Lawyer says she's being targeted by jail staff over client's cooperation in smuggling probe
A Florida lawyer who says she has been cleared on a false accusation of having jailhouse sex with a Broward client is under fire again.
This time, attorney Jessica Mishali is accused of smuggling cellphones to the same jailed client, who she is now representing in a Miami-Dade case. She says the accusation is every bit as baseless as the earlier one, and made for the same reason—to retaliate for her client’s cooperation in a probe of contraband smuggled by jail workers, the Miami Herald (sub. req.) reports.
In a Monday hearing, Miami-Dade corrections department lawyer said Mishali’s client, Ysreal Granda, has been found with nine cell phones in various South Florida jails over a period of months. “Each time, the common denominator is the attorney,” said attorney Patricia Jones.
However, Mishali told the Herald she wasn’t even representing Granda when most of the phones were found. “The common denominator is not me, it’s jail staff,” she said.
At issue in Monday’s hearing was whether restrictions on Mishali visiting with Granda in jail should be relaxed. Because of the cellphone suspicions, she has been allowed to talk with him only through a glass partition in the general visiting area, with deputies nearby, the Herald reports.
However, with the cellphone probe ongoing, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie denied Mishali’s request for a private meeting room.
Convicted of attempted murder last month in Broward and sentenced to a life term, Granda is now awaiting trial in a murder-conspiracy case.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer accused of jailhouse sex says guards lied to discredit client aiding staffer probe”
