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, November 19, 2008

BEN KUEHNE FUND RAISER ON THURSDAY

Update: Tomorrow we will have the unofficial-official list of Judicial Rotation for the new year. We left the Ben Kuehne fundraiser up because it's a worthy cause and everyone should go tonight. 

Thursday Night Football: The Steelers are 10.5 point favorites over the Bengals. The Steelers beat up the Bengals in Cincinnati by more than 20 points earlier in the year. And yet the Bengals played the Eagles to a tie last week and the Eagles beat the Steelers earlier this year. What does that tell you? Nothing. We picked the Steelers twice this year and lost both bets. The O/U is  between 34-36 because of the weak Steeler Offense. The Steelers are due for an offensive breakout and the Bengals defense is nothing to be too afraid of. We'd leave this one alone. If you can get 34 take the over. For fun we'll say over 36 for 50. 

Beloved attorney Milton Ferrell has passed away. See below. 

A fund raiser for Miami Criminal defense lawyer Ben Kuehne, co-chaired by former Florida Supreme Court Justice (and former Miami Circuit Court Judge) Gerald Kogan and Miami super lawyer Bob Josefsberg will be held Thursday from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM in Coconut Grove at some establishment called
CHRISTABELLE"S QUARTER at 3157 Commodore Plaza.  
(click on the link for more info)

The suggested donation is $200.00, which is a mere pittance for those of you following our Sunday football picks (thanks to the over Monday night for bailing us out of a horrible week.)

 Ben is scheduled for trial in January, which will be a little more than a year from when he was indicted.  Ben has had to deal with this mess hanging over his head for a year. And when you read the indictment you come away thinking that the government's zealous overreaching actions could target anyone of us.  

Among the committee members helping sponsor and support this event are Albert Krieger,  Former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, Former Southern District US Attorney Kendall Coffey and Former Florida Bar Presidents Frank Angones and Hank Coxe. And of course, we would be remiss if we didn't also include everyone's favourite federal blogger, David Markus. 

This will be quite an event and it's for a very worthy cause. 

MILTON FERRELL.
Miami lost a "quiet giant" in the Miami legal community this week with the death of attorney Milton Ferrell.  Mr. Ferrell emerged from the Dade SAO to become a confident of , and counselor to, Potential Presidents and Potentates. Read the wonderful Herald coverage about this extraordinary gentleman here. 

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, a distinguished attorney passes away while still fighting for his clients, but all Mr. Ferrell gets is a small-print postscript to your main post -- and that main post is written to drum up money for a man indicted for defrauding the justice system. Nice set of priorities, Rumpole.

Anonymous said...

i REALLY LIKE BEN, BUT, WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY FOR HIS LAWYER?

Anonymous said...

Query: Which powerhouse justice building attorney is closing his office Jan 1, giving away his files, settling as many cases as he can now, selling his car, renting his apartment, kissing his family goodbye and heading out for a Montana where he intends to spend a year on the road with a "B list" Greateful Dead cover band?

Jay White?
Ray Rodriguez?
Denny Smyhte?
Kenny Weisman?
Lance Steltzer?


If you are saying your goodbyes to Denny, your right!!!! See Ya. Bold move dude.

Anonymous said...

Anyone have a link/ cite to the indictment?

Anonymous said...

No way. I just tried a case with Denny in Key west. We won. He didn't mention anything about it. Plus his wife is an ex-playboy model, now way he'd leave that. Tapioca city dude.

Anonymous said...

Ben Kuehne is the poster child for ethical and professional behaviour. His integity, both on a personal and professional level, are beyond reproach. Ben is one of those rare creatures who effectively combines excellent legal ability, zealous advocacy on the part of his clients and the highest ethical standards.

At worst Ben committed an honest mistake, something that all of us frequently do. There is no way in hell that he is guilty of any of the charges.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

The only Denny moving to Montana is Denny Crane

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

I previously failed to report the 18 names that have applied for the newest opening on the Florida Supreme Court. Interviews are scheduled to take place on December 8th & 9th with the JNC.

