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.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

ALEMAN DAY II

The trial and tribulations of Cheryl Aleman and her discourteous behavior in court continues today North of The Border. The Broward Blog had several bloggers sitting in the courtroom yesterday posting updates on the exchanges between the judge and lawyers for both sides. We were not present and our view of the proceedings admittedly comes only from reading those postings.

We have two thoughts:

In one exchange Aleman was quoted as saying that she strictly guarded the due process rights of defendants who appeared before her. One wonders how she would have then explained her misguided decision to force defendants to choose between their rights to prepare a defense and their right to a speedy trial? Apparently her policy never came up during cross examination.

In another exchange, Aleman denied hearing that she was considered a prosecution oriented judge. One should remember that she was a prosecutor for the State Wide Prosecutor’s office prior to becoming a Judge. Her response, as reported on the Broward Blog was that she did hear that she was considered a Judge who scrupulously adhered to the rules and the law, and that may have “confused attorneys who did not have to follow the law in other courtrooms.” A Blogger then wondered whether they had heard her correctly testify that the law was not followed in other courtrooms in Broward? This may be an insight into her character and fitness to be a Judge.

The FEDERAL BLOG has some good posts on former Lawyer Louis Robles being sentenced to 15 years although both sides had agreed on ten years. This being Federal Court (motto: “You got rights, now waive them.”) there was an existing Appellate waiver prior to the plea agreement, so this may be one controversy that does not make its way to the 11th Circuit (“Carefully upholding rights you’ve waived since 1972”) .

The Federal Blog also reports on the attempted suicide of one of Padilla’s co-defendants, and the jury deliberations in the Liberty City Seven trial.





Walking on to the stage of a press conference yesterday to the tune of the Britney Spears' hit


OOPS I DID IT AGAIN our President, with a sheepish grin, admitted that once again he had falsely accused a country (this time Iran) of possessing a nuclear weapons program.

If this wasn’t such a serious diminution of whatever is left of respect for our country around the world, it would be funny. The problem is that one day another president will have a real issue that might necessitate the use of force and nobody is going to believe him or her when they say they acted on credible intelligence. The harm this simpleton from Texas has done will take decades to erase.


See You In Court, where tis the season to get good plea offers, except in Federal Court.

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Assuming that Iran halted its nuclear program in 2003 - a big IF since the 2005 NIE said the exact opposite and we know how reliable our intel agencies are - Bush must have done something then that scared the ayatollahs. I'm trying to remember...did something happen in 2003 that caught their attention??

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, if its true that Iran has in fact dismantled its nuclear weapons program that is very good news for humanity! Why make such a partisan issue out of everything with Bush? It's just too predictable and often short-sighted.

In this case, don't you think that just maybe Iran stopped because Bush was so strict with them-along with help from many world allies on this issue- and perhaps they were a bit (or more than a bit)afraid of him. Certainly, more may have gone into it than just that, but one ought not discount it completely.

It seems like a victory for everyone, and as a human being, I'm happy to hear this news. I'm kinda sorry for you that you you're reaction (overreaction) is so bitter and angry.

Anonymous said...

Abby Cynanmon recently had a supervisee fired under her watch. There are reasons given and reasons supposed. Perhaps the lesson for a would be law clerk at the 11th is to avoid working for Abby if you count Lisa Walsh, another would be judge, as a friend?

Anonymous said...

Rump,

You asked about the Thompson trial before Judge Tunis. It is now week two. The Bar put on its case last week and rested. Thompson failed to participate in discovery and Judge Tunis entered an order precluding him from introducing any evidence. She is, however, allowing Thompson to testify. During the Bar's case, approximately 3,000 pages of his e-mails/letters/news announcements were introduced into evidence. Thompson has taken the stand and is reading every single word of every single page into the record. Judge Tunis is allowing Thompson to do so.

When I watched the trial last week, everyday, Thompson filed a Motion to Recuse Judge Tunis. Each time, the motions were denied for being legally sufficient. I do not have the patience or time to sit and watch Thompson reading 3,000 pages into the record so I have not really paid any attention this week. I do know, however, that he is not yet half way through the documents so it will probably be another week.

Barnaby Min

Anonymous said...

