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.

Monday, June 08, 2009

Tough Times for White Shoes

No, we're not talking about Houston Oiler kick returner Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who ran through opposing team's kick coverage units in the NFL in the 1970's like Fast Gerry Klein used to a bond hearing calendar (until he was unceremoniously sacked like Chad Pennington facing a Ray Lewis blitz). 

Can you tell we're getting ready for football season? 

Anyway, what we are talking about are  tough times hitting those big high falutin "White shoe" Wall Street law firms. You know, the ones who sneered at us when we decided to go into criminal law while they did MA deals for the Street. Who's laughing now? Check out the Times Article on all their troubles here

Just to show we're still paying attention, our intrepid (if quiet) Public Defender still refuses to publicly discuss where the money went for the PD straw employees. Carlos Martinez remains ensconced in his Fortress Of Solitude, pictured below.

Nothing Super about his refusal to discuss this issue. 


13 comments:

Anonymous said...

carlos has played victim in the press. now they dont know how to handle the story.

Anonymous said...

Cut the crap on Carlos.

He has no duty to respond to us or this blog.

He is a good guy.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN MONEY - DOES IT TAINT THE SYSTEM AND BUY YOU INFLUENCE IN THE COURTROOM?

SCOTUS .....

Caperton v. A.T. Massey Coal Company

http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
opinions/08pdf/08-22.pdf

The vote was 5-4, with Kennedy writing for the Majority. I am sure that you can guess who the four justices were. Scalia writes a separate Dissent quoting from The Babylonian Talmud.

In this case the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia reversed a trial court judgment, which had entered a jury verdict of $50 million. Five justices heard the case, and the vote to reverse was 3to 2.

The question presented is whether the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was violated when one of the justices in the majority denied a recusal motion. The basis for the motion was that the justice had received campaign contributions ($3 MILLION DOLLARS) in an extraordinary amount from, and through the efforts of, the board chairman and principal officer of the corporation found liable for the damages.

The Court ruled that "in an election decided by fewer than 50,000 votes, Blankenship’s campaign contributions—compared to the total amount contributed to the campaign, as well as the total amount spent in the election—had a significant and disproportionate influence on the outcome. And the risk that Blankenship’s influence engendered actual bias is sufficiently substantial that it “must be forbidden if the guarantee of due process is to be adequately implemented.”

Scalia, in Dissent:

"A Talmudic maxim instructs with respect to the Scripture: “Turn it over, and turn it over, for all is therein.”, Divinely inspired text may contain the answers to all earthly questions, but the Due Process Clause most assuredly does not. The Court today continues its quixotic quest to right all wrongs and repair all imperfections through the Constitution. Alas, the quest cannot succeed—which is why some wrongs and imperfections have been called nonjusticiable. In the best of all possible worlds, should judges sometimes recuse even where the clear commands of our prior due process law do not require it? Undoubtedly. The relevant question, however, is whether we do more good than harm by seeking to correct this imperfection through expansion of our constitutional mandate in a manner ungoverned by any discernable rule. The answer is obvious.

CAPTAIN OUT .....

the trialmaster said...

Carlos has no duty to respond to any blogs, much less this one. In fact, if he did he would be labeled as a fool. and Rumpole has no standing to address this issue. I have a feeling that Rumpole did not get hired by the PD. and Phil became a proscuter.

Anonymous said...

Sigh. Scalia nails it again.

That said, I guess every recusal motion from now on needs a claim of constitutional violation just so the lawyer covers his butt. And what the heck, maybe you win....

Anonymous said...

Please don't start the Phil stuff again. We all know he's Rump; but, it makes him feel better to think he's anonymous.

;-)

(sorry, couldn't resist)

Anonymous said...

Why do known of you recognize that Rumpole is Rudy Sorondo?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for broadcasting that $3,000.000.00 donation.

Now, all the lazy bastard judges in Miami will want big donations from all of us years before any election so that they can have a "war chest."

Anonymous said...

Carlos is a great guy - the problem is Bennett, Rory and Weed
are out of touch and not so great.

Issue still is they had money for
16 new lawyers - that's a minimum
of 640k (at 40k per lawyer) and
they gave it to themselves. All of this when they publicly complain about a lack of funding and lack
of attorneys to handle cases. The
shit stinks.

And then they get 40 plus attorneys
to volunteer their time on top of it. We'll cut the crap on Carlos when he cuts the crap with us.

Anonymous said...

I happen to know, and so does anyone who is phil's friend that he was in vegas for the last week with Shumie. Yes- they do have computers in vegas- but phil was playing poker for 15 hours straight most nights and finished really high in one big tournament that took two days. How do I know this? Phil sent me some texts from the table, especially during his tournament run- and I also know Rumpole was posting comments during that time.

Proof? Not 100%. Beyond a reasonable doubt? He'd be acquitted based on this IMHO.

FOP

Scott Saul said...

I need the name of a good and aggressive, criminal defense attorney that works works in Kings County, (Brooklyn) N.Y. for a nominal, misdemeanor domestic violence case. It is for a neighbor of mine so I will be staying on top of it.

email me SAUL6262@aol.com

Anonymous said...

Rump
Give Carlos a break. He has only been THE PD for a few months. His budget is getting crushed by the State budget realities and no one really gives a damn about APDs and even less for our clients. Give him a couple of years before you burn him at the stake.
D. Sisselman

Anonymous said...

david, you are a good guy and a smart guy. u know that if 16 positions were created and not filled because weed, ror and others got big raises instead, a bad moon is on the rise