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.

Friday, June 02, 2006

CONFESSION


Confession: even we get burned out and have to stop reading the blog for a weekend. So we didn’t read our own blog this weekend, and returned to find a 144 comments as of the time of this writing.

To the person posting long comments in Spanish: Stop. You're just being a pest and we are going to delete the comments as soon as they go up once we start reading our own blog regularly again.

To the person re-posting our previous comments. Pretty ingenious. You, like us, must have a lot of time on your hands and no clients bugging you at work. Congratulations on joining the society of poor barristers.

To all the other allegations that we have not responded to, please be advised that silence does not equal acceptance. We actually have a client or two to defend this week and do not have the time to refute all of the scandalous accusations being made against us.


COHEN CONTRETEMPS?

Anonymous writes in about this:

According to the latest evidence from this Blog and I quote “Make no mistake about this: we will seek every opportunity to speak out against any person, Judge, lawyer, politician, whomever, who believes that a person's race, sex, or ethnicity, and not their individual qualifications makes them entitled to any job.” Thus, Rumple will lead or join Slom and Leifman at attacking Judge Cohen for her Anti-Hispanic remarks or go down in history as Anti-Hispanic Hypocrites who target Hispanics and Opposing Candidates when it is convenient. Also, did Slom or Leifman react to Judge Cohens comments in their official capacity as Administrators? They were both there and knew about it, did they call the Herald, DBR or JQC?


Rumpole responds: it appears the last two posts are related and concern remarks attributed to Judge JB Cohen when she was a county court judge. So that means the remarks are several years old. Furthermore, they may be out of context. And finally, several readers posted that the remarks were examined by the Cuban American Bar Association which did not find fault with Judge Cohen. That being said.....

If the remarks attributed to Judge Cohen are correct then we respond as follows:

1) any person is free to live in this country and speak or not speak any language they wish. Indeed the judiciary might be better served if some of them spoke less and listened a bit more. But then, these are Judges we're talking about, so what's the chance of that happening?

Judge Cohen’s remarks (if she said that) are fine for a person to believe in a personal context. The merits of whether a person should speak english in the US are open for debate.

However, as a Judge, she or any Judge should be strongly criticized for expressing such anti-american, anti-individual rights type of beliefs to a person who is in their courtroom appearing before them.

Who did she think she was, a Judge North Of the Border? A person in a criminal case comes to court to admit or challenge the charges, not receive a lecture on language or citizenship.

Maybe the person was dyslexic and could not learn another language. Any Judge who would berate a defendant for not knowing English should hang her head in shame because such conduct is not worthy of the robes they wear and their oath of office.


As to Slom and Leifman’s silence in that matter (if they were indeed silent) we believe that the Rules Of Ethics require an attorney or judge to turn in another attorney if they believe that attorney has violated the rules of ethics. Certainly if we were in court and witnessed such an outburst we would step forward as a witness in any JQC proceeding and inform the defendant’s attorney of our availability.

If the defendant was un-represented, then we would step forward ( as we have done in the past and as we have seen countless other defense attorneys in the REGJB do) and immediately come to the defense of the unrepresented individual.

The question is, if the County Court was not sitting en banc, how can anyone allege Slom and Leifman (who by the way are pictured in the post of December 22, 2005 as the Judicial Odd Couple) witnessed the incident.

See You In Court reading the blog on our phone to keep up with it.

84 comments:

Rumpole said...

Complaint department:
1) can't view the blog with firefox? Stop being a radical loner and join the rest of the world and submit to microsoft. Sorry, can't help you there.

2) Spanish spammers- will be summarily executed on site (get it?) we will endeavor to immediately remove the post.

3) No clients as the summer approaches? Take a bondsman to lunch like the rest of your crooked croonies.

Anonymous said...

jb cohens comments were made while she was on the juvenile bench

Slom & Leifman do not administer the juvenile bench, so to speak

Anonymous said...

what were the alleged comments and if they are several years old, get over it.

Anonymous said...

