Free At Last!" Thank God Almighty I'm Free At Last!!"

I can't say for sure what was going through Miami lawyer Jonathan Schwartz' mind as Collier County Judge Mike Carr finally relented and allowed Schwartz to post bail. But a guy can dream, can't he:

A Florida judge who sent a Miami lawyer to jail for missing a trial agreed to set bond at $10,000 two days later.

The lawyer, Jonathan S. Schwartz, was released Wednesday night after posting bond, the Naples Daily News reports. He appeared in court earlier that day in shackles and handcuffs until he had a coughing fit and Judge Mike Carr ordered the restraints removed.

Carr of Collier County said he decided not to allow Schwartz to be released on his own recognizance because of a history of missing court dates. Carr said Schwartz had been admonished in 1995 for ignoring an order by a Broward County judge to appear in his court after failing to show up six times, the story says.

Carr held Schwartz in contempt on Monday, also citing his failure to seek dismissal of a bench warrant for a client, the Naples Daily News reported in an earlier story. Carr ordered Schwartz jailed for 10 days and told him to pay a $500 fine.

Schwartz didn’t show up for an April trial scheduled for a client who was charged with driving without a license. When the client couldn’t find Schwartz, another lawyer stepped in to negotiate a plea bargain that allowed the client to avoid jail. Carr heard testimony that the mix-up stemmed from attempts to find a substitute for Schwartz, who was attending another court hearing.

Schwartz had a substitute lawyer appear for him at an earlier hearing involving the same client, but he told the judge he could not locate the client. The substitute lawyer had never met the client.

Schwartz’s lawyer, Lee Hollander, said his client’s problems were caused by accepting too much work.

Hmm, pulling out the old coughing-fit ruse, eh?

Well played, sir.

“You Operated As If Your Law License Was A License To Steal.”

That's Collier County Judge Mike Carr, as he threw Miami sole practitioner Jonathan S. Schwartz in jail:

A Collier County judge threw a Miami attorney in county jail for 10 days Monday after finding him guilty of contempt for twice not appearing in court and not filing a motion to dismiss a bench warrant seeking his client’s arrest.

“You operated as if your law license was a license to steal,” County Judge Mike Carr told Jonathan S. Schwartz, 49, of Miami, after Schwartz finished his testimony. “You took his $800, wanted more and left him at the mercy of the court.”

After hearing from three other attorneys — Lee Carney, Diane Gonzalez and Justin Weisberg — and Schwartz’s legal secretary, who all testified for the defense, Carr found Schwartz guilty of criminal contempt and sentenced him to jail and six months of probation, with the condition he take a Florida Bar lawyer professionalism class. He also fined him $500.

“You took a signing fee and contracted for more and did absolutely nothing for your client,” Carr said during sentencing. “Even after a bench warrant was issued for your client, you left a bench warrant out there for more than a month. I can’t think of anything you did in this case that remotely represents your duty. ... Court is just a convenience for you to collect money.”

Carr said had it not been for attorney Shannon McFee of Naples, who stepped in without charge to negotiate a plea bargain for Schwartz’s client, the client would have been jailed. Instead, Diogenes Alicea Galarza, 42, of North Miami, pleaded no contest, was fined $150 and an adjudication of guilt was withheld on a charge of driving without a valid license.

Schwartz jumped up and asked for a supersedeas bond, which would allow him to remain free and delay sentencing. But Carr cut him off with a curt, “Denied.”

Schwartz’s defense attorneys, Bob Allen and John Musca, then asked to speak with Carr at a sidebar, but after a few words at the bench, Carr said loudly, “I said, ‘denied.’ ”

Schwartz was then fingerprinted and led off by a bailiff. Both Allen and Musca declined comment afterward.

Wow, that is pretty hard-core. Does anyone think a Miami judge would do something similar? If you know more about this case please let me know.