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For my ethical challenges I have chosen three articles I believe occur more often than not yet are tired and judge differently.  Often times there’s a grey area that creates ethical dilemmas in the courtroom very naturally.

Noura Jackson was release after 11 years for stabbing her mother in June 2005. Miss. Jackson was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in 2009. Her attorneys filed an appeal to Tennessee Supreme Court for a retrial after ruling that prosecutors failed to turn over evidence that could have discredited a key witness. They also called dishonorable on the prosecution's use of witnesses to attack Jackson's character due to her drinking, drug use and sexual promiscuity. Such a plea meant that she didn't have to admit guilt but accepted the 15-year sentence on a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. She has maintained her innocence. Based off this newly obtain information she was granted early release. Often times DA office don’t have reliable witness, with creditability issues. These issues often times lead to mistrials a acquittals

The second case involved Jory Leedy, a registered sex offender from Franklin accused of sex crimes against boys wants the alleged victims to testify live in court, not via closed-circuit TV. There were several motions filed in Cincinnati’s U.S. District Court, federal public defender Richard Smith-Monahan asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Black to allow Leedy to confront his alleged victims face to face. Why is this tactic considered unorthodox? The boys would experience emotional trauma, they should be forced to testify because of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. The Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right…to be confronted with the witnesses against him." That fact this request comes a registered sex offender, created a serious ethical dilemma. Is the accuse entitled to a fair trail despite the fact of his social status? Absolutely. U.S. District Judge Timothy Black however has not ruled on this matter.

My last article involved Jennifer "Mia" Woodward. She was loud. Confrontational. Emotional in court. Judge Mark Speiser threw her out of one hearing in an estate case in probate court, telling her to "Get your face out of here!" Weeks later, after continued outbursts, he'd had enough: he jailed her for 15 days on contempt charges. Though Speiser also presides over Broward County's felony mental health court, he did not recognize signs that Woodward was unbalanced. Had he known she was suffering from bipolar disorder, he now says, he likely would not have locked her up. I believe these situations occur more often than not in a court of law. Where the defendant has mental issues that are not recognized.

What I’ve learned is nothing is black or white. Innocent or Guilty there’s always more to a story than meets the eye. There should e a system in place to investigate all aspect of crime where ethical dilemmas can be address without jeopardizing the court of law.

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Judge chastised for jailing mentally ill woman for courtroom outbursts

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Broward Judge Mark Speiser, who helped found the mental health court, jailed a woman for 15 days for criminal contempt, without recognizing signs she's bipolar

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In a Broward courtroom, Jennifer "Mia" Woodward was loud. Confrontational. Emotional. She spoke out when told not to. Refused to answer questions. The judge says she even gave him the finger.

Judge Mark Speiser threw her out of one hearing in an estate case in probate court, telling her to "Get your face out of here!" At a hearing weeks later, after continued outbursts, he'd had enough: he jailed her for 15 days on contempt charges.

Though Speiser also presides over Broward County's felony mental health court, he did not recognize signs that Woodward was unbalanced. Had he known she was suffering from bipolar disorder, he now says, he likely would not have locked her up.

The judge had the authority to swiftly jail her, without providing her with an attorney, for disrupting the professional operation of the court. The Florida Supreme Court, however, ruled earlier this year that such "extraordinary power" must be used "cautiously and sparingly."

Whether Speiser abused that power is now the central question in a bitter dispute between the judge and Public Defender Howard Finkelstein.

Finkelstein argues that Speiser is a "hothead" who acted in a fit of anger and does not have the temperament to oversee Broward County's mental health court.

Woodward "was unjustly jailed in an act more reminiscent of the dark ages than in accordance with today's ethical treatment of the disabled," Finkelstein complained in a July 21 letter to Chief Judge Peter M. Weinstein.

Finkelstein's office has filed an appeal on behalf of Woodward, 51, of Pompano Beach, and has helped her file a complaint against Speiser with a judicial review board.

The judge, given his background in mental health issues, "absolutely should have known" or at least suspected her condition, Finkelstein alleges.

