NFL WEEK 12 2025

 The topic on everyone's mind; the chatter you hear at the cafe's in Miami as people sip cafecito and nibble pastelitos is....who is going to win the REGJB award winning survivor pool this year? There is Team Tibbett, with people pulling for the appellate lawyer the State Attorneys and the assistant attorney generals hate to see coming. And there is Team Rumpole, vying for yet another win to go with his current league leading Fantasy Football team (because we are smart enough to not draft Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, unlike an otherwise brilliant legal jurist). 

Dan T is rolling with Seattle this week, while Rumpole is having some Dungeness crab and picking the 49ers. 

Our picks. 

Chiefs /Colts is the game of the week and count us as someone who has had enough of being let down by KC in yet another must win game. KC is a small -3 at home, and they are the pick, but we can find better places to wage our money. 

Like...

Giants +12.5 at Detroit. NY has enough to keep it close, so we will take the points, making this one as easy as green beans cooked with cream of mushroom soup. 

J...E,,T,,,S Jets Jets Jets  +13.5 against the Ravens. Taylor is starting at QB for the Jets because he is the better QB on the team, and something is the matter with Lamar Jackson for the Ravens. Baltimore wins a close one at best over a Jets team with no cranberry Sauce Gardner anymore. 

Philly at Dallas is intriguing. Dallas is getting a lot of chatter, and that's all it is. The Eagles are by far the better team. Take Philly -3 in Dallas to beat the stuffing out of the Cowpokes.  

The MNF get even game is a real Turkey 🦃. But take the 49ers at home -7 over the Panthers just because we said so. 

Querry: Several people we trust (so not any judges) have told us to go on Substack and write. Would you follow Rumpole on Substack and subscribe (no cost)? 

A REMARKABLE DISSENT

 "Fasten your seatbelts, this is going to be a bumpy ride." 

 We are not being literary. THIS is how Fifth Circuit Judge Jerry Smith's dissent in a Texas redistricting brawl case begins. And the first several pages are an unmitigated attack on US District Judge Jeffrey Vincent Brown, both sitting as a three-judge panel on a district court more fractured than Miami civil judges fighting over chambers in the new mega-civil-courthouse which will be open in December- Memo to our civil colleagues- get those summary judgment motions filed! 

The dissent is personal and angry. Judge Smith brings up prior cases where his nemesis Judge Brown was reversed, as a way of expressing his complete disdain for Judge Brown. Maybe the nicest thing Judge Smith said about Judge Brown was that he exhibited "pernicious judicial misbehavior." Really. 

These two guys need to meet in some El Paso bar, down a cold one, step out back, and resolve their issues. And someone needs to record it for Tik Tok and IG. 

Let's just say if you invited these two judges to your Thanksgiving, gravy and mashed potatoes would fly. A turkey leg would be used as a mace to batter the other. We know Judges don't just dislike but despise each other. But rare is the fight that breaks out in a published opinion.  And we would never pass up the opportunity to fuel the flames.  Almost as good as the infamous Miami Fax machine contretemps in civil circuit that long-time and careful blog readers will remember. Enjoy. 

gov.uscourts.txwd_.1150387.1439.0 by Anonymous PbHV4H

NO BUBBLE

 We note the conference call Wednesday afternoon after the stock market's closing bell by Nivida. CEO Jensen Huang said in no uncertain terms that he sees NO bubble in the AI market, and then reported that in the last quarter- forgive us for using technical terms- his company blew the doors off. They cannot meet demand for their chips and racks. Forget about companies, but most countries on earth are reaching out to buy chips for data centers. Indeed the current administration is using access to Nvidia chips as a carrot to countries in their efforts to negotiate the end of regional flareups. 

 Make no mistake - here's where we are with AI. Remember when (some of you) used typewriters and people began talking about using a computer and some program called Word to replace the typewriter and that the program could store the document for easy editing, and had spell check? And most people said they were afraid of computers and didn't think typewriters would be replaced? That was circa 1986-1990. Not too long ago. 

That is where we are with AI. Agree or not, it is here to stay and will fundamentally change life from how you are served cafecito, to how you drive, to how you work, to how you get your health care. And if you don't think AI will impact all areas of the law, including those who wear black robes, get your head out of the sand, We used to pay up to $100,000 for jury focus groups in trial prep. We just did one three weeks ago with AI for a tenth of the price, and nailed a quick NG. 

