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, August 28, 2007

30 YEARS AND JUROR RENO

We received this comment, which we edited for this post. The full comment is under Monday’s post by the Captain.:


Dear all:

30 years for 2 checks.

I want to call your attention to a case that recently was before Judge Patrick Cavanaugh, a Circuit Judge in Baltimore County, Maryland. Judge Cavanaugh sentenced Andrew to 30 years in prison for writing two bad checks. Yes, you read that right. Before I discuss the case, I want to say that I am asking for five minutes of your time, and very minimal action which may save a young man 30 years of his life. Andrew Maurice Fisher is a poor 24 year old young black man in Baltimore. ..

Here are the relevant facts: Andrew has absolutely NO PRIOR CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS. He is, by all accounts a good, fun-loving kid. He doesn’t touch drugs or get in trouble. He is especially close with his family and helped to raise his younger brother who is, in large part thanks to Andrew, the first member of their family to attend college. There had been a rash of burglaries in the apartment complex where Andrew and his family live. The landlord mentioned to Andrew that they needed to install a security system, and Andrew, hoping to make a few bucks, volunteered to take on the project. The two checks written to the security company for equipment were not valid. Admittedly, we are talking about a lot of money…close to $20,000.


Andrew either messed up, or made a bad decision, but that is the extent of it. No one was hurt, maimed, violated, etc. In the midst of an otherwise wonderful life, this can in no way justify a lengthy prison sentence, no less one of 30 years. Andrew, wanting to make amends for the situation pled guilty to the charge. The Judge then launched him. He gave him the maximum amount of time on both counts consecutive to one another. At sentencing our wonderfully Just Judge made a comment that if Andrew could pay the money, he would let him out of jail. In other words, if he were wealthy, he would not be in prison. This is the basis of an ongoing appeal. 30 years for 2 checks.

Here is some perspective. In Florida, where I practice, the maximum sentence one can get for rape with penetration is 15 years…and Florida is known as a State with fairly draconian sentencing laws. This injustice must be resolved.So, what can you do?First off, quick e-mails to the Governor of Maryland, who is fairly progressive, are a good start. Here is the link
: EMAIL


I would ask everyone who receives this e-mail to at least do that. He is the only person with pardon and commutation power in Maryland, and enough e-mails may prompt him to review the case.

Rumpole says: The individual who left this as a comment appears to be a lawyer in Florida and did not leave an email address. We invite him or her to do so, so we can get more information.


However, this is an injustice that needs to be fixed.

We have constantly commented on the inhumanity of Judges and Prosecutors who toss around decades in jail as if it doesn’t mean much at all to spend time in prison. Prison should exist for violent offenders and violent repeat offenders. We cannot afford to warehouse everyone the Legislature believes should be in prison. Until the law changes we are forced to deal with these outrages on a case by case basis. This appears to be a case worthy of our time.


KUDOS TO JANET RENO

As the Herald reported yesterday, citizen Janet Reno, former State Attorney, former Attorney General of the United States, reported for Jury duty in our Justice Building on Monday morning. Just a guess, but how many other former presidential cabinet members ever report to jury duty as opposed to “pulling strings” to get out of it? None. But then, Janet Reno is not like most other politicians.


Once again, by her simple dignity, she has made us proud.

Thank You Janet, for being who you are.


See You In Court, where Ms. Reno could serve on our jury any time.

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

rumpole
are you a prosecutor? perhaps you forgot your alter ego rumpole's motto. "thou shall not prosecute."
the REAL rumpole would never leave janet reno on one of his juries! pull you head out of the sky.

Anonymous said...

"On question 14, juror reno requests a sidebar"

Anonymous said...

Tuesday 5:49, you are a typical blog denizen,a dumb ham and egger inhabiting the lower levels of the criminal practice.Do you really need someone to interpret the obvious?

We know your type we are not fooled and are easily recognizable.

"You will recognize them by their tracks"

Anonymous said...

"I am really glad to see that somebody has finally acted on their primal impulses to mow down these idiots that pack up and block traffic in their tight pants. Last time I checked there were no license plates on their bikes, that makes them secondary to paying customers CARS ! They should not be allowed to clog roads and use only designated bike lanes where available. "

Some idiot wrote that comment on the herald blog about the bike accident in Kendall.

Read story here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking_news/story/218260.html

Yes herald I like the blog after the storys nice touch

Anonymous said...

