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, February 19, 2008

FACDL RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF BEN KUEHNE

RESOLUTION
OF THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS
IN SUPPORT OF BENEDICT P. KUEHNE


WHEREAS, Benedict (Ben) Kuehne has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1977 and is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Criminal Trial, Criminal Appellate, and Civil Appellate Law;

WHEREAS, in addition to his leadership as a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, President of both the Dade County Bar Association and Miami Chapter of FACDL, Ben Kuehne is a Charter Member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL), dating back twenty years to 1988;

WHEREAS Ben Kuehne is a trusted advisor to those he has served with in FACDL, and always made himself available to better the organization on issues of by-laws, ethics, and other legal matters;

WHEREAS, Ben Kuehne has contributed as an author to FACDL’s Defender magazine on issues of the Fourth Amendment, and the United States Supreme Court;

WHEREAS, Ben Kuehne has routinely been recognized for his legal talents and contributions to the legal profession and specifically the criminal justice system, including but not limited to his recognition as one of the “Lawyers of the Year” by the National Law Journal in 2000;

AND WHEREAS Ben Kuehne is currently seeking justice in his own defense and is deserving of the same support, counsel and assistance that he has given to FACDL for so many years;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS:

That the FACDL supports and stands ready to assist Ben Kuehne during this time when he seeks to find justice for himself in a criminal court of law.

Adopted by the full Board of Directors, February 8, 2008 (Jacksonville, Florida)


Rumpole says: this passed last week and we were waiting for the appropriate moment to post it. Hear hear!

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Re article in Miami Herald this A.M.:

What exactly do they think about (or not think about) at an "Anti-Evolution Think Tank?"

Anonymous said...

isnt this like the COMINTERN issueing a statement in favor of the innocence of the rosenbergs ????

Anonymous said...

JT - for you to threaten NIU with a lawsuit is absolutely disgusting. You are the epitome of an ambulance chaser and are an embarassment to the legal profession. Karma will get you.

Anonymous said...

JT: after threatening to sue northern Illinois university in this time of tragedy, we are giving you our full support and nod of endorsement.

/s/ Summer's Eve

Anonymous said...

Ben Kuehne should be indicted for being retarded. He has to be the only lawyer in America who did not know that all cocaine cartel money was cocaine cartel money. Duh.

Anonymous said...

Anybody ever give some credit to the AUSA that indicted him? Can we assume they were meticulous in thier investigation and that they gave every benefit of the doubt to Kuehne before indicting him? Can we assume that prior to seeking the indictment of a local defense attorney with a respected past, the AUSA went up the chain of command to senior AUSAs to ask for input? I know the AUSA is from New York, so not too many people know him personally? But I seem to recall someone in here saying they had worked with him in the past and he was a respectable person and would not go forward on this case as political retribution.
What if he were indicted by a local AUSA that we all knew and respected?

Just a thought.

Anonymous said...

11:12

Jimenez,

Get back on the federal blog and stop posting anonymously to try and defend yourself here. Why haven't you answered the legitimate questions that were put to you there?

Anonymous said...

Well 10:03 can we agree that if stupidity was an indictable offense then you should be indicted for repeating yourself. (Then it would follow that if a rich man commits a crime, all of his riches were ill-gotten. Explain that to anyone who is convicted of tax crimes.)

Also it would follow that 11:12 should be your co-defendant for spelling "their" as "thier".

Anonymous said...

Rump,
Far be it for me to opine on such a lowly issue as REG-MJB ingress and egress, but as I see it, we currently have 4 metal detectors for the general public and 1 for the exclusive use of Attorneys and building staff. If Attorneys and building staff were given some sort of building ID we could go in thru the same doors as the Cops, JA's and Probation Officers. This would free up the other other metal detector for the public. If my math is correct this would increase by 25% the amount of people being screened and would hopefully aleviate some of the morning line.
What do you think?

Tom Cobitz

Anonymous said...

11:12, no.

Anonymous said...

I am sure the FACDL will provide support to BEN but will they dig in their pockets and support him?? I say NOT!

Anonymous said...

It is incredible how the entire community comes to Ben's defense without knowing all the facts. Support is great, but do not cry that the Government has committed a foul without knowing these facts.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to see how the NACDL revises its statement after the Feds flip him.........

