SHUT IT DOWN

Many people did a double take on our "Trump Resigns" post. Good. April Fools. COVID-19 can shut down Joes and 11 Madison Park, but it cannot take our sense of humor away from us. 

This is No Joke: Governor DeSantis has ordered Florida shut down. Do not pass go. Do not collect $100.00 and don't go out. 
From the Order:  all persons in Florida shall limit their movements
and personal interactions outside of their home to only those necessary to obtain or provide
essential services or conduct essential activities. From the Order: 

D. Nothing in this order prohibits individuals from working from home; indeed, this Order encourages individuals to work from home. (What the F do you think we have been doing for the last two weeks? Partying at Disney?)
E. All businesses or organizations are encouraged to provide delivery, carry-out or curbside service outside of the business or organization, of orders placed online or via telephone,

to the greatest extent practicable. 

A. For purposes of this Order and the conduct it limits, "essential activities" means

and encompasses the following:
1. Attending religious services conducted in churches, synagogues and houses of worship; and  (Wait a second you moron. You can't practice social distancing and get 100 or so people together in congregation. We know you think faith not science will save us, so our advice is get sick and go to a preacher and let him wave his hands over you and chant. Meanwhile the rest of us will go to hospitals if we get sick.)

11. Participating in recreational activities ( consistent with social distancing  guidelines) such as walking, biking, hiking, fishing, hunting, running, or swimming; and
m. Taking care of pets; and
v. Caring for or otherwise assisting a loved one or friend.

All Starting Midnight Thursday. "What does this mean for me ?" you may ask. "Stay inside" we respond. Stay home. Don't mingle with other people. 

WHAT HAPPENED HERE? We were not there. But a reader wrote in about this:  This morning in Metro Justice... Extradition Calendar Abbe Rifkin for the State Judge Venzer PD: Defendant seeks ROR on petit theft from PASCO county... he just closed his petit theft from Dade County A Abbe: The State vehemently objects as the administrative order says if the Judge from Pasco county objects there will be No Bond... We must all follow the rules...  PD: Pasco county says they will not pick up indefinitely so you have to ROR  Venzer: Im inclined to do that... ROR  Abbe: No, you cannot judge, its against the law, petit theft or not... You must, you shall not release him you have to hold him... there is no other way.  Venzer: I guess you're right Abbe, No bond...  I thought I could no longer be shocked by the actions of Rifkin and Venzer… but, in my estimation, this went beyond the unthinkable. Rumpole invites the participants to respond.

TRUMP RESIGNS!

Amid a worsening outbreak that he has not been able to control, President Trump, the 45th  president of the United States resigned today, April 1, 2020,  after staffers uniformly refused to follow his orders to open the Country and order everyone back to work AND arrest Hillary Clinton for ordering the government's stock of ventilators shipped to Europe in 2015 in order to sabotage the administration's response to the virus. 

At twelve noon Vice President Mike Pence will take the oath of office. 

The former president will be golfing at his club in West Palm Beach and living at his residence in Mar A Lago, which he has ordered fully open amid the fake news of the virus. 

GET OUT OF JAIL CARD

The following email has been approved for all ages by the Motion Picture Association of America. 

Friends,

The goal of agreed orders for release is two-fold.  First, to get inmates out quickly who both sides agree should be released.  Second, to avoid bogging down the duty judge and Corrections with matters that are unopposed.  The downside of using agreed orders is that Corrections is not in the room with us, with the inmate’s jail card, to correct and fill in missing information.  This makes it imperative that when you submit orders to me the information be complete and completely accurate.  This is a situation where you want to “measure twice and cut once.”  Corrections is very backed up.  When there is missing or incorrect information, Corrections will not advise me for a day or two.  I then have to reach out to you, get the correct information, re-submit the Order, and the inmate goes to the back of the queue.  This means it will actually take longer than if the matter had been set before the duty judge in 1-5.  Please get this message across to your lawyers.  The most common errors we are getting:

• Missing jail numbers and/or date of birth
• Transposed numbers
• Missing case numbers (e.g., defendant is being released on F20-0000, but he’s also in custody on F20-0001, and this second case was not listed on the Order)

