt cop can destroy the reputation of an entire police department.
North Miami Police Chief Leonard Burgess, for example, personally benefited by this unwritten rule. While employed by the Miami-Dade Police Department, his superiors and colleagues quickly closed ranks to defend Lenny against charges of sexual harassment by a mere underling who dared to break the code of silence. She was intimidated into withdrawing her complaint.
Chief Lenny is now paying it forward, so speak, by refusing to fire a serial offender in his own department.
Not surprisingly, the regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the legal profession in Florida is not immune to whitewashing, or ignoring altogether, the unethical behavior of its members.
In a complaint filed with The Florida Bar, I made two allegations against attorney and State Representative, Joseph S. Geller, who happens to be representing North Miami Beach “Councilwoman” Phyllis Smith in an absentee ballot fraud lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County.
The first part of my complaint alleged that even though Geller filed a mandatory continuance in order to avoid court proceedings in that case during a special session of the Florida legislature held August 10, 2015 through August 21, 2015, HE NEVER ATTENDED THE SPECIAL SESSION. As an exhibit to this allegation, I attached copies of a Miami Herald article, which reported that Geller was excused from attending this session, and an email dated July 23, 2015 from Cody W. Rogers, the OPS Clerk to Representative Joseph Geller, which noted that he is “excused from session.”
In the second allegation, I noted that while Geller filed another mandatory continuance in the Smith lawsuit so he could attend the 2016 regular legislative session, which began January 12, 2016 and ended on March 11, 2016, he was actively litigating a separate lawsuit during that session, which he filed in Miami-Dade County.
As it did with my previous complaint against North Miami City Clerk Michael A. Etienne, Esquire, The Florida Bar completely dropped the ball in its investigation of Joseph S. Geller.
In a letter to me dated April 13, 2016, Annamarie Craft of The Florida Bar claimed that although Geller missed the first day of the session, “the House Journal clearly shows that he was in attendance on other days of that Special Session.”
And yes, I have already made a separate public records request from the Florida House of Representatives for Joe’s attendance record.
It’s interesting to note that in that two week Special Session in August, there were ONLY FOUR DAYS during which actual meetings were scheduled, as represented by the red circled dates below.
During those four days, the House of Representatives only sat in session for a grand total of 1 hour and 18 minutes.
On Monday, August 10, 2015, the day that Joseph S. Geller claims he missed, the House sat for 18 minutes from 3:00 p.m. to 3:18 p.m.
On the last day of the Special Session, Friday, August 21, 2015, the House sat for 1 hour from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
In the days in between, the Select Committee on Redistricting met on Tuesday, August 11, 2015 for 9 hours, and Thursday, August 13, 2015 for 6 hours. The Rules, Calendar & Ethics Committee also met on Thursday, August 16, 2015 for 30 minutes.
Joe Geller is not a member of either committee.
On Friday, August 21, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. to 9:55 a.m., or a total of 25 minutes, there was a Joint Redistricting Meeting of the “Chairs Only.”
Again, Geller is not on the Redistricting Committee, much less the Chair.
The good citizens of the State of Florida would do well to note that their state representatives went to Tallahassee on taxpayer dime for a two week special session, yet those elected officials only spent a total of 17 hours and 13 minutes doing anything productive.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but wonder how they spent the remaining 150 hours and 47 minutes of their “special session.” Just saying.
If that wasted taxpayer money wasn’t bad enough, State Representative Joseph S. Geller was simultaneously shirking his duties as an officer of the court in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County.
Joe Geller demanded and received a mandatory continuance from litigating the Phyllis Smith absentee ballot fraud lawsuit for a full 15 days before and a full 15 days after that two week period, during which he only sat for A GRAND TOTAL OF ONE HOUR!
All courtesy of Florida Statute 11.111, the very law that Florida legislators enacted to benefit themselves in the first place.
Politics! What a racket, huh?
As to my second allegation regarding Joe’s filing of a mandatory continuance in the absentee ballot fraud lawsuit, while actively litigating another case, Bar Counsel Annamarie Craft wrote, “The fact that you found one case where Representative Geller did not file a request for continuance is not sufficient to warrant further action.” She then noted that the case is closed.
In a nutshell, the only organization in Florida that has jurisdiction over attorneys provides absolutely no protection to the general public against the predatory actions of its members.
Undaunted, I angrily fired back a letter to Ms. Craft, objecting to her dismissal of my complaint.
I asked her for “a true and correct copy of the “House Journal” which “clearly shows” the dates Joseph S. Geller was in attendance.”
I also wrote, “In addition, you completely disregarded and/or ignored my Second Allegation with respect to Joseph S. Geller’s using the “mandatory excuse” to avoid litigation one lawsuit, while continuing to litigate a completely separate lawsuit, both of which are being heard in the same jurisdiction, i.e., the Eleventh Circuit Circuit of Miami-Dade County, Florida.”
For good measure, I also copied State Representative/Speaker of the House Steve Crisafulli, Governor Rick Scott, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, asking all of them to investigate and intercede. I’ll keep you posted with their responses, if any.
While we wait for the justice that will most likely never be served, here’s a little something to ponder.
The general public is truly at the mercy of corruptocrats who are protected by organizations made up of the ruling elite. In almost every profession, there is an unwritten code of silence designed to cover up the transgressions of its unscrupulous members and prevent them from suffering the consequences of their actions. The primary purpose of these organizations is to protect their dues-paying members and preserve the status quo.
Those of us who are victims of these abusers of the public trust truly have nowhere to turn. There is no organization that will protect the “unwashed masses” from becoming targets of their malfeasance. There is no agency upon which we can rely to defend us from these predators.
Sadly, when we ask, “WHERE ARE THE AUTHORITIES?” the silence is deafening.
There are apparently no “authorities” in place to protect the ordinary citizen.
As such, we have no choice but to be our own advocates for justice. We must be persistent in our quest for the truth. We must continue to demand that these offenders are held accountable for their actions and suffer the consequences of their misdeeds.
We face an uphill battle, but we must never give up the fight.
For if we give up and give in to apathy, the predators win.
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
