SOUTHERN JUSTICE AND THE TOOTH FAIRY

ONE NIGHT ONLY. Tonight. At the Miami Historical Museum at 101 West Flagler Street.

A New President parades down Biscayne Boulevard, while nearby an assassin squints and aims his gun. A shot rings out. A man crumples to the ground fatally wounded.

The 11th Circuit Historical Society presents The Five Weeks Of Giuseppe Zangara.

The five weeks refers to the time between the attempted assassination of President Roosevelt, and Zangara’s execution. Author Blaise Pichi will be present for a book signing as the 11th Circuit Historical Society kicks off an exciting season of events.


Rick Freedman, ever the eternal optimist, writes in defense of the clerk’s office:


rick freedman said...
Rumpole:
This is not the first time I have had to provide you with accurate information; (ie the interpreter column).
According to the Clerk's office, (I spoke with them today), Director of the Division in charge of those that work the windows on the 9th floor, both for the public as well as for the attorneys, probation officers, etc., the procedures for obtaining a file and viewing the file WILL return to normal on either Friday or Monday. It is true that the office was undergoing a makeover and that this makeover did cause an inconvenience for the attorneys, but it is NOT a permanent fixture.
Also, I spoke with the Clerk about their policies reference waiting times. I received a commitment from this person that, once the regular system is back in place, that if there are more than three people waiting for assistance in the attorney's window line, that a second clerk should come over and assist the other clerk at the window. If you continue to encounter this problem, and do not see a change in the speed and efficiency of the clerks, please let me know and I will talk to them again.



Rumpole replies: My dear Mr. Freedman, your misplaced faith in the clerk’s office mirrors your faith in the Jaguars (now we’re even for that shot you took about this not being the first time you have to set us straight.)

Rumpole is sorry to inform you that there is no Santa Claus. There is no Easter Bunny. And there is a snowball’s chance in hell of the Clerk’s office efficiently and promptly assisting attorneys in obtaining files to review. I assure you that I did indeed inquire as to why, having trekked down the hallway, I was given a form to request a file and told I had to walk back down the hallway to turn it in, and then walk back down the hallway to see if I won the lottery and my file was available. And I swear it is true that when I asked the clerk in the attorneys room why he could no longer go get files, I was met by a blank stare and then the comment : “We just painted this room” as if that clerkian logic explained why it was necessary to race up and down the hallways like a rat in a maze (no smart comments please) only to be told there was no cheese.

You want to believe their bureaucratic propaganda? Go right ahead. From someone who on a weekly basis waits in that interminable line while the clerk’s disappear for ten and twenty minutes at a time only to return with a smirk to say “the file is out”, we are just a bit less optimistic than you are.


SOUTHERN JUSTICE 2007

You have heard the STORY
by now. Some African American students at a Louisiana high school decide to “sit on the white side” of a meeting area at the school. White students responded by putting nooses in the trees. The African American students got upset, a fight broke out, and six young black men sit accused of attempted murder and face decades in prison, while the noose builders go on with their studies.

Today in Jena, Louisiana, hundreds if not thousands will descend on this small backward town to protest the treatment of these young men.

Violence begets violence. Does Rumpole support these young men’s actions in initiating physical violence ( if that is what they did)? The answer is no. Nor does Rumpole support hanging nooses in trees.

The answer is so simple it is right in front of their racists noses.

This happened at a school. These are kids. And they need to be taught. The white students and black students need to be brought together in a class. The white students need to write essays on southern lynchings. The black students need to write essays on Dr. King’s philosophy of non-violence. Instead of throwing the book at these kids, some enlightened educators need to see this as a chance to plant ideas that can turn these kids into productive citizens.


See You In Court, helping to explain to Mr. Freedman why there is no tooth fairy.