The Sean Taylor funeral the other day seemed more like a "Be or Be Seen" Event than a funeral. The likes of Jesse Jackson, O.J. Simpson, and Andy Garcia were there among countless others. Mr. Taylor's passing is so unfortunate because he was a good person (and also a very talented football player). However, the CELEBRITY WORSHIP AND IDOLATRY IN THIS COUNTRY HAS TO STOP AS ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.
When we begin to treat funerals like Heisman Trophy Ceremonies, Oscar Awards, and Political Inaugurations, then we've truly lost our minds. We need to realize that the world is not about us as individuals it's about what we can do to serve each other in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I do not make a friendship with someone simply because the person has been placed on a pedestal by the media. Instead I make a friendship with someone if the person is placed on a pedestal by God. His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways and thank Goodness for that. My Condolences go out to Sean Taylor's family. I'm sorry to have turned your time of grief into a big human spectacle.

Anonymous said...

9:10 and 10:10, well said!

I just kinda doubt we should trust the Ayatollahs or the UN bureacrat-types on this issue, but what else can we really do?

Anonymous said...

9:10 and 10:10, well said!

I just kinda doubt we should trust the Ayatollahs or the UN bureacrat-types on this issue, but what else can we really do?

Anonymous said...

As a layperson I was under the impression that the Florida Bar regulated Attorneys for actions pertaining to their legal work. As I read further, it seems that it is a sterio typical morality and sensorship that they are regulating. The Florida Bar should be dissovled and the regulation should occur by the department of professional regulation. Any comments?

Anonymous said...

As much as I dislike President Bush's politics, and of course I voted against him, I must admit that this time he's right. Iran is dangerous and its President is mentally ill. We can't take a chance with him. Besides, prophecies about the end times predict this one.

Anonymous said...

to 12:19 p.m.

I agree with most of your sentiments but wanted to correct one remark--Andy Garcia is the Uncle of Sean Taylor's niece--he was likely not there to "be seen"

Anonymous said...

Oh lord that is funny shit. Mr. Min Thank You for making my day and providing this tid bit:

"Thompson has taken the stand and is reading every single word of every single page into the record. Judge Tunis is allowing Thompson to do so."

It just does not get better than this!

When all is said and done Judge Tunis should be praised for dealing with this nut case.

Anonymous said...

Breaking Blog News: Rumpole- everyone's favorite criminal defense attorney, known on the pages of ths blog as "shumie" has had his dog "speak" ("woof woof"?)
with an animal psychic. This is absolutely true and will be on TV.

The Peripatetic pooch was limo-ed to the psychic who reported that the pup was generally happy, but for a cigar smoking man who yelled a lot and was kicked out of lots of restaurants. Can the cover of the National Enquirer be far away?

Anonymous said...

Sean Taylor case: attorneys for alleged shooter announce to media that they want a plea. This highlights and underscores how some small town lawyers should stay away from big cases. A Ft.Myers attorney stipulated to a bench trial on court tv in a murder case, client convicted. Wilbur Smith and his son obviously got involved in this case for publicity only. Who in their right mind would think that the state would be seeking less than life in prison for the murder of a celebrity that 3000 people from all around the country come to attend his funeral. He has announce to the media and world that his client is guilty and wants a plea without doing any work to convince the state that they should be lenient or that there are problems with the case. Hasn't even been arraignment and he admits his client's guilt? Is this brilliant or incompetent? I know that Smith THINKS he is one of the best defense attorneys in the state. He also has a very long track record of screwing attorneys who work with him- fair warning to any local counsel who want a piece of the case of the shooter of Taylor. FACDL of Miami be warned- watch out for this guy!

Anonymous said...

Now you and I both know that Alan Shuminer is not Rumpole.

Anonymous said...

What the Republican lapdogs on this blog forget to mention is that it now been proven beyond any doubt that our President lied to us in October when, in his usual insecure condescending tone, he warned us that we were risking World War III if we didn't take steps against Iran when the record now shows that he had already been briefed on the findings of the NIE well before October (of course, yesterday he lied again and said that no on had bothered to tell him about the NIE findings until last week). Dick Cheney has been trying to keep the NIE findings from making it to the public record for the last year. The bottom line is--as Rumpole states--we simply can't believe anything that these people say, and they are trying to manipulate the Iran situation in order to help the Republican candidate win the presidential election in 2008. I predict a Gulf of Tonkin-like incident within the next six months. That is why it is so important that we memorialize this incident as a confirmed perfidy by one of the most perfidious administrations this country has ever had.

