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.

Monday, February 19, 2007

TOP 10 PRESIDENTS

Many of you know Rumpole to more than a competent trial lawyer. Blog writer, dart thrower, consumer of moderately fine wine, literary critic and avid reader, admirer of the Bard, student of history and political junkie.

Herewith, upon the request of many, and in honor of our holiday, Rumpole ranks the Presidents.


1. Lincoln.
Savior of the Union; author of the emancipation proclamation, President in some our darkest hours. After hearing the horrific losses at Antietam, which ranks as the bloodiest single day in American History (over 23,000Amercians were killed in a single day of fighting) , his was over heard to remark: “My God, what will the Country say?” He suffered from depression, had a mesuganah wife, and still managed to bear a load few ever have. He’s number one, and he's earned it.

2. Roosevelt. (FDR). Brought the country out of the depression; brought the country through the dark days after Pearl Harbor; whipped the Nazis and the Japanese, and did it all from a wheel chair. Created a political culture and view of Government as a partner with business, that while we might personally disagree with, has lasted six decades. The consummate realist, he was once asked what he would do if his policies didn’t end the depression. “Why, try something else.” he responded.

3. Roosevelt. (TR). This was a close one. You could make a really good case for Washington here. But TR has a warm place in our heart. Outdoorsman, creator of the National Park system, advocated living “the vigorous life”, and as a young man, thwarted ruffians in the wild and escorted them under arrest during a long river trip to the authorities back in town. A great Man, not just a great President.

4. George Washington. General, statesman, President, and wise enough to avoid the offer of becoming king. Father of the country has to make the top five, and in a way, isn’t the amazing greatness of his successors all due to him? He should stand alone in his own category.

Now things start to get tough.

5. Thomas Jefferson. Wrote the Declaration of Independence. Advanced the doctrine of separation between church and state. President John F. Kennedy welcomed forty-nine Nobel Prize winners to the White House in 1962, saying, "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent and of human knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the White House—with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." He achieved distinction as a farmer, horticulturist, architect, archaeologist, paleontologist, and he founded the University of Virginia. Loses some points for owning slaves and probably sleeping with them, but was by far and away our most introspective and intellectual president.

6. Ronald Wilson Reagan. Created a whole new dynamic in politics. Whipped the Soviets, began the expansion of US power after a decade of failures in the post Vietnam era, and ended years of high inflation and high interest rates. Very misunderstood President. The last true “Lincoln Republican” in our opinion. Had nothing in common with these lunatic right-wing religious neo-fascists that claim to be Republicans. Want to know how misunderstood his is? When he became Governor of California, he signed the largest tax increase in State history (to deal with a deficit that had been covered up by the previous administration) and followed that up by signing into law the most liberal abortion laws in the nation. A true “conservative” who believed in keeping Government out of people’s lives, Reagan was a much deeper political thinker than his enemies painted him out to be. An amazing communicator and leader; who can forget him saying “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” or his touching speech after the explosion of the Space Shuttle?


7. T. Woodrow Wilson. Created the Federal Reserve, the Federal Trade Commission, the League of Nations, and led the country through WWI. Underrated President.

8. Harry S. Truman (The “S” was a political addition and didn’t stand for anything.) Assumed the presidency in the most difficult of circumstances. Said he felt like a ton of bricks had dropped on him. Was kept surprisingly out of the loop by FDR and had to get up to speed quickly on things life the atomic bomb, Churchill and Stalin, and a economy about to be beset by strikes and turmoil. Dealt with MacArthur and the North Koreans (probably in order of difficulty.) Truman was a plain spoken man. Truman oversaw the creation of the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. Truman once threatened to “kick the ass” of a critic who panned the singing of his daughter Bess. He also called the cad a son-of-a-bitch. Got to like a President who is not afraid to roll up his sleeves, curse, and kick some butt.


9. John Adams. Perhaps the most effective of the founding fathers, we admit to a bias for our only president who was also a criminal defense attorney. His successful defense of British Soldiers in pre-revolutionary Massachusetts, who were accused of manslaughter by killing 5 citizens when they fired into a crowd in 1770 (referred to as the Boston Massacre), remains a celebrated example of criminal defense to this day. There is an annual criminal defense award given out in his name. He was the Massachusetts representative to the Continental Congress. Adams is also credited as the Father of the US Navy. His writings entitled “Thoughts On Government” were as influential as any on the founding fathers. He was selected to negotiate the peace treaty with England in 1779, and his defense and protection of US fisheries along the eastern seaboard was crucial to the survival of New England, and thus the country. He was the first vice president of the US by virtue of finishing second in the electoral college to George Washington. As President, Adams skillfully maneuvered the country between the war between France and England, and his much discussed decision to keep the cabinet of Washington has come to be seen as an act of self assured statesmanship, not since seen until Lincoln brought most of his critics into his cabinet. Adams is the only one term president to make our top ten, mostly on the virtue of his work as a founding Father.


