Howard Finkelstein, better known to most as the Howard in ‘Help Me Howard’, WSVN’s hugely popular newscast segment, is getting some well deserved praise.
The South Florida Times has a very nice story about him and his many efforts to assure that everyone has access to a public defender, but especially the poor and homeless who can’t afford high-powered lawyers. In recognition for those efforts on April 26th the League of Women Voters of Broward County awarded Finkelstein the Civics in Action award.
Finkelstein is “one of the original hippies” says Douglas Brawley Chief Assistant Public Defender of Mental Health adding “he’s about peace, love, equality for all people. He hasn’t sold out.”
And from the article it’s clear Howard is the real deal. He is the founder of the country’s first court for mentally ill defendants. He established Broward county’s drug court and after becoming the county’s Chief Public Defender in 2005 Finkelstein put measures in place that allowed defendants to spend more time with their public defenders where previously they were forced to decide their pleas after just a few minutes. [South Florida Times]



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