FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein is calling again for first-appearance court Judge John Hurley to be removed from his court.
Finkelstein demanded in a letter Friday to Chief Judge Peter Weinstein that Hurley be removed from first appearance court, after he gave a tongue-lashing to an assistant public defender who argued that burglary suspect Stephen Hall Clarke ran from officers due to fears stemming from racially charged police-related incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City.
"Don't hand me that; don't go down that road," Hurley exclaimed at the public defender. "Don't hand me this 'black man running from police brutality.' I'm not going to let you poison this case with something in it that has nothing to do with it."
Finkelstein said Hurley -- who later apologized for the outburst -- is politicizing the bench and playing to "Midwestern housewives" who watch him on the Internet each morning.
"It was a political reaction to a legal argument," said Finkelstein. "Judges are not supposed to do politics."
Clarke was in a suspicious vehicle that was being trailed by a Fort Lauderdale police sergeant at 1:40 a.m. before the arrest. A shot was fired at the officer, and Clarke was later found hiding in water under a private dock wearing an empty holster, though he had no gun, according to reports.
Hurley said he couldn't comment on an ongoing case but voiced surprise that it was still an issue after his apologies, including one made in a personal call to Finkelstein. It's not the first time Finkelstein has called for Hurley's ouster.
The two clashed over homelessness issues late last year as Finkelstein demanded that homeless suspects charged with municipal violations be given access to an attorney like all other defendants.
Weinstein backed Hurley in his job but ordered Fort Lauderdale and other cities to provide municipal attorneys for the homeless in the courtroom each morning.
Finkelstein also alleged that Hurley punished Clarke personally for the public defenders' argument when he hit him with a $200,000 bond while he gave his three co-defendants a $10,000 bond. Clarke's bond was later reduced.
"A lot of people are going to agree with everything Judge Hurley said," Local 10 News reporter Bob Norman remarked to Finkelstein.
"I don't fault them for agreeing with what Judge Hurley said," said Finkelstein. "But when you're a judge, this is not a reality TV show. ... You're supposed to be bigger and better than that. You are the face of American justice."
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