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.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

A NEW LOW

Query- If you have a case in Dade County Court criminal division and you run into a serious enough problem that you need to speak to the Judge in charge of the County Criminal Division, whom do you speak with?

Judge Sam Slom of course!

If you run into a similar problem North of the Border, to whom do you speak with?

NOBODY! That's right, courtesy of the JAA (Broward) Blog, nobody is in charge of the Broward Criminal Courts, county court division.

From the JAA Blog:


Meet Judge Nobody - that's right, "nobody" is officially the head of county court criminal. click here for theAdministrative Order memorializing nobody in charge. What's it all about? Can't Chief Judge Victor Tobin find anyone else qualified, after Judge Stacy/Dale Ross said "thanks, but no thanks"? And is Tobin gun shy about picking a new team member, after Judge Joel Lazarus and Judge Ilona Holmes bailed? And why did Lazarus quit in the first place? Was it just about his impending retirement, or does the courthouse rumor mill have it correct that Lazarus felt slighted when Judge Dale Cohen's docket was given to another judge? Can't we all get along?

RUMPOLE NOTES: Isn't this one of those rare circumstances when "nobody" is better than "somebody"?

More tidbits from the place we love to hate (and hate to go to, but love to watch squirming in agony as their decades of bad karma brings their sordid courthouse down on their heads)

True or false: Judge Ian Richards started a trial Tuesday without the ASA present (answer: true)


And finally, Anthony Caravella is now a free man. 26 years ago, then Broward ASA (and Now Broward Circuit Judge) Robert Carney worked with the police to convict an innocent man who was brutalized and threatened into confessing to a crime he didn't commit. The Sun Sentinel has the coverage here.

File this comment by the current ASA under the title "The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same": (also from the JAA Blog)

(ASA Carolyn) McCann said the Broward State Attorney's Office did the right thing when it agreed to defense requests for two earlier DNA tests, one done by the Broward Sheriff's Office lab in 2001 that did not implicate or clear him, and a second set of tests by a California lab last year that appeared to clear him. The third set of tests -- by a Virginia lab released Wednesday -- was done over the last six months at the prosecution's request.

"The evidence against him was provided by Anthony Caravella himself but we cannot ignore this DNA evidence,"
McCann said. "I cannot explain why people confess to police about crimes they did not commit." ...

RUMPOLE ROARS: LET ME EXPLAIN IT TO YOU, YOU STUPID SIMPLETON:
CARAVELLA WAS 15 YEARS OLD WITH AN IQ OF 67 WHEN BSO DETECTIVES BEGAN THEIR CAMPAIGN OF TERROR, BEATINGS, AND THREATS AGAINST HIM AND HIS GIRLFRIEND. THAT IS WHY PEOPLE CONFESS TO CRIMES THEY DIDN'T COMMIT. AND AS LONG AS THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM EMPLOYS, AND LET ME COME UP WITH THE PRECISE LEGAL TERM TO DESCRIBE YOUR COMMENT....IDIOTS LIKE YOU, THERE WILL STILL BE INNOCENT PEOPLE WHO CONFESS TO CRIMES AND PROSECUTORS WHO DON'T HAVE ENOUGH SENSE TO FIGURE IT OUT.


10 comments:

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

Tough talk. But so true.

Cap Out .....

Anonymous said...

I hear that the days of Ed Newman mistreating , litigants,witnesses cops and witnesses are numbered?.....Is this true?

Anonymous said...

The administrative order shows that Judge Sharon Zeller is the administrative judge of county court but that there is no "chairperson" (akin to an associate administrative judge) for county criminal division. In that case, it seems like Judge Zeller would still be in charge of the criminal division and that Judge Fishman would be in charge of the county judges in satellite courts (who also hear the non-jury criminal cases).

totally immature lawyer said...

Tomorrow, when I'm in trial, I'm gonna call a sidebar and then let out a SBD.

Anonymous said...

Ed Newman doesn't mistreat anybody. He's a nice and gentlemanly judge.

Only in Miami-Dade County Court System said...

Ohhh, the good ol'days of Dade being in the spot light for incompentent court personal are back.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/28/1552362/miami-dade-inmates-hack-strangers.html

Broward says: "Right At You Rumpole"

Only in Miami Could a jailed murderer, a convicted armed robber and other felons sitting in Miami Dade County Jail be able to scam a US Federal District Judge, A Columist for the Miami Herald and others while sitting behind bars.

Gotta love Miami!

Anonymous said...

Both wrong about Ed Newman.

Out of court: Nice guy.
In court: Big bully.

As a judge he gets a C-

I just wish Ed would not be so damn rude and agressive on Monday mornings. If you tell him you have to check in with another judge, he goes balistic.

Then, he calls down a panel when he still has 100 people in the fucking courtroom.

Ed, stop being a bully and just be nice. It is not nice to make a panel sit in the hallway for 3 horus while you use them to show how powerful you are.

Ed, you belong in branch court.

Anonymous said...

I see on the Broward Blog that Woody Clarmont has out his name in to replace retiring Judge Peggy Gehl. Woody is a nice guy, but why exactly did he leave the Miami SAO in such a quick and mysterious fashion?

Anonymous said...

Agree with 1:46. Newman can be really sweet off the bench, but it doesn't make up for his rude attitude and simply ignorant rulings. You'd think that after enough time on the bench he'd know better or at least attempt to educate himself on the law.

Anonymous said...

1:49AM, you HAVE to be joking... when you have stuff like this going on in Broward...

The post below links to JAABLOG where Judge Ian Richards commented on the passing of James Walker and racist replies were hurled at this poor Judge.

http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2010/03/19/courthouse-loss.aspx#comment-2955782

3/28/2010 7:39 PM Judge Ian Richards wrote:
Mr. James Walker died this month. He lived a few houses away from my father. He was a mentor to my late father and our community. We all miss you Mr. Walker. The world is a better place because you were here. Bless you and your family.

3/28/2010 10:22 PM Anonymous wrote:
Yes Ian, I am sure he was proud you hid the fact you were black by hiding out from where the white voters could see you and won simply on your name sounding white. You are a great source of pride in your community. You friend would be proud of the message you send to the community that the only way one can win is by deception and hiding who they are.

# 3/29/2010 6:58 PM Randy Marsh wrote:
Ian is such a nagger. Enjoy the next 5 yrs bro, you will be exposed to the voters for the fraud you are next time around.

I THINK I'LL TAKE MIAMI!