Update: Michael Vick released from prison. We know you really needed to know that.
UPDATE: Silent Charlie still silent. Day three. While we wonder- where did the money go?
A READER WROTE IN WITH THIS LIST OF ATTORNEYS APPLYING FOR COUNTY COURT JUDGE.
The reader's comments to the list are in yesterdays comment's section. We do not pass any judgment except to say we agree with the person who posted the original comment: ASA Bill Altfield would be the perfect selection. We cannot think of another attorney so universally respected who has the experience and temperament to be a great judge.
Shhhhhs: CARLOS MARTINEZ STILL SILENT: DAY TWO
Before we get to the candidates, a reader yesterday informed us in the comments section that long time attorney and perennial judicial candidate Albert Zemlock has passed away. Known for campaigning with a large Z, Zemlock was a character and and a self admitted "nut" when it came to running for judge. He once had a plane fly a large Z over Miami on election day.
William Ira Altfield (Great choice)
Maria T. Armas
Bart Haskell Armstrong
Tanya J. Brinkley
Veronica P. Clarke
Joseph I. Davis, Jr.
Michael H. Galex
Ivy R. Ginsberg
Diana Elizabeth Gonzalez
Monica Gordo
Tamara Ilene Gray
Jose Ricardo Iglesias
Michael R. Jones
Bonita Jones-Peabody
Kristi F. Kassenbaum
Robert James Kuntz, Jr.
James E. Leano
Barry Marc Mankes
Lynette McGuiness
Gina Mendez
Stephen T. Millan
Barnaby L. Min
Anita Margot Moss
Gordon Charles Murray, Sr.
Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes
Jeffrey Joseph Pardo
Michaelle Gonzalez Paulson
Gladys Perez
Margaret Ann Rosenbaum
Michele Samaroo
Lourdes Simon
Jeffrey D. Swartz
Alan Adrian Taylor
Marie Jo Toussaint
Angelica D. Zayas
I agree, Bill would make a terrific Judge.
ReplyDeleteThere's almost an entire month until the JNC has to send out their nominations to Charlie --can't we ask around and have us blog-drones give little tid-bits about each of these people?
ReplyDeleteFor starters, there's a decent amount of attorneys who are currently practicing civil law in this group. I think there's at least 3 Asian-Americans applying (Leano, Min, Moss). Quite a few youngsters (i.e. 12 years out or less).
Kristi Kassenbaum? Has she ever made a legal argument, or does she just whine and cry at every hearing? You have GOT to be kidding.
ReplyDeleteI like Barnaby or Bonita would also be great
ReplyDeleteI was an ASA for four years a few moons ago, but then went out to do civil practice. I see the list of candidates, but now that I have "been out in the real world." I think a judge should have done the following before being on the bench via appointment:
ReplyDelete- Practice in the civil arena;
- Practice in the criminal arena;
- Practice in federal court;
- Work in a large law firm;
- Own his/her own practice.
I'm in both criminal and civil courthouses and there is nothing worse than being in front of a judge that never practiced in the area in which he/she is now ruling on.
When we are arguing criminal motions or doing trials, we bitch because the judge never stepped in the Justice Building. When we argue civil motions or do civil trials, we bitch because the judge was a career prosecutor or public defender and has no idea what they are doing with regard to a med mal case.
Just something to ponder.
the trialmaster does not see anyone on the list who is truly impressive or standsout. Gordo is the worst.
ReplyDeleteThanks Captain for printing the list of those applying for judge. I think we should be getting serious about this finally and I, for one, am going to give my two cents worth to some of these JNC members.
ReplyDeleteI encourage some of you who feel so strongly, for or against, to so the same.
How many of the applicants are career ASAs/APDs?
ReplyDeleteBill Altfield is the most qualified person I know to be a judge. Quite frankly he is over qualified to be a county court judge, but his wonderful nature and disposition would make him a fantastic addition to the bench.
ReplyDeleteGINA MENDEZ applying????Guess she's getting ready to run again. That's the only time she applies. Which incumbent is she going to hit this time??????????????
ReplyDeleteAltfield is a fine pick, and Phil has a good point.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked with Michael Galex when we were both ASAs some time ago, I think he would be a quality judge as well. He is definitely the type of guy who would follow the law regardless of the consequences.
No you are wrong the most qualified person is Gladys Perez several years as a 4th dca staff attorney and then an assitant Attorney General prosecuting civil rights cases and then finally as an assitant general counsel to Governors Bush and Crist litigating complex environmental cases and constitutional cases.