I assumed Millian was Cuban by the shameless way he panders himself to the Cuban community to play the race card. Thanks for spreading the word that he is GUILTY of false advertising; to wit: I am cuban, so are you, vote for me. New slogan should be, I am a nasty liar, don't vote for me.

Anonymous said...

Millan is as much Cuban as I am African-American. There are Anglos who speak better spanish than he does..he's a fraud! I am voting for Karen Mills Francis!

Anonymous said...

Again, I state, that those are very serious allegations against Steve Millan. Can we please have some intelligent conversation.

If he is campaiging in a less than ethical way, as was previously alleged, I want to know what he has done. Don't just make bald accusations.

I have had several conversations with him and they have not been negative about KMF in any way.

I see Steve as a qualified candidate who has the experience to handle the job of a County Court Judge. If you think Ms. Mills-Francis is more qualified, then vote for her. If you have been in front of her and feel that Steve can do a better job, then vote for him.

You don't need to make negative derogatory remarks to make your point.

Good luck to both candidates.

Anonymous said...

I KNOW Rumpole is Gary Rosenberg, Howard Sohn, Chris Lyons, and maybe one more person. Its a conspiracy I tell ya.

Rumpole said...

Rumpole quotes former Secretary of State Alexander Haig "I'm in charge here." ...No..wait..that's the wrong quote:

"Even paranoid people have enemies."
There. Got it on the second try.

Anonymous said...

Why is it controversial to assert that a person should know the dominant language of one's country of residence?

An English only speaker (black, white, or other) who moves to Bolivia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Kazahkstan, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea, or Japan should learn to speak the language of the land they have moved to.

Anonymous said...

The United States does not have an official language. I choose to make mine Spanish!

Rumpole tiene que parar discriminando contra mi derecho de hablar el idioma que me da la gana de hablar...

Anonymous said...

Does the United States have an official national language?
Madison
Arlington, Virginia

Dear Madison:
No, the United States has never had an official national language -- and throughout its history many languages have been spoken along with English. A quick search on "United States official language" led us head-on into controversy. Many citizens feel strongly that the government should establish English as the official language of the United States, a view expressed in the mission statement of English First. Other Americans believe that linguistic diversity is a key aspect of our heritage and that English-only laws are motivated by fear and by false stereotypes about non-native speakers

Anonymous said...

can we talk about joel jacobi

Anonymous said...

Perhaps Judge JB Cohen did make those comments on the bench and the reality is that those shouldn't have been made. That being said, she's human and like every one of us either with a robe or without sometimes we say things that come back to bite us in the ass. Give it up

Anonymous said...

LANGUAGES SPOKEN AT HOME IN THE US 2000 CENSUS

English only 82.105%
Spanish 10.710%
Chinese (all spoken varieties incl.) 0.78%
French (incl. Patois, Cajun) 0.627%
German 0.527%
Tagalog 0.467%
Vietnamese 0.385%
Italian 0.384%
Korean 0.341%
Russian 0.269%
Polish 0.254%
Arabic 0.234%
Portuguese or Portuguese Creole 0.215%
Japanese 0.182%
French Creole 0.173%
Other Indic languages 0.167%
African languages 0.160%
Other Asian languages 0.152%
Greek 0.139%
Other Indo-European languages 0.125%
Hindi 0.121%
Other Austronesian languages 0.120%
Persian 0.119%
Other Slavic languages 0.115%
Urdu 0.100%
Other West Germanic languages 0.096%
Gujarati 0.090%
Serbo-Croatian 0.089%
Other Native American languages 0.078%
Armenian 0.077%
Hebrew 0.074%
Mon, Khmer 0.069%
Yiddish 0.068%
Navajo 0.068%
Hmong 0.064%
North Germanic languages 0.062%
Lao 0.057%
Other and unspecified languages 0.055%
Thai 0.046%
Hungarian 0.045%

Anonymous said...

Languages
As of 2000, 76.9 percent of Florida residents age 5 and older speak English at home, and 16.5 percent speak Spanish. French is the third most spoken language at 2.2 percent, followed by German at 0.6 percent and Italian at 0.4 percent.