10. Nixon. One of our favorite lines in a Star Trek movie was when Spock is asked why he is doing something that appears out of character. And he responds that there is an old Vulcan saying : “ Only Nixon could go to China.”
Nixon could have been in the top five, but for the fact that his demons destroyed him. But he did go to China. He started the age of détente with the Soviets and signed the first of several nuclear arms treaties that have led to a true reduction of nuclear arms between the US and Russia. Another Republican in the mold of TR and Lincoln, he created the EPA and OSHA and the OMB. Can’t imagine George “global warming..global shmarming” Bush doing that. He also created the DEA, the Supplemental Security Income program (SSI Payments) and the Office Of Minority Business Enterprise. Nixon funded the war on Cancer. Nixon remains the only person ever twice elected vice president, and president, and of course, the only president to resign the office. Not many people know that it was Nixon who used the power of the federal government to enforce the desegregation of public education in the south. From 1968 to 1970 over 2 million black school children in the south were able to attend public desegregated schools in the south because of his direct efforts. And yet, he choose his Vice Presidents largely on the belief that they would be so bad, no one who want him to quit. He schemed against his enemies, abused the power of the presidency, and brought the country to the precipice of a constitutional crisis. Uniquely American, he was a master at foreign policy and intrigue, he was underrated in his domestic achievements, and he was for all intents and purposes a crook. Bit he also makes our top ten list.


Honorable mention. Rutherford B Hayes. We don’t know beans about his administration, but we love the name Rutherford, and it’s a safe bet he will be our only president named Rutherford.


JFK. We love the fact that he was often taken to citing poetry. He was a skillful politician, who had the foresight to call for a lunar landing, and the fortitude and skill to avoid world war III. His decision to remove missiles from Turkey in exchange for Khrushchev’s capitulation in the missile crisis is a study in allowing an opponent to negotiate an honorable surrender. He probably would have made the top ten if he had more time in office.

Madison. Another founding father who ranks right up there with great minds that changed the course of history.


80 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any truth to the Rumor that there is a new reality TV show staring Tim Hardaway, Mel Gibson, and Michael Richards living as roommates under one roof? Guest Judge Peter Adrien?!?!

Say it Ain't So!

Anonymous said...

Nixon?

A plague be on your home Rumpole. A plague be on your home. That is like saying that Ted Bundy was a great man because he once saved a kid from drowning in a river. The man is and was the devil incarnate.

Anonymous said...

Your failure to list Washington as the most important president demonstrates your total lack of knowledge on this issue! Of course your lack of knowledge on a subject has never ,in the past,prevented you from expressing an opinion upon it,Rumpole, so we should not be at all surprised. Suntan U education strikes again!

Anonymous said...

Ronald Reagan was a joke, and his presidency marked the beginning of the end for decency in America. By surrounding himself with people like Edwin Meese, George Casey, and Jean Kirkpatrick, Reagan allowed himself to live in a fantasyland, while his minions wreaked havoc on the World. Our children will suffer the consequences of their actions (and we are already).

Anonymous said...

Your evaluation of President Nixon earns my respect.

-JFK was a meteoric novelty, had he been around longer I think camelot would have publicly imploded

-George H.W. Bush gets the "Profile in Human Decency Award"

Anonymous said...

Hey Rump - very academic analysis! kudos.

Anonymous said...

boring

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Maladroit misanalysis by one who obviously was not out of diapers during all but one of the presidencies about which he pretends to know. Nixon was a crook and a fraud. History will remember Reagan as a bumblimg actor whose Alzheimers began during his first term. Putting that aside, does anything Reagan did compare to LBJ's Great Society: Civil Rights Act, Medicare Law, Housing Rights Act? Wilson in the top ten? He was so ill he could not run the White House during most of his years, no less do most of the things for which you gave his presidency credit. Perhaps you should spend more time ranking things you know, like who is the best PM ever -- at least ever since you were old enough to read things that gave you sufficient information so you could pretend to know somehting about which you write.