"It doesn't take very long in talking to her to realize there is something off," Finkelstein said of his client.

Carline Jean/Sun Sentinel

Broward Probate Judge Mark Speiser speaks to the Sun Sentinel. Speiser jailed a mentally ill woman for 15 days for criminal contempt in a case over a family estate. Speiser cited the woman for repeated outbursts in court and accused her of lying at a March hearing about whether she was living in her dead relative's house. He said he did not realize she was mentally ill.

Broward Probate Judge Mark Speiser speaks to the Sun Sentinel. Speiser jailed a mentally ill woman for 15 days for criminal contempt in a case over a family estate. Speiser cited the woman for repeated outbursts in court and accused her of lying at a March hearing about whether she was living in her dead relative's house. He said he did not realize she was mentally ill.

(Carline Jean/Sun Sentinel)

Woodward quickly told her jailers of her illness and at one point was put on suicide watch during her two-week incarceration.

The public defender's assault has personally offended Speiser, a longtime advocate for the mentally ill who helped start a special felony court in Broward with the goal of getting treatment for mentally ill people facing criminal charges. He says he's sensitive to the plight of people with mental illness, but he does not have a "magnetometer" at the courtroom door to know who is well and who isn't.

Everyone who yells in probate court or storms around is not mentally ill, the judge said. And he must maintain order and decorum or the wheels of justice would come to a halt.

"She was outrageous. She gave me the finger," Speiser said. "What am I supposed to do? What judge is going to tolerate that?"

The case involves a dispute over a modest inheritance, yet has dragged on since 2008, when Woodward's aunt died. The aunt's siblings are at odds with her step-children over the disposal of a house in Oakland Park, now worth about $170,000, according to the Broward Property Appraiser.

In late 2014 -- when the house was valued at about $124,000 -- Woodward, a licensed real estate broker, had it sold for nearly $104,000, records show. But the buyer was her cousin, and the deal was questioned. Speiser voided the sale.

For weeks last winter, Woodward and her son apparently were living - or as the other side alleges, squatting - in the house. Woodward claims she was fixing up the place for a sale and mowing the lawn.

The stepchildren of the dead woman filed a motion March 14 to hold Woodward in contempt, accusing her of lying about living in the house and asking for sanctions against her.

The judge directed Woodward to appear at a hearing to explain why she should not be held in civil contempt and fined.

At that contempt hearing June 17, Woodward appeared without an attorney and was again unruly. Speiser said: "I was shaken by her behavior."

He dashed off a handwritten order sentencing Woodward to 15 days in jail. But the order was flawed.

S peiser's order charges her with two forms of criminal contempt:

- Direct contempt, meaning he directly witnessed the offense, for her disruptive behavior that turned the hearing "into a circus like atmosphere." On a charge of direct contempt, judges have authority to jail offenders immediately.

- Indirect contempt, used when an offense is not witnessed by the judge, for allegedly lying about whether she was living in the house during the March 2 hearing. For this charge, she should have been afforded an attorney and other due process.

It appears the judge erred on the facts too. A transcript shows he kicked her out of the March 2 hearing early on, and she did not comment then on whether the house was vacant.

The judge now says he "made a mistake" in listing one charge as indirect criminal contempt. "I apologize for that," he said.

But the outcome would have been the same. Woodward's disrespectful behavior entitled Speiser to jail her on the spot, without ensuring she had an attorney.

How exactly Woodward conducted herself June 17 is unclear. There was no record of the proceedings, Finkelstein wrote in his letter to Judge Weinstein, who has not responded.

Speiser said court reporters are not provided in probate cases but parties can hire their own if they choose.

Finkelstein contends that he would not be so upset if this was the first time the judge had appeared to have acted impatiently with a mentally ill defendant. But he points to another case, in the mental health court, in which Speiser repeatedly scolded a man suffering from bipolar disorder for failing to keep quiet and follow orders.