How you read your depos and search for terms; how you research; how you prepare opening closing and cross- AI right now is changing the legal world, 

The only thing it cannot change is a Judge who thinks all they need to do is call balls and strikes and deny motions. But that too will change. 

For you Gen X,Y,Z and A judges and lawyers- here is what we are talking about. 

Coming next: Our emails released 😨

GEN A MONDAY HURRICANE CARTER BLISS

Monday Update: Required reading: The NY Times Article on Chaos at the Justice Department. Do not miss this.  

If you didn't catch it, check out our football post yesterday where our secret theme was Gen A slang. 6-7.

For those of you not Gen A, think about this. Your childhood punishments were going to be early, not going to the party, being grounded at home.  For us Boomers, those are now our ideals.

The Ballad Of The Hurricane.

For you Gen X,Y,Z lawyers and Judges, there was a man named Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, from Newark New Jersey, who was the number one contender for the middle weight boxing crown in 1966 (back when that meant a whole lot).  Newark was erupting in flames over race-riots, and there was a triple murder at a bar downtown. In another part of town Rubin and some friends were stopped by the police ( or as Dylan sings, "Rubin was driving around with no idea what kind of shit was about to go down."). A known (white) felon was found in the bar with the bodies, but he said was just there to do a robbery when three black men came in and shot the place up. The police saw an opening to close the case and take down a hero to the African American community. One person in the bar survived the shooting, so they brought in Rubin for a show-up at the hospital. The surviving victim affirmatively stated that Rubin Carter was not the man. Nevertheless, with the use of white cooperating witnesses found at the scene of the murder, the all-white jury convicted Rubin Hurricane Carter when he was at the peak of his career. That set off one of the saddest legal odysseys in American Criminal Law. 

Carter was convicted in 1967. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 1976. Carter was convicted at a re-trial in 1976, that was if anything, more tainted by racism, prosecutorial misconduct and discovery violations. A federal habeas petition landed on the desk of US District Judge H. Lee Saorkin of the New Jersey District Court- a heroic judge. Saorkin issued a scathing opinion stating that Carter's conviction was "predicated on racism not reason" and "based on concealment rather than disclosure [of exculpatory evidence].  Judge Saorkin ordered Carter's immediate release. NJ Appealed to the Third Circuit and lost, and the US Supreme Court, back when defendants had a chance there, denied cert. The case was then dismissed with prejudice. Carter moved to Canada (can you blame him?) where he spent his remaining years as an advocate for the wrongly convicted. He died in 2014, a majority of his adult life taken from him by a racist criminal justice system in the greatest country in the world (note the sarcasm in the last part of that sentence.)

 We once played this song in closing argument. In federal court. Really. It is one of our favourites, and it gets you thinking about the "greatest" justice system on earth, that took a man's life, and destroyed it. 

Our favourite line: Dylan singing about the use of an informant: "How can the life of such a man, be in the palm of some fool's hand?" 

NFL WEEK 11 2025 OLA! AND SECRET THEME EDITION

Madrid Update:  If you ask ChatGBT or Perplexity about the worst coached game in the history of the NFL, the gremlins are busy adding a picture of Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDonald. Because today, with the game tied, the ball on the goal line, less than a minute to play, and Washington out of timeouts, McDonald the genius elected to run the ball and eschew a game winning field goal. Now, not only did the Commanders know that Tua was going to hand off the ball to Achane, but the Madrid family of four, who has never seen an NFL game and was sitting in the upper deck with free tickets, knew the ball was going to Achane.  Perhaps the worst coaching decision in the history of sports. If you had the Fins -2.5 you had to be beside yourself with incredulity at the stupidity of the decision. 

The fact that Miami escaped with a win because DC QB Mariota thew an INT on the first play of OT, and McDonald elected to now kick a game winning FG from the 20, does not change the fact that your Miami Dolphins are being coached by a person with the football IQ of a turnip. 

We gave you the under, and Achane rushing over 80, and our sweet 250 parlay on those two events has put us solidly back in the black for November. 

 OLA! Your Miami Dolphins are in Madrid, fresh off their slay of the Buffalo Bills, looking cooking, bussin for this game, and playing a Washington Commanders team with a back-up QB and just going through the motions. Which means...the Dolphins are sus and will let you down.  If you want them, you have to lay 2.5 with your hard-earned Euros. Pass, cap. 