Anonymous said...

9 comments without the standard "who is rumpole" obsession?

This post must have them scrambling.....

Anonymous said...

On Abraham Lincoln:

"Historians are so selective about history that they virtually re-write it. They cite Lincoln's message to Congress in December 1862, with its eloquent passage about the "fiery trial" through which the nation was passing due to his leadership, but they never note that, in the same speech, Lincoln not only affirmed his strong support for colonization of black Americans in Africa, but for the first time used the ominous word, "deportation." Lincoln's racism was not just a lightly held notion, but was the center and circumference of his being, as one of his most deeply held beliefs."

Call him the man who fought to keep the country from tearing apart, but don't call him the Great Emancipator...

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Nixon? That's like telling me that Mussolini made the trains run on time or that Hitler has Speer build some magnificent architecture. That is not how they will be remembered.

Nixon will always be the man who was willing to sell the White House , trade unlawful acts for ambition.

Anonymous said...

George W should have made the list.

Rumpole said...

to 10:50 pm, longtime and careful readers not just of the blog, but of the interviews I have done with the media, know that I was educated at a prestigous university in the Northeast.

Rumpole said...

The First President Bush was a decent man. He had a thorough understanding of foreign policy and was a very good president. He was however, a one term President. He did a fair to poor job on the economy. He's in our top 5 of presidents we want at the helm during war time, but makes only our top 20, probably 18 or so.

For those of you who challenege the Reagan pick, you are members of the majority who have misunderstood him. He was much smarter than you have been led to believe, and was a great leader.

The Nixon pick was the hardest to make and hardest to defend. He comitted crimes in office. Was he the first? No. His personality had a deep flaw, but in many ways that flaw drove him to the presidency in the first place. a complicated and uniquely american man. First rate knowledge of foreign policy, great politican, good understanding of the inequities of America. Remember, he came from a poor family, unlike the Bushs, Kennedy, the Roosevelts, etc.

Anonymous said...

bill clinton

Anonymous said...

Fidel Castro! When he says Jump!, the American presidents (like Clinton) say How high?

Anonymous said...

I'll have what Rumpole is smoking.

Rumpole said...

Did I make a mistake and call Bess Truman's daughter when she was his wife? I know he called the guy who panned his daughter's concert a son-of-a-bitch.

As to ranking PM's...ahhh there's a task I am worthy for. of course, we start with the greatest political leader of the 20th century, the greatest leader of all time in our opinion, one of the greatest men who ever walked the earth: Churchill. Disraeli is up there, so is the Iron lady- Thatcher. I could do a whole blog on England and Churchill. "This small island nation..." I truly believe I was alive during the blitz and have since been reincarnated into this humble hack. I must be paying for my cowardice in an earlier life.

Anonymous said...

Blog News: Every female attorney in Dade County below the age of 45 has announced intentions to run for judge in 2008. Some enterprising latin female law students graduating this years are announcing their intention to run for Judge in 2014 after they serve their required 5 years. 3 Judges up in 2014 already have opposition.

WHat a world!

PS. What about Milard Filmore? Not going to have any Milards's as president again either. He should have gotten honorable mention as well. While I'm on the subject, we probably won't have any more Judges in dade named Meek. Meek Robinette! Now there was a Judge!

Anonymous said...

I am in complete agreement with your top three.
All were deseving of your accolades.
However, TR Roosevelt's work on behalf of civil rights is often overlooked.
He appointed a large number of black men and women to federal posts--so may that he was called a "n----h lover". Some southern congresmen refused to come to state dinners at the White House as there would be too many blacks in attendance.
One anecdote deserves recounting:
A black postmistress, Minnie Cox, was run out of town by the bigoted residents of Indianola, Mississippi. The town mayor declared if she ever dared to come back "she would get her neck broken inside of two hours." Ms. Cox was forced to tender her resignation.
Roosevelt's reaction:
He denounced the town's action as that taken by a "brutal and lawless element purely on the ground of color" and he refused to "tolerate wrong and outrage of such flagrant character."
TR's solution:
He could not force Ms. Cox to remain at her post as she would face a lynch mob. However, he refused to accept her resignation and continued to pay her salary. Since the pay for the town postmaster was tendered to Ms. Cox, the town was left without a postmaster. TR refused to appoint another and the Indianola bigots had to travel 30 miles by country road to retrieve their mail.
Ya gotta love it.