Anonymous said...

I'm a little perplexed. How do you know what "justice" is in Ben's case? Do you know what the evidence is against him? Do you have any idea what the proof is? Because proclaiming him innocent without knowing all the facts is just as bad as proclaiming someone guilty before they've been tried. I understand you want to show support for your colleague, but take a step back for a minute. Showing Ben support is way different than labeling him not guilty. Trials belong in a courtroom, and verdicts should be reached there, not on a blog.

Rumpole said...

Mr. Cobtiz- happy to see you participating in the blog. Some might call this "conversational onanism" as some have opined that you are me, and vice a versa, but to answer your comment- I am against that proposal as it allows too many people into the building without being searched, and anyone of us is as likely to snap and bring a weapon in, as any member of the general public. However, the lines outside the building today were horrific. They were around the block, and people reported waiting 60-70 minutes to get in. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE. IT WOULD BE NICE TO HEAR FROM JUDGES BLAKE AND SLOM ON THIS ISSUE, IF THEY CAN SQUEEZE IN AN OPINION BETWEEN TEE TIMES.

Just my thoughts in the matter.

Anonymous said...

I think 95% to 99% percent of the anti-ben comments, even the anonymous ones, are from our friend J Thompson, Esq., conscience of the community.

Anonymous said...

cobitz:

Im for it.

Rump:

Nice attempt to try to distract people from thinking you are cobitz by disagreeing with yourself.

Anonymous said...

Nope just one comment is mine.

By the way, how will those bowties look with an orange jumpsuit.

Jack Thompson

PS: The threatened suit against NIU was against the investigators if they don't cough up public records. Get a grip. I don't see you liberal flame-outs doing anything about these school massacres. I am. Maybe one at U. of Miami Law School to finally "get it."

Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

Jack Thompson:

I do not know you at all. I have read about you and do not like what I read, but I do not judge anyone by what they say in the papers. However, when I read your words I am left with only one conclusion: You are a mean, nasty, miserable SOB.

Anonymous said...

There is no doubt Jack is the one trashing Ben on this Blog. Jack spends ALL his time surfing the net and posting his rants. Look at this lunacy: At 11:30am a Blog post goes up by fake Samuel L. Jackson (read here.

72 minutes later, Happy Jack has found it and is already challenging Mr. Jackson to a golf duel. This is so crazy on so many levels. Not the least of which is the fact that on President's day Jack is patrolling the net for any mention of his name, even in a piece of satire. Sad.

Jack, why don't you challenge me to something?

p.s. When Jack is called out for falling for fake Samuel L. Jackson's posting, his response is that he knew it was fake, but his challenge the to the fake Sam Jackson was real. Huh? Lunacy like this can't be faked.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, Mr. Cobitz, to many whackos already have ID cards to try and skirt the metal detectors.
You know as well as everybody else, more than one lawyer would then carry guns in their briefcases.
ANd while we're on the subject what the hell happened to the afternoon bond hearings???????

Anonymous said...

Heard that Ben hired the Q

Anonymous said...

Let's face it. Every attorney who falls from grace has legions of supporters that claim, "he didnt do it." The truth is that none of know what he did or didn't do. That is why there are juries. If this were a case where he made ten thousand bucks as a fee, I would tend to think he didnt do it. But this was a quarter million dollars in his pocket. When the stakes go up like that, you'd be surprised what peole will do. Do we need to start listing the attorneys around town that have wound up in prison b/c they made an error in judgment (or committed crimes) for a large sum of money?
A very well respected lawyer in Palm Beach just got a few years in federal prison a week or so ago for a fee which wound up being a little over six thousand bucks.

Anonymous said...

ATTENTION ALL PROSECUTORS QUESTIONING THE LOYALTY FOR BEN:

I know it is difficult to imagine your own colleagues coming to your defense in a troubled time, as many of you run as far as you can from your own when they are in trouble (except Abe who's been around long enough to understand life), but please understand, we do not need to see the evidence to stand up for a good man. Is that so difficult to understand?

It is?

Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole said:

"I am against that proposal as it allows too many people into the building without being searched, and anyone of us is as likely to snap and bring a weapon in, as any member of the general public."

