PETER, PAUL, MARY, SPIDERMAN, AND SANTA CLAUS.

A blogger who is on a first name basis with us, and is a scholar of management, fires a few shots at Judge Farina and his crew:

Hey Rumpy- well a new year brings new judicial assignments- I m sure Judge Farina will do as much as he can to ensure that the "Peter Principle"-that’s a management term Rumpy-is alive and well in the Criminal JusticeBuilding of Dade County.

He has set up a system whereby the people with the least amount of criminal and/or trial experience get assigned to the criminal justice building where they hurt the most people with their incompetence. Unfortunately Judge Farina has lost sight of or doesn’t care that the criminal bench, be it county or circuit is not the place for on-the job-training -and the people with the most trial experience get assigned to civil where hardly anything goes to trial. Can”t beat seniority Rumpy-maybe this year Judge Areces will figure out that you don’t do JOA arguments in front of a jury and Judge Arzola will figure out that the defense is not required to divulge to the court or theprosecution their theory of defense.

ahh Rumpy -gotta love the Peter Principle.

Rumpole Responds: Not to take a cheap shot at Judge Areces, but if you are correct about her having lawyers do JOA arguments before a jury, it is a sad commentary on our judicial election system. We are simply electing judges because of their gender or ethnicity, and not because they possess any specialized experience that makes them qualified for the bench. Besides being a lawyer for 5 years, shouldn’t there be a requirement that all judicial candidates first be board certified in some area of the law before they run for office?

Regarding theory of defense, we once saw a somewhat well known and experienced REGJB attorney look a prosecutor right in the eye before a Jury was about to walk in and seriously state “VENUE” when asked what his theory of defense was. We still laugh at that one as the prosecutor scurried to look through his notes.

For our less principled (or Robed) readers the Peter Principle is defined as follows:

The Peter Principle is a theory originated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter. It states that successful members of a hierarchical organization are eventually promoted to their highest level of competence, after which further promotion raises them to a level just beyond their highest level of competence. The term is a pun on Sigmund Freud's theory of the pleasure principle.
The theory was set out in a humorous style in the book The Peter Principle, first published in 1969. Peter describes the theme of his book as hierarchiology. The central principle is stated in the book as follows:

In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence.

While the Peter Principle cannot apply to an elected judiciary, the Rumpole Rules Can. Stay tuned for their imminent publication. Until then, there are just so many fat judicial targets for the Peter Principle, that we don’t even know where to begin. Suffice to say, if you are a Judge and thought the Peter Principle was about these people



(Peter, Paul, and Mary) then you have risen to your level of (in)competence.


On the Former ASA who posted about, inter alia, Miami Judges offering great pleas, anonymous writes:

Our insurance defense lawyer above is correct - we do have it great in Miami-Dade County. We also have the most volume, and the most contested judicial elections. In northern counties, no one runs against anyone, and they don’t have the volume - KIND OF LIKE FEDERAL COURT.

Rumpole Responds: is that a good thing or a bad thing?

On the ASA Bill of Rights, anonymous, a criminal defense attorney, grumbles:

speaking of not returning calls, just how many days should defense lawyers wait for you ASA's to return a call about scheduling depositions, and what should we do about the fact that you show up to about 10% of the depos anyway?By the way, you probably believe in Santa Claus if you believe you wear a white hat. Stop buying into your perceived "mission." There is no "mission." Seek justice, and temper your undeserved power with a little compassion before you go home for the night and light up the same joint you prosecute defendants for.

Rumpole Responds: Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. You are correct about the depos issue, but your post has a sharp edge to it. Spiderman’s post was on the money and many prosecutors are very dedicated to their work. Relax, have a drink (we cannot suggest breaking the law) take a deep breath (inhale), Spidey had some good points. (Exhale).

Spiderman, our favorite web slinger and blogger answers our questions:

Internet is only available to DCs or higher, confirmed.Depos and suppression motions are part of the process and a defense attorney and/or his or her client should not be punished for pursuing them...as long as they are legit. Having a blanket rule regarding pleas, depos, and/or Arthur Hearings is contrary to seeking the right result.

Rumpole Responds: So when you are sworn in as an ASA you have the power to incarcerate someone, but not to log on to MSNBC at work? This is why ASA's are grumpy-no access to porn during the work day.

We use the internet as a great trial prep tool. Want to see a crime scene? Use Google Earth. It boggles the mind that most ASA’s do not have access to the internet. We bet PDs in county court have internet access.

See You In Court.
PS. We are running down a great rumor about a Judge abusing his authority and calling an attorney at home. Keep tuned, for when we post this, we will hold no punches. If you know about this, a quick email would help. We already have a few on point.