Joel T. Lazarus
Encyclopedia
Joel T. Lazarus was a prosecutor and then a judge in Florida who gained national attention when he gave Lionel Tate
a life sentence for a murder that Tate committed at the age of twelve.
Lazarus received his bachelors degree from Babson College
and an MBA from Columbia Business School
. However Lazarus did not like investment banking and so in 1974 started law school at Nova Law School (now a part of Nova Southeastern University
).
Lazarus worked as an assistant state attorney from 1978 until 1993. According to some, Lazarus's most notable case as a prosecutor was putting Kathy Willets and Jeffrey Willets behind bars for running a prostitution ring. This case involved Ellis Rubin
seeking to claim that Prozac created an unquenchable sexual appetite as a defence for Kathy Willets.
Another case that Lazarus was involved in was that of Eddie Lee Mosley. However unlike many other cases, in the Mosley case Lazarus negotiated a plea deal which resulted in no jail time for Mosley. Mosley committed multiple rapes and murders after this plea deal. Lazarus said he went for the plea deal because Mosley's victims were "prostitutes and druggies" and thus not good witnesses. This assessment of the victims is not supported by court records, though. They were poor and African-American, but there is no evidence they were prostitutes or on drugs, and in 1981 a jury did convict Mosley largely from testimony of one of these victims that Lazarus said was unreliable.
In 1984 Lazarus did bring a case against Mosley, this one involving a woman who admitted that she had entered into an agreement to get drugs from him but denied that she ever consented to sex. Mosley was acquitted, but the judge over the case, Harry Hinckley expressed the view that this was just another escape by Mosley.
Lazarus was appointed a circuit judge for Broward County, Florida in 1993 by governor Lawton Chiles
. Besides the Tate case, Lazarus also handled the assault case against rapper Foxy Brown while a judge. In 2007 he was the judge in the trial for corruption of Hollywood, Florida
city councilor Keith Wasserstrom, and threw out some of the charges, for reasons that some claimed were not acceptable according to Florida Supreme Court directives. He retired on December 31, 2010, in part to avoid the governor being able to replace him.
Lionel Tate
Lionel Alexander Tate is the youngest American citizen ever sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole...
a life sentence for a murder that Tate committed at the age of twelve.
Lazarus received his bachelors degree from Babson College
Babson College
Babson College is a private business school located in Wellesley, Massachusetts near Boston.- History :Babson College was founded by Roger Babson on September 3, 1919, as the Babson Institute. It was renamed "Babson College" in 1969...
and an MBA from Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...
. However Lazarus did not like investment banking and so in 1974 started law school at Nova Law School (now a part of Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University
Nova Southeastern University, commonly referred to as NSU or Nova, is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian, research university located in Broward County, Florida, with its main campus in the town of Davie...
).
Lazarus worked as an assistant state attorney from 1978 until 1993. According to some, Lazarus's most notable case as a prosecutor was putting Kathy Willets and Jeffrey Willets behind bars for running a prostitution ring. This case involved Ellis Rubin
Ellis Rubin
Ellis S. Rubin was an American attorney in Miami, Florida who gained national fame for handling a variety of highly publicized cases in a legal career that spanned 53 years. He was famous for his innovative defenses and his propensity for handling lost causes. Rubin won the first case in Florida...
seeking to claim that Prozac created an unquenchable sexual appetite as a defence for Kathy Willets.
Another case that Lazarus was involved in was that of Eddie Lee Mosley. However unlike many other cases, in the Mosley case Lazarus negotiated a plea deal which resulted in no jail time for Mosley. Mosley committed multiple rapes and murders after this plea deal. Lazarus said he went for the plea deal because Mosley's victims were "prostitutes and druggies" and thus not good witnesses. This assessment of the victims is not supported by court records, though. They were poor and African-American, but there is no evidence they were prostitutes or on drugs, and in 1981 a jury did convict Mosley largely from testimony of one of these victims that Lazarus said was unreliable.
In 1984 Lazarus did bring a case against Mosley, this one involving a woman who admitted that she had entered into an agreement to get drugs from him but denied that she ever consented to sex. Mosley was acquitted, but the judge over the case, Harry Hinckley expressed the view that this was just another escape by Mosley.
Lazarus was appointed a circuit judge for Broward County, Florida in 1993 by governor Lawton Chiles
Lawton Chiles
Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
. Besides the Tate case, Lazarus also handled the assault case against rapper Foxy Brown while a judge. In 2007 he was the judge in the trial for corruption of Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
city councilor Keith Wasserstrom, and threw out some of the charges, for reasons that some claimed were not acceptable according to Florida Supreme Court directives. He retired on December 31, 2010, in part to avoid the governor being able to replace him.