Rumpole notes that the obligatory trip to Dr. No on the 6th floor is no longer necessary. Ah what we wouldn't give for the world to be back to normal when all it took was at least eight trips to the 6th floor in which we never once practiced social distancing: 

Trip One
"Here's the order. Notarized" 
"You don't have the jail number on the order."
Trip Two: 
"Here's the order. Notarized with a jail number."
"You don't have the date of birth on the order."
"Can you please tell me what else is missing?"
"Sure, the cell number and the blood type and the SKU code and the solution to the CIA Kryptos puzzle."
Trip Three:
Here's the order. Notarized with the jail number, date of birth, blood type, SKU code. But we could not solve the CIQ Kryptos puzzle completely. Here is the partial solution." 
"You only have five certified orders. We need six."
Trip Four:
"Here's the order. Notarized with the jail number, date of birth, blood type, SKU code. And partial solution to the CIQ Kryptos puzzle with six notartized orders." 
"The order is signed in black ink. It needs to be in blue ink."
Trip Five:
"Here's the order. Notarized with the jail number, date of birth, blood type, SKU code. But we could not solve the CIQ Kryptos puzzle completely. Here is the partial solution. with six notarized orders signed in blue."
"It's after four pm. I need a new order tomorrow with the new date."
NEXT DAY
Trip Six:
"Here's the order. Notarized with the jail number, date of birth, blood type, SKU code. But we could not solve the CIQ Kryptos puzzle completely. Here is the partial solution. with six notarized orders signed in blue. With today's date." 
"The order doesn't say subequent order based on the original order signed yesterday."
Trip Seven:
SIGN ON THE DOOR TO DR NO'S OFFICE:
"OUT. ILL. RETURN TOMORROW"
Trip Eight:
Here's the order. Notarized with the jail number, date of birth, blood type, SKU code. But we could not solve the CIQ Kryptos puzzle completely. Here is the partial solution. with six notarized orders signed in blue with today's date and indicating that it is a subsequent order to yesterday's order."
"The Jail is shut down and not releasing anyone. Please come back later."


Ah what we wouldn't give to have our time wasted like the good old days. 

TUESDAY MARCH 31, 2020 DID'JA KNOW EDITION

Did'ja Know....?

It's business as usual in Sweden as a country of loners keeps all businesses open. People in Sweden are naturally social-distant and the only hot-spot has been the Somali community which traditionally has-like Italy- large families in one household. Sweden is banking on the slowly approaching a herd-immunity point without its health-care system being overwhelmed. England considered this model, and then their PM got sick. 

Did'ja know that in West Palm Beach, critical businesses include supermarkets, pharmacies, and ….wait for it....Gun Stores. Yahoo! 

The Mountain Gorillas of Kampala, Uganda, are at risk for Covid-19. The 1,000 gorillas are being closely monitored. 

Did'ja know that Scotland is passing emergency legislation to release most of its prisoners. Is it possible that criminal justice reform emerges from this pandemic? Not if members of the US Attorneys Office of the SDFL (motto: "Lock em up and let em cough")  have their say. 

It's safe to order take-out-eat-at-home. Unpack your meal. Throw out the containers. Wash your hands. Microwave the hot stuff (not the sushi or cold sesame noodles) and dig in. In NYC, Rao's- that untouchable mecca of Italian food, has begun a take-out menu, as has Cote- our fav Korean Steakhouse that just happens to have a Michelin Star.

Did'ja know Prince Willam- third in line to the Throne behind his father Prince Charles, may return to duty as an air ambulance helicopter pilot?

It's not just toilet paper that is in short supply. OJ is flying off the shelves of your local Publix y mas.

WHAT RUMPOLE IS READING: 

Less- the Pulitzer Prize winning quirky book by Andrew Greer. It's controversial. Some say it's slow moving, and others love it. 