"You don't listen," the judge told Joshua Stein in early 2014. "This is why everyone has a problem with you." The man's parents claim Speiser imposed unrealistic and harsh conditions their son, who had taken a tortoise from a wildlife center.

The judge said he did nothing wrong in that case. "Nothing happened there wrong whatsoever," adding that Finkelstein "obviously has it out for me."

Thirteen days into her 15-day sentence, Woodward contacted the Public Defender's Office, urged to do so by another inmate.

In a long, rambling phone interview with the Sun Sentinel, Woodward said: "I'm bipolar...I get squirrely."

During a jail headcount June 25, she exchanged words with a guard and said: "Well, I'll kill myself, how about that," records show. She was handcuffed, taken to a special cell and put on suicide watch, where she was observed regularly by staff and given meals that had "no utensils, no bones."

Woodward believes she was "legally bullied" by the judge. But she admits that at one point Speiser became furious after she accused him of being aligned with the opposing counsel, whom she faults for prolonging the estate case. "I said: 'Your honor, are you this guy's monkey?'"

Still, she thinks she should have been given an attorney. "In a civil case you don't get an attorney," she said. "But when it's a criminal charge, I don't care which courtroom it is, it's still a criminal case."
momatz@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4518

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Judge chastised for jailing mentally ill woman for courtroom outbursts

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In a Broward courtroom, Jennifer "Mia" Woodward was loud. Confrontational. Emotional. She spoke out when told not to. Refused to answer questions. The judge says she even gave him the finger. Judge Mark Speiser threw her out of one hearing in an estate case in probate court, telling her to "Get your face out of here!"

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Judge chastised for jailing mentally ill 

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Judge chastised for jailing mentally ill 

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Judge Mark Speiser threw her out of one hearing in an estate case in probate court, telling her to "Get your face out of here!" At a hearing weeks later, after continued outbursts, he'd had enough: he jailed her for 15 days on contempt charges.

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Franklin man sexually abused 2 young boys for years

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FRANKLIN, Ohio - Federal and county law enforcement officials filed for an arrest warrant for a Franklin man they accused of sexually molesting two young boys over the course of a two-year period.

According to a complaint filed by FBI Task Force Officer and Hamilton County Sheriff's Detective Donald Minnich in U.S. District Court, Jory Leedy, 46, engaged in sexual contact with two boys under the age of 10 on multiple occasions between 2013 and 2015.

Minnich filed the complaint in support of an arrest warrant for Leedy.

In the complaint, the detective details the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office's investigation, which began in December 2015. Investigators found Leedy first met the two brothers in the fall of 2012, one age 8, the other age 7.

Leedy met the boys while volunteering as a bus driver for Target Ministries in Dayton, Ohio, where he would give rides to and from church services to members of the area's poorer neighborhoods, according to the complaint.

A short time after meeting them, the complaint continues, Leedy "showed an interest in the boys" and initiated a friendly relationship with their family. This included frequent visits for dinner, playing in the yard, and even becoming a part of the boys' nighttime routine, when he would tuck them into bed, the complaint states.

In the months to come, Leedy began taking the boys to his church, Crossroads, based in Cincinnati, the complaint states. With the boys' mother's approval, Leedy eventually began staying in a nearby hotel room, "so they would be closer to Crossroads." This continued roughly every-other Saturday evening from the summer of 2013 to the summer of 2015, according to the complaint.

Leedy also began taking the boys on trips out of state - including to North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, New York and New Jersey, the complaint states.

On these trips, the complaint says, the boys testified that Leedy would take showers with the boys, sleep in between them in bed, "tickle" their genitalia, and - on at least one occasion - engage in sexual intercourse and oral sex.

By September 2015, the complaint concludes, Leedy and the boys' father got into an argument because their father felt Leedy was "overstepping his bounds." When that argument turned confrontational, Leedy called the police.

This was when officers informed the boys' parents that Leedy was a registered sex offender, according to the complaint. Early on, the boys' mother had done an Internet search for Leedy, who had falsely identified himself as "Jordan Leedy," preventing the mother from discovering his registered sex offender status, according to the complaint.