We're the weisman boyz
And were here to say
Rappin bout shumie makes our day
We don't really know him
And thats ok
Cause our dad says
Shumie is A-OK

He drives a fancy car
And he likes to yell
He gives his secretary lots of hell

His wife's on tv and is gonna hit it big
Which means he can keep gambling and eating like a pig

Thats our rap
Now its time to go
Tomorrow well do another rap
And put on another shumie show

(C) 2007 The Shumie Rap by the Weisman Boyz, v1.2, all rights reserved, sucka.

Anonymous said...

KENNY ROCKS!


dl

Anonymous said...

Everyone ought to write to the Maryland gov.

30 yrs under those facts is gross and vicious. It hurt my heart to read that. Take 5 minutes and write.

Anonymous said...

Alan Ekuban Shuminer
"Shumie"
Bats right, throws right
40 yard dash in 1 minute
Yells a lot
Projected: 4th round

Anonymous said...

gs
wfmi
cop
ebay
goog

cost dollar average.

be rich like brummer.

Anonymous said...

Weisman boyz, you need an agent?

I want to sign you up.

Record contracts
Limos

So Be bimbos. The world is yours if you sign with me.

Anonymous said...

I was in Judge Lindsey's court room Monday morning. She started calling cases for calender and the entire court room, police officers included, started cracking up when she called the case of Mr. Enrique Eglasias. He didn't show, but just hearing his name made everyone giggle.

Anonymous said...

Like night and day. Here in Dade County, $250,000 in 1st degree Grand Theft would probably end up in PTI or a conditional nolle prosse.

We are a country of extremes.

Anonymous said...

Those bike people are a major pain in the ass in some places. They pass you while you are waiting at a traffic light, then clog up a full, if not 1 and 1/2 lanes riding side by side. Assholes.

Anonymous said...

wouldn't it be ironic if Officer Macias got molested by some Gort named Bubba while they are in custody together

Rumpole said...

The trialmaster is hereby SUSPENDED from this blog for 24 HOURS for trying to post a very mean and nasty post about a wonderful person.

Ms. Overmann- I did not publish your comment because the individual who sent the email asked me to withhold his name and I am honoring that request. You speak with him and see if he changes his mind.

Anonymous said...

state v eduardo macias F07029193

Anonymous said...

We're the Shumie Boys and we want to respond
to the Weisman rap about a song gone wrong

they rap about our dad
and he's a great guy
if we see those thugs
we will poke them in the eye

we live in pincrest
we have an angelic glow
we're not south beach thugs
hustlin for the flow

our Dad's name is Shumie
and you may like to rap
but he's already told us
he doesn't really give a crap

so keep you rapping and your rhyme
and drink your south beach wine
or we may drive up from the south
and kick your skinny behind.

(c) The Shumie Boys, 2007.

Anonymous said...

Shumie,Weisman, ....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Rumpole said...

The suspension stands. I'm not going to allow anyone to use that vulgar word to describe a friend and someone I admire.

Batman said...

It is hard to imagine that anyone, whether they agree with the policies set and followed by General Reno, would still feel the need to vilify this unbelievably dedicated public servant. Does anyone not acccept that she would have been a far superior governor to our dearly gone Jeb.

Did things go wrong sometimes? Yes. Was she misinformed by those around her at times? Yes. Was she patient, understanding but ultimately challenged to stand up for the rule of law in "Elian"? You bet. In that case, did anyone doubt that it was going to end the way it did? No. Was that her fault? No.

She is difficult, too much of a micro-manager and at times eccentric, but she has always stood and is still standing up for what she believed was right. I would rather have her than say .... Gonzalez, Ashcroft or Mitchell. Oh yeah and wouldn't you rather her now than KFR. Come on people, give the woman her due.

Anonymous said...

Rump:

Shouldn't you first confirm that information is true and correct on the young man's BEFORE you ask us to act (especially where you cannot vouch for the source)!

Batman said...

Hello

Anonymous said...

The Officer Macias case will be prosecuted by some other office.

The Miami SAO recused out.

Reason: Mrs. Officer Macias is a SAO secretary at child support.

I bet Broward or Monroe gets it.

Anonymous said...

who is Enrique Eglasias? why is that funny?

Rumpole said...

MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION:

The trialmaster is upset because he has been suspended from the blog for a day. He has threatened to take his ball and go elsewhere to play.

Should I

1) tell him to go soak his head?

2) apologize and run after him begging him to return to the blog because we cannot live without his wonderful comments and perspective on the world?

