Katherine Fernandez Rundle

Katherine Fernandez Rundle
State Attorney for Miami-Dade County
Assumed office
March 12, 1993
Preceded by Janet Reno
Personal details
Born (1950-03-05) March 5, 1950
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education University of Miami (BA, MA)
University of Cambridge (LLB)
Website Official website

Katherine Fernandez Rundle (born March 5, 1950) is the current State Attorney for Miami-Dade County in Florida.

Education

Rundle received a BA and MA in Criminology from the University of Miami and an LLB from the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge.

Career

Prior to her appointment in 1993 as Florida's first hispanic female State Attorney,[1] Rundle served as an Assistant State Attorney for 15 years. In her role as Chief Assistant, she acted as legal counsel to the Miami-Dade County Grand Jury and created the State's first domestic violence unit.

Rundle helped write and pass the Florida Punishment Code, and was involved in the formation of Dade County's Drug Court,[2] Truancy Intervention Program, and Juvenile Assessment Center.

Katherine Rundle, in her 24 years of public service, has only charged one Miami-Dade officer with a crime. She has only attempted this prosecution due to large public outcry over her negligence in serving justice to those who see themselves above the law.[3]

Child Support Program

State Attorney Fernandez Rundle is the only State Attorney in Florida operating a Child Support Enforcement Office, with over 65,000 cases processed annually by her staff. She created legislation which added child support orders to the Florida Crime Information Computer (FCIC) making them accessible to every Florida police officer.

Seal and Expunge Program

In 2006, partnering with the Clerk of the Miami-Dade Courts Harvey Ruvin, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Miami Dade Elections Department, and South Florida Workforce, State Attorney Fernandez Rundle created the "Second Chance" Seal and Expunge Program. Monthly workshops held in different parts of the county offer free assistance to eligible ex-offenders in completing the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's (FDLE) application for the sealing or expungement of a single qualifying case. In many instances, eligible ex-offenders are also able to apply to have their civil rights restored once FDLE has determined their eligibility.

Human Trafficking Task Force

In 2012 State Attorney Fernandez Rundle created a broad coalition of law enforcement agencies and community services[4] to combat human trafficking including a prosecution unit of specialized attorneys and investigators to target human traffickers.

Veterans Court

In January 2017, State Attorney Fernandez Rundle marked the creation of a Miami-Dade Veterans Court[5] along with numerous partner stakeholders. After years of planning and coordination and receiving a U.S. Department of Justice grant, the Veteran's Court got off the ground with a liaison staffer, stationed at the jail, to help identify veterans and refer them to necessary services within hours of their arrest.

Darren Rainey murder scandal

Rundle's office refused to prosecute four prison guards responsible for the murder of Darren Rainey, an African-American prisoner who suffered from schizophrenia.[6][7] In 2012, the prison guards locked Rainey inside of a running hot shower for nearly two hours, boiling his internal organs, killing him. Another inmate said he heard Rainey yelling and kicking the door and begging to be taken out.[6] Despite the incident having been recorded on video, Rundle concluded that the inmate's claims were not supported by the evidence.[6][8] Additionally, witnesses reported that Rainey's skin appeared to have been "peeled back;" the autopsy found that those marks were caused by friction.[6] Rundle's report concluded that Rainey's death was an "accident" resulting from his mental condition, a heart condition, and "confinement in the shower."[6][9]

References

  1. ↑ "Katherine Fernandez Rundle". Daily Business Review. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  2. ↑ "What It's Like to Be Miami-Dade County's State Attorney". Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  3. ↑ http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/katherine-fernandez-rundle-miamis-top-prosecutor-finally-charges-a-cop-in-the-charles-kinsey-shooting-raising-questions-about-past-cases-s-9272682
  4. ↑ "Legal Community Supports Creation of Shelter for Trafficking Victims". Daily Business Review. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  5. ↑ "New veterans court opens in Miami-Dade". miamiherald. Retrieved 2017-04-25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fla. prison guards won't face charges in Darren Rainey's death". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  7. ↑ Iannelli, Jerry (2017-03-17). "Rundle Won't Charge Prison Guards Who Allegedly Boiled Schizophrenic Black Man to Death". Miami New Times. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  8. ↑ "US prison guards who held black, schizophrenic inmate in shower until he died won't be charged". The Independent. 2017-03-18. Retrieved 2017-03-19.
  9. ↑ Iannelli, Jerry (20 March 2017). "Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami's Top Prosecutor, Is a Disgrace". Miami New Times. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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