Anonymous said...

Hialeah ranks #1 in the list of cities in the United States where Spanish is most spoken. About 92% of its population speaks Spanish as a first language.

As of the census of 2000,the racial makeup of the city was 88.01% White, 2.41% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.47% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races.

Anonymous said...

new topic please this is getting boring

Anonymous said...

i want to know what the pacific islander contingent of hialeah (0.02) has to say on this issue.

susan dumbass
miami herald
inaccurate reporter

(only replies in greek, hebrew, celtic, danish, and ebonics will be read)

Anonymous said...

Genug iz genug.
Darf min gehn in kolledj (law school?)
I say any post longer than 3 paragraphs with 5 sentences each should be outlawed on the blog. In any language.

Anonymous said...

And a Juan, and a tu, and a three

Anonymous said...

That shud be Lawrence

Anonymous said...

Another Juan bites the dust...

Anonymous said...

let's change the subject, please. we all know that when push comes to shove, everyone, including jose and jean, understands those 3 precious words: case is dropped. ha, ha, ha.

Anonymous said...

you're juan, twice, three times a lady.
juana d'arce.

Anonymous said...

more crap about d arce?

lets just focus on the fact that the heat Juan.

Anonymous said...

To the uninformed bloggers 5:18 and 5:40, I have never identified myself as Cuban. In fact, in every conversation, I have said that I am Puerto Rican and Italian. In fact, it is my wife who is Cuban, and thus that makes my children part Puerto Rican, Italian and Cuban. Moreover, since I am half Puerto Rican that makes me hispanic by blood. Under the federal rules dating back to before the civil war and taken from Europe, 1/32 of an ethnicity's blood made you part of that ethnicity. Obviously that was done for reasons of national purity as it related to the rights of inheritance. If you ever want to know just ask. Don't assume anything. In fact, I have always identified myself as hispanic from school to hiring to social activities. I grew up in a bi-cultural house and have that much more of a richer heritage to offer my children. As the subsequent post noted, if you like Mills- Francis and her uninvolved, unprofessional and unqualified judicial tenure then vote for her. I am sure you did when you filled out the bar poll or was that maybe when you saw her at some community event. What I am talking about is the ideal of what it means to be a judge. Anytime you wish to discuss that intelligently, call me,--Stephen Millan. I am in the phone book. or better yet just stop me in the courthouse rather than talking or blogging behind my back. Just for the record, my last name had an accent on the "a" but that was changed at Ellis Island. In Puerto Rico, all of my family has an accent over the "a". I specifically decided to not correct it since this was the name my parents gave me and I am proud of it. It is also the name that I have passed on to my children. I could have changed it but then again you would be complaining that I changed it as a form of racial pandering. Yes, my Spanish is not perfect and perhaps never will be but that does not mean that I will not keep on trying. Unfortunately, my parents and grandparents felt that it was more important to master English since they had been discriminated against for speaking their own native tongues. With my children, I have tried to correct this and my wife and I have taught them both languages from birth. Lastly, I am campaigning in all communities in our county. I have worked in them and volunteered in them before I ran for judge and will do so after. What has Judge Mills-Francis done in any of them. I am not pandering to any one ethnicity or segment of the community. I am campaigning in them all and I will earn their votes.

Anonymous said...

Ya tu sabes! Ahora si se puso buena la cosa!!!

Anonymous said...

Blog is losing.

Anonymous said...

By September 24, 2004, Firefox was over a million downloads.

http://news.com.com/Firefox+beats+million-download+deadline/2100-1032_3-5371875.html

By February 16, 2005, Firefox was over 25 million downloads.

http://weblogs.mozillazine.org/asa/archives/007574.html

By October 19, 2005, Firefox was over 100 million downloads.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,123140,00.asp

Don't know if the "rest of the world" argument flies here Rumpy, seems like Microsoft has some good old fashioned competition on its hands.

Anonymous said...

let the best candidate win.

Anonymous said...