Anonymous said...

I've always thought we did not a "bar" to regulate us. It'll never happen, but its a great idea.

Those who can do, those you can't regulate.

Anonymous said...

The best Christmas gift is Jack losing his bar license. No need to wrap it.

Merry Christmas All

Anonymous said...

Why is it when something about shumie gets posted he can't be Rumpole, but when someone calls Phil R names and calls his wife and child names, it gets posted and people say its Phil trying to prove he's not rumpole?

Anonymous said...

Why do Lawyers fear attacking the Florida Bar, because its a good'ol boy agency. Unless you are big and powerful, they will always win. ABOLISH THE BAR, LET THE LAWSUITS FLY!

Anonymous said...

Get over it already.

Anonymous said...

4:42, I wrote the 10:10 am comment, and I am about as far from being a Republican lapdog as one can get. I just think that it's silly not to think the ayatallohs gave up their nuclear ambitions-is there any doubt they'd like nukes or that they'd like to use 'em?-probably on Isreal-b/c they were afraid this lunatic Bush may invade them too.

And do not forget that right after we invaded Iraq and took out their dictatorship, another dictator gave up his nuclear ambitions-Col. Moammar Quaddafi of Libya.

These are good things for all peaceful people-whether you hate Bush or hate the Iraq war (and I did at first but now I'm not SO sure).

The world is complex, and sometimes actions that seem destined to be failures turn out a bit differently over time.

Anonymous said...

4:42, get a reality check, and get over your Bush dementia.

The fellow who wrote the NIE, Thomas Fingar, just testified under oath to Congress in July 2007 that Iran was still seeking nuclear weapons. See http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/12/nie_an_abrupt_aboutface.asp

Now, suddenly they're not?? What changed Fingar's mind in 4 months?

If the NIR really is true, are you and the rest of the Bush haters going to give Bush credit for getting the ayatollahs' attention in 2003 by invading Iraq?

Anonymous said...

What is Thompson accused of doing?

Pacificus said...

Rump,

Very interesting day at the Aleman hearing. Diane Cuddihy was right on the law and Sandra Perlman held up very well durring cross examination.

I cant imagine what it must be like to have a proposed order ripped up before my eyes as Sandra testified that Aleman did. Tough for any lawyer to take.

Cant wait to hear tommorows testimony. Will the prosecutor in the case testify that he also made a motion to strike the entire jury panel as I heard tonight? or will he not be called as a witness by the JQC to protect Alemans ruling not to strike the panel.

Rumpole said...

I cannot publish a comment that lists someone's phone number unless that individual sends me an email from an identifiable email address and gives me permission.

See, Rumpole's Rule of the Blog 1325.016(a)(1)(A)

Anonymous said...

"Miami attorney Lauri Waldman Ross, who has prosecuted JQC cases for 15 years but is not involved in the Aleman case, said Bogenschutz’s jurisdictional defense is nothing new.

“People made those arguments for the last 40 years, as long as the commission has been around,” Ross said. “People are defending — they have to come up with a defense...

"Judge Aleman is supposed to maintain courtroom decorum and professionalism and fairness and openness, and instead she engaged in gamesmanship when she had a guy’s life in her hands,” Raticoff said. “She should be excised from ever holding that kind of authority again. She’s a constitutional anti-Christ.”

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, I loved how you basically said America was a joke to the world b/c of Bush.

Wow!

Such a joke that Iran and Libya have both evidently given up on arming themselves with nukes for only one reason: Fear of George W. Bush.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Anonymous said...

Very simple-minded post rump. First he's an idiot for believing the NIE now he's an idiot for not believing it. These people are lunatics and want to KILL us. I say better safe than sorry (or wimpy...like you).

Now, tell me I'm stupid and quote some stupid Springsteen song

Rumpole said...

Its neither, but you'll never know.


To 9:30 and 9:39- no need to call you stpuid. You already know it.

No need to call our president stupid- the whole world knows that. He is an embarassment and he has the blood of what will be over 4,000 americans and 100,000 Iraqi's on his hands when he leaves office. An enourmous waste of life and money for what was a well known lie- that Hussein had WMD's.