Anonymous said...

Why was Andrew Johnson left off of this list?

Anonymous said...

the probate judge in broward on the anna nicole case is just amazing.

why cant we get some judge like him around here?

Anonymous said...

"[Reagan] was much smarter than you have been led to believe"

And snails surprisingly quick.


Reagan could deliver a line, it's true, but there's little evidence he ever understood or believed what he was saying. Whether for General Electric Theater or presidenatial address, Reagan delivered his lines with equal sincerity.

He reflected no political philosophy, for he was incapable of holding one.

Anonymous said...

not likely to get a lyndon as president again either.

is it ok for judge pineiro to use the word "n----h lover" even when in an historical context? seems a gratutious use of the "n" word.

while pineiro's point on the civil rights record of teddy roosevelt is well made, i think that he could have left out the "n-----h lover". i am offended.

i was listening to the new jay-z cd yesterday and was amazed how many times he uses the "n" word. i dont know if its gratuitous but i dont like it. why is it used so frequently in rap/hip hop?

im sorry to bring this up but judge pineiro's use of the word got me started.

Anonymous said...

forget all this irrelevent presidential history lesson - Judge Larry Seidlin in Broward on the anna nicole case is the very WORST, incompetent, north of the border jurist that i have ever seen. i am embarrassed to be a retired Judge (from dade county)!

Please, if you know him, call him and tell him to stop his nonsense and stupid statements. Let me hear from my colleagues...

Anonymous said...

this broward judge is worse than any of the worst dade county judges in history. he has totally lost control of the court room. please have JUDGE MORENO go up there and finish this in 1 hour!

Anonymous said...

This is 10:50, Rumpole what prestigious Northeastern school failed to teach you the importance of George Washington?

Was this in Northeastern Florida or in the Northeastern United States?

Anonymous said...

LOVE this comment from Seidlin:

"I'm not worried about what the appellate court may do, I'm thinking about how I'll feel about it (my decision) when I'm on a bench feeding the penguins."

Anonymous said...

top ten circuit court judges:
1.romberto diaz
2.bobby scola
3.tam wilson
4.keven emas
5.mark schumacher
6.norman gerstein
7.diane ward
8.mary barzee
9.dennis murphy
10.william thomas

Anonymous said...

Anyone who would put Thomas on any list, other than "Most Likely to be Sanctioned by the JQC" is a fool, does not understand common decency, and likes a judge who reads the case law you provided and then totally disregards it.

Probably the rudest Circuit Judge in history!

Anonymous said...

you have to add: j

udge scott silverman and judge stan blake to the list of best judges (unless batman disagrees!)

Anonymous said...

Thomas would not let a senior ASA go to the bathroom during a trial; made him go AFTER he seated the jury in the box + made them wait while left to relieve himself.

Common courtesy + common sense were not courses that he took in law school.

Anonymous said...

Wrong across the board. Great presidents do two things: keep the peace and maintain economic growth. With that in mind, here are the top five:
1. Calvin Coolidge;
2. Bill Clinton;
3. Warren Harding;
4. George W. Bush; and
5. Ronald Reagan.
We all suffer from equating momentous events during a presidency with the greatness of the president who presided over them. But that is irrelevant. FDR ending the depression? Check the unemployment rate from 1933 through 1940. It was high. Very high. Nixon? Forget the scandal. His economic policies were responsible for the stagflation of the seventies. Remember wage price controls? JFK will be remembered for spawning a generation of politicians who wished they could be like him, Kerry being probably the last of the breed. Great presidents are like great make up. Most effective when not noticed.

Anonymous said...

4:34 THAT WAS SOME COMMENT I SAW IT.

DID YOU CATCH HOW HE IS JUST SHUTTING UP THE TEXAS POR HAC LAWYER?

Anonymous said...

Batman says to 5:11

Absolutley. Both Blake and Silverman replace Thomas and Ward, who have no business being on the list.

Anyone who beleives that Guillermo Tomas is in the top 90 (oops, there are only 81) Circuit Judges in this Circuit should be seriously considered for Baker Act procedings. Rude, arrogant, nasty, uninformed, disprespectful, discouteous and (in case I am keeping a secret about how I feel) an unbeleiveable PIA.

Ward joins him in the nastiness gendre. Forgetting where she came from, and not a real nice person then either, Judge Ward has risen to the heights only attained by the infamous Amy Dean.