Let me know.

Anonymous said...

Tell the trial master to place nice or go play in another sandbox.

Anonymous said...

After I return from my 2 week trial in the northeast for which I'm getting paid 50k a week, I better be back on this stupid blog

Rumpole said...

FAKEtrialmaster has not been suspended.

Anonymous said...

Soak TrialMaster Soak
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Soak TrialMaster Soak

SOAK

Anonymous said...

senator I demand you retract your comments now, now I said!

Anonymous said...

10:23, Julio Iglesias has a son named Enrique Iglesias. He's also a singer and is the boyfriend of teenis player Anna Kournikova.

Anonymous said...

Suspend ALL trialmasters.

Anonymous said...

make it 24 years, Rump. Trialmaster is a jerk and I know...takes one to know one.

CK

Anonymous said...

OMG I KNOW WHO RUMPOLE IS
OR AT LEAST I HAVE FIGURED OUT A CLUE

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

What Box means something to us?

A JURY BOX

Who or what is outside the box?

A CORRECTIONS OFFICER
A CLERK
A COURT REPORTER
A JUDGE

Rumpole, am I thinking outside the box?

This clue was so simple, it was right in front of our noses all the time.

Anonymous said...

FAKE RUMPOLE SINGS TO THE TRIAL MASTER

DON'T PULL YOUR LOVE OUT ON ME BABY

Don't pull your love out from my blog baby
If you do then I think that maybe
I'll just lay me down and cry for a hundred years

Don't pull your love out on me trialmaster
Take my heart, my soul, my money
But don't leave me drownin' in my tears

You say you're gonna leave
Gonna take that big white bird
Gonna fly right out of here
Without a single word
Don't you know you'll break my heart
When I watch you close that door
Cause I know I won't see your posts anymore


Haven't I been good to you?
What about all those posts
Doesn't that mean love to you?
Doesn't that mean anything?
If I threw away my pride
And I got down on my knees
Would I have to beg you, "pretty please"

Don't pull your love out on me trialmaster
If you do then I think that maybe
I'll just lay me down and cry for a hundred years
Don't pull your love out on me honey
Take my heart, my soul, my money
But don't leave me drownin' in my tears

Anonymous said...

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been reading the blog with great interest. My name is Joe George the head of the southern most regional conflict office. I am taking applications for young ambitious lawyers to fill positions as "regional pit lawyers." If anyone is interested, please forward your CV to my branch office at,
Anthony Abraham(Pre Owned)
14321 South Dixie Hywy
Miami Florida, 33156

Anonymous said...

What an great world we live in. My Texas Attorney General runs to the court house to quash a jury subpoena for me so I don't have to disclose my two DUI convictions and the PTI for cocaine while I stand outside and talk about how great it is to serve.

Janet Reno takes heat!

What a country!

Rumpole said...

9:06. Take a bow. You, my friend, "think outside the box." Now I'm not saying you are correct,however I will reward you for thinking about something no one else has. Send me a private email, and I will send you a juicy clue, just for you.

HR.

Anonymous said...

judge young is now on larry king tune in NOW!!

Anonymous said...

LETS DO THE HONORABLE THING HERE FOLKS..SOMEONE WHO MAY KNOW THOSE JUDGE'S WHO HAVE RETAINED ONE SAID CONSULTANT NAMED ROBERT LEVY PLEASE LIST THEM AND THERE YOU HAVE THE CANDIDATES WHICH MUST BE "OUTED" AND BOOTED OFF THE BENCH...

YOURS TRULY,

THE ANTI-LEVY CAMPAIGN

Anonymous said...

Good Afternoon and welcome to the Office of Conflict Counsel. I am glad to see such an experienced and diverse group of applicants. Heading our word processing division is Caesar who handled invoices so well at Anthony Abraham chevrolet. We have Charlotte as our receptionist after a short but distinguished career at AAA escorts after she anwerered our phones for 4 years, glad to see you back behind the switchboard. Heading up our library will be Jonathan, as you recall he bought 4 cars from us and has an AA degree which he obtained after retiring from drug dealing which is how he bought the 4 cars from me, this after all is Miami. As of yet we have no attorneys willing to handle the most difficult cases that the PD does not want so I will be hiring as paralegals convicted felons, preferably excons because they have a lot of criminal experience, especially ones who drafted long rule 3s. OK, lets go get them and make me proud. Oh, one more thing, is the criminal courthouse the one near JMH or is it the one near the downtown MDCC, I always get the two confused.