I am a first time reader of the blog and I must say it contains a lot of nosense. Maybe it used to be good.

Anonymous said...

The only reason Judge Cohen did not get tossed on her ASS was because CABA swept her comments under the rug. Who is CABA and why would you think they can speak for Miami-Dade County? Do not say it has been handled because it has not. But, like the little orphan Annie said, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow you are always a Day Away!." Then we can see if the truth was out there or if it was a cover-up buddy.

Anonymous said...

Hey Amarantos! Leave Steve Milan alone or at least sign-in so he knows it is you for when he gets on the Bench he can recuse himself from your cases.

Anonymous said...

Juan Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Anonymous said...

All for Juan and Juan for All!

Anonymous said...

Juan, Two, Three, Four....
Come on Baby say you love me.

Anonymous said...

A gringo wants to know? (and I don't need a book long answer) What's the difference between a Hispanic and a Latino?

Anonymous said...

no se

Anonymous said...

RESULTS OF NATIONAL IMMIGRATION SURVEY


"49% of Americans say that illegal immigration is a serious problem.


The other 51% said, 'No habla ingles.'"

Anonymous said...

The formating of this blog just sucks!!!!

Anonymous said...

please delete the lengthy spanish blogs. i reckon the only one who cares is about it is the poster.

rump, since this is a private blog, and not protected under all the laws of the US, you make this an english only blog. I know i am a racist for saying it, but i speak the language that is taught in schools and used for government work. I dont, nor will I ever, speak spanish on principle. when the flotilla speaks some english, I will speak some spanish.

in the meantime, take control of YOUR blog, and kick off the assholes who re-print 30 paragraph posts that i dont care to read.

memo to lame spainsh poster - learn he language or get the fuck out. period. im sick of this politically correct crap. go to vietnam or russia and see how long you last not doiong anything to adapt to another country. you are just lucky americans are soft and let you get by voting and running businesses without speaking a frekin word of english. the ONLY excuse is that you are LAZY. makes me sick to see people in this country for 20 years and they cant understand a word of english. THAT is a culture of people who are 1) fuckin lazy as shit, 2) have no interest in america at large, only promoting their interests in miamia and hialeah.

spanish only americans. take a quick trip to IOWA. see how well you get treated there. this is paradise for you. make a TINY effort to put something back. (or just run the race card all day b/c someone asks you to speak the language of the country, ansd quite frankly, english is the official language of international business.

but no need to learn it if you can speak spanish all over miami, and then get an interpretor when you get arresssted b/c you cant get a job and are a criminal, largely b/c you have no education and are too fuckin lazy and/or stupid to learn english, put on a clean pair of clothes, and makek an attempt to get a real job.

we ALL have to make some sacrfices when we come to another country. ask the jews who were persecuted. ask the irish who were told "irish need not apply". ask the blacks (need i say more.

but ask the cubans, and you are a racist. fuck that.

this aint cuba, this aint italy, etc. its american. we are supposed to share the sanme ideas of equality and justic and have a few things in common, while at the same time celebrating our own heritages.

turn off telemundo for a bit and throw in some american news. you'll be amazed in a few months you actually communicate with millionsm ore people. might actually do yourself some good.

in the meantime, i fully support hialeah becoming a spanish only town, run by spanish only. the only caveat - to provide your services, you must tax the people and use that money for police, fire, schools, etc. You WILL find that difficult when the older peeps are working, but the all the young ones dont work and dont pay taxes. you wull not get handouts from other taxpayers.

to become a lawyer, i spent 50K and three years to learn a new "language". to be a doctor people spend 100K to learn someting new. Will it kill you to learn the native language? (history has shown it probably will).

when fidel dies, go home.

Anonymous said...

Well said BT!

Anonymous said...

How is Larry Schwartz doing in his race against Gina Mendez? By the way, is Gina cute?

Anonymous said...

How dare you ask about her looks as if that's the main requirement for a female candidate. Shame on you.

Anonymous said...