ReplyDeleteNot to move back to the prior post but if tax dollars are given to the Public Defender for 16 jobs and he spends that money on raises instead, and then cries about being understaffed, is that not unlike a man who kills his parents and then claims he is an orphan?
ReplyDeleteThe trialmaster is a douche.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Ira Altfield best of show
ReplyDeleteMaria T. Armas who
Bart Haskell Armstrong uhhhhh, no
Tanya J. Brinkley stripper name
Veronica P. Clarke sounds hot
Joseph I. Davis, Jr. too old
Michael H. Galex career sao?
Ivy R. Ginsberg ortiz part deux
Diana Elizabeth Gonzalez latinvotes
Monica Gordo no no sao
Tamara Ilene Gray related to jason?
Jose Iglesias related to julio?
Michael R. Jones sounds like a white guy
Bonita Jones-Peabody sounds fishy
Kristi F. Kassenbaum screech
Robert James Kuntz, Jr. tough name
James E. Leano J. LENO?
Barry Marc Mankes who?
Lynette McGuiness black and tan?
Gina Mendez not again!
Stephen T. Millan not again!
Barnaby L. Min FLABAR hack
Anita Margot Moss margot is a hot name
Gordon Charles Murray, Sr. nice guy
Alicia M. Otazo-Reyes hyphen alert!
Jeffrey Joseph Pardo pardo n me?
Michaelle Gonzalez Paulson related to Pat?
Gladys Perez cook on Brady Bunch
Margaret Ann Rosenbaum toughie
Michele Samaroo Bonaroo?
Lourdes Simon pray for her
Jeffrey D. Swartz not again!
Alan Adrian Taylor no more Adrians
Marie Jo Toussaint creole spoken here
Angelica D. Zayas sao, no
Barnaby Min is the best all around choice as he has criminal, civil, bar, and government experience. The guy probably does not want my support, but he has it.
ReplyDeleteRight now, county court judges across the circuit are wondering what Phil R meant by
ReplyDelete"Quite frankly he is over qualified to be a county court judge..."
Maybe it was a fake Phil R.
Bill would be a great choice but the JNC rarely makes great choices. if your husband raised Gobs of cash for Bush you get it. if you stood up and tried to separate a child from his father and cried death to fidel you get it.
ReplyDeleteif you are a hard working guy at the sao who spent a career prosecuting serious cases and dirty cops like altfield has, you get nothing
A;tfielf amd Rosenbaum would both be excellent.Remember Rosenbaum was an a.s.a.years ago and has been g.m.for many years,with knowledge of law and good temperment.Altfield is excellent attorney and fair with good temperment.Candidly experienced people are need expecially in County Court,the "peoples court".
ReplyDeleteSwartz was judge and knows the law,but his personality gets in the way.
Kastenbaum is former p.d.,but yes she is winy;however appears to do a good job for her clients.
Ivy Ginsburg is nice girl,but niceness itself does not cut it,especially in the county court,and what has she done?
Persons haveing information about the candidates should inform us via the blog,and also sent a note to J.N.C.
We need judges who know what they are doing,are willing to do what appropriate while not being fearful of being appealed.To many county court judges are weak,lack knowledge,and fold on slightest argument or fear of being appealed.They are fearful of speaking their minds or challenging prosecutors or defense attorneys.They are fearful to speak about the judicial system,good or bad.Why,they are standing for re-election.
Yes,we need judges who care about defendats rights,the communities rights,the judicialsystem and the law.WE NEED GOOD PEOPLE TO APPLY AND BE COMMITTED TO COUNTRY COURT; not just use it as stepping stone shortly after being appointed and or elected!!!
We need the J.N.C.to realize this fact and not give in to political cromism(some excellent candidates have not gotten out of committee).
Gina Mendez is not mean and would make a great judge!!!!
ReplyDeleteEvelio
Maria Armas is a former Assistant Attorney General and currently works for ICE. She has no civil experience. She is totally unqualified but repeatedly submits applications to be a judge.
ReplyDeleteTake foot. Open mouth. Insert foot.
ReplyDeleteI would like to rephrase my comment. Having known Bill as long as I have- and knowing the very serious felony cases he investigates and prosecutes- my thought is that Bill is very qualified to immediately step in as a judge and handle the most serious cases.
That being said- some of the very best judges I appear before are county court judges. They do their job superbly, and my comment was aimed more at Bill's experience in the most serious of cases, and not meant to diminish the job of County Court Judge.