Anonymous said...

Let's have a one day post dedicated to the following:
Who is the most overrated and underrated defense attorney and prosecutor in the courthouse?

Anonymous said...

I assume 2:15 is woefully underrated, so instead of trashing people, lets just get your name and tell everyone how great you really are.

Batman said...

I am re-posting my comment in response to 11:52:

If you want to know who has hired Bob "The Scum" Levy, all you have to do is check the Miami-Dade County Election Department filings or the Secretary of State filings to see the expenditures reported by the declared candidates. Levy operates under "Levy and Associates". The usual check is $5,000. That was different for a couple of election cycles when he was working with Al Lorenzo and the money was going through Al's company "Get Out the Vote, Inc."

The idea that judges and candidates hiring Levy should be "outed" is a a good one. The public should know and so should lawyers who are solicited for contributions. If those using his services were told "no money as long as you use Levy", watch how fast his business dries up.

It is not that the others are good. It is just that he is so evil. Can't get rid of all of them at once. But Levy is a great start.

Anonymous said...

Only in Florida:

TALLAHASSEE -- An ''unprecedented'' ethics case that has exposed a rift in one of Florida's most important appeals courts came before a Broward County judge Thursday.

Circuit Court Judge Paul Backman must now consider whether or not to keep intact charges against First District Court of Appeal Judge Michael Allen.

Allen came under fire for blasting a fellow appeals judge in a June 2006 legal opinion. Allen suggested in that opinion that Judge Charles Kahn should have recused himself in a bribery case involving former legislator W.D. Childers.

Before he was appointed to the bench, Kahn was a law partner with Fred Levin, who represented Childers in his appeals case.

Bruce Rogow, an attorney and law professor at Nova Southeastern University, asked Backman to drop the charges against Allen, saying it was an ''unprecedented situation'' to have a sitting judge charged based on what he wrote in a legal opinion.

Rogow said any charge against a sitting judge must contain evidence that the actions warrant removal from the bench, even if that ultimately is not the penalty imposed by the Florida Supreme Court.

''The mere publication of that opinion does not demonstrate a present unfitness to hold office,'' Rogow said.

But Wally Pope, the lawyer representing the Judicial Qualifications Commission, disagreed, saying Allen's criticism of Kahn undermined the judiciary overall and suggested Kahn was corrupt. Pope pointed out that no one had previously asked Kahn to recuse himself in the case and that Allen was relying on information from newspaper articles about Childers and Levin that could not be verified.

After listening to both sides, Backman said he would issue a written order on the motion to dismiss the charges ``as quickly as possible.''

Childers was convicted of bribing a fellow Escambia County commissioner and sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison. By the time his case reached the appeals court, the key witness in the case was found dead underneath his house. A medical examiner concluded that Willie Junior had been poisoned by drinking antifreeze, and his death was ruled a suicide.

Kahn and another appeals judge had initially planned to reverse the conviction -- but before that could happen, the entire First District Court of Appeal voted to take up the case. In June 2006, a divided court voted 10-4 to uphold the conviction against Childers.

Anonymous said...

Levy is a great guy. Very talented and if he was not good at what he does no one would libel him.

Anyone who does not use Levy will most likely lose as Levy only takes on campaigns he knowns he can win.

So for all the losers who cant get Levy to work for them get over it!

Anonymous said...

The most underrated attorneys would be attorneys on the wheel assigned the most complicated cases who achieved excellent results. Since this blog is anonymous the most appropriate person to rate criminal defense attorneys are prosecutors and judges, and the ones to rate asas are defense and judges and Judges; ask yourself, who file motions you delay hearing and who do you have to consult with other judges about their motions and trial objections, be honest. I nominate as an underrated ASA Carin Kagen, overrated Laesar and Waxman. Defense; overrated Jason Grey,David Marcus, Joe Rosenbaum, Simon Steckel, underrated David Alschuler, Dan Lurvey.

Anonymous said...

Abe Laeser is not underrated. Anyone who would say that has NEVER tried a case against him. Perhaps you have never tried a case period. Karen Kagan is a lunatic and should simply never be rated anything accept a first rate ..... Seriously, she needs a electro shock therapy.

Anonymous said...

seriously overrated: Jason Grey and his pretty boy partner.

Anonymous said...

underrated......Rick Hermida who gets excellent results in federal trials.