The list also excludes one of our all time favorites, Gerald Bagley. A bit starchy, but always polite, thoughtful, informed, concerned and learned, Judge Bagley belongs at the very top of the list.

Anonymous said...

i agree that old hickory should be on the list, if not only for his nick name.

i respectfully disgaree on Reagan. i believe his drug policies are at least a substantially contributing factor that 50% of our federal pens are filled with drug crimes defendants.

and what about Bubba? he will always be on my top 10 list.

and Gore should get an honorable mention as he was at least elected by a majority of people in this alleged democracy.

Anonymous said...

To: 5:13

What planet are you on? You are obviously a product of the Florida Public School System. WARREN HARDING. Have you ever heard of Teapot Dome. It was the most corrupt administration before the present on. He was an idiot and a crook to boot. WARREN HARDING?? G-d help us all.

Anonymous said...

What about Clinton? The first time we were in a surplus in my lifetime.

Anonymous said...

i love how harvey baxter would give defendants a quarter in court so they could "dial for dollars" to pay their fines.


for those of you who hold some grudge against him for comments he may have made about defendants needing to learn english, think of when he sat on the bench.

he sat post-mariel boatlift, an influx of balseros from cuba and haiti like no mass wave of immigration this country had ever seen. jails filling up with tattooed lawless dregs of society that castro and duvalier cast away jacking our crime rate through the roof.

you have no idea what strain our system was under. 20 felony judges and maybe 10 or so county criminal/traffic judges spread out across the county in branch courts.

a state attorney's office that had maybe 120 lawyers. and a pds office with maybe 90.

he didnt use racist/ethnic remarks. he thought that if people wanted to come to this country for freedom then learn the language of the country.

my great-grandparents and grandparents spoke a different language when they came across the water to this country. they lived in an area where they didnt have to learn english to survive. but they did learn, because they didnt feel an entitlement to the riches here.

Anonymous said...

TR also desegragated New York public schoools in 1900 when governor there.

Anonymous said...

Batman says to Jonathan Blecher:

We must all agree that on the niceness ratings Baxter was not up there. But he loved lawyers and he loved his job.

I remember more how he had a signal with his Baliff when he would ask a Defendant in DWLS how they got to Court and they would lie. The Baliff would then follow the Defendant to their car and bring them back. Instant contempt!!!

Harvey suffered in his final years. A fate he did not deserve. May he rest in peace and those who knew him will remember him as a judge from a different time, in fact a different era.

Jonathan we show our age.

Anonymous said...

regarding judge bagley

he was a bad criminal judge. read the case state v. gensler. shame shame shame.

Anonymous said...

Thomas is a great trial judge. So is Ward. Plus, they will NEVER punish a defendant for going to trial.

Check your ego at the door.

Anonymous said...

to the previous post by jonathan belcher (whether its really from him or not).

what does a tatto have to do with someone's character? i am an accomplished attorney and have 7 tattoos. granted, they are not guns on my neck or tear drops representing killings, yet this is just another sad example of stereotyping people, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Anonymous said...

To 5:46

I have read Gensler. Even the judges on the 3rd DCA could not agree. If that is the best you have as to whether Judge Bagley belongs on the top 10 then shame shame shame on you.

Only two kinds of judges out there. Those that have been reversed and those who are going to be.

Anonymous said...

Batman says to 5:56:

This is the last I will comment on this subject.

I will if you will, Will.

Anonymous said...

Thomas, Ward, any other lighwieghts who think as defense attorneys that you can name? Never great thinkers.

I did like the bathroom story on Thomas. I am sure that it is true. Totally disregards his court reporters, clerks, bailiff - always a sign of a bad judge, discourteous to all.

Not an Emas - not by the longest margin.

Anonymous said...

to anonymous 6:01 p.m. who said:
"what does a tatto (sic) have to do with someone's character?"

a tattoo, in and of itself? nothing. in the context of my post, quite a bit.

click on the link i attached to my name from the National Institute of Health and see what i meant. when castro emptied his jails in 1980 a good number of the crud that reached here from mariel with that pedigree were, in fact, tattooed with various and sundry markings of their prison sub-culture. do your research.

thats a far far cry from those sweet tattoos on the lower backs of pole dancers, or that mom in a heart on your arm.

Anonymous said...

tony montana said his tattoo was for his sweetheart. his word is good enough for me.

