JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

SOMETHING SMELLS FUNNY

Much ado about scents has erupted on the blog as lawyers allege Lord Of The Traffic Magistrates Judge Steve Leifman’s JA sells perfume from chambers. Really, people, calm down. JA’s and secretaries have sold this kind of stuff for years. Who cares? What about attorneys who bring their rug rat’s school candy sale into the office and make everyone buy a candy bar?

CENSORSHIP???

On to a second, related, but much more important issue. As the furor erupted over the JA Perfume Scandal (JAPS) someone posted a comment containing a personal derogatory comment about the JA. So we erased it.


Post what you want here, folks. But we don’t allow personal mean spirited attacks on people. In this case, people are arguing back and forth on whether the JA should sell perfume, what role Leifman has in JAPS, and in true lawerly form, the arguments denigrated to the “Asshole” “don’t call me an asshole, asshole” etc.

OK. Not nice or learned, but acceptable.

But to name a person, and criticize something personal about them- their appearance, they have a big nose, their clothes are cheap, etc., is not what the blog is about and violates about the only rule we have other than trying to publish personal information (like a home address) about anyone.

The comment on the JA and Judge Leifman is fair game. Calling her a derogatory name and criticizing her appearance is not fair game on this blog and therefore the comment was deleted. As we have said before, you can call Bobby Reiff a bad lawyer, but when you call him a bad hockey player, that is a personal attack that constitutes hitting below the belt.

In the history of this blog, we have deleted 5 comments so far. And we hate to say this, because we love readers, we love controversy, we love being at the center of attention: but if you don’t like the fact that we will remove a personal derogatory comment that is not related to any aspect of the Justice Building, then don’t read the blog any more.

KUDOS TO A STUDENT OF HISTORY- THE HONORABLE HENRY LEYTE VIDAL.
He is not just a learned and respected Judge, but he was first with the Aaron Burr answer to the trivia question of what other VP shot someone while in office. As careful students of history, and Judge Leyte-Vidal will tell you, Burr shot Alexander Hamilton in a scandal relating to Hamilton’s wife not paying for some perfume she was forced to buy from Burr'S girlfriend when they all attended the Continental Congress’s first AVON party.

See You In Court- hint as to our identity: we wear Aramis, and it smells great!

21 comments:

Rumpole said...

ANONYMOUS- RESPONDING TO THE FACT RUMPOLE REMOVED HIS/HER POST WROTE:

Why did you erase my comments? Are you the eye in the sky sensor defending the status quo, unwilling to upset your patrons, unwilling to upset the merchant JA. I was called an asshole, which I hardly dispute, and you did not sensor the comment. Get with it Judge Leifman, is my basic point. Second, do not sensor free speech, practice what you preach [THE LAST SENTENCE- A PERSONAL ATTACK ON THE JA WAS REMOVED BY RUMPOLE]

OK JACKASS- WHAT DON’T YOU GET ABOUT THIS? JUST LEAVE THE PERSONAL ATTACK ON THE JA OUT AND YOU CAN POST WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT. OK?
WE REMOVED YOUR POST BUT RE-POSTED YOUR POST BECAUSE WE DO NOT WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF SOME DICK CHENEY COVERUP. SO YOU CAN COMPLAIN ALL YOU WANT ABOUT US, AND THE JAPS- JUST LEAVE THE SNIDE PERSONAL CRAP OUT OF IT.

Anonymous said...

why is there an aramis and yet no porthos or athos perfume?

Anonymous said...

and what of d'artagnan?

Anonymous said...

Great! Being the author of both the original comment of the JAPS problem and later the deleted comment, I hope the issue has come to a head and the JAPS problem is no longer. Stay tuned, other regretable realities at the Gerstein Building are forthcoming.

Anonymous said...

Regrettable realities indeed. You seem to be one example of a regretable reality at REG.

Of course there's no reason to expect civil discourse from a person, like you, who confesses to being an asshole both on and off the computer.

The interesting thing is that you think you're accomplishing something despite the fact that your comments are universally ridiculed and condemned.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, blind one, maybe you don't care of the appearance of things, but surely Leifman is not defending his resident vendor. We are talking about apperances here. This is shameful.

Anonymous said...

It was written...We are talking about apperances here...

No... we're talking about 1) your inability to be civil; 2) your inability to write logically; and 3) your inability to grasp that your argument, such as it is, has been rejected, ridiculed and thrown to the gutter.

Anonymous said...