Enough with the overs which have drained our Hard Rock Account, cap. We are going under 47 and big over 80 rushing yards for Achane. Achane over rushing has been ate, and our savior all year, and we need him to break off a few big ones so we can get back to ordering Petit Syrah's instead of hard seltzers, and get the king crab that will be hitting the 305 this week. 

Survivor is down to two- Rump vs the strategic master of appellate law- Dan Tibbett. We are both going AFC north this week. Tibbs rolling with the hometown Steelers, whose defense has been dog-water and got wacked by the Bengals just a few weeks ago, and may have revenge on their mind. Rump's maxxing with the Ravens, playing in the mistake by the lake, as the Browns are a team in more disarray than the US Attorneys Office for the SDFL. At least that's the Tea about that office. 

We have a secret theme for our picks this week. Can you guess it? 

Many of the games are mid and we are looking for value because we need our picks to slay. 

Ravens -7.5 over Browns.  Number seems high. Should be like 6-7.  Everything about Cleveland's game is basic, while the Ravens are bussin lately. We are taking Baltimore to add to our bankroll and avoid an L in Survivor. 

Eagles -2.5 at home over Lions. Philly plays Ohio at times, but we think they are skibidi. 

And the game of the day,  (no it's not Houston at Tennessee) it's KC at Denver.  KC is -4 at Mile High, which means the Broncos, with a lit D but mid offense are a home dog.  We're mogging Mahomes playing with his back to the wall for a playoff spot, and since he's our FF QB, we are locked in with Mahomes and the Chiefs, and while we are glazing Mahomes, we think he will be cooking. KC -4. 

So before you say Just Put The Fries In The Bag, Bro we are done. Hope your Sunday slaps. 6-7.

Judge Dube Has Passed Away

 To start, we have the sad news that retired federal magistrate judge Dube passed away. Head over to DOM's blog where has up his post in 2013 about Judge Dube when he retired. Judge Dube was a wonderful and decent man, a pleasure to appear in front of, a Marine, and the kind of Miamian that made this city great. 

There are 48 days left in 2025. Wow. And speaking of trials, that leaves the next two weeks, and the weeks of December 1, 8, and 15 to get those trials in. And it is never too soon to remind all of our readers on the very first and most important of Rumpole's rules for practicing law- never ever ever agree to allow a case to be set for trial the first week of the new year- and the first two weeks if you can help it. 

What Rumpole is reading: Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhorn- a murder mystery novel taking place in Maine in the 18th century. Be prepared to be cold with the amazing descriptions of Maine's winter.  The War of Art, by Stephen Pressfield. How does resistance manifest itself in myriad forms in the artist, and what the artist can do to overcome it. American Coach, The Triumph and Tragedy of Notre Dame Legend Frank Leahy, by Ivan Maisel.  A Big Mess in Texas by David Fleming, about the 1952 Dallas Texans, the team, and Buddy Young's fight to become an NFL player and overcome his diminutive size and racism. Gettysburg: The Tide Turns, by Bruce Chadwick- an oral history of the battle at Gettysburg told though diaries, letters and firsthand accounts. 

What Rumpole is watching- the new Springsteen Biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, (naturally), and on Netflix- Death By Lightening- the series adaptation of the remarkable recent book about the election and assassination of President James Garfield. The first two episodes are superb. 

A beautiful November weekend awaits, and perhaps a winner in this epic REGJB Survivor Pool battle. 

  

A GREAT DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY

 Today November 13 is a great day in American history. 

A seemingly minor domestic spat set off a chain of events that resulted in an interpersonal relationship that over a period of several years changed everything. 

It just goes to show you that not all domestic arguments should end up in DV court with the 800 week program. Sometimes a simply change of scenery and roommates is all it takes. 

Enjoy. 

TNF: The streaking Jets, suddenly the hottest team in football going 2-0, play the revamped Cheaters, suddenly the leaders in the AFC East. Jets -13 seems a bit much, but fresh off our disastrous over pick on MNF (was the score 3-0 at halftime?)  we are going with the over 43 tonight in the hopes that more action will lead to less drinking, and less of a hangover tomorrow as we head into what is nothing less than a glorious So Fla weekend.