Larry Schwartz is doing just fine in his race against Gina Mendez. Both candidates have been conducting their campaigns very ethically.

As for Gina Mendez' looks, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Why don't you ask her husband, the cop, that question, and see what he says.

Finally, as for the blogger who is spamming this blog with the long reprints. I suggest everyone simply ignore him, instead of printing these ugly repsonses.

Most 3 year old children, when ignored, usually move on to something else. It will be the same with them.

Now, back to defending the bad guys.

Anonymous said...

Millan seems like a nice guy -- but if it were me running, I would lose the big cross pin on the lapel. Kind of a turnoff to non-goyim, ya know?

Anonymous said...

A CROSS? WHAT ABOUT SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE? IF TRUE, THE GUY IS A TURD TO THE LIKES OF W....

Anonymous said...

he's not a judge yet but i hear you. more like pandering to me. save the cross pins for church mr. millan.

Anonymous said...

Gina Mendez is married to one of the most unprofessional, can't get through a depo without certifying a question type cops.

Anonymous said...

In case anyone cares, you can translate ANY language into english at:

http://translate.google.com/translate_t

As for all the statistics kept by the Census Bureau and the ACLU, I found them fascinating. But I think I'd rather do a Google search on the topic then read it in here. A hyperlink will do (then again we're lawyers and a bit verbose). Can we please get back to the issues that matter? Whose heard any rumors about the next election criminal investigations?

Anonymous said...

Regarding Mr. Millan's comments regarding Judge Mills Francis' involvement or lack thereof in the community; When is a judge supposed to be active in the community? Once on the bench, doesn't the judicial canons eschew any affiliation or involvement with any community groups? Isn't a judge's job just to rule on cases and controversies that are ripe before her? Isn't an opposing view contrary to that right wing panacea of judicial restraint that I'm sure some of these candidates adhere to?

Anonymous said...

I think that to be fair to Judge Lawrence Schwartz, we should maybe contact the CiTES Employee who found the most interesting pictures (allegedly) in the Judges Computer a couple of years ago and then talk. Marcelo Benitez, will you please come out of hidding and grace this fair blog with details on the Lumber Jacks? As I said, allegedly.

Anonymous said...

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE?
by the dawns early light.
what so proudly we hailed
at the twilights last gleaming.
And the rockets red glare
The bombs bursting in air
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was stil there.
Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave
or the land of the free and
the home of the brave.

Anonymous said...

Not to switch subjects on all you song writers, but did you see the Apprentice last night.

How bout that dude from England who won the job and got the girl (Tammy is soooo hot).

Anonymous said...

to 12:48

saw it, yeah, she is hot.

Know what I noticed. They are always arguing in the press and the tabloids about whether the Trumpster needs to be politically correct in picking the next Apprentice; ie should he pick a female instead of a male, and should he pick a black instead of a white.

Know what I have never heard argued?! Whether he should pick the hispanic? Now what are we going to do about that!

Anonymous said...

I don't think there has been any hispanics on the Apprentice

Anonymous said...

I am getting rid of this blog, in order to avoid the up coming investigations.

Anonymous said...

yeah, I think they should have a hispanic only Apprentice show. The host can be ___________?

You fill in the blank

Anonymous said...

Promise rumpole?

Anonymous said...

Check out the Latin Police Officer Accociation, Miami Chapter, luncheon for Alexander acost, the new US Attorney pictures posted on thier website. How come only LATIN candidates and judges? No anglos, blacks others except for the woman standing in for Iliana Ros Leightenin?

Anonymous said...

Rumpole...I knew David Markus, I worked with David Markus, David Markus was a friend of mine...and you sir, are no David Markus.

Anonymous said...

Y'all miss the point completely about Millan's cross. If you wear your religious beliefs on your sleeve (or lapel) like that, it can tend to imply that you might not be truly impartial in matters that might impact on those beliefs.

Met him, liked him, nice fella -- but I think that hurts him a little bit.

Anonymous said...

what's a blog master's liablity for allowing slander or liable to be published?

Anonymous said...

