NewsHound
07-11-2008, 03:57 PM
Critics: Lauderdale police chief's wife coddled in shooting
From police stations to the county courthouse, everybody was talking about the arrest of the Fort Lauderdale police chief's wife on Thursday -- everyone except Chief Frank Adderley and wife Eleanor.
Howard Finkelstein, Broward's public defender, insisted that Eleanor Adderley is getting preferential treatment from prosecutors and Plantation police, who opted not to charge her with attempted murder after she opened fire on her husband in their home.
She is charged instead with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing into a dwelling.
Defense attorney John P. Contini, a friend of the Adderleys, was just as adamant that she did not receive favorable treatment -- and that the two felonies could ultimately end up as misdemeanors.
In the middle: State attorney Sarahnell Murphy, the woman charged with prosecuting the case.
All this while the accused left jail and returned to the Plantation home she used to share with her husband -- up until the moment she chased him from the house, firing gunshots as he ran, police said. Circuit Judge Geoffrey Cohen ruled that the two should not be within a mile of each other, so until the charges are resolved, Chief Adderley will live elsewhere.
The rhetoric ramped up Thursday when Broward County prosecutors announced they have no plans to recuse themselves in the state's case against Eleanor Adderley.
That stand drew sharp and immediate criticism from Finkelstein, who said the chief's wife has benefited from favoritism.
''I question whether or not a state attorney who depends upon the police to prosecute a lion's share of their cases can handle a case like this without it having some kind of effect,'' said Finkelstein, who has no ties to the case. ``You can't serve two masters.''
The two charges are ''very light,'' Finkelstein said, considering she came within inches of shooting her husband while he was in bed and then fired at least two more shots in his direction.
''I can tell you that my clients sitting in jail for the same type of offense are wondering why they are charged with attempted murder,'' Finkelstein said.
A few protesters late Thursday afternoon across the street from Fort Lauderdale police headquarters appeared to agree with Finkelstein's view of the case.
DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIM
Five women -- four wearing wedding dresses -- held signs on Broward Boulevard, and their organizer, Josie Ashton of Citizens Against Domestic Abuse, said they wanted to ensure people realized the police chief was a victim of domestic violence. No matter what caused Eleanor Adderley to shoot at her husband -- even if he was having an affair, Ashton said, ``we don't want people in the community to let her go easy.''
But Plantation police stand by the charges against Adderley and vehemently deny that she was treated differently because her husband is a police officer.
''If she got preferential treatment, she would have never been arrested to begin with,'' said Detective Phil Toman, a Plantation police spokesman.
Toman said the detective who worked the case, Ron Camp, conducted an investigation and determined that Adderley should be charged with aggravated assault.
With attempted murder, Toman said, there has to be intent to kill -- which Camp did not find. Eleanor Adderley, 45, told police she was just trying to ''scare'' her husband, according to a police report.
Murphy, the prosecutor, said Thursday she would not comment on the ongoing investigation, but declared that the Broward State Attorney's Office would prosecute the case fairly.
It is common practice for county prosecutors to recuse themselves from cases where there is an appearance of a conflict of interest. Gov. Charlie Crist assigned the drug case against former Broward Judge Lawrence Korda to the Miami-Dade state attorney's office to avoid such an impression.
CLASS TREATMENT
University of Miami criminal law professor Donald Jones agrees with Finkelstein that Adderley is receiving preferential treatment -- but that it's a matter of classism, not nepotism.
''They're being treated as middle-class people are being treated all the time,'' Jones said. ``This is complex.''
However, there is a difference between a standard shooting and a domestic violence situation, said Fort Lauderdale-based criminal attorney Richard L. Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum, who does not believe police and prosecutors are helping Adderley out, said there is more creative interpretation of the law in domestic cases -- particularly when the victim does not want the alleged attacker prosecuted.
''It seems to me they're treating this like any other case,'' Rosenbaum said.
At a rare late-afternoon bond hearing Wednesday, attorneys presented a sworn affidavit from Frank Adderley requesting his wife be released. That document, which states that Eleanor Adderley suffers from ''medical issues,'' was released Thursday by her attorney, Robert Buschel.
Contini, an attorney whose son is friends with the Adderleys' 14-year-old son, agrees.
He believes there's a chance the charges are actually too harsh, and could end up being reduced to misdemeanor reckless display of a firearm.
Contini called Eleanor Adderley ``a wonderful woman and mother . . . [who] is the personification of integrity.''
On Thursday, Eleanor Adderley was at her Plantation home, though she refused to speak with a reporter. Her husband, who was not at work Thursday, does not plan to take a leave of absence from his post while the investigation unfolds, a city spokeswoman said.
It is still not known what disagreement led to the shooting.
