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, September 14, 2009

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM

UPDATED WTH A RESPONSE (of sorts) BELOW!

TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM; AY THERE'S THE RUB





Your tax dollars at work.

The scene: The last day of the Florida Public Defender's Association Death Penalty Training Seminar (Life Over Death)

The Players: An expert in Jury Selection in Death Penalty Cases is giving a lecture.
And....one sleepy public servant who has never tried a death penalty case; has limited experience in all criminal cases, and probably should be awake and taking notes lest the State of Florida put one of his clients to sleep forever.

Who is this Public Servant putting your tax dollars at work?


(This picture was sent along with a few other emails of other individuals who were at the conference who have all said the individual pictured was sleeping soundly through the lecture. )

One emailer said he felt like sending the picture to Governor Crist. That's not necessary. But if you are a public figure and you put yourself in the public spotlight by accepting an appointed position, you owe it to yourself and the people you serve to get a good nights rest and pay attention when the tax payers are sending you to this conference, else-wise you shall be destined to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune by being outed by a contingent of lawyers who continue to resent your very professional existence.

Yes, indeed, the very office you run has been and shall continue to be beset by this age old question: To Be, or not To Be?


To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;


We received this comment, which is humorous in nature and is obviously a parody of the signed author. But within the humor, we find kernels of truth. 

Anonymous Fake Sleepy JG said...

Rump,

Before you go spouting off about how I was asleep at a seminar, know your facts.

First, I have attended numberous seminars since my appointment as the top criminal attorney in my firm. I am completely up to date in Bankruptcy, Foreclosure Defense and Immigration. This is in addition to my prior experience in those areas. How many seminars have you, or any other criminal practitioner done in those areas?

Second, not only have I done three depositions on my own, I have observed at least four others. 

Third, just the other day, I went to lunch with three Assistant Federal PDs. Not state PDs, FEDERAL PDs. And I went into the lobby of the federal courthouse. 

Fourth, I dont think i need to be listening to some idiot talk about jury selection on a death penalty case. I will learn all I need to know next week when I attend the Basic Criminal Practice seminar at the Hyatt. I'm not going to waste time learning about jury selection BEFORE I learn about the Rules of Criminal Procedure or what an arrest is. Ever hear the phrase, "dont put the cart before the horse?" 

Fifth, perhaps you were too busy blogging to watch the news on my recent victory. I represented a defendant on a very serious DWLS case. My client scored out to 6 years state prison by virtue of having six points on his scoresheet. My client died and I filed a Motion To Dismiss. I attached a copy of the death certificate. Not only did the state not file a response, they actually conceded to the Motion and the judge dismissed the case. The dismissal was with prejudice so the State cant re-file. And I filed a Proposal For Settlement on the case, so the State, by not getting a verdict of at least 25% over guidelines, will likely have to pay my fees and costs. 

I would love to hear your response. Of course, if you want to see me in person, I'll be taking a Family Court Mediation training next week. Feel free to stop by when you get out of the Robert E. Goldberg Justice building or the REG building as we insiders call it. 

Joseph George, Esq
Chief of the Regional Counsel's Office

Monday, September 14, 2009 1:46:00 PM

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

Everyone else seems pretty attentive to me so let's not make more of this than it is. And, btw, private attorneys can attend Life over Death, so why assume it was a public servant that was pulling a Cheney?

Anonymous said...

Your missing the point of Rumpole's post. I think thats the guy who runs the second public defenders conflict office sleeping through the lecture and that's what Rumpole is talking about.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole,

You do know Hamlet was talking about suicide, right?

Anonymous said...

rump- I was listening to WLRN as is my habit in the morning and I heard that Christys the restaurant in Coral Gables is now as sponsor. And it got me to remembering the famous Christys incident in the late 1980s that many of our blog members were a part of- or commented on. But I cannot remember the details. Can anyone help a brotha out?

Rumpole said...

I know more than you could ever imagine about our great Bard. I have a degree in his writings. One of many.

I would venture that an appointed public official who is sleeping at a public forum that tax payers have spent money in these tough times to send him too is committing professional suicide.