Anonymous said...

Bletch, you obviously didn't appear in front of him much in the early 90's. Either that, or you heard what you wanted to hear.

I am no shrinking violet. Most people who knew me at the time considered me one of the most aggressive ASA's in the office. There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that Baxter was a racist. He brought nastiness to a new low. He was a disgrace. "The times" you refer to were not that long ago. The criminals Castro released during the Mariel boatlift made up only a tiny percentage of the minotiries appearing in traffic calendars in North Dade. He trashed them all the same. Plus, the boat lift had nothing to do with the Haitians he also castigated. Finally, he trashed them EVEN WHEN THEY SPOKE PERFECT ENGLISH. Stop being such an apologist. Baxter was a bigot of the worst sort.

PS----I will concede, that Baxter was an effective judge who, because of his tactics, collected more fines and court costs than any other judge on the bench. The ends, however, did not justify the means. I could tell you stories that you just wouldn't believe as could any other ASA who had the misfortune of watching him in action.

Anonymous said...

Oh, let me get this straight:

"I have 5 tatoos and am an attorney so I am not a scumbag."?

Try:

"I am an attorney with 5 tatoos and also am a scumbag."

Unless:

"I am an attorney with 5 tatoos and also am a girl." Then you are cool; but I suspect you are just another attorney/scumbag.

Anonymous said...

7 tats, not 5. and if being a member of the florida bar = "scumbag", then me and my fellow 80,000 florida attorneys are also scumbags.

brilliant logic to group 80,000 professionals under the single unbrella of "scumbag". my gender is irrelevant.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame that that judge presiding over the Anna Nicole Smith's affair is more concerned about being friendly to anyone instead of ending this as quickly as possible. This woman's body has deteriorated. We should all pray that when our time comes no goddam probate judge wants to make a farce out of a very sad situation. Larry S, get this over with already.

Anonymous said...

Bagley is a hack. i read gensler also.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with 5:56,(you rock)! As well as with the gent or gall that said Blake, but I'll pass on Silverman all the way.

Anonymous said...

Also, say what you want about Ward and Thomas, you will never have half the brain they have! JeaLOUSy is an UGLY thing my friend!

Anonymous said...

To Jonathan Blecher at 5:34:you people are all the same!I think maybewe should just elect hispanics and teach y'all a lesson you will never forget

Anonymous said...

Ed Newman is the best judge ever!

Anonymous said...

very interesting. Lincoln and FDR being praised by someone who cares about civil liberties. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. FDR interred Japanese Americans for being...........Japanese Americans!

Anonymous said...

Ed Newman interred the New York Jets and a poor defendant on a double refusal.

Anonymous said...

Judge Thomas a great judge? What you smokin' pass me some?

What? You say he's great? You say people are hatin'? Because he is defense oriented?

I think everyone would agree, that to achieve, you have to hit 100%. Assuming he is the best in many of his categories, no one can dispute his seeming out and out rudeness. Rudeness counts, and if he can't satisfy that category he doesn't get 100%. If a task involves 100 things to complete and you complete 99, have you failed? Yes, you didn't do the 100th thing, the task remains incomplete.

No go on the congeniality category.

No soup for you!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, but Judge Glick is arguably the best judge in Miami at this point. And, it's not close.

Piniero also deserves mention. Although he can get a bit crazy when lower level cases go to trial, nobody handles serious cases better (other than Glick).

I also like Echarte. Tough, but fair. Hammers anyone who doesn't do what needs to get done (and he treats both sides the same........you play be the rules and act professionally, he treats you like gold. You screw around or waste his time, he punishes you. You may not like it, but it is fair). And, he knows his stuff.

Anonymous said...

I just heard that the bozo on the Anna Nicole Smith case wants to be a TV judge. Now, if we could only get him to resign tomorrow + stop embarrasing the Florida judiciary.

By the way, the M.E. says that the body is rapidly deteriorating. Guess the judge is no expert on necrophilia, either.

Anonymous said...

Judge Larry Seidlin for President!
He brings humor and compassion to the bench. Those of you who say negative things about him, get a life.
He is under the gun, and showing that the judges North of the Border can keep their sense of humor and decide cases; glad is a member of the Broward Bar.
Way to go Larry!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

To 5;56

Thomas has and does assess a trial tax. He also coerces pleas by threatening defendants with the max if they don't accept the pleas he offers. So you know not of what you speak. Athough it has not happened to my clients I watched it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears. Don't be fooled just because he used to be a Federal Public Defender. The same goes for Ward.