Judge Jerri Cohen did get a BIG pass by CABA.! After her comments, she called her Cuban judge friends to come to her defense (they did), showed up at a CABA board meeting and groveled (SP??), and wrote a letter of apology, and everything was forgotten - - - - EXCEPT that then all of the judges got HUGE pressure from the CHIEF JUDGE, who got huge pressure from CABA, to attend a "sensitivity" seminar. The seminar, by the way was reported to be a tremendous waste ot time. It was so bad, in fact, that many judges were ANGRY that they were pressured by the CHIEF, who was pressured by CABA, who let Jerri Cohen off unscathed, to go! Isn't it ironic?!

Anonymous said...

What an ass you are Rump. But we are the world...

Anonymous said...

If Gina Mendez was hot, I would vote for her....as good a reason as any. But, since her husband is some ugly-ass loser cop....I probably won't. Actually Lawrence is a nice looking little baldy himself...so I'll vote for him. He has a hot wife.

Anonymous said...

The Chief Judge is a big weenie.

Anonymous said...

ESTO NO PASABA EN CUBA

Anonymous said...

Gina's husband has shot more people than me.

Anonymous said...

Or is it than I?

Anonymous said...

Captain, can you provide an analysis on who is the wealthiest Candidate in the Judicial election? Not donations, but personal wealth.

Anonymous said...

who cares? you must be dirt poor. get a life.

Anonymous said...

I love lesbians, but hate gay guys. Speakin of hatin gay guys, I hate you Rumpole.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole sounds gay to me what about you

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, remember this message to us?

To the moron(s) who are posting lyrics and lengthy copies of posts from on line encyclopedias: Let the word go forth from this day forward. We will bear any burden…pay any price… to insure the blessings of this blog.

We have more time than you do. We can erase your posts and there is nothing you can do about it. Keep wasting your time cutting and pasting and posting. It takes us about a second to erase it. We just hit one button. You will learn the lesson that dozens of prosecutors have learned before: you don’t want to mess with Rumpole.

Apologize and mean it and do it daily to keep the Gods happy at your ugly fat ass you racist fool.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, remember this message to us?

To the moron(s) who are posting lyrics and lengthy copies of posts from on line encyclopedias: Let the word go forth from this day forward. We will bear any burden…pay any price… to insure the blessings of this blog.

We have more time than you do. We can erase your posts and there is nothing you can do about it. Keep wasting your time cutting and pasting and posting. It takes us about a second to erase it. We just hit one button. You will learn the lesson that dozens of prosecutors have learned before: you don’t want to mess with Rumpole.

Apologize and mean it and do it daily to keep the Gods happy at your ugly fat ass you racist fool.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, remember this message to us?

To the moron(s) who are posting lyrics and lengthy copies of posts from on line encyclopedias: Let the word go forth from this day forward. We will bear any burden…pay any price… to insure the blessings of this blog.

We have more time than you do. We can erase your posts and there is nothing you can do about it. Keep wasting your time cutting and pasting and posting. It takes us about a second to erase it. We just hit one button. You will learn the lesson that dozens of prosecutors have learned before: you don’t want to mess with Rumpole.

Apologize and mean it and do it daily to keep the Gods happy at your ugly fat ass you racist fool.

Anonymous said...