Thomas Paine and the Clarion Call for American Independence: 
Only six people attended Thomas Paine’s funeral. Once the most famous writer in the American colonies (and, later, the United States of America), the corsetmaker-turned-pamphleteer had been virtually expelled from public life for his radical beliefs and writings, like the ones that suggested a tax on landowners could be used to fund basic income for everyone else and his severe critique of organized religion which made Ben Franklin and Geo Washington both wince.  Harlow Giles Unger, a renowned biographer of the Founding Fathers, looks at the Paine we know and the one we don’t, in his telling of the story of a man who pursued Enlightenment ideals even when those ideals ran afoul of what was socially acceptable.

MONDAY MARCH 30 2020 UPDATE

UPDATE: Governor DeS tells South Florida what we have been telling you: STAY AT HOME (see below- we said it first, so there). 


This is the website you should be checking every day: 

IHME: measuring what matters. 

THE BAD NEWS:

Compared to licensed capacity and average annual occupancy rates, excess demand from COVID-19 at the peak of the pandemic in the second week of April is predicted to be 64,175 (95% UI 7,977 to 251,059) total beds and 17,309 ICU beds. At the peak of the pandemic, ventilator use is predicted to be 19,481. The date of peak excess demand by state varies from the second week of April through May. We estimate that there will be a total of 81,114 deaths (95% UI 38,242 to 162,106) from COVID-19 over the next 4 months in the US. Deaths from COVID-19 are estimated to drop below 10 deaths per day between May 31 and June 6.

(By the way, for those of you asking us how to time the market- see above. The good news of the decreasing death rate will fuel a roar of liquidity that is now on the sidelines). 

THE GOOD NEWS FOR FLORIDA 
https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections

33days

until peak resource use on

May 3, 2020

Resources needed for COVID patients on peak date

All beds needed

16,861beds

All beds available

20,184beds

Bed Shortage

0beds

---

ICU beds needed

2,538beds

ICU beds available

1,695beds

ICU Bed Shortage

843beds

---

Invasive ventilators needed

2,029ventilators

WHAT THIS MEANS: STAY  INSIDE      STAY    INSIDE      STAY INSIDE  

One Month to peak in Florida. NOW IS THE TIME TO PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. 

Use Instacart. Winn Dixie has a program to shop for seniors.  Go for walks but stay away from crowds. We can continue to flatten the curve in Florida if we just hang in there. 

In the darkest days of the Battle of Britain, Winston Spencer Churchill would walk though the rubble of the bombing, cigar jutting out defiantly and say "we can take it". His people would spend the night in the Underground, sleeping on makeshift beds, comforting children. But Churchill knew the character of the British people. They could take it. And they did. And that small Island Nation stood alone in the darkest of times, and they saved the world. 

We can take it. There are no Churchills right now. No man or woman meeting the moment. But we can take it. We can stay inside, donate to charities to help those who need it, and we can take it for another two months and beat this virus. 

Stay inside. Stay safe. We can take it. 

COURTS WILL BE ZOOMING ALONG

UPDATE INCLUDING FLORIDA PEAK RATE PREDICTION

STATS IN THE US: 
It took from 2/29 to 3/17 to reach 100 deaths in the US. Nine more days to reach 1000 deaths. 72 house to reach 2000 deaths. This is a classic pandemic curve.  STAY INSIDE PLEASE. 

Deaths in the US will reach 81,114 by August 4. The peak is predicted on April 14 of this coming month with more than 2000 deaths. Source: Health Data. ORG.
NOW IS THE TIME TO STAY INSIDE AND PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. 

FLORIDA IS FLATTENING THE CURVE. That's the good news. The mortality rate is predicted to peak in Florida on May 14. That means we need to remain isolated in our homes for 45 more days. That is bad news.  HANG IN THERE. We will help you get through this. 

COVID 19 DASHBOARD COURTESY OF JOHN HOPKINS UNIVERSITY





ZOOM baby. Zoom. Court hearings are continuing. The virus curve is rising in Florida meaning our prediction about the heat protecting us is not apparently correct, although New Mexico and Arizona are still reporting low case numbers.

You need to do your work, and you need to stay safe. What is a lawyer to do?

ZOOM!