To paraphrase a great republican president- are we now safer then we were 8 years ago? 9/11 happened on Bush's watch- and there is a hot bed of terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan that did not exist 8 years ago. Plus we have a military decimated by war and unable to stop China or North Korea should either of those two countries start to cause problems. So the answer is that we are most certainly less safer, less secure now than we were when Clinton was president. And consdiering Clinton did a horrible job in foreign policy and the military, that is saying a lot.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole for President....of Iran!

Anonymous said...

9:30,

That's just great--we should thank W because the rest of the world fears him.

The real problem is that I fear him too.

It's no way to run a country...or a planet, for that matter.

Anonymous said...

britney is so hot

Anonymous said...

Dade County's Aleman?

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

THE FLORIDA BAR,

Complainant,

v. Case Numbers SC 07 - 80 and 07- 354

JOHN B. THOMPSON,

Respondent.

RESPONDENT’S VERIFIED PETITION FOR WRIT OF PROHIBITION
TO DISQUALIFY REFEREE TUNIS

COMES NOW Bar disciplinary respondent Thompson and petitions this court for a writ of prohibition to disqualify and immediately remove Dava Tunis (Tunis) as referee herein, stating:
Any lay person, knowing the facts stated herein, would reasonably believe that Thompson could not possibly receive a fair trial presided over by Tunis, who is, in a bar proceeding, both the finder of fact and applier of the law. The standard for recusal is more fully delineated by Florida Statute, 38.10, and if Tunis does not, by her antics, qualify for recusal, then there should be no such remedy for any judicial misconduct.
Thompson has previously raised the propriety of recusal of Judge Tunis. She denied Thompson a continuance while his wife was facing life-threatening cancer surgery and arduous chemotherapy. She refused, for ten months to allow discovery sought by Thompson, even refusing to comply with Florida law that mandates subpoenas “shall” be issued upon the mere oral request of a party or attorney. Tunis, remarkably, even went so far as to deny Thompson’s simple request to look at The Bar’s own files it has on Thompson. Tunis upheld The Bar’s demand that Thompson pay $4000 up front simply to look at the files. No such payment by a party is imaginable under Florida law, as it violates Article I, Section 21 of the Florida Constitution. This is a judge, acting as a referee, who afforded far more due process to the criminal defendants in orange jumpsuits in her courtroom than she did a lawyer in continuous good standing for 31 years with The Florida Bar. Thompson has been under attack from the porn industry with its SLAPP Bar complaints filed against him in order to “shoot the messenger” rather than defend their clients’ criminal activities on the merits. But yesterday, eclipsing all that she had done before this, Tunis revealed herself to be either unwilling or incapable of acting like a judge. When Thompson made the point that the Preamble to Section 4 of the Rules allows for a harmonization of our roles in society with the role of lawyer, Tunis recoiled, stating derisively, Don’t enlist me into your culture war! It was a non sequitur revealing her bias.
Tunis had refused at the start of the trial on November 26, 2007, to conduct a hearing on jurisdiction. She had denied that hearing for months. As a result, The Bar had to admit, in the last hour of proceedings, after the nine-day trial itself was over, that the court never had jurisdiction over certain charges in the complaint.
When this revelation of fraud “hit the fan,” Tunis ran out of the courtroom for no apparent reason. It now appears that she did so in order to consult with someone, as she returned to the courtroom with a new and utterly contrived legal argument that was completely inapposite to the issue before the court. Tunis had taken on the demeanor and the function of a third Bar prosecutor.
Then it really hit the fan. One of The Bar’s prosecutors then asserted, again after all testimony had been given and long after The Bar had rested its case, that Tunis could, entertain and convict Thompson on new, never disclosed charges, despite testimony limited to the specific charge brought against him in the complaint at the behest of the Howard Stern Show shock radio law firm, Tew Cardenas—an alleged violation of Rule 4-8.4 (d). Tunis was told she could, in the months ahead, comb through 3000 pages of testimony and all of the Bar Rules and come up with new charges, conduct a trial on her own, with no witnesses, and convict Thompson of violations of undisclosed Rules with which he had never been charged and which were not even mentioned during the course of the trial.
How could The Bar do such a thing? Answer: The Bar, in the last hour of the proceedings, raised the notion that Rule 4-8.4(a) allows The Bar to have the referee conduct a trial all on her own, because the Rule states
“A lawyer shall not: (a) violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;”