Anonymous said...

Judge Larry Seidlin is very smart and you can read between the line of what he is trying to do.

He knowns that jerk is not the father and simply hiding behind Bahamian laws that allow him to assert he is without DNA. Anna and him moved there so to avoid the legal battle over DNA and thats it PERIOD.

Judge Larry Seidlin is trying to uncover this piece of shit very dipomatically read between the lines. Gets a GAL to assert the babys interest because he wants to say hey I need to know who the father is and has this buddy of his appointed GAL to make the legal argument. Why because he knowns Howard is NOT the father and if he can get the proved through DNA the remainder of that jerks arguments legal or otherwise is moot and he can move on!

Read between the lines! What gets me is the the lawyer for the MOM cannot seem to get what he is doing and he cant read between the lines on this matter.

Again Judge Larry Seidlin is very very smart. Don't just watch sound bites watch the whold hearing he is very good.

Anonymous said...

Jonathan Blecher was Harvey Baxter's protogee- everyone knew Baxter was grooming Blecher to follow in his footsteps.

Why just last year Baxter gave Blecher his housecoat he was wearing and gun he used to shoot the intruder in his home so someday JB could do the same thing.

Next year JB will run for Judge with the slogan "put another mensch on the bench."
Go JB.!!!!

Anonymous said...

Lincoln was the WORST president in history. There was no question that a state had a right to secede from the Union, that is what the Founding Fathers wanted. He started an unnecessary war to advance his own tyranny. He shut down any newspaper who disagreed with him, suspended the great writ of habeas corpus so he could throw the editors in jail. He also imprisoned politicians who disagreed with him. As far as the emancipation proclamation, it freed the slaves in the south, the place that had no intention of following anything Lincoln said. It did nothing to free the slaves in the north! Also, once the slaves were free, he openly suggested that they leave the country. As far as slavery, it was ending throughout the world thanks to mechanical inventions. He did not have to start the bloodiest war in history to do away with something that was already on its way out.

Anyone wanting to read a great book about this monster should get a copy of "The Real Lincoln" by Professor Thomas DiLorenzo. It is scholarly written and includes many of Lincoln's letters. You would be surprised what you read.

Anonymous said...

Next some buffoon will prove that Hitler was a Jew and that Richard Nixon was Black.

One moron's book does not make a fact, it is only one moron's opinion.

Anonymous said...

To the anonymous who wrote the following: "To Jonathan Blecher at 5:34:you people are all the same!I think maybewe should just elect hispanics and teach y'all a lesson you will never forget"


1. who are you referring to when you say: "you people"?

2. what exactly is the lesson that an all hispanic judiciary will teach y'all?

Anonymous said...

"One moron's book does not make a fact, it is only one moron's opinion."

The moron who wrote this does not understand the difference between fact and opinion. My statement that Lincoln was the worst president is opinion. That Lincoln did nothing to free the slaves in the north is a fact. That he threw people in jail who disagreed with him is a fact. That he started a war that killed hundreds of thousands of young men is a fact. That states had the right to secede is a fact. I could go on, but people just don't want to accept a different, and correct picture of Honest(?) Abe.

Anonymous said...

Who started that war is not an opinion, unless the shelling of Ft. Sumter is just an opinion.

I never got to ask Lincoln which of those allegations he would agree with or disagree with, so it does become a matter of opinion. Even the issue of secession was viewed by two factions, each of which was certain that it had the facts on its side.

P.S. I really do not like it when people suggest that any ABE is less than honest. Since the first Abraham (father of Isaac in Genesis), I have always found us to be an honest group of folks.

Anonymous said...

abe hirschfield?

Anonymous said...

every family has an outcast or two, even the Abes.

Anonymous said...

abraham zapruder...he was part of it, dont let anyone tell you otherwise.

A Robed One said...

Then there are the two faces of Abe Vigoda. The lovable, but cranky, detective on Barney Miller. And, the traitor, Tessio, in the Godfather.

Tessio: Tom, can you get me off the hook? For old times' sake?
Tom Hagen: [shakes his head] Can't do it, Sally.

Anonymous said...

I spoke to God, he hates the name ABE.

Anonymous said...

Actually, I love the name ABE.

P.S. Do not lie.
Forever is a very long time for sinners.