The death sentence for a notorious Miami gang leader has been overturned and a judge trying to defend his role in the case was exposed for sending vicious text messages to the district attorney’s office.
Corey Smith, the boss of John Does, a violent Liberty City drug gang, was convicted of four murders in 2004. The following year, he was sentenced to death following his high-profile trial.
But on Sunday, the State Attorney’s Office announced it will spare Smith’s life and try to negotiate a lesser sentence after his attorneys pushed for a new trial.
Additionally, it was revealed that text messages from Judge Bronwyn Miller, 52, berated defense attorneys and made advances toward her fellow judges, based on messages sent between January and July, according to the newspaper. Miami Herald.
Miller has been accused of pressuring Miami-Dade attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on how to handle his new sentence. She had presided over Smith’s case as a prosecutor two decades ago.
Corey Smith, the boss of John Does, a violent Liberty City drug gang, was convicted of four murders in 2004 and sentenced to death. His lawyers have fought for a new sentence since
Text messages from Judge Bronwyn Miller, 52, who presided over Smith’s case two decades ago, revealed how she pressured Miami-Dade attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle on how to handle the blockbuster case.
Despite leaving the State Attorney’s Office 20 years ago, the exchanges showed Miller trying to convince the district attorney to remove the current judge appointed to Smith’s case, Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson.
Smith’s attorneys previously fought for a new sentence, but said the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office is “too compromised” to participate in it.
Since the decision to sentence him to death was not unanimous, his new sentence reflects recent court decisions, NBCMiami reported. He is due in court on Wednesday.
Wolfson is now considering overturning his convictions and convictions, letting the state retry him.
In an exchange with Fernandez Rundle, Miller said, “I think you should disqualify her,” referring to Wolfson.
“Then any decision can be reconsidered,” Miller added, according to the messages.
During another conversation, Miller told the district attorney that Michael Von Zamft, a prosecutor disqualified by Wolfson for telling Latravis Gallashaw, Smith’s partner, that he would make a witness in the case “unavailable,” NBC Miami reported.
Miller added that Fernandez Rundle said Zamft, a former defense attorney, should never have been involved in Smith’s case.
Many of Fernández Rundle’s responses to Miller were not included in the published records, and it is unclear whether they were withheld entirely or redacted. (Pictured: Katherine Fernández Rundle, Miami-Dade attorney)
‘They play with different rules. No defense attorney should be trained (assistant state attorneys). “It should be someone who knows that prosecutors are held to higher ethics,” Miller said in the texts.
He The Miami Herald previously reported that Smith’s attorneys argued that the state’s attorney should not play a role in the case because of “favors” being done to potential witnesses.
According to a memo released two months before Smith’s original trial began, “civilian witnesses” were offered drinks, food and Black & Mild cigarettes, the outlet said.
In February, Miller was called to testify about the memo she wrote during Smith’s trial, since the mention of “favors” was ignored decades ago.
On the witness stand, he said under oath that he prepared witnesses almost every day, whether in the jury room or at the police department.
In response to the aforementioned “favors,” Miller told Fernandez Rundle in a text message, “This is crazy.”
In a text message, Miller told Fernandez Rundle that Michael Von Zamft (pictured), a prosecutor recently disqualified from Smith’s case, should not participate.
The requested changes then appeared in a later filing, and Smith’s lawyers moved the case in July to another appeals district, according to the Miami Herald.
In addition to allegedly harassing Fernandez Rundle over how Smith’s case was being handled, Miller attacked the district attorney over who he allowed to work on the killer’s case.
Referring to Steve Gosney, a private attorney who wrote a “sado-masochistic sex novel” titled Death Penalty Desired: Passion and Murder, Miller questioned why Fernandez Rundle let him participate in the case.
“I just don’t know what’s going on in the office anymore. It’s outlandish. I’m sorry,” Miller told Fernandez Rundle.
The judge insisted that since Gosney opposes the death penalty, the governor should remove him from Smith’s case.
“Whoever is advising them has lost the big picture,” he said.
Many of Fernández Rundle’s responses to Miller were not included in the published records, and it is unclear whether they were withheld entirely or redacted.
The exchanges showed Miller trying to remove the current judge appointed to Smith’s case, Circuit Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson (pictured).
In a response, the district attorney told Miller, “You’re right,” which appeared to reference the judge’s comments about Gosney.
‘…He’s not going to do it. Let’s talk,’ added Fernández Rundle.
Shortly after that exchange, Gosney was told his role in the case was “operationally impossible.” He was then given two months to leave the job, according to emails reviewed by the Miami Herald.
In response to the messages between Miller and Fernández Rundle, Gosney told the outlet that “even lawyers sometimes get fooled by fake left-wing media.”
Further conversations between the judge and the district attorney revealed that Miller felt that two judges, Wolfson and Miami-Dade Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie, were against him because of a failed attempt at bail reform.
The blame fell on the State Attorney’s Office, and Miller now believes Wolfson’s rulings were motivated by the dispute.
‘By the way, I have no idea (why) you refuse to listen to me regarding Andrea (Wolfson). She will destroy you over the bail issue,” Miller wrote on March 18, shortly after Wolfson fired the prosecutors.
I’m so beside myself. “You refuse to see what’s going on between her and Nushin,” Miller added.
The text messages were presented by the State Attorney’s Office on Friday as a discovery in Smith’s case.
Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez said he reviewed the text messages.
Other conversations between the judge and the district attorney revealed that Miller felt that two judges, Wolfson and Miami-Dade Chief Judge Nushin Sayfie (pictured), were against him because of a failed bail reform attempt. .
“We are investigating and analyzing what the remedy will be, if any, to protect my clients,” Martínez told the outlet.
When contacted by DailyMail.com, Judge Miller said: ‘I have sought the opinion of the founding director, Professor Anthony V. Alfieri, of the Center for Ethics and Public Service.
‘I have been advised not to make any public comments at this time as it could affect pending proceedings. I always strive to meet the highest standards of ethical conduct.’
DailyMail.com has contacted Fernandez Rundle, Wolfson and Sayfie for comment.
Attorneys in the Miami-Dade court system were surprised to hear the messages Miller sent, including Smith’s defense attorneys, Allison Miller and Craig Whisenhunt.
“Judge Bronwyn Miller has cast doubt on her fitness to serve the people of the state of Florida and has cast doubt on every case brought before her for decades,” they told the Miami Herald.
‘The consequences of these revealing messages will be substantial and will have repercussions throughout our community and state.
“She simultaneously played the roles of judge, prosecutor, witness, and literally attempted to subvert justice to see Corey Smith executed,” Miller and Whisenhunt added.
After sentencing Smith, Miller was appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court, and in 2018, then-Governor Rick Scott appointed her to the Third District Court of Appeals, she said. biography.
The following year, she failed to be appointed to the Florida Supreme Court, the Miami Herald reported.
From 1997 to 2005 she was a prosecutor in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, where she served as Training Director and Division Chief in the Major Crimes Unit.