The Bar, however, in the charging document, the complaint, chopped off the last two items in the above series, and charged Thompson with “a violation of the Rules of Conduct” with no other Rules specified. Clearly, any sentient being knows that the above Rule 4-8.4 (a), in its entirety, is a rule against conspiracies to violate Bar Rules; namely, Thompson or any lawyer cannot either through surrogates, or acting as a surrogate on behalf of others, violate or attempt to violate, vicariously or through others, Bar Rules. In other words, Rule 4-8.4 (a) says that a lawyer cannot do indirectly what he cannot do directly.
But The Bar took only the first of the three in the series listed in Bar Rule 4-8.4 (a) and actually stated to the court that it means what is noted above, that Tunis could come up with any Bar Rule violations on her own and convict him, after trial, on the basis of what she thought Thompson might have done, with no input, of course, from him by way of a defense.
Tunis, upon Thompson’s protesting this ambush after the trial was over, again fled the courtroom. She returned to then lead The Bar’s prosecutor, from the bench, as if he were a child trying to ride a two-wheeled bicycle for the first time, through the tortured reasoning that would enable The Bar to have a referee indict, try, and convict a lawyer, in absentia, on charges of which he has never been apprised, in the privacy of her own home.
In the middle of the trial, with the Tew Cardenas porn lawyers on the stand and their having to admit that Thompson had no client, had not impacted a judicial proceeding, and was not engaged in the practice of law in his dealings with them (thereby making a Rule 4-8.4 (d) prosecution impossible), Tunis helpfully intoned, out of the blue, that Mr. Thompson had been also charged with a violation of Rule 4-8.4 (a). We, on the defense side, had no idea what she meant when she said this. But in the last minutes of the proceedings, yesterday, it became clear: The intention all along was to spring this “you can charge him and convict him of new offenses without any notice” surprise on him when the trial was over. Tunis had inadvertently tipped her hand that she was somehow in on the ruse.
It is so clear that Tunis may have been coached by someone during the trial, with her unexplained sprints from the courtroom as if she had a plane to catch, only to return with contrived legal arguments that no one had made previously, that Thompson has had to subpoena her phone records in the state court proceeding he has brought against the State of Florida for this regulatory assault upon the First Amendment that violates Florida’s Anti-SLAPP and RFRA statutes.
But Dava Tunis’ world late yesterday got even weirder. Earlier in the trial, The Bar’s counsel stood up in open court and announced that he had psychiatric records proving that Thompson’s co-counsel was mentally ill. The medical records waved by Mr. Bryk consisted of a favorite shrink used by The Bar’s FLA who claimed that this lawyer’s execution of an affidavit on Thompson’s behalf in Thompson’s federal civil rights action proved he, Thompson’s lawyer, was a “paranoid.” In other words, assisting Thompson shows mental illness. Mr. Bryk claimed all he was trying to do was apprise Mr. Thompson that his co-counsel was incompetent. If that were The Bar’s real desire, the whole issue , of course, would have been handled privately, discreetly, and not in open court. Thompson explained patiently to the court that Mr. Bryk could have shared the information with Thompson’s co-counsel and asked him to share it with Thompson, and then confirm that Thompson felt he had no problem. But, that, of course, was not what The Bar wanted to do. The Bar wanted to smear both his attorney and Thompson in open court. Judge Tunis held onto the stolen medical records in her possession. The co-counsel had never given a release allowing The Bar to have these records.
At the very end of the proceedings yesterday, Tunis asked what Thompson and his co-counsel would want her to do with the confidential, stolen medical records she held. It should be noted that the medical records are stolen, there having been no release of medical records form signed by co-counsel. Thompson’s co-counsel and Thompson asked and in fact demanded that the stolen medical records be returned to The Bar, as Tunis had absolutely no right to hold onto them, as they were not admitted into evidence. She was holding stolen property.
Co-counsel forcefully and emotionally stated that The Bar had committed a wrongful act in procuring these medical records without authorization, and they then compounded the offense by parading them in open court. Tunis then ordered co-counsel not to shout. He was forcefully and cogently identifying a wrong that had been committed against him by The Bar, and for an ulterior purpose.
Whereupon, Tunis, got to her feet, commenced shouting from behind her bench, and started flailing her arms wildly as if she were a Dutch windmill caught in a thermal inversion. It was the most bizarre, outlandish, odd, and embarrassing thing the undersigned has ever seen a jurist engage in during his 31 years of practicing law in Florida. Tunis made the “Crying Judge” Larry Seidlin in the Ana Nicole Smith case look like Supreme Court Justice Kennedy. She was out of control. She went from a jurist to a prosecutor to raving, shouting loose cannon in mere minutes.
When Thompson then referred to his co-counsel as his client in this medical records matter, she shouted from the bench He’s not your client! Is the court reporter your client, too???!!! With her meltdown, Tunis did more to harm the judiciary than anything Thompson is even alleged to have done.
She now sets off to prepare her Referee’s Report in a matter in which she displayed animus, bias, and a lack of judicial temperment. She has so tainted the proceedings with her pettiness and her injudicious comments and actions that no finding she could ever enter against Thompson can possibly be considered valid. This Bar must disqualify her immediately.
I SOLEMNLY AFFIRM, under penalty of perjury, that the foregoing facts are true, correct, and complete, so help me God.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a copy of this pleading has been provided by mail and fax to Sheila Tuma, The Florida Bar, Orlando Bar Office, and to Dava Tunis, 1351 NW 12 Street, Miami, Florida, this December 7, 2007.