And yes, I wrote the original comment, as much as I now regret how it can be perceived. In my defense I wrote it just before dashing off to catch a plane to handle a case in Savannah. Still, I should have chosen my words more carefully to reflect what I meant.
Phil R.
HAHA. Hey Phil..........Sam and Steve would like to talk with you...........
ReplyDelete;-)
Although I realize this is a criminal justice blog, you gotta remember that there is a good chance that this county judge position will end up handling civil cases first.
ReplyDeleteHow many of of these ASA/APD candidates know ANYTHING about PIP, which is easily 70% of the county civil cases? Of all of the former ASA/APDs that have ended up being appointed, I think only Bronwyn Miller has actually grasped (and done quite well) the concept.
Do you guys even know what PIP is? When it comes to technicalities, it makes the intoxilyzer look like a box with a straw. Very case-law intensive, and highly litigated.
BAR N BEEEEEEEEEE
ReplyDeleteTo 7:01 p.m. -
ReplyDeleteYou made a couple of good points but your spelling, and more importantly your grammar, are atrocious.
Plus, if you really believe that Maggie Rosenbaum has a good temperment, all of your other points have no credibility.
Let's hope someone deserving is appointed to "COUNTRY court"...
Lourdes Simon would be an excellent judge. Smart woman, excellent lawyer, good temperment, and would be fair.
ReplyDeleteMargot Moss would be great also for the same reasons.
Great job 7:01 pm. Some of the names on here are very qualified and let's hope they get a chance to prove it by getting in the JNC door.
ReplyDeleteA qualified judge should have experience, experience as a trial attorney, and preferably one that has been trying cases in both the criminal and civil arenas. As one other blogger said, the likelihood is that this person will be assigned to Civil and their is nothing worse than an attorney whose career has been exclusively in criminal courts being thrown into the civil arena with absolutely no experience.
Running a private practice would also be another great attribute for the candidate. We are always complaining about the judges who forget (or never had to remember) about collecting from Mr. Green, having an office without a secretary because she/he decided to leave without notice, taking a short vacation now and then, etc.
There have got to be a few well-rounded candidates out there. Let's hope the JNC finds them and Charlie appoints them.
Captain Out ...
Trying to set a case on the calendar to resolve a case which has been agreed to by the parties. Was told that the request to do so had to be sent to the judge (okay, fine), but that the judge does not accept reqests to get on the calendar via phone, scanned e-mail or fax. Mail only.
ReplyDeleteGimme a break. What are we in 1950? Maybe I should break out the carbon paper, type it out on the IBM Selectric and send the motion via telegram. Last time I checked, we are in a budget crunch, so when the parties want to get a case OUT of an overburdened court system, one would figure a judge would willing to help out. After all, all we need the judge to do is sit back, look nice, and sign our agreed order.
Anonymous said...
ReplyDeleteChris Dunham is a great guy, plain and simple.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:54:00 PM
Thank you Mr. Dunham. Your opinion is noted.
Please do not give us back Jeffrey Swartz and please, Gina Mendez, run for state senate or something else and leave us alone. Please!
ReplyDeleteBill Altfield, best choice.
I think Gordon Murray would make a good county court judge. He has experience as an ASA. He has been in private practice for the past 15 years. He has tried jury cases in State, Federal, Criminal and Civil courts. He is a former General Masgistrate, Child Support Hearing Officer and Civil Traffic Hearing Officer. Also, he has an outstanding record for community service. He has given many hours of pro pono service to CABA, Dade County Bar Association, Women History Coalition and other organizations.
ReplyDeleteQuite a list.
ReplyDeleteHow come NONE of them look right with the words "learned jurist" after their names?
All the little mice know...
Phil foot in mouth R :
ReplyDeleteYou had it right the first time.
Some of htese people need to give up for a few years. Memdez is a joke and her husband, a cop, is in all kinds of hot water over an overtime scandal at the Miami Police Department.
ReplyDelete12:03 - Thank you Gordon for publishing your resume. We who labor here will take it into consideration.
ReplyDeleteHowever you should know that the most significant result of this debate is it simply means absolutely nothing. The JNC will decide who to put out, the governor will decide who to appoint and the least likely sources for influence over each of those bodies is the defense bar and this blog. And we know it.
What a delight that inadequate judges are finally leaving the bench!!! Without naming anyone in particular...
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why Pozo left the bench?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why she fired her judicial assistant before resigning herself?
ReplyDelete10:05 - can you sing "Here Comes the Bride" in Browardese?
ReplyDeleteMillan? MILLAN? Ha!
ReplyDeleteTears from laughter... cannot breathe... must lie down now...