West Palm Beach criminal defense attorney and Past-President of The Florida Bar Michelle Suskauer spoke with Action News Jax about a judge’s decision ordering the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to turn over evidence related to the death of Charles Faggart inside the Duval County jail.
The ruling requires JSO to provide the Faggart family and their attorneys with video from inside the jail and unedited reports created after the incident. The materials will not, however, be released publicly at this stage.
Suskauer described the ruling as a difficult balance between the family’s need for information and the interests of an ongoing criminal investigation.
“This is a very, very tragic situation,” Suskauer said.
She explained that the court took a limited approach by allowing the family and its attorneys access to the evidence while restricting broader distribution.
Suskauer said the court “kind of split the baby,” allowing “a very, very limited disclosure to the family and to the family’s counsel.”
The family’s attorneys have indicated they may ask the court to make the evidence public. Suskauer said any future decision will likely depend on whether an active investigation is still underway and what arguments are presented to the court.
“It’s hard to speculate because if there is an open investigation, the court’s going to want to hear from who is continuing the investigation,” Suskauer said.
“I can’t guess as to what the court’s going to do because the court is gonna have to listen to all sides and make a tough decision.”
Read the full story here: Judge Orders JSO to Hand Over Jail Evidence to Charles Faggart’s Family (Action News Jax)