_____________________________
JOHN B. THOMPSON, Attorney
Florida Bar #231665
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
Phone: 305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net

Anonymous said...

The post by Barnaby Min is a total lie. I did not read documents into the record. I read portions and commented thereon, as did The Bar's witnesses. This is a total fabrication by Min, whose office had to be removed from the case because of bias. Min and The Bar are going to pay a wicked price for his false and defamatory post.

Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

The post by Min is false and defamatory, as his description of what was transpiring at the trial is demonstrably false. He has no privilege to protect him, as he has made this libelous post outside The Bar's protection.

I did not do what he says, and the response to what he posted, that is false,as the transcript proves, has elicited the comment that I am "nuts." Nice going, Barnaby!

Jack Thompson

Get ready for some serious litigation, folks.

Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net

December 7, 2007

Frank Angones
Florida Bar President
Miami, Florida Via Fax and e-mail

Copy to All Florida Bar Governors via e-mail

Re: Libel by Florida Bar and Its Prosecutor Barnaby Min

Dear Frank and All Bar Governors:

Your assistant Bar prosecutor Mr. Min has chosen to publish at the Justice Building Blog a false and defamatory statement that I read every word of every document into the record. The transcript proves this is not the case, and that this is a total fabrication by Mr. Min.

This patently false assertion, as you can see by the attached, has understandably generated the response that I am a “nutcase” for doing such a thing.

Min’s nonprivileged comment shows not only the animus of The Bar collectively but also opens up The Bar to a libel action, which I intend to bring. As an aside, what is Mr. Min doing posting at a blog about a Bar target when he ought to be doing his job? It appears that publicly attacking me falsely is in fact part of his job.

I hereby make a demand for a full apology, correction, and retraction under Florida statutory law, to run prominently in The Florida Bar News in its next issue, which I must approve ahead of time.

Govern yourselves accordingly, which appears impossible given your institutional hatred of me and what I stand for.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

Dear Jack (henceforth to be known as HWMNBN II):

You are going to sue Mr. Min because someone posted something about you and signed it "Barnaby Min"? Okay, here's another Barnaby Min post:

I, Barnaby Min (really, it is me), love to wear women's underwear.

By the way, HWMNBN II, Fake Min's post is not the proximate cause of people thinking you are nuts. THAT ship sailed long ago.

Anonymous said...

Wow. The post, in fact, was by Min. That has been confirmed, so nice try.

Secondly, Min's assertion that I did not participate in the discovery process is also a lie. He knows that.

Finally,cowardly anonymous poster, if you knew anything about this case, as well as my state lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court (Case No. 07-040982 , CA01, JUDGE DARYL E. TRAWICK) you would know that Min's post, even if it were not libelous, is the absolutely dumbest act The Bar could have engaged in. Mr. Min has helped make the case that these people are not content with doing their jobs. They have to smear me in any possible way. If you had gone to my disciplinary trial, you would have a)seen that and b) seen the apparently nothing-else-to-do Barnaby Min sitting there.

Min was recused from this disciplinary matter well over a year ago, and you, anonymous poster, don't know why, do you?

Try commenting publicly about things you know something about.