Court hearings will most likely be conducted by Zoom so it's time you get on the Internet, go here ZOOM, download Zoom, find someone under the age of 18 to help you and get up and Zooming.

Have ZOOM questions? Don't ask us. We still use a Motorola Brick Cell Phone and beeper to stay in touch. 




BTW- Blog record- three embedded videos/maps.

SATURDAY MARCH 28 UPDATE

Credit to  John Hopkins University for their dashboard 





COVID COUNT: US CASES 102,920
                              DEATHS: 1,590
                              TOILET PAPER SHORTAGE: 48/50 STATES

BRANCH COURT STRUCK David "no pants' Ovalle (check out his twitter feed @Davidovalle305 to understand why) reported that three employees in three separate branch courts have tested +covid-19.

Interesting to note there is little evidence of the virus in Hialeah, probably because no-one, especially a tourist virus, can figure out how to get into Hialeah and out again without getting lost and sold some chicharrons. 

Virus numbers still low in Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. 

Chicago reporting a Tortilla shortage. Times are indeed tough. 

If you are like us, you peruse the NY Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, and the River Cities Gazette, covering Miami Springs, Miami Gardens, and the all important Medley beat. Now comes sad news that they are suspending publication amid the pandemic. No idea where you will get your Medley news now. 

RUMPOLE REFUTED

People are not happy with our criticism of the SAO. Boo-hoo-hoo. 

From a  Reader:

Your informal poll is wrong.  Judges have been electronically signing  agreed release orders.   The State has even been contacting ASAs in other  jurisdictions  to secure RORs for inmates with out-of-county fugitive warrants.  They are objecting to some folks being released, but writing that "state prosecutors have been pushing back hard against everything. No continuances, no releases" is not accurate.

More From out email in box:

Hey, idiot, get your head out of your ass. The SAO is working hard to accommodate defendants and their lawyers in this crisis. 

Rumpole you are wrong again. As usual. The prosecutors have been reasonable and understanding. 

Rumpole if there weren't wrong answers, you wouldn't have any. You have NO idea what is occurring in state court. Have another drink you washed-up fool and let someone else run your blog you dumb-f. The ASAs are being very fair. 

Jerko- you are not right. Cases are being continued and bonds are being agreed to. Take down your post you moron. I hope they catch you and prosecute you for being a traitor in a crisis. 

And people wonder why we have to remain anonymous. DOM gets invited to federal investitures. We get threatened with treason. 

FRIDAY MARCH 27 UPDATE

Good morning from the end of week one of voluntary home sheltering. How has been your experience? Is it the end of the world (MSNBC) or a slight case of the sniffles (FOX)? 

Courts are closed, but lawyers are acting stupid. See DOM's blog on Magistrate Rock-n-Roll Goodman's order dressing a civil lawyer down for opposing a continuance. It went viral yesterday. 

British PM has Covid-19. Best source of info is the best twitter feed on the planet- @Number10cat- Larry the cat who tweeted "I won't lie, this will test my willpower... " after the news that the PM's meals will be left on the floor outside his bedroom door. 

Our informal poll is that federal and state prosecutors have been pushing back hard against everything. No continuances, no releases, nothing is wrong -what  you talking about Willis? (see below) @KathyBusinessAsUsualNoPaidleaveFernandezRundle and @ArianaNoContinuancesNoreleasesNoretreatNoSurrenderFajardo.

Meanwhile, AG Barr is authorizing the BOP to release low level inmates. Put every other employee of the DOJ opposes the move. 

POTUS wants to reopen the country. Boston Medical services are breaking down. 

The Market had a three-day historic rally, but unemployment numbers are hitting record highs, and you ain't seen nothing yet. 

Up is down. Down is up. But through good times and bad, you can count on one thing- Rumpole will be blogging. 

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT DISCIPLINES FIVE MIAMI-DADE JUDGES .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT SPEAKS .......

INQUIRY CONCERNING A JUDGE NO. 18-572
RE: CINDY LEDERMAN, MARCIA CABALLERO,
ROSA FIGAROLA, TERESA POOLER, MAVEL RUIZ.