I have a weakness -- I am crazy, absolutely nuts, about our National
Anthem. The words are difficult and the tune is almost impossible, but
frequently when I'm taking a shower I sing it with as much power and
emotion as I can. It shakes me up every time. I was once asked to speak
at a luncheon. Taking my life in my hands, I announced I was going to
sing our National Anthem -- all four stanzas. This was greeted with
loud groans. One man closed the door to the kitchen, where the noise of
dishes and cutlery was loud and distracting. "Thanks, Herb," I said.
"That's all right," he said. "It was at the request of the kitchen
staff." I explained the background of the Anthem and then sang all four
stanzas. Let me tell you, those people had never heard it before -- or
had never really listened. I got a standing ovation. But it was not me,
it was the Anthem. More recently, while conducting a seminar, I told my
students the story of the Anthem and sang all four stanzas. Again there
was a wild ovation and prolonged applause. And again, it was the Anthem
and not me. So now let me tell you how it came to be written. In 1812,
the United States went to war with Great Britain, primarily over
freedom of the seas. We were in the right. For two years, we held off
the British, even though we were still a rather weak country. Great
Britain was in a life and death struggle with Napoleon. In fact, just
as the United States declared war, Napoleon marched off to invade
Russia. If he won, as everyone expected, he would control Europe, and
Great Britain would be isolated. It was no time for her to be involved
in an American war.
>
> At first, our seamen proved better than the British. After we won a
battle on Lake Erie in 1813, the American commander, Oliver Hazard
Perry, sent the message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."
However, the weight of the British navy beat down our ships eventually.
New England, hard-hit by a tightening blockade, threatened secession.
Meanwhile, Napoleon was beaten in Russia and in 1814 was forced to
abdicate.
>
> Great Britain now turned its attention to the United States,
launching a three-pronged attack. The northern prong was to come down
Lake Champlain toward New York and seize parts of New England. The
southern prong was to go up the Mississippi, take New Orleans and
paralyze the west. The central prong was to head for the mid-Atlantic
states and then attack Baltimore, the greatest port south of New York.
If Baltimore was taken, the nation, which still hugged the Atlantic
coast, could be split in two. The fate of the United States, then,
rested to a large extent on the success or failure of the central
prong.
>
> The British reached the American coast, and on August 24, 1814, took
Washington, D.C. Then they moved up the Chesapeake Bay toward
Baltimore. On September 12, they arrived and found 1,000 men in Fort
McHenry, whose guns controlled the harbor. If the British wished to
take Baltimore, they would have to take the fort.
>
> On one of the British ships was an aged physician, William Beanes,
who had been arrested in Maryland and brought along as a prisoner.
Francis Scott Key, a lawyer and friend of the physician, had come to
the ship to negotiate his release. The British captain was willing, but
the two Americans would have to wait. It was now the night of September
13, and the bombardment of Fort McHenry was about to start. As twilight
deepened, Key and Beanes saw the American flag flying over Fort
McHenry. Through the night, they heard bombs bursting and saw the red
glare of rockets. They knew the fort was resisting and the American
flag was still flying. But toward morning the bombardment ceased, and a
dread silence fell. Either Fort McHenry had surrendered and the British
flag flew above it, or the bombardment had failed and the American flag
still flew. As dawn began to brighten the eastern sky, Key and Beanes
stared out at the fort, trying to see which flag flew over it. He and
the physician must have asked each other over and over, "Can you see
the flag?”
>
> After it was all finished, Key wrote a four stanza poem telling the
events of the night called The Defense of Fort McHenry. It was
published in newspapers and swept the nation. Someone noted that the
words fit an old English tune called To Anacreon in Heaven a difficult
melody with an uncomfortably large vocal range. For obvious reasons,
Key's work became known as The Star Spangled Banner and in 1931
Congress declared it the official National Anthem of the United States.
>
> Now that you know the story, here are the words. Presumably, the old
doctor is speaking. This is what he asks Key:
>
> Oh! say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
> What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
> Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
Oh! say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

Ramparts, in case you don't know, are the protective walls or other
elevations that surround a fort. The first stanza asks a question. The
second stanza gives an answer:

On the shore, dimly seen thro' the mist of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep.
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream'
Tis the star-spangled banner. Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

The towering steep is again, the ramparts. The bombardment has failed
and the British can do nothing more but sail away, their mission a
failure. In the third stanza, I feel Key allows himself to gloat over
the American triumph. In the aftermath of the bombardment, Key probably
was in no mood to act otherwise. During World War II, when the British
were our staunchest allies, this third stanza was not sung. However, I
know it, so here it is:

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave,
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The fourth stanza, a pious hope for the future, should be sung more
slowly than the other three and with even deeper feeling:

Oh thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation,
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven - rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause is just,
And this be our motto --"In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.