So all those "sane" cops with guns is a great idea? Gee, Rump, none of them ever snap.

Rumpole said...

Mr. Thompson's comments at 4:34 are bitter and vindictive and I personally find them repugnant. There is Karma in this world, and I would watch out before I start envisioning just who will be first to wear an orange jump suit.

As Winston Churchill said- Humility in Victory, Defiance in Defeat.

There is no humility in taking joy in the misfortunes of others. I have not taken any pleasure in Mr. Thompson's battles with the bar, and I am very sad to see his petty vindictive comments about Ben Kuehne. I for one hope and pray Ben will never wear an orange jumpsuit.

Rumpole said...

5:19- No way. I felt much safer when Officers had to check their guns at Liason before coming to court. I think the likelihood is that some nut will one day make a grab for an officer's gun. The courthouse was safest when only undercover liason officers were armed.

Anonymous said...

Is there any reason the FBI should not investigate this comment by Jack?:

I don't see you liberal flame-outs doing anything about these school massacres. I am. Maybe one at U. of Miami Law School to finally "get it."

Jack Thompson

Anonymous said...

Q was last week's letter.

The letter of the day is ... P

That's right:

See the P
Feel the P
Smell the P

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION UPDATE .....

The race for the Clerk of the Court just heated up.

Democrats Harvey Ruvin and Darrin McGillis have now to contend with a Republican opponent.

Enter JOHN BABUN.

Do not know much about him other than the following:

He lives in south Dade County and owns an office condomimuim with one Ignacio Bernal. The two are officers in a corporation called JCIL Management.

He used to work for Coastal Construction Products - I do not know if he still does.

Darrin, you better raise some more money if you plan on beating both Ruvin and then Babun.

CAPTAIN OUT .....

Anonymous said...

Dear Jack. As a good "Christian," perhaps you should heed the words of Bob Dylan: "Even Jesus himself can't forgive what you do."

Anonymous said...

Captain, thanks for the heads up.

I have said that if a republican enters the race that I may drop out because I would prefer Ruvin over a republican.

If this filing is a serious candidate I will have to drop out and support a fellow democrat.

Anonymous said...

Jack Thompson Wrote:

"IU was against the investigators ... Get a grip. I don't see you liberal flame-outs doing anything about these school massacres. I am. MAYBE ONE AT U. OF MIAMI LAW TO FINALLY 'GET IT.'"

Is that a threat Jack? Perhaps we need to report you before "you take a flamethrower to the place."

Anonymous said...

To Feb. 18, 2008 (Monday) @ 9:56:
So you say if your wife were dieing of cancer you wouldn't spend time tieing an Army guy to video games on president's day: maybe that's just the point. Who knows what the truth is? Doesn't any REAL Reg person who knows Dava Tunis know that she is much more likely to call someone sidebar-and virtually hug them-if they had a recent death in the family? Or like me, when I had a serious sickness in my family/life she actually called me & never said she was Judge Tunis, just Dava, to see how everything was. On this blog, if a judge is an a--, we say it. If someone is a genuine person, who cares about prosecutors or defense attorneys, or other people, we should just say it. Is there really anyone who thinks when told someone is dieing of cancer, she would say, 'no cancer continuances'. That, is more ludicrous than the Army vs. Video issue.

Anonymous said...

Jack,

Instead of surfing the internet to pick fights with anonymous writers at different blogs, why don't you check out the Supreme Court's website and see what they wrote about you.

http://jweb.flcourts.org/pls/docket/ds_docket

Seems like you should have more important battles to fight than making stupid comments about U.M. or the unfortunate events at N.I.U.

Anonymous said...

i wish captain would go out of town forever.

Anonymous said...

dear mr. cobitz, regarding your 3;28 post I believe you should properly give credit to the movie Phenomenon which probably gave you the idea. If you are Rumpole, perhaps you could devote a piece to the constitutional arguments posited on this blog to help BK, or were they over your head. They were quite sophisticated and whenever a really sophisticated legal argument is made on this blog all the misdemeanor traffic attorneys run for the hills because the only challenge they have is the occasional rich client who wants to challenge a breath test.

Anonymous said...

jack

please tell us why you hate ben so much. here is a guy who is facing ruination and you are happy about it. if you hate criminal lawyers so much, why are you always on the blog??