Out damn spot!

Anonymous said...

Why the hell is JOSEPH GEORGE (hereafter referred to as "Sleepy JG")--duly appointed captain of a sinking ship a/k/a RC3--attending a death penalty seminar in the first place? Aren't there any local breakfast buffets? What would he have done with the knowledge gained from the seminar if he had been awake and paid attention?

Anonymous said...

I heard that Gene Zenobi and Ken White are doing some death penalty work for the Regional Conflict Office. Is Joe George going to teach THEM what he learned at the seminar? That's funny!

Anonymous said...

Normally I am strongly against public shaming..........but, this seems like an appropriate time to call him out. How do you sleep through a lecture on how to defend someone whose life may depend on the information you receive?

Pathetic.

BTDT

Anonymous said...

Forgive me Rumpole, but maybe my vision is not so good anymore and now 7:06 am has completely confused me.

Are you suggesting that the guy in the dark blue shirt and blue jeans, who purports to be napping, is either Carlos Martinez or Joseph P. George and if so, which one?

Thanks for clearing this up - if you can.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, I know you saw the BOSS playing last night at Bank Atlantic.

But what are your thoughts of a Springsteen concert without E-Street playing Rosalita and Tenth Avenue Freeze Out????

Fake Sleepy JG said...

Rump,

Before you go spouting off about how I was asleep at a seminar, know your facts.

First, I have attended numberous seminars since my appointment as the top criminal attorney in my firm. I am completely up to date in Bankruptcy, Foreclosure Defense and Immigration. This is in addition to my prior experience in those areas. How many seminars have you, or any other criminal practitioner done in those areas?

Second, not only have I done three depositions on my own, I have observed at least four others.

Third, just the other day, I went to lunch with three Assistant Federal PDs. Not state PDs, FEDERAL PDs. And I went into the lobby of the federal courthouse.

Fourth, I dont think i need to be listening to some idiot talk about jury selection on a death penalty case. I will learn all I need to know next week when I attend the Basic Criminal Practice seminar at the Hyatt. I'm not going to waste time learning about jury selection BEFORE I learn about the Rules of Criminal Procedure or what an arrest is. Ever hear the phrase, "dont put the cart before the horse?"

Fifth, perhaps you were too busy blogging to watch the news on my recent victory. I represented a defendant on a very serious DWLS case. My client scored out to 6 years state prison by virtue of having six points on his scoresheet. My client died and I filed a Motion To Dismiss. I attached a copy of the death certificate. Not only did the state not file a response, they actually conceded to the Motion and the judge dismissed the case. The dismissal was with prejudice so the State cant re-file. And I filed a Proposal For Settlement on the case, so the State, by not getting a verdict of at least 25% over guidelines, will likely have to pay my fees and costs.

I would love to hear your response. Of course, if you want to see me in person, I'll be taking a Family Court Mediation training next week. Feel free to stop by when you get out of the Robert E. Goldberg Justice building or the REG building as we insiders call it.

Joseph George, Esq
Chief of the Regional Counsel's Office

Rumpole said...

Absolutely positively the best comment of the year!

Rumpole said...

I just re-read it and saw the "Richard E Goldberg" line. Pure genius. I laughed out loud, and considering I'm having a bad day, that says a lot.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

FYI ...

A Canadian court has ordered Google (GOOG) to turn over the identities of anonymous Gmail users who had accused York University faculty members of fraud and dishonesty. Like similar cases in the U.S., the York incident shows just how easy it is for courts to allow authorities to gain access to "our" personal information.

CAP OUT ....

Anonymous said...

In JG's defense (which pains me), assuming he can see over his ample gut, is it possible he's texting?

It's not exactly a sign of paying attention, but it's better than sleeping.

Fake Jack Thompson said...

Fake Jack Thompson, J.D., M.D., Ph. D., D.D.S., D.M.D., O.D., D.O., Psy. D., Pharm D., D.V.M., LL. D., D.P.M., D. Div.

Dear Florida Bar:

Please consider this my formal Bar Complaint against one Sleepy JG for wasting hardearned taxpayers' money, including my own.