According to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court documents, Leedy was found guilty in 2003 of gross sexual imposition after detectives accused him of inappropriate sexual contact with an 11-year-old. According to WCPO news partner WHIO, Leedy was a youth hockey coach in the Dayton area at the time.

The boys gave testimony at Michael's House Advocacy Center in Fairborn, Ohio, shortly after the investigation began.

Jory Leeder was being held in the Butler County Jail without bond until a preliminary hearing April 22.

WCPO has reached out to Target Ministries in Dayton to see if they had done a background check on Leedy before hiring him, and is waiting to hear back.

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Complaint: Franklin man sexually abused 2 young boys for years

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FRANKLIN, Ohio - Federal and county law enforcement officials filed for an arrest warrant for a Franklin man they accused of sexually molesting two young boys over the course of a two-year period. According to a complaint filed by FBI Task Force Officer and Hamilton County Sheriff's Detective Donald Minnich in U.S.

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...wants visits to testify.

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An attorney for a registered sex offender from Franklin accused of sex crimes against boys wants the alleged victims to testify live in court, not via closed-circuit TV.

Jory Leedy, 47, is being federally prosecuted for allegations that he sexually abused boys aged 7 and 8 for two years in numerous jurisdictions and states. Leedy allegedly met the two boys in 2012 while working as a volunteer bus driver for Target Dayton Ministries.

Among several motions filed Tuesday in Cincinnati's U.S. District Court, federal public defender Richard Smith-Monahan asked U.S. District Judge Timothy Black to allow Leedy to confront his alleged victims face to face.

Smith-Monahan filed a motion that asked Black that, unless it could be proven that the boys would experience emotional trauma, they should be forced to testify because of the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. He wrote that prosecutors said they intend to get testimony from the boys via two-way, closed-circuit TV.

"The government has not disclosed any psychological testing that has been done related to the children, nor has the government provided any notice of an expert to establish that either child suffers from a mental or other infirmity, or would otherwise suffer from emotional trauma," Monahan wrote.

Federal prosecutors have not filed a response, and Black has not yet ruled on the motion. No trial date has been scheduled. Leedy faces two counts of aggravated sexual abuse, for which he could serve 30 years to life if convicted.

The defense attorney wrote that a narrow exception to the confrontation clause exists for child victims, but only if prosecutors can establish a "compelling" interest in protecting minors from trauma.

Last month, Black denied Leedy's motion for bond and to be placed on electronic monitoring. Black wrote that he is "unmoved by (Leedy's) alleged need to be released so as to 'garner his defense' or 'locate his necessary witnesses.' " Leedy is being held in Butler County Jail.

Smith-Monahan also filed motions for discovery, for a bill of particulars, to exclude evidence of Leedy's prior conviction and prison time for gross sexual imposition against a minor and to suppress evidence seized from Leedy's residence at 97 Arlington Ave. in Franklin.

In the motion to suppress, the defense attorney said the investigation started in September 2015 when Leedy called Fairfield police because the boys' father was making threatening overtones to him.

"Leading up to that point, Mr. Leedy had been a friend of the family and had provided a good deal of the support for the children and the family for more than two years," Smith-Monahan wrote.

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Sex offender wants boys to testify in court

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An attorney for a registered sex offender from Franklin accused of sex crimes against boys wants the alleged victims to testify live in court, not via closed-circuit TV. Jory Leedy, 47, is being federally prosecuted for allegations that he sexually abused boys aged 7 and 8 for two years in numerous jurisdictions and states.

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Sex offender wants boys to testify in court

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Sex offender wants boys to testify in court

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An attorney for a registered sex offender from Franklin accused of sex crimes against boys wants the alleged victims to testify live in court, not via closed-circuit TV.

Jory Leedy, 47, is being federally prosecuted for allegations that he sexually abused boys aged 7 and 8

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Mother’s Brutal Stabbing Death

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Noura Jackson, 29, was released from the Mark H. Luttrell Correctional Center near Shelby Farms 6 August 2016, Tennessee Department of Corrections