Perry Adair, 49, Coral Gables, Attorney

Judge Nikki Ann Clark, 56, Tallahassee, Second Judicial Circuit

Judge Kevin Emas, 50, Miami, Eleventh Judicial Circuit

Manuel Farach, 48, West Palm Beach, Attorney

H. Scott Fingerhut, 45, Miami, Attorney

Judge Gill Freeman, 59, Miami, Eleventh Judicial Circuit

Karen Gievers, 59, Tallahassee, Attorney

Edward G. Guedes, 44, Miami, Attorney

Frank R. Jimenez, 44, Miami, General Counsel of the Navy

Judge Jorge Labarga, 55, West Palm Beach, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit

Judge C. Alan Lawson, 47, Fifth District Court of Appeal

Judge William P. Levens, 61, Tampa, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit

Scott D. Makar, 48, Tallahassee, Solicitor General

Judge Debra S. Nelson, 54, Eighteenth Judicial Circuit

Judge William D. Palmer, 55, Daytona Beach, Fifth District Court of Appeal

Paul Regensdorf, 60, Fort Lauderdale, attorney

Judge Leslie B. Rothenberg, 60, Miami, Third District Court of Appeal

Judge Waddell A. Wallace, III, 55, Jacksonville, Fourth Judicial Circuit

Captain Out ...

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

and, North of the Border, Broward will get a new Circuit Court Judge to replace Robert Lance Andrews. Gov. Crist will choose from the following nominees:

Kenneth L. Gillespie
David Haimes
Michael Hursey
Barbara A. McCarthy
Christopher W. Pole
Anuraag Singhal

Cap Out ...

Rumpole said...

Interesting the Dijois didn't make the cut.

Anonymous said...

Karen Gievers, 59, Tallahassee, Attorney

She would make the best pick for the Supreme Court. Tireless protecter of Children. She has with little and sometimes no money filed suit after suit against the State regards the failings of the DCF.

If not for her numerous Children would had fallen through a broken system that answered to no one. Ms. Gievers stood in Court room after Court room and gave those Children a voice.

For the next Florida Supreme Court Judge I hope they pick Ms. Gievers.

Anonymous said...

Dude it's almost Thanksgiving. I'm just getting over Labor Day. I wish we could push it back a week or two. And don't even talk to me about Xmas Dude.

Anonymous said...

Anybody know anything about Postman's new book: "Big Macher On The Bench: My Years as THE Go To Judge In Miami,"

Anonymous said...

Anybody remember Good Ol Charlie Chassen? They don't make them like him anymore.

Anonymous said...

A fund-raiser for an attorney who laundered money for the cartel--
nobody sees the wrong in that?

8:25- At worst Ben committed an honest mistake.

There was no mistake!! He knew what he was getting into when he got into bed with the cartel.

Anonymous said...

Judicial Assignments for '09

Dear Bar Presidents:

For your information and that of your membership, effective mid January 2009, the following judges are assigned to their respective divisions as detailed below:

CIVIL:

Peter Adrien, Barbara Areces, Jennifer D. Bailey, Gisela Cardonne Ely, Ronald Dresnick, Pedro P. Echarte, Margarita Esquiroz, Joseph P. Farina, Gill S. Freeman, Ronald M. Friedman, Michael A. Genden, Gerald D. Hubbart, Maxine Lando, Mark King Leban, Ellen Leesfield, Valerie R. Manno Schurr, Victoria Platzer, Israel Reyes, John Schlesinger, Marc Schumacher, Lawrence Schwartz, Victoria S. Sigler, Scott J. Silverman, William Thomas, Thomas S. Wilson

FAMILY:

Jerald Bagley, Scott M. Bernstein, Joel H. Brown, Maria Espinosa Dennis, Kevin M. Emas, Leon Firtel, Mindy S. Glazer, Maynard Gross, Sandy Karlan, Judith L. Kreeger, David C. Miller, Jose Rodriguez, Robert N. Scola, Bernard S. Shapiro, Paul Siegel

CRIMINAL:

