I had the joy in the last couple weeks of visiting two courts in Miami-Dade County.
Above you can see the crowd trying to get into the Gerstein “Justice” Building. This is where a lot of the criminal cases end up.
FYI my day job is criminal defense. I wasn’t arrested for anything, at least not yet.
It’s a really big building. Looks a little like a toaster.
Inside it was not quite hectic. The courtrooms were easy to find. Based on our brief visit to one of them, it seems like a lot of cases get dismissed because the police don’t show up. In our case last week, in Coral Gables, the prosecutor didn’t even show up.
Outside there’s plenty of beggars, but they’re pleasantly annoying. There are also quite a few vendors. Try the Arepa!
And if you’re looking for evidence that the drug war is a failure, just go next door to the Coral Gables courthouse. The Subway and convenience store features marijuana magazines like High Times. You might wonder who’s getting the munchies.