Rumpy: Wake up. From nearly the start, your blog has repeatedly featured attacks against judges, lawyers in the SAO, PD and the private bar. I'm sure that posts which attack a person's job performance and professionalism are, in many instances, taken personally by the person attacked. Worse yet, the attacks are almost always anonymously written. Seems like you only give a damn when the comment affects someone you care about.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Wake up. Deleting stuff from the blog is a cop out.
Isn't all this stuff personal to
somebody? Are the insults really ever out of bounds? We're freakin
criminal defense lawyers. If a
person can't take something being
said about him/her, they need to
go work civil and sit behind a desk all day.

Some of the stuff you've deleted has been the god honest truth. It's
just that you think it went to far.
Leave the BLOG AS iT IS and STOP
deleting comments.

Anonymous said...

There are professional insults... "so and so couldn't argue his way out of a paper bag"

And there are personal insults... "Judge Beecham's wife is uglier than a warthog."

The last comment Rumpole deleted was purely vindictive personal opinion. I hope he will always delete that crap.

I should also add that, the percentage of deleted comments is so low as to be essentially irrelevant to reasonable discourse. I mean...he's deleted FIVE! Still, if you think Rumpole has crossed the line, all is not lost. Blogger.com will be happy to give you your own blog. It's free, it's easy to do. Just click the link at the top right of the Blog which says "GET YOUR OWN BLOG."

Anonymous said...

Offering us the opportunity to get our own Blog misses the point. This our blog for our collective minds to speak about our issues. The reason we are using this blog is because you are reading it. Ideas are to be expresed to everyone not just to those that will agree with us. Good try.

Anonymous said...

I guess if we do not get our own blog your next move is to out us. No more anonimity will surely achieve your intended result. What is going on here? Is the KGB running this blog?

Anonymous said...

Maybe the self-confessed asshole is pissed off because the JA was out of his wife's favorite perfume and he was forced to buy it at the mall at full retail price.

Anonymous said...

No, I am not even upset. I think its funny and sad and funny and sad and funny and sad and funny and sad all at once. Just understand my narrow point. It is wierd to buy stuff (however defined) out of a judge's chambers. That's it.

Anonymous said...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Anonymous said...

SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT Up. okay you made your point. I too hope it stops. now, move on

Anonymous said...

Rump this censorship is pathetic and you are taking this blog too seriously. On another note, I cant believe you would stoop so low as to accuse one of your posters of being an anti-semite merely because they make the rather obvious point that in the past A Jewish surname was often helpful in a judicial election in much the same way a hispanic surname might prove helpful in 2006. What exactly is anti-semitic about this? As a Jew I am truly offended when anyone throws out a baseless charge of antisemitism becuase it makes people think we Jews are always crying wolf. Rump I love the blog but think you are way way out of line on this one.

Anonymous said...

Another Jew agrees. All groups play off their names when it suits them and turn around and bitch and whine about racism or prejudice when it doesn't.

Anonymous said...

us wops don't.

Anonymous said...

ANOTHER JUDGE IS REQUIRED TO CLEAN UP THE MESS MADE BY THE SUPERVISOR OF THE TRAFFIC MAGISTRATES.THE MAGISTRATES HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO PENALIZE PERSONS WHO WISH TO PROCEED TO TRIAL OR EVEN SET THEIR MATTERS FOR TRIAL.
MAGISTRATES ADJUDICATE ON MANY FIRST OFFENSES;YES EVEN SEAT BELT VIOLATIONS AND IMPOSE FINES IN EXCESS OF 350 DOLLARS.THIS IS AS A RESULT OF JUDGE LEIFMANS DIRECTION TEACHINGS.
ARE PEOPLE NOT ENTITLED TO A TRIAL,NON-JURY TRIAL TAKING PROBABLY LESS THAN TEN MINUTES WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED SEVERLY ESPECIALLY WHEN HAVING A GOOD RECORD.WE SUBMIT,THE LAW REQUIRES JUSTICE AND NOT SEVERE SANCTIONS FOR GOING TO OR ELECTING TO SET A MATTER FOR TRIAL.
WE DO THANK THE SYSTEM FOR PLACING A FAIR JUDGE TO DOING THE MITIGATIONS OF THE MESS.
T.B.

Anonymous said...

Sheldon R.Schwartz is the Judge who handles the Traffic Magistrate "errors in judgement"and we all agree he does an excellent job,although he does not do often times what we need.But at least he listens and is fair.Sometimes his punishment is rather severe but we understand tha reasons(sometimes the Judge will impose 12 to 30 hours of traffic school and high fine in order to teach someone a lesson and as punishment).
Traffic Lawyers United