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.

Friday, June 04, 2010

QUICK FRIDAY UPDATE

Today is a travel day for us, so until we land, unless the wifi is working on the plane, here is a quick update:

Judge Reemeberto Diaz, who still could care less about what a county court judge thinks, is presiding over the re-trial in the tragic "Baby Lollipops" homicide. A jury was selected Thursday. Updates as this trial progresses.

And Judge Jacqueline "The Terminator" Schwartz is rotating down from North Dade Justice Center (Motto: leave us alone") to take over the County Court spot of Judge Joe Fernandez who is moving to Judge Soto's division in Circuit Court. They tell us that they call Judge Schwartz "The Terminator" for her ability to move a calendar and get rid of cases. But we quickly admit this is double or triple hearsay at best- meaning it's good enough for a conviction in Federal Court, but otherwise not reliable.

ERRATUM: several alert readers have informed us that Judge Jacqueline Schwartz will be re-locating from the Coral Gables courthouse, of which everyone knows their motto is "Don't bother us while we're at lunch at Christys." Sorry for the inconvenience, but as we have said before, what the hell do we know about county court? Obviously not much.

That's it for now.

See You in the Magic City.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jackie Schwartz is coming from the GABLES branch Court. Shelly and Caryn are in North Dade.

Anonymous said...

Anything would be better than Joe has been......

Anonymous said...

why did i think Jacqueline schwartz was in Gables? Isn't it Shelly schwartz who's in north dade?

Anonymous said...

Rump,

albeit that i am terrified of thought of Joe Fernandez presiding over a murder case, the Governor has made sure that will happen. However, after seeing the list of names that applied for the latest circuit court opening, it is apparent that Judge Robin Faber is hell bent on applying every single time there is an opening and for some reason, the JNC keeps giving him an interview. Although I am happy the JNC have not completely lost their minds and sent his name to the Governor, I am concerned that at some point they will give into his continued applications. Rump, Robin Faber simply cannot be a circuit court judge. He has no legal curiosity, has the temperament of a teenage girl and is quite simply weird. Please Rump, don't make this happen to the magic city.

Anonymous said...

Judge Joe Fernandez is taking over Judge Soto's calendar? Do you know how this makes me feel Rumpole? When I was a Judge, They were both brand new ASA's ... and were dating one another!!! Good for them both to have aspired to be jurists and they should both be congratulated on a job well done. Two good people.

Anonymous said...

"Louisianaisn’t the only place that has shrimp,” said British Petroleum rep Randy Prescott. His office phone number is (713) 323-4093. Email is randy.prescott@bp.com. Give him a call or send an email! You can tell him “And BP isn’t the only place that has fuel for my car!”

Anonymous said...

Assistant public defender charged in attack on prosecutor

A Cook County assistant public defender who represents convicted felons now has to worry about keeping himself out of jail after being accused of pushing and choking a prosecutor at the Criminal Courts Building.

Henry L. Hams, 47, of Chicago was charged late Thursday afternoon with aggravated battery and resisting arrest after a rare scuffle that sent waves of whispers and startled reactions through the building at 26th Street and California Avenue.

Hams and the prosecutor, 50, had just left a courtroom where a discussion about the routine setting of a future court date became contentious. Still upset, Hams complained to the assistant state's attorney outside the courtroom, according to a law enforcement source.

The prosecutor "apparently said, 'Too bad, that's the date the judge set,' and (Hams) just lost it and shoved (the prosecutor) against the wall," the source said. "He said something about how he was sick of being mocked."

The prosecutor "was stunned and didn't do anything, and the next thing you know (Hams) had him in a headlock," the source said.

Another source who witnessed the incident said he heard a scuffle and saw Hams choking the prosecutor. "He had his hands wrapped around his throat and was just kind of riding him down the wall," the source said.

A Cook County sheriff's department sergeant and deputy rushed to intervene as Hams was alleged to have throttled the larger prosecutor.

"When our deputies attempted to break it up, Hams was on top of the victim choking him with both hands around his neck," said Steve Patterson, a sheriff's department spokesman. "When one of the two deputies attempted to pull Hams off the victim, Hams continued choking the victim with one hand and attempted to resist the deputy's efforts with his other hand."

The sergeant's back was injured, and both he and the victim were taken to local hospitals for minor injuries.

During questioning by the sheriff's office's criminal intelligence unit investigators, Hams, who will appear for a bond hearing Friday, indicated that he wanted a lawyer and said nothing further to them, Patterson said.

Hams works out of the post-conviction unit for the public defender's office and the victim works out of the special litigations section for the state's attorney's office. Patterson said the two only knew each other through legal proceedings.

News of the fracas spread quickly through the hallways. Nobody wanted to talk on the record, but many expressed surprise.

"That guy is like (TV character Steve) Urkel -- he's this little, quiet dude," said a veteran courthouse lawyer, chuckling. "(The victim) is going to hear about this one forever."

Anonymous said...

1:09,
Try walking.
And remember, most of the BP stations in the US are individually owned and operated by US citizens who need to make a living also.
Oh, wait. Maybe I'll buy gas from Shell. Wait, isn't that owned by Chavez and the Venezuelans? Or how about heading over to Exxon. Oh yeah, that Valdeez thing. Maybe I'll buy it from one of those A-rab companies instead?

Anonymous said...

exxon owns shell , as well

Anonymous said...

Robin Faber is one of the best lawyers I have ever seen in my 34years as a lawyer. He is an ex-Public Defender who really cares about people, and he is a wonderful human being.

If contributors to the Justice Building Blog chop everybody at the knees who will be left standing?

Judge Jimenez

Anonymous said...

It's the end of the oil age. Learn to walk and ride buses. Because that's the future. Oh forget Chilean Sea Bass too, won't be able to pay for it after it's shipped here. Think locally.

BP is no different than any other oil company. And, it's true the small individual owners of these stations have nothing to do with this spill. But we, as humans, whose unstoppable greed for crude has made us look for it 5000 ft below the sea, where no human can survive are what's caused this.

No other species on the planet disrespects it the way we do.

Julio down by the schoolyard said...

Judge Jimenez just went down a few notches in the credibility scale.

Putting Robin the Odd in the same category as, say, Ed Carhart, Jay Hogan, Ed O'Donnell, Harry Prebish, Mel Black is ludicrous.

Did being law partners with Sy Gaer addle your brain, Julio?

Rumpole said...

And we day BRAVO to Judge Jiminez for expressing an opinion and signing his name.

What is it about human nature that seems to compel people to attack others when they can do it anonymously?

Fake Scott Saul said...

If they don't fix those excalators, I'm going to stop getting so dressed up for court in the morning. In fact, until all six floors are properly running, I refuse to wear a tie any more.

Anonymous said...

Judge Jimenez is right. Robin Faber is a good human being who cares about people. But those qualities are not the litmus test to being a circuit court judge. Knowledge of the law, impartiality, temperament and efficiency are the factors that are most important. Judge Faber, despite being a nice guy, is out of his league in county court. Maybe if he read the FLWs and stopped preaching to every defendant that comes before him, he might be more suitable to preside in circuit court.

Rump, I am not sure if you are knocking those of us who leave anonymous comments. That would be hypocritical considering you are anonymous. Plus, we can't criticize judges with our true identity because we still have to appear in front of them.