LTC 455-2018 City of Miami Beach Municipal Prosecution Program UpdateMIAMI BEACH
OFFIC~=: 11 ~ THF CITY ATTORNEY
LTC No.
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
455-2018
Mayor Dan Gelber
Members of the City Commission
City Manager Jimmy L. Morales
City Attorney Raul J. Aguil~lQo<"
August 17, 2018
LETTER TO COMMISSION
SUBJECT: City of Miami Beach Municipal Prosecution Program Update
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to provide the Mayor and City Commission with an
update as to the current status surrounding the City of Miami Beach's Municipal Prosecution
Program (the "Municipal Prosecution Program").
The City of Miami Beach has invoked its legal authority to utilize the jurisdiction of the County
Court to enforce those violations of its municipal ordinances, and to prosecute such criminal
municipal violations with its own City prosecutor. The Mayor and City Commission adopted
Resolution No. 2017-30024 on September 25, 2017, which expressly authorized the City
Attorney's Office to commence those prosecutions of the City's criminal ordinance violations, by
and through a municipal City prosecutor. The City's Municipal Prosecutor is directly responsible
for prosecuting those individuals exclusively charged with violating one (1) or more of the City's
criminal ordinances, however, any accompanying State law violation(s) continue to be
prosecuted by the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.
The Municipal Prosecution Program began in earnest on January 8, 2018 with one (1) Municipal
Prosecutor and one (1) Legal Assistant (the "Municipal Prosecution Team"). Since its
commencement, the most common criminal municipal ordinance violations that have been
prosecuted by the Municipal Prosecution Team are: Consuming or Possessing an Open
Container of an Alcoholic Beverage in Public (a violation of Miami Beach City Code, Section 70-
87); Urinating or Defecating in Plain View in Public (a violation of Miami Beach City Code,
Section 70-42); and Public Parks, Beaches and Golf Courses Closed During Certain Hours (a
violation of Miami Beach City Code, Section 82-2). However, the Municipal Prosecutor is
responsible for prosecuting all of the City's criminal ordinance violations that may be charged by
the Police Department or other law enforcement agencies.
The most current figures establish that the Municipal Prosecution Team has been involved in
the prosecution of two hundred and twenty-five (225) criminal municipal ordinance violation
cases over the preceding seven (7) months, which has resulted in the successful prosecution of
one hundred and sixty-seven (167) criminal defendants for these quality of life offenses. Twenty
(20) cases have been dismissed by the Municipal Prosecution Team, seventeen (17) cases
were dismissed by the Court (of which the Municipal Prosecution Team is appealing eight (8) of
those dismissals), one (1) individual was found not guilty after trial, and twenty (20) cases are
currently pending before the Court.
Letter to Commission Re: Municipal Prosecution Program Update
August 17, 2018
Page 2 of2
As of the date of this LTC, the Municipal Prosecution Program has yielded an impactful 81.4%
prosecution success rate, as compared to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office (the "Miami-
Dade SAO"), which achieved less than a 6% prosecution success rate during that time when the
Miami-Dade SAO was solely responsible for prosecuting the City's municipal ordinance
violations. The Municipal Prosecution Program has generated a 75.4% increase in the
successful prosecution of the City's quality of life criminal offenses.
Furthermore, the Municipal Prosecution Program has had a tangible effect in the community.
The Miami Beach Chief of Police and Mr. John Deutzman (an outspoken City activist and
member of the Miami Beach Crime Prevention and Awareness Group), view the Municipal
Prosecution Program as a direct contributing factor in the City's decrease in these criminal and
quality of life offenses. Further, Mr. Deutzman credits the Municipal Prosecution Program as
being partially responsible for the increased general perception that the City of Miami Beach is
strengthening its prosecutorial stance on those who violate the City's municipal criminal
ordinances. In fact, Mr. Deutzman has even gone so far as to state that he would like to see an
expansion of the Municipal Prosecutor Program, which would include the prosecution of State
law misdemeanor offenses.
It is abundantly clear that the Municipal Prosecution Program has been securing favorable
results in the enforcement of the City's criminal ordinance violations, and is directly facilitating a
reduction in the commission of those municipal ordinance crimes. Consequently, the Municipal
Prosecution Program is providing a better quality of life for the City's residents, visitors and
business operators.
Should you have any questions or concerns about any of the foregoing, please don't hesitate to
contact Aleksandr Boksner, Chief Deputy City Attorney.
RJA/AB/sc