Jack Thompson

PS: The Bar has a shrink you might want to talk to about whether I'm a "nut case."

Anonymous said...

ALL TRUTHFUL DAVA TUNIS STORIES WELCOME:

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net

December 8, 2007

Joseph P. Farina, Jr.
Chief Judge
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
175 NW 1st Avenue
Miami, Florida 33128

Re: Judge Tunis’ Refusal to Relinquish Stolen Medical Records

Dear Judge Farina:

You may or may not recall that a number of months ago my lawyer, Ray Reiser, and I alerted you to the judicial misconduct of Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Dava Tunis, whom you chose, despite her unfamiliarity with civil matters and her now patent lack of understanding of Bar disciplinary Rules, to preside over The Bar’s unconstitutional efforts to disbar me. Among my “crimes” have been my complaints about our beloved Judge Ronald Friedman, who was recently whacked by the Third District for doing to another litigant what he did to me, and an Alabama judge, whom the most prominent lawyer in Fayette County said could be counted upon to throw cases, most notably a case about which I appeared on 60 Minutes.

Your choice to have Dava Tunis preside over a case of this type is akin to having the fries cook at McDonald’s prepare a State Dinner at the White House. Maybe in time she could handle it, but not now. She has proven that in spades. She knows nothing about Bar disciplinary procedure, and she proved it everytime I appeared before her. I’m sure she’s a fine criminal bench judge. But you don’t put somebody who has no civil law experience into a situation like that. You don’t have a neurosurgeon set broken femurs.

See the attached filing in federal court as to her meltdown in the closing moments of my trial this week. Apparently her own lack of knowledge finally got even to her. This caps off nicely her months of screw-ups. She denied me crucial discovery in the case because she has not the slightest understanding of the Rules of Civil Procedure. She doesn’t even know that in a civil matter a party doesn’t have to summarize before trial the testimony of facs witnesses. She wouldn’t sign subpoenas even though the Rules of Civil Procedure require that they “shall” be issued, as a pure clerical function, upon oral request by a party or attorney. This is “Law of Western Civilization Since the Magna Carta 101” stuff here, but she doesn’t get even that. How unfortunate, not for me, but now for The Bar. Whatever she decides in this case will be overturned. It was that bad.

But in the interim, while we await the appellate revulsion with her misfeasance, we come to Dava Tunis’ refusal Thursday to relinquish the stolen medical records of my client, who happens to have been my wonderful co-counsel in my Bar proceedings.

The Bar’s attorney, Ken Bryk, improperly brought these stolen records, secured without a medical records release, to court in order to smear my client and prejudice the judge. He said he did it solely to inform me that my attorney is mentally ill, and so that I could make an informed decision about whether to keep him as my counsel. It turns out that my co-counsel/client is “mentally ill,” according to The Bar’s shrink, because this man dared to file an affidavit on my behalf in my federal civil rights action noting that The Bar was trying to tamper with him as one of my witnesses. That in fact occurred. The Bar’s position is that if you help Jack Thompson, you’re mentally ill. That would make Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton psychotic.

Dava Tunis was asked, repeatedly, to give back to The Bar these stolen medical records, procured illegally with no medical records release having been signed by my client. They were not put into evidence, so Ms. Tunis can’t claim that as some dodge. She is holding onto the records simply because she wants to.

She did claim that she is doing this in case I should want to claim that my co-counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel on the basis of his Bar-alleged “mental illness.” She spitted out the possible need for a Faretta hearing as to my counsel’s mental health. See Faretta vs. California) [ 422 U.S. 806 ], 95 S. Ct. 2525.

That’s pretty funny, actually, since apparently Judge Tunis doesn’t know that a Faretta hearing would be about my mental health not my counsel’s. How could a criminal bench judge not know that? Maybe we need a Faretta hearing for some other people.

Judge, I want my client’s stolen medical records taken from Judge Tunis and given back to the goofs at The Bar who received this stolen material. Please ring her up and tell her to stop holding onto stolen medical records that are not in evidence and that she has absolutely no legal right to hold onto anymore than if I gave her a turkey sandwich. In fact, the trial transcript will show that I left a turkey sandwich in a cooler in her courtroom the other night, and she was so concerned about that that she called me on my cell phone in the courthouse parking lot to tell me that she had put it into her refrigerator so that she could give it back to me the next day.