Mary Barzee Flores, Stan Blake, Beatrice Butchko, Yvonne Colodny, Jorge Cueto, Reemberto Diaz, Ivan F. Fernandez, Stacey Glick, Jacqueline Hogan Scola, Julio Jimenez, Peter R. Lopez, Antonio Marin, Dennis J. Murphy, Roberto M. Pineiro, Orlando A. Prescott, Rosa Rodriguez, Migna Sanchez-Llorens, Nushin G. Sayfie, Bertila Soto, John W. Thornton, Marisa Tinkler Mendez, Daryl E. Trawick, Dava Tunis, Ellen Sue Venzer, Diane Ward, Sarah I. Zabel, Debra White Labora (Drug Court)


JUVENILE:

Marcia Caballero (Delinquency), Jeri B. Cohen (Dependency), Abby Cynamon (Delinquency), Spencer Eig (Dependency), William Johnson (Delinquency), Lester Langer (Delinquency), Cindy Lederman (Dependency), Maria Sampedro Iglesia (Dependency), George A. Sarduy (Dependency)

PROBATE:

Norman Gerstein, Maria Korvick, Celeste H. Muir, Arthur L. Rothenberg

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:

Amy Steele Donner



Ledys M. Rodriguez
Judicial Assistant to
Judge Joseph P. Farina
Chief Judge, Eleventh Judicial Circuit
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center
175 N.W. 1 Avenue, Room 3045
Miami, Florida 33128
Tel.: 305-349-7054
Fax: 305-349-7059

Anonymous said...

What did Ben do with the six figure fee he charged for the case? Why can't that pay for his attorney's fees? I want my student loans paid off, but I have to WORK to get it done.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, can you not see the anonymous comments that are clearly JT?

Anonymous said...

You sir, are a sniviling dolt.

If you choose to trash a fellow member of our profession, I can only hope that you will need our help one day -- so that we can turn away.

If you choose not to contribute, that is your right. Now go away and whine about your own life.

Anonymous said...

7:40- Ben is our brother who deserves our support. He would do the same for you.

4:00- I'm in bed every night with someone who is related to members from the Cartel.

Rumpole said...

If anybody's interested I said in August 08 the market bottom was at 7500. We closed today at 7997, so only 497 points to go. The QID was at 45 when I said this. I bought some. Today it's at 90. I think I'll sell some tomorrow.

I don't just pick football games and win jury trials you know.

Anonymous said...

David C. Miller going to family court? So if I throw a fax machine at my wife will he have to recuse if assigned the case?

Interesting that his fax machine partner in crime will stay in Civil.

Anonymous said...

Thank god that Lawrence Schwartz is leaving. Good riddance! What a rude asshole!

Anonymous said...

Nice to rub that in Rump. .

See you at Ben's fundraiser. Do you think Roy Black will be there or at least kick in 200 bills from the 5 million he made. Nice guys finish last.

Later

Anonymous said...

Miller is coming back to criminal to fill up the jail

Anonymous said...

what time is the DUI seminar today

Anonymous said...

can't believe adrien is leaving criminal. He was the best.

Anonymous said...

miller IS going to family. Thank god.

Anonymous said...

Rump,

As a Broward insider, I can personally there are reasons that Dijols did not make the cut and there are reasons why he drew an opposition. It had nothing to do with being hispanic- it had everything to do with his temperment on the bench and black robe fever.

Anonymous said...

Appearance of impropriety?
The SAO's Holiday Party is being held at Heathrow bar on the beach. Justin Rundle, the State Attorney's son, just happens to be an owner. I wonder if those employees buying tickets know where the money's going?

The SA's re-election celebration took place there also.

Anonymous said...

Breaking News;Happening Now;

Gun report shuts down Miami-Dade's Juvenile Justice Center
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade County's Juvenile Justice Center has been evacuated and shut down temporarily after security screeners received conflicting reports that a handgun was smuggled into the complex.

Miami-Dade officers are conducting a ''precautionary sweep'' of the center, 3300 NW 27th Ave., but expect it to reopen about 3 p.m.

No gun has been found, said Miami-Dade Detective Juan Villalba.

''We'd rather be safe than sorry,'' he said.