(Insert 4 pages of useless drivel here)

I expect that you will take this Complaint seriously and punish Mr. Sleepy accordingly.

Sincerely,

Fake Jack Thompson, J.D., M.D., Ph. D., D.D.S., D.M.D., O.D., D.O., Psy. D., Pharm D., D.V.M., LL. D., D.P.M., D. Div

cc: Everyone who I thinks might give a shit

Rumpole said...

I have repeatedly said several people attending the conference emailed me complaining that the individual was sleeping during the presentations

Rumpole said...

And Captain, judging by the number of people who want to tar and feather me and have me disbarred, you believed it was important to post that here exactly WHY????

Anonymous said...

I know I am late on this, but the sleeper looks a lot more like Joe D'Achille from Melbourne than Joe George. Why the &$%^#@ would JG be at this seminar anyway? While he can probate the piss out of an estate, I think JG would tell you he ain't no Gino.

Anonymous said...

Hey 1:46 - your post was f-ing hilarious. Thanks for a smile on an otherwise depressing Monday-after-a-humiliating-Dolphins-loss.

Anonymous said...

Sir My client was texting on state time, he was not asleep

Anonymous said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13lawyers.html?_r=2

Anonymous said...

You are forgetting that Sleepy Joe is a big fan of the death penalty, and actually a closet Trojan Horse prosecutor. Why shouldn't he sleep through a defense oriented seminar? Keeping the people in his office from doing good work wears him out.

Anonymous said...

Are you sure he's not just looking down? That hotel is notorious for vermin infestation. I saw a giant mouse in the lobby just recently.

Anonymous said...

looks similar to that guy in the front row that was snoring loudly through Steve Langs's presentation at this year's facdl crim cert review

Kissimme Kid said...

I live and practice in Brevard County (Brevard; not Broward). I have known Joe D'Achille since 1988; he is from Titusville. That is not Joe D'Achille.

Joe is a super straight arrow who would never sleep in a seminar. He's the asshole sitting up front taking notes. Joe writes questions for the certification exam and writes briefs like most of us do crosswords. Joe is many things; but he ain't in this picture.

Anonymous said...

Is Anyone going to take action against Judge Cueto? The administrative judge, the jqc, the mayor ? Anyone can this man show complete disrespect to the bench and to the proffession and have no reprocussions? His comment at bond hearing last week because a Bail bondsman filed a complaint with judge Blake "stepping on his d--k" he shows lack of self control and impulsive behavior is this the kind of person we want determining the consequences of someones actions? He did not know how to keep his personal feelings fir bail bondsman out of the court room and addressed them cursing and proclaiming strengthets not mention he threatened their proffession if these guys go to the media it would be a redicule to our system . Judge cueto does not belong in a court room his manerism needs to be refined

Anonymous said...

I would like to advise all that if Judge Cueto does not improve his decisions at bond hearing and abide by Florida supreme court rule 3.131 and FSS on violent crimes And criteria for non monetary releases I will go to media The tax payees should know where their money is being spent and the public safety issue this arises the public safety commissioner , the mayor and many other elected officials will find them selves in a tight spot !

Joe D'Achille said...

TO: Rumpole
FROM: Joe D'Achille, Titusville
DATE: 10/9/09
By coincidence, I was advised of your blog.
Your sentiments against Mr. George, justified or not, should not turn your blog into a free-for-all. Captain makes a valid point. Be careful not to let this forum generate a bar complaint.
I do not know who Anon 6:03 was, but he was wrong on two accounts. First, the person in the photo is not me for the very simple reason that I was not in attendance at the seminar in question. Second, I am not from Melbourne, but Titusville as was later posted.
You can hold Mr. George up for deserved ridicule I suppose. Please leave me out of it.

Anonymous said...

Definitely not Joe D'achille for several reasons. First, If Joe says he was not at the seminar, he wasn't!! One of the most honest people you can ever know! Secondly, I have known Joe since we were 15 years old, and do not think he owns a pair of jeans! And if he did, he would be wearing Converse chucky tennis shoes with them! Third, Joe might have a slight gut, but not one that hangs over his belt!!