"In this case, we review the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) concerning Judge Cindy Lederman, Judge Marcia Caballero, Judge Rosa Figarola, Judge Teresa Pooler, and Judge Mavel Ruiz (the respondents). We further review the stipulation entered into between the respondents and the JQC. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 12, Fla. Const.

As we explain below (see attached ORDER), we approve the parties’ stipulation that during a competitive procurement process, the respondents improperly submitted a letter to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), encouraging DCF to award a contract to a particular vendor. Moreover, we approve the JQC’s finding that this misconduct violated Canons 1, 2, and 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, and we also approve the stipulated discipline of a written reprimand via publication of this written opinion."

YOUR TWO NEWEST JUSTICES OF THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT .....

Will have to wait. Governor DeSantis, according to the Florida Constitution, had 60 days to appoint two justices from the nine names as recommended by the FSC JNC as the result of the resignations of Justice Barbara Lagoa and Justice Robert Luck. One of the two named must reside in the 3^rd DCA (noted by the *). The deadline to name the two justices was on Monday, March 23, 2020. Governor DeSantis has announced that he is just a little bit busy with more important matters and the court is functioning just fine with its five current justices. Here are the finalists:

*John Couriel

Renatha Francis
Jonathan Gerber
Jamie Grosshans
*Norma Lindsey
Timothy Osterhaus
*Eliot Pedrosa
Lori Rowe
Meredith Sasso

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE .......

Meanwhile, the JNC for our local 11^th Judicial Circuit did go ahead and interview by telephone conference last Thursday all 16 applicants for the two open Circuit Court seats resulting from the retirements of Judges Jacqueline Hogan Scola and John Schlesinger. The 12 names sent to Governor DeSantis include:

Jason Bloch

Raul Antonio Cuervo
Christopher Green
Kevin Hellmann
Chiaka Ihekwaba
Zachary James
Scott Janowitz
Lody Jean
Joseph Mansfield
Marie Elizabeth Mato
Melissa Damian Visconti
Craig Weissberg


CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

COUNTY COURT CLOSED THROUGH FRIDAY APRIL 17

It's not exactly "down goes Frazier!" (see below) but Judge Faber has shut County Court crimes down for a month. Good for him! Nobody needs to risk their life or their family's life over a court case. 

In light of the extension of the emergency closure to our courthouses and extension of the speedy trial periods, be advised:

Calendars have already been cancelled through the week ending 4/3.  Calendars are now cancelled for the weeks of 4/6-10 and 4/13-17.

First Appearance hearings/Bond hearings continue to be held at REG in Ctrm 5-3 daily at 9 AM and 1 PM.  DV first appearance hearings are held at 11 AM.

Emergency Motions continue to be heard through the assigned judge to rule on whether the motion is a true emergency.  Motions to review bond status for in-jail defendants and motions to set aside bench warrants for out-of-custody defendants are automatically deemed true emergencies. If the assigned judge deems it a non-emergency, the attorney, or the defendant if pro se, will be told they must wait until courts reopen.

If the assigned judge finds the matter to be a true emergency, then the attorney is notified to contact the state to see whether it is agreed to. If so, the attorney should file an agreed order with proof the state attorney has agreed which the judge will then sign and file. If the emergency motion is opposed, the judge may still agree to grant the motion, then sign and file an order. If the judge feels a hearing is required then it will be set for a bond hearing judge to hear with at least 3 days notice to the clerks office and the parties. Those contested emergency motions are heard at noon in Ctrm 5-3 at REG.  Telephonic attendance is allowed.

Robin Faber, Administrative Judge

DOWN GOES FRAZIER

For those of you born in a time when there were always Starbucks and cell phones, the voice announcing the heavyweight championship fight was a gentleman called Howard Cosell. He was a cultural phenomemon and a studied man of principle. 

WEDNESDAY UPDATE - JAILS INFECTED AND COIVD DIARY#5

Good Wednesday morning. In response to our earlier comment that we were not hearing about many people being diagnosed, we received the below comment. Also note that Ace Herald Reporter David "Covid-19" Ovalle wrote yesterday that not only have three Miami Correction Officers been diagnosed, but the three officers all worked in different jails. The three officers were asymptomatic and were tested under a program to test ALL first responders-police, firefighters and it seems corrections officers. This is significant in limiting the virus by identifying and isolating people who are positive with no symptoms. This is how South Korea flattened the curve.