The center houses the juvenile courts, clerk's office and attorney offices

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, in my years of reading the blog daily you never touched on the subject of minors being tried as adults.

Juveniles Charged as Adults
The prosecutor may seek to have a child transferred to adult court. In that case, the prosecutor typically announces the State’s intent to “direct"direct file”" the child into adult court at the detention hearing. The case is reset for the State to report on its direct file decision. If the child is detained, the reset date remains 21 days from the date the child was taken into custody.

If a juvenile is charged with certain felony offenses, his case may be transferred to the adult criminal division where the juvenile will be prosecuted in the same way as adults charged with law violations. If a child is found guilty or pleads guilty in adult court and is sentenced as an adult, that child is forever considered an adult for future violations of state law. A juvenile’s case may be transferred to adult criminal court in three ways:

Indictment — The State can seek to have a grand jury indict juveniles of any age. Indictments are usually for offenses that are punishable by death or life imprisonment, and cases where the child is younger than 14 years old.

Waiver — A waiver motion is a request made by the prosecutor asking the juvenile court judge to transfer a child at least 14 years old to adult court. The judge conducts a hearing and reviews the child’s history, the charge and potential for rehabilitation, then either grants or denies the prosecutor’s request. The judge’s decision is based on legal criteria, the facts of the case and the child’s circumstances.

A child of any age, with the consent of parent or guardian, can also request to be waived to adult court although this is extremely rare.

Direct File — There are two types of direct file: mandatory and discretionary. A direct file is a transfer to adult court by the prosecutor. The juvenile court judge has no authority to prevent the transfer and no hearing will take place. This means that these juveniles have been transferred without the benefit of a judicial hearing, so there has been no judgment by a neutral judicial officer that there are services in the adult system for them, or that they are inappropriate for services in a juvenile court.

Mandatory direct files stem from a state law requiring that for certain crimes a child 16 years and older be tried as an adult. The law allows no exception.

The discretionary direct-file law allows the prosecutor to file charges for certain crimes against a child 14 years or older in adult court. The decision to send a discretionary case to the adult court lies solely with the prosecutor. A judge cannot reverse a prosecutor’s discretionary decision to direct file a case, even if he disagrees. The prosecutorial decision to direct file a discretionary case is non-reviewable and non-appealable. If the prosecutor chooses to direct file, the charging document will be filed in adult criminal court.

Anonymous said...

It's 4 o'clock; it's a week from Thanksgiving and I'm going to start early. I'm outta here-(Shumie Time, right?) off to the Kuenhe fundraiser and then some cold pizza and the NFL tonight.

I wish I could make some friends.

Anonymous said...

Rump, we need an upated pick. Chad Ocho Cinco f/k/a Chad Johnson is deactivated tonight and will not play for violating an unspecified team rule. (Maybe he wanted to use Judge Dennis' fax machine also)

Despite being over rated as a player, he is a playmaker. I'm not sure I like the over as much anymore.

Anonymous said...

In some states they have the power to sentence teens to juvi jail until 21 yrs of age. This whole notion of kids as adults is bull. Honestly, I cannot even remember the bad shit I did as a teen. To say we can't rehabilitate teens is bull.

Anonymous said...

Should Justin "DUI" and Possession of Marijuana Rundle be owning a bar?

Anonymous said...

So are you back in the market Rump? Are you going to try to catch a falling knife?

Anonymous said...

Great turn out for Ben tonight. Jam packed with lawyers and then the PD hotties showed up and blew the doors off the place.

And Rump, that's another Miami Dolphins....FIRST DOWN.!

Anonymous said...

Hey 6:35...........you ever commit an armed robbery, carjacking, rape or homicide as a kid? Generalizing about punishing juveniles as adults is ridiculous. Some juveniles deserve to be prosecuted as adults. Can't anyone here make a cogent argument without jumping to the extremes?

You can give examples of abuses.......The prosecutors can give examples of abuses........you point your finger at them........they point it their fingers at you. Nothing changes.

One reason that things don't change is that so many people are unwilling to tone down the rhetoric (God forbid anyone should be fingered as a member of the "opposing" camp) and look for real solutions.

BTDT