I hope you will look at the National Anthem with new eyes. Listen to
it, the next time you have a chance, with new ears. Pay attention to
the words. And don't let them ever take it away .... not even one word
of it.

AND IT'S SUNG IN ENGLISH!!!

Anonymous said...

Very pretty site! Keep working. thnx!
»

Anonymous said...

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/2000-07-27/news/feature.html

His Sister's Keeper
Is Darrin McGillis a noble crusader for his late sister's kids, or a courtroom junkie who thrives on drama? Both, actually.
By Lissette Corsa
Article Published Jul 27, 2000

For the complete story:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/Issues/2000-07-27/news/feature.html

Want legal advice, MCGILLIS gives it free on this site:

http://www.mcgillismusic.com/Free%20Legal%20Tips.htm

Anonymous said...

Case #SC00-2337 and 01-1326-CIV-MOORE have nothing to do with anything here. As well, the Court shall keep proceedings confidential, but the litigant can write whatever he/she wants since it is about him. Get your law straight. Also, case SC06-505 has not been concluded. See Supreme Court of Florida web site.

Lastly, since this individual always goes pro se, it is he writing and responding about his cases. Another case solved, it is Mr. Courtroom junkie who thrives on drama!

Anonymous said...

DARRIN MCGILLIS, Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s), vs. DANIEL NESS, ET AL., Appellee(s)/Respondent(s).

CASE NO.: 3D05-2339

COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT

923 So. 2d 1178; 2006 Fla. App. LEXIS 5161

January 24, 2006, Decided

NOTICE: [*1] DECISION WITHOUT PUBLISHED OPINION

PRIOR HISTORY: LOWER TRIBUNAL NO. 05-6983, 05-7087, 05-296 AP.

JUDGES: FLETCHER, SHEPHERD and ROTHENBERG, JJ., concur.

OPINION: Following review of the petition for writ of certiorari and the response and reply thereto, it is ordered that said petition is hereby denied.

Upon consideration of the motion for sanctions filed by respondent Benjamin Ness, it is ordered that said motion is granted and remanded to the trial court to fix amount.

Upon consideration, petitioner's request for sanctions against counsel is hereby denied.

FLETCHER, SHEPHERD and ROTHENBERG, JJ., concur.
And

DARRIN MCGILLIS, Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s), vs. BENJAMIN NESS, Appellee(s)/Respondent(s).


CASE NO.: 3D05-1230

COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT

910 So. 2d 274; 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 15963


August 30, 2005, Decided

NOTICE: [*1] DECISION WITHOUT PUBLISHED OPINION

PRIOR HISTORY: LOWER TRIBUNAL NO. 05-14334. McGillis v. Ness, 903 So. 2d 198, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 10168 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3d Dist., 2005)


JUDGES: LEVY, C.J., and FLETCHER and CORTINAS, JJ., concur.

OPINION: Upon consideration of the emergency petition for writ of mandamus, it is ordered that said petition is hereby dismissed as moot. LEVY, C.J., and FLETCHER and CORTINAS, JJ., concur.

and
DARRIN MCGILLIS, Appellant(s)/Petitioner(s), vs. BENJAMIN NESS, Appellee(s)/Respondent(s).


CASE NO.: 3D05-1230

COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA, THIRD DISTRICT

903 So. 2d 198; 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 10168


June 15, 2005, Decided

NOTICE: [*1] DECISION WITHOUT PUBLISHED OPINION

SUBSEQUENT HISTORY: Writ dismissed by McGillis v. Ness, 2005 Fla. App. LEXIS 15963 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 3d Dist., Aug. 30, 2005)


PRIOR HISTORY: LOWER TRIBUNAL NO. 05-14334.

OPINION: This Court's order dated June 14, 2005 is hereby vacated.

Anonymous said...

does any one know the exact reason why attorney Rodney Robinson was placed on probation for three years this month by the Florida Bar?

Anonymous said...

Nice idea with this site its better than most of the rubbish I come across.
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