Anonymous said...

Rump:

On your comment re anecdotal reports, I am experiencing the opposite. Yesterday I learned of the first two cases (5 cases actually, 3 in one household and 2 in another) in my personal circle. Both families started experiencing symptoms over the weekend. And both families saw the symptoms in their children first. The thinking is that the schools were silently circulating it the week before the closure and that the incubation period is now turning into the active symptoms phase.

Moreover, there seems to be stigma associated with telling people, which is why both households started experiencing symptoms over the weekend, but didn't tell friends and family until a couple of days later.

And spread among families with kids is frightening for grandparents. Both families mentioned above reported similar patterns of behavior. They both believed that they were practicing responsible social distancing by limiting gatherings to 10 people. But both families spent time with grandparents (people in this case in their 60s who are otherwise healthy and vibrant) after schools closed and before symptoms appeared. Those grandparents are now exposed and in the potential incubation period.

It seems to me that the SFL numbers are only heating up. Moreover, almost every physician I know, and I know enough of them, is reporting the same thing: the hospitals they work at are continuing to turn away patients that are likely COVID positive every day without testing when they believe the patients are relatively young and otherwise healthy. That does not speak well for reliable numbers or flattening the curve.

I hope you're right about the warm weather and the flattening of S.Fla's curve. But I am not seeing it in my circle of friends, family, and contacts.

Thank you for that comment. It is important. We all are looking at a large event through a small window.
Carl had a close call, but it looks like he will be fine. 

Covid Diary #5:

Rumpole, it was touch and go for a while. I had written to say I was getting worse and then I started having trouble breathing.  My fever kept spiking to 102. After a few panicked calls from my girlfriend I somehow managed to drive myself to the hospital. I would not expose anyone to the virus and let them drive me. That in and of itself was full of drama, trust me. My O2 sat numbers were low- low 70's and it was like there were straps on my chest and I could not catch my breath. In any other circumstance I would have been certain I was having a heart attack. 

I was admitted through the ER and placed on oxygen and albuterol aerosol treatments to help me breathe. One piece of good news. I was assured by the doctors and staff they had ventilators available if needed.  I was given IV antibiotics as well as some steroids and I had quick and positive reaction with 12 hours. My O2 levels increased to mid 80s and then mid 90s and I felt much better. I was in the hospital more than two days- about 60 hours.  My fever which had been as high as 102 returned to normal. I was discharged and returned home. The nurses were amazed I had driven myself to the ER based on how sick I was. I cannot explain it but somehow I just found the strength. When I had parked, it took me a long time to catch my breath and walk from the car to the ER. As soon as I was through the doors I was seen and placed in a wheel chair and immediately given O2. I cannot say I lost consciousness but I was close. 

The hospital is an amazing place. All of the health care workers are risking their own lives to treat people like me. And yet they did it with a smile on their face- albeit under their mask. The nurses are the true heroes. They made sure I was comfortable. They helped me walk to the bathroom and brought me soup and juice and hot tea when I asked for it. They sat with me when I had aerosol treatments and when I was panicked having trouble breathing and they talked me through it. They calmed me down and let me know I was going to be OK and to trust them. Maybe I wasn't in a life threatening situation, but I felt like I was and that they saved my life. God bless them. 

My doctor now says he believes the worst has passed. He said I should remain in isolation for two weeks past when all symptoms are gone but that I should be OK now. Today I took a small blanket and sat outside in the sun and listened to the radio and was just happy to be alive. My appetite has returned for soups and puddings. I cannot get enough of Jello chocolate pudding and chocolate-vanilla swirl. It goes great with coffee and a vanilla wafer cookie. I know people have been sending me good wishes and prayers and I greatly appreciate it. I think I'll send one more diary entry when I am feeling better and I hope this helped your readers. 

Carl