What kind of judge would consider a turkey sandwich more important to return than confidential medical records? A judge like Dava Tunis, that’s who.

Judge, I don’t think we want a writ of mandamus against Ms. Tunis, do we? We’ll get one if you don’t do your job and tell her to give this stolen property back.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Copy: My client

Anonymous said...

Hey Jack, don't sweat the Min post. First, none of us needed his input to reach the conclusions we've reached about you. Second, you won't be able to prove damages (as you should now). You're doing a better job making an ass out of yourself than anyone else could ever done.

If you focused on your social causes instead of getting even for our perceived wrong, you'd achieve a lot more and gain some respect. Unfortunately, your unnecessary aggressiveness is making us (conservatives) all look silly. Please try "governing yourself" more professionally.

Thanks.

A fellow conservative

Anonymous said...

If you're a "fellow conservative," then Mao was in the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The motivated animus is the point, ace. Here's a guy who's a Bar prosecutor, and he's got nothing better to do than show his animus and The Bar's at a blog?

Apparently you're not only not a conservative but also a dimwit.

Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

And by the way, speaking of conservatives, Ronald Reagan didn't anonymously engage the world in his efforts. He had the courage to put his name to what he did, unlike you, a cowardly anonymous blogger. Here's another conservative, TR, who is a role model for those of us who actually go out and do something rather than take self-righteous potshots while sitting on our anonymous, do-nothing butts:

Theodor Roosevelt's Man in the Arena speech in Paris:


It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

In other words, ace, it's easy to ridicule those of us who try to accomplish and who have accomplished. All you know about me is through the liberal media. Conservatives understand the bias, which tells anyone who reads your comments that you're about as conservative as Jane Fonda. Get lost.

Anonymous said...

I guess some have forgotten about Mr. Min's involvement in the below, posted right here at this blog. Hooah!

http://justicebuilding.blogspot.com/2006/06/sticky-situation.html
Scandal is brewing over at the Florida bar:

Ramon A. Abadin, Esq., (a very powerful attorney) is reviewing a complaint that was escalated to him by the Florida bar against Miguel De La O, several problems with this, some are below:

He, Ramon A. Abadin donated money to Leifmans campaign, so did Miguel de la O. They are both listed as the top endorsements on Leifmans official campaign web site and the campaign contribution report filed with the county.

Problem Miguel De La O, is the co-chair to Leifmans campaign.

Interesting fact: Randi Klayman Lazarus and Kenneth Marvin of the Florida Bar have reviewed the complaint for disposition, they also contributed to Leifmans campaign. “Conflict” “Conflict”.

Problem, when the complaint against Miguel De La O, was filed with the Florida bar it was assigned to Randi Klayman Lazarus, weeks later after being told a response to the complaint was being requested of De La O, it is revealed that Miguel De La O, is personal friends with Randi K. Lazarus and is on her grievance committee. (I guess having De La O on the grievance to decide his own fate was just wrong). So the case was supposedly sent to Barnaby Lee Min for get this “impartial review” in what took 3 weeks only took Mr. Min one day to close the case and not ask for a response to the complaint. We can be sure that since Lazarus and Min share the same office space that no conflict existed. (Eyes rolling).

John Harness office said it would be sent to another circuit (i.e. Ft. Lauderdale for impartial review) never happened. Ms. Arlene Sankel refused to do the right thing. Mr. John Anthony Boggs appears and says I will make a independent review (yea right). Meanwhile Ms. Sankel’s writing letters to Mr. De La O, saying case is closed and then after Boggs gets involved writes another letter case sent to grievance committee.

Miguel De la O, is a powerful man, he was recently appointed to be the Chair of the Florida Bar of Examiners. If this complaint would have been against any other lawyer at the very least the bar would have complied with its policies of asking for a response to the VERIFIED complaint. It actually says this on there web site.

Those of you lawyers wishing to avoid answering those irritating bar complaints simply get appointed to one of the grievance committees of the Florida bar. It’s kind of like that pesky corrupt Judicial Assistant just did not have the right friends in the right places.

All together now “CORRUPTION”.

The Florida bar (when I say this I mean the Miami div) waited until Ramon was recently elected to the board of governors of the Florida bar before escalating the complaint to him. The complaint was sitting at the Grievance committee for over six months. My how time flies.
Saturday, September 09, 2006 6:08:00 AM