Anonymous said...

COURT CASE: F92004976 State Case#: 131992CF0049760001XX Name: BABUN, JOHN ABRAHAM DOB: 06/29/1972
Date Filed: 02/10/1992 Date Closed: 02/28/1992 Warrant Type:
Hearing Date: Hearing Time: Hearing Type:
Courtroom: REGJB-JUSTICE BUILDING, ROOM#:4-6
Address: 1351 N.W. 12 ST
Next Case:
Previous Case:
Judge: BUTCHKO BEATRICE A
Defense Attorney:
Bfile Section: F014 File Location: DESTROYED Box Number: -
Seq# Charge Charge Type Disposition
1 ASSAULT/AGGRAVATED FELONY NO ACTION
2 ASSAULT/AGGRAVATED FELONY NO ACTION
3 FLS PERSONATE OFF FELONY NO ACTION
4 FLS PERSONATE OFF FELONY NO ACTION
5 FIREARM/USE COMT FEL FELONY NO ACTION

See at link

http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/cjis/case.asp?319266948C929C928E578CA48AA48E96667762945B6159925D6A60A45F579B9666626229


also this link

http://www.miami-dadeclerk.com/cjis/case.asp?1C7D967FBC7DCC7DBE42BC8FBA8FBE819669927F8A4C8F7D8C548D8F8F42CB81964D9259

Anonymous said...

From all his postings, I get the feeling Jack Thompson would rather indulge in fantasy then spend time with his family.

Anonymous said...

Dear Democrat:

Our friend and fellow DEC member, Carlos Martinez, is running for Public Defender and needs your help.

As you know, Carlos hopes to succeed his mentor and strong supporter Bennett Brummer. Bennett is not running. Carlos needs to turn in 10,000 petitions by March 31 to qualify as a candidate, or he will have to pay more than $9,000 for the filing fee. The petitions must be completed and signed by Miami Dade registered voters.

If you already signed his petition, we ask you to get 5 more from your friends, family or co-workers. If you have not, please go to his website:

www.carlos2008.com

to find out more about his credentials, and to download and sign a petition.

Completed petitions should be mailed to: Carlos J. Martinez Campaign, 2520 Coral Way, Suite 2-055, Miami, FL 33145, or here to our office and we'll get them to him

Anonymous said...

I join the chorus in asking that Jack Thompson fuck off and go bother some other blog.

Ben is a good guy. I hope he did not do it.

If he did, then, he crossed the line and must be punished.

Support is simply saying I am with you in your time of need. Since none of us really know what the Feds have on Ben, we will all have to wait and see.

Normal people don't make fun of people in trouble.

Jack, you are an asshole and not normal.

Good luck Ben. I really hope you are truly innocent. If not, you did someting that makes us all look bad.

Rumpole said...

The way to deal with Mr. Thompson is not to muzzle him. If he follows the rules, and he has, he will not be banned from this blog because we don't like what he has to say. That is the essence of a democracy.

Only one person has ever been banned from this blog, and that is because he attacked it by jamming the comments section.

Anonymous said...

Jack Thompson--I dare you to make one post of piece of correspondence where you do not:

1) Refer to your opponent as an idiot, lowlife or other similar term;

2) Call your opponenet pro-gay agenda, pro-ACLU, a liberal flameout or other similar term;

or

3) Refer to some grandoise conspiracy against you.

I think you can be an excellent model for professionalism. Anything that you do--a good, professional, competent lawyer WOULD NOT do.

P.S.--I can't wait until you get disbarred.

Anonymous said...

If that Carlos Martinez post is real, why is it entered by anonymous? Why should we put our name on a petition to save him $9000 if you won't?

Anonymous said...

Carlos Martinez is a nice guy but come the fuck on! And lets not extol the virtues of Brummer either, he fired a turd for mouthing off on his day off and banned Lynn Overman from entering the PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE.

Anonymous said...

Carlos
Your mentor is banning lawyers from the PUBLIC DEFENDERS' OFFICE!!! Do something about it!

Unknown said...

A question to the other readers here; shall we from now on refer to our esteemed lunatic Mr. Thompson from here on as Man Coulter? His hatred is on par with that woman, so I think it would be justified, especially with recent comments here.