CANDIDATE SPANKED

[check out the new update at the end of the post]

SUBMITTED FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION: ONE JUAN GONZALEZ, putative traffic magistrate, attorney, candidate to replace Administrative Judge Steve Leifman.

In his effort to be elected Mr. Gonzalez has decided that certain things are more important than others. For instance, Mr. Gonzalez has decided that winning is more important than the truth.

Each person who runs for Judge must follow this Cannon:

Canon 7A(3)(d)(iii) of the Florida Code Of Judicial Conduct states that a candidate for judicial office “shall not knowingly misrepresent the identity, qualification, present position or other fact concerning the candidate or an opponent.”

The Dade County Bar found, in a blockbuster letter released last night, found that Gonzalez violated both parts of the Cannon of Judicial Conduct- he misrepresented his own qualifications and those of Judge Liefman as well.

2 for 2 Mr. Gonzalez. You' re batting 1000% in your ability not to follow the rules you may have to interpret as a judge.

The full letter is on the Herald web site and an article was written by our favorite Herald Scribe Oh Susannah Nesmith which appears in the Herald today.

The Bar found that Mr. Gonzalez misrepresented his qualifications to a political audience in Aventura (motto: “You’re in Aventura…If you don’t have a million bucks leave now”).

During the Aventura speech Mr. Gonzalez apparently made a BIG DEAL of the fact that he was an SAPD and got court appointments, insinuating that he was an integral part of the Dade County Public Defender’s Office.

OK-stop laughing. Most people who are not a lawyers in out little neck of the of the woods do not realize how pathetic it is for an attorney to brag about getting court appointments.

[Note to all ex-pds who are about to send us angry emails- we are not denigrating PD’s or the public spirit of giving back to the community for which court appointments are designed. We applaud those people who do that. However, we are talking about a candidate who has done so little to distinguish himself that rather than mention he donates some time on indigent cases, he was trying to convince voters that his “appointment” as a special assistant public defender was a rare and special legal accomplishment.]


HERE IS WHAT THE DADE BAR DECIDED:

The commission unanimously determined that Mr. Gonzalez violated Cannon 7 and his pledge to the Commission. Likewise, the Commission unanimously determined that Mr. Gonzalez committed similar violations through his comments about his own credential and about his experience as a special assistant public defender.

The other “ faux pas” (French for “foot in mouth”) committed by candidate Gonzalez was to attack Judge Leifman and try and convince voters that Judge Leifman was not a “full time” Judge because he didn’t have a daily calendar.

Memo to Juan Gonzalez: you blew it buddy. If that was the ticket to getting elected then you should have run against Judge Farina, because Farina is a circuit court judge and his position as Chief Judge does not allow him to have a full time calendar either.

If you have spent any significant time in REGJB then you know the easiest piece of cake job is being a county court judge with a daily calendar. 10-2 and you’re through. A few DUI trials now and then, but nothing that requires 14-16 hour days.

However, the position of Administrative Judge has many more responsibilities beyond what the average Judge has. Mr. Gonzalez should hang his head in shame for trying to convince voters (in a desperate attempt to get elected at any cost) that Judge Leifman is taking the easy road, rather than acknowledge the fact that being an Administrative Judge is an honor and recognition by other Judges of Leifman’s experience and ability.


JUAN GONZALEZ-WELCOME TO THE TWILIGHT ZONE, WHERE IT IS HARD TO RUN FOR OFFICE WITH LITTLE PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT OF YOUR OWN, AND AGAINST A JUDGE AND FORMER PUBLIC DEFENDER WHOSE CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS CAST A SHADOW EVEN YOU CAN’T IGNORE.


We are so disgusted with this mess, we may just stay home today and mope, so we probably won’t see you in court today.


PS. After pondering todays events, we decided to go to work after all.

We also thought of this:

What happened to Mr. Gonzalez is what happens when someone runs for office based on a campaign of hate, vengeance and intimidation.

Mr. Gonzalez’s campaign against Judge Leifman was born of Gonzalez’s desire for retribution because Judge Leifman in his role as “Lord Of The Traffic Magistrates” beheaded Gonzalez for his poor performance as a magistrate.

Gonzalez, who had the disturbing propensity to refer to himself when he was on the bench as the “holy trinity” should know as a proponent of religion that the almighty has reserved vengeance as the sole providence of the lord (much the way Congress limits the jurisdiction of the federal courts).

Mr. Gonzalez then sought as his campaign guru, none other than everyone’s favorite former JA, Juan D’Arce, who had his own cross to bear (what's with the religious stuff today???) against Leifman because Leifman had the temerity (and good sense) not to give Mr. D’Arce any money as a political consultant.

Thus the campaign against Judge Leifman emerged as not one of competence or ideas, but one of vengeance, grudges, and pay-back. The problem Mr. Gonzalez has encountered is that the public doesn’t care about his petty problems, and he has nothing good to say about his own qualifications.

To finish out today's religious theme: "You reap what you sow."

See You In Your favorite place of worship.