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, November 12, 2010

MIAMI MELTDOWN

Heat horror! The home town cagers in free fall as the Heat suffered a second straight loss at home last night. The team is now 1-3 in the last four games as they stagger towards the cellar and a losing record.

Meanwhile our Fins make a change at QB as they try and avoid another embarrassing loss at home this weekend.

And that's your blog sports wrap up.


COUNTY COURT CRISIS!
This Monday, only on your favourite legal blog, the Colonel of County Court files his (hers?) exclusive report on the crisis in County Court.

Judges locking doors "ala Broward".
Judges and prosecutors speaking with clients who have representation without their attorneys present.
Calendars out of control.
PTI wrecking havoc for private practitioners.

This may be your favourite local blog but something tells us Judge Slom won't be sharing that opinion after Monday.

DOM has the applicants for Judge Huck's seat and they include state court Judges Barzee, Butchko, Bagley, Robert Scola, Peter Lopez, John Thornton (is the paint even dry on his chambers yet?) and Will Thomas.

Bagley was the hot name two seats ago, and then Scola the last seat. Our thoughts? One of the Fed Magistrates or a private practitioner. Michael Hanzman has been cultivating political clout that comes with the succe$$ of his class action suits. He is one to watch.

Enjoy your weekend, go Fins, and check in Sunday for our picks.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thornton all the way. Butchko, President Obama will never nominate you.

Anonymous said...

They only lost by five points Rumpy! They are still learning to play together! Give em time!

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE .....

The JNC has reviewed the applications to replace Judge Friedman, and the following 13 (including 6 County Court Judges)have been selected for an interview:

Victoria Brennan
Manuel Casabielle
Miguel de la O
Joel DeFabio
Dawn Denaro
Rosa Figarola
Darrin Gayles
Alan Greenstein
Rodney Smith
Yolly Roberson
Lisa Walsh
Alan Sackrin
Deborah White-Labora

Those not selected for an interview include:

William Altfield
Marie Davidson
Rachel Diaz

Interviews will take place on November 29 with up to six names being forwarded to Gov. Crist. He can chose one of them before the end of his term, or, he could let the decision run into January which will leave Gov. Elect Rick Scott with the honor.

Cap Out .....

Anonymous said...

Kounty Kourt is a haven for improper ex parte commmunications.

They are in such a rush so, they don't care if defense attorneys are in the loop.

I hear that they are even doing ex parte requests for state continuances the Friday before trial and the stupid bastard judges grant them with no notice to the lawyer.

Then, the lawyer shows up on MOnday with client, ready for trial and finds out his or her case was continued.

How nice.

Sam Slom , put a stop to all of this!

Anonymous said...

Gooooo Allan!

Anonymous said...

Ok so I would hate to lose Judge Thomas and see him go to the Feds, he is an awesome fearless judge, but I know it would be great for him and he is more than qualified!

Anonymous said...

U.S. DISTRICT COURT nominee? Michael Hanzman. No doubt. His best friend is Manny Kadre and Manny can make it happen. He is also tight with Judge Ellen Venzer.

Circuit Court Judge nominee? Judge Lisa Walsh or Judge White Labora.

Anonymous said...

Just read that the Supreme Court won't hear "don'tell" military policy until after the lower courts are finished dealing with the issue. Some moron posted on the site "they should let them serve that way the can be LIA and we won't have to deal with their devient life styles anymore." Right up there with those ctitizing our vets and military personnel and their families. Welcome back to the dark ages.

Anonymous said...

The Fins are doing bad. The Heat keeps on losing-- is there any hope?

Take A Stand! said...

Help change our County and sign the recall today.

The locations below will be open to collect signature for the recall of the five Miami-Dade County Commissioners. We will post new locations as they are confirmed.

District 1 – Barbara J. Jordan & District 3 – Audrey Edmonson

Girosol Group- 16666 NE 19th Avenue, North Miami Beach, FL
Mon-Fri:9:30am-7:00pm
Saturday: 9:30am-5:00pm
Sunday: 10:30am-4:00pm

District 5 – Bruno A. Barreiro

1051 SW 13 Avenue
Mon-Fri: 9:00am-5:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am-2:00pm
Sunday: 10:00am-3:00pm

759 NW 22nd Avenue
Mon-Fri: 10:00am-5:00pm

Vecinos en Accion
304 SW 12 Avenue (two-story house/casa de dos pisos)

District 9 – Dennis C. Moss

27455 S. Dixie Hwy.
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday: 10:00am-6:00pm
Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday: 10:00am-9:00pm

10406 SW 186th Terrace

8203 SW 124th Street
Monday-Friday: 8:00am-6:00pm

District 13 – Natacha Seijas

Crown Medical – 8028 NW 154th Street

Monday (every other week) 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Tuesday 8:30 am – 6:00 pm
Wednesday 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Thursday 8:30 am – 6:00 pm
Friday (every other week) 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Saturday 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
We recomend you call prior (305) 820-5001.

Hialeah Auto Center – 480 East 25th Street
Monday-Saturday: 11:00am-6:00pm
Sunday: Closed

Pat Riley said...

Rumpole. Please be part of the solution and not part of the problem. Please email me:

PatR@Miamiheat.com

cutie legal intern said...

rumpole did you run the nyc marathon? I did. I wish we could have run together. U r sexy.

Anonymous said...

6:42 is a dude.

Anonymous said...

"And he is tight with ellen sue venzer."

uh, so?

Anonymous said...

Florida Panthers!!!

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

LEGALIZE POT .....

From the DBR:

A U.S. federal appeals court judge says the United States should consider legalizing marijuana.

Judge Juan Torruella tells a law school audience in Puerto Rico that experimenting with legalization of marijuana and perhaps other drugs is a better way to reduce drug abuse and crime.

The 77-year-old judge says it's the only "realistic" alternative since the drug war has been "lost" at a high cost to society. His comments Tuesday at the University of Puerto Rico were reported by the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

Torruella sits on the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Puerto Rico native was nominated to be a federal judge by President Gerald Ford and elevated to the appeals court by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. The circuit includes Puerto Rico, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

Cap Out ....

Rumpole said...

My dear Madam: I am afraid that I am compelled to inform you that my days of running the marathon have mercifully concluded. It's not that I could not squeeze 26 miles out of these legs and cardiovascular system. I could. But it's the 500 or so miles in training that I would have to do that I can no longer tolerate. The hips, knees and spine cannot tolerate the pounding.
I am confined mostly to my bike, with an occasional leisurely 10-15K ending at the end of Key Biscayne.
But as your salad days, as well as your running days are apparently ahead of you, I wish you the very best.

Your humble servt.

HR.

Anonymous said...

Captian, maybe I'm a pessimist, but as long as we've got privitized prisons to fill, the US will not legalize pot. Look what happened in CA, ultimately, we're Puritans.

Anonymous said...

Hanzman cant make up his mind about what he wants for his future. if appointed, he might say thanks but no thanks, He will probably get out of committee but that is just the half of it,

Mary Barzee would be a great choice and If she got out she would be the favorite.

Judge Bagley would be the worst choice of all. Honestly, he was the most restrictive right wing judge ever. He will never be selected by Obama so a total waste to send up.

Judge Scola his the best judge in Miami besides Jordan. He will go up to Obama.

Anonymous said...

HR
From the Herald
DS

Miami-Dade closed jail sparks delays for police

BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Budget cuts are forcing police officers from across Miami-Dade County to drive farther and wait longer to book prisoners into the county's jail.

The reason: The cash-strapped county last month temporarily stopