America's Most Wanted feature Jupiter slayings

John Walsh is going to lead Saturday with the Jupiter slayings.

Here's the Treasure Coast article. The U.S. Marshals are looking for him. There are billboards, t.v. and a reward. The Post article says that his capture is deemed certain.

In other local news, the Boynton Beach woman who wanted her husband whacked is in court today for a case disposition. Don't expect a guilty plea today people.

Rumpole reports on Krista Marx's comments:

Ever wonder what the rest of the State thinks of our fair city?

Hip South Beach?

Fabulous restaurants?

The new opera house?

Communities filled with hard working families making life a little better for their children?

All true, but that's not how some Floridians view us, especially Judges who work in courthouses north of Miami. If like us, you have had the occasion to travel around the state and represent individuals in other counties, then you know that many judges, prosecutors, police officers and others view Miami as some crime ridden slum exporting drugs, vice, corruption and thuggery throughout the world.

That is certainly the express and avowed view of Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx who in a recent interview said that "crime is inexorably moving northward from Miami like the red tide."

Judge and obviously amateur marine biologist Krista Marx's interview is summarized in theNew Time's riptide blog here.

Marx's prediction for the future of her city? Dim. Eventually, we'll be like Miami-Dade, and that's because we live in paradise and everybody wants to live here -- including criminals."

To the reporter's credit, the article notes:

Really, Palm Beach doesn't have "scary" crime?

Marx herself presided over the Dunbar Village rape trial, which was far "scarier" than anything that's happened in Miami-Dade in a while. And where did that kid who got set on fire by his friends over a video game happen? Oh, Palm Beach County. And where did a high proportion of Madoff victims live? In Palm Beach. Miami may be at number 45 on CQ's press crime rankings, but West Palm Beach wasn't far behind at number 63.

What was the big crime story in Miami this year? The cat killer? Whatever.

The reporter concludes:

The reason Miami and the rest of South Florida has crime is not because, "we live in paradise and everybody wants to live here -- including criminals." It's because we have a shamefully large population living in poverty (most of whom are minorities) that no one, especially the rich who can afford to live in luxury towers or gated communities, really gives a shit about.

Rumpole notes: We've been to Palm Beach. We've driven through its slums and we've seen it's crime. Palm Beach is paradise? Hardly. It's a boring, backwater town inhabited by classless snobs and ignorant oafs, some of whom have apparently made it to the Circuit Bench. We'll take Miami any day with the sincere hope that despite the problems some of our robed readers may have, that our Judiciary will not get infected by the "black robed tide" of ignorant snobs creeping down from northern counties in search of a real and vibrant city to live in.

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com

Avion "the rat" Lawson to be sentenced today

Let's see what the rat gets. I'm guessing 40 years. Everyone else got life. He will probably get some leniency because of his "cooperation" - that's what the government likes to call it.

I just call him a rat. Got cheese?

I can't figure out why the State hasn't charged the other people involved. The rat is naming names and still no indictment?

Susan Spencer-Wendell reports.

WEST PALM BEACH — It's judgment day for the fourth person convicted in the gang rape of a Dunbar Village woman and her son.

Avion Lawson, now 16, was the youngest of those arrested in the brutal attack. He faces up to 11 life sentences for his involvement in the June 2007 incident, which began as a robbery and ended in a night of terror for the mother and her son.

Three others, Tommy Poin dexter, Jakaris Taylor and Nathan Walker Jr., were sentenced to life in prison this year by Circuit Judge Krista Marx after their trials.

Lawson, though, is in a different position. He pleaded guilty rather than going to trial and was the prosecution's star witness, testifying against Poindexter, Walker and Taylor, whom he used to call brother.

After pleading guilty to 14 crimes in the attack, Lawson could receive 11 life sentences plus 50 years.

Under state sentencing guidelines, he faces a minimum of 49 years in prison, according to testimony at his guilty plea in August, and Marx warned Lawson at the time that she still could sentence him to life.

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com

Judge Krista Marx on the guilty going free and other musings

Krista Marx talks about, inter alia, (the fancy Latin word of the day) people who are guilty going free in the Post article:

That said, there are definitely times when Marx disagrees with a jury verdict. Taking care to keep the specifics vague, she points to a recent case involving an extremely attractive girl charged with a serious crime.

"She was from central casting for the part of a sweet young girl. The jury walked her. Was she guilty? Incredibly guilty. It just reminds you that the human element is crucial in the law; so much of it has to do with credibility, and the jury found her credible.

Beautiful people have it easier in this world.

It not only has to do with credibility, it has to do with first impressions. One of the potential jurors in a case I tried - who did not sit on the case - spoke with me yesterday when I ran into him by chance. He said "Your client looked like a nice guy. Nobody really got hurt. I hope it went well for him."

This guy had already made up his mind that if he was going to sit on the jury, he was going to find the client not guilty - without hearing a scintilla of evidence.

I'd like to think that jurors wait, listen to all the evidence and the law and then make a reasoned decision in accordance with the facts and the law. Not so. Some of the research I've read about juries says that most people make up their minds after opening statement. I think some people make up their minds even before opening statement.

Chief Justice John Roberts opined about just calling balls and strikes in his confirmation hearing. Judge John Kastrenakes has been known to use that phrase. Judge Krista Marx opines in the Palm Beach Post article:

"Where you have a strong body of case law, it's not unlike calling balls and strikes," says Marx. "But other than cases like that, the law is gray; the judge next door could have a completely different idea of what an appropriate sentence is. It's an intensely personal line of work."

The article goes on to tell more personal things about Krista Marx - dealing with violent cases, and how she loses sleep over cases.

"We deal with the underbelly, the dark side, and we deal with it all day long. A lot of people have jobs where they get to try to make people happy. We don't. It's sorrow, mostly, and there are so few happy aspects — there are adoptions, and tonight I'm performing a marriage. But mostly it's like working in an emergency room, and that can be exhausting.

"I agonize over cases; I lose sleep over cases...

BTW, who is Danny Brams? (He's a commercial litigator - never even a prosecutor or public defender according to his website) How about Mark Luttier? (He's a family and PI lawyer). The lawyers quoted in the article (other than esteemed Public Defender Carey Haughwout) don't even practice criminal defense, do they? Somebody help me out here. Danny and Mark are probably great guys - I don't know. However, the Post really should get comments from lawyers who actually practice in front of Krista Marx.

Say what you will about Krista Marx. She makes tough decisions and she is efficient.

Grey Tesh is a board certified criminal trial lawyer in West Palm Beach, Florida and is President of the Palm Beach association of criminal defense lawyers. www.aaacriminaldefense.com