Source (http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/601077.html)
From police stations to the county courthouse, everybody was talking about the arrest of the Fort Lauderdale police chief's wife on Thursday -- everyone except Chief Frank Adderley and wife Eleanor.
Howard Finkelstein, Broward's public defender, insisted that Eleanor Adderley is getting preferential treatment from prosecutors and Plantation police, who opted not to charge her with attempted murder after she opened fire on her husband in their home.
She is charged instead with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing into a dwelling.
Defense attorney John P. Contini, a friend of the Adderleys, was just as adamant that she did not receive favorable treatment -- and that the two felonies could ultimately end up as misdemeanors.
In the middle: State attorney Sarahnell Murphy, the woman charged with prosecuting the case.
All this while the accused left jail and returned to the Plantation home she used to share with her husband -- up until the moment she chased him from the house, firing gunshots as he ran, police said. Circuit Judge Geoffrey Cohen ruled that the two should not be within a mile of each other, so until the charges are resolved, Chief Adderley will live elsewhere.
The rhetoric ramped up Thursday when Broward County prosecutors announced they have no plans to recuse themselves in the state's case against Eleanor Adderley.
That stand drew sharp and immediate criticism from Finkelstein, who said the chief's wife has benefited from favoritism.
''I question whether or not a state attorney who depends upon the police to prosecute a lion's share of their cases can handle a case like this without it having some kind of effect,'' said Finkelstein, who has no ties to the case. ``You can't serve two masters.''
The two charges are ''very light,'' Finkelstein said, considering she came within inches of shooting her husband while he was in bed and then fired at least two more shots in his direction.
''I can tell you that my clients sitting in jail for the same type of offense are wondering why they are charged with attempted murder,'' Finkelstein said.
A few protesters late Thursday afternoon across the street from Fort Lauderdale police headquarters appeared to agree with Finkelstein's view of the case.
DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIM
Five women -- four wearing wedding dresses -- held signs on Broward Boulevard, and their organizer, Josie Ashton of Citizens Against Domestic Abuse, said they wanted to ensure people realized the police chief was a victim of domestic violence. No matter what caused Eleanor Adderley to shoot at her husband -- even if he was having an affair, Ashton said, ``we don't want people in the community to let her go easy.''
But Plantation police stand by the charges against Adderley and vehemently deny that she was treated differently because her husband is a police officer.
''If she got preferential treatment, she would have never been arrested to begin with,'' said Detective Phil Toman, a Plantation police spokesman.
Toman said the detective who worked the case, Ron Camp, conducted an investigation and determined that Adderley should be charged with aggravated assault.
With attempted murder, Toman said, there has to be intent to kill -- which Camp did not find. Eleanor Adderley, 45, told police she was just trying to ''scare'' her husband, according to a police report.
Murphy, the prosecutor, said Thursday she would not comment on the ongoing investigation, but declared that the Broward State Attorney's Office would prosecute the case fairly.
It is common practice for county prosecutors to recuse themselves from cases where there is an appearance of a conflict of interest. Gov. Charlie Crist assigned the drug case against former Broward Judge Lawrence Korda to the Miami-Dade state attorney's office to avoid such an impression.
CLASS TREATMENT
University of Miami criminal law professor Donald Jones agrees with Finkelstein that Adderley is receiving preferential treatment -- but that it's a matter of classism, not nepotism.
''They're being treated as middle-class people are being treated all the time,'' Jones said. ``This is complex.''
However, there is a difference between a standard shooting and a domestic violence situation, said Fort Lauderdale-based criminal attorney Richard L. Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum, who does not believe police and prosecutors are helping Adderley out, said there is more creative interpretation of the law in domestic cases -- particularly when the victim does not want the alleged attacker prosecuted.
''It seems to me they're treating this like any other case,'' Rosenbaum said.
At a rare late-afternoon bond hearing Wednesday, attorneys presented a sworn affidavit from Frank Adderley requesting his wife be released. That document, which states that Eleanor Adderley suffers from ''medical issues,'' was released Thursday by her attorney, Robert Buschel.
Contini, an attorney whose son is friends with the Adderleys' 14-year-old son, agrees.
He believes there's a chance the charges are actually too harsh, and could end up being reduced to misdemeanor reckless display of a firearm.
Contini called Eleanor Adderley ``a wonderful woman and mother . . . [who] is the personification of integrity.''
On Thursday, Eleanor Adderley was at her Plantation home, though she refused to speak with a reporter. Her husband, who was not at work Thursday, does not plan to take a leave of absence from his post while the investigation unfolds, a city spokeswoman said.
It is still not known what disagreement led to the shooting.
Source (http://www.miamiherald.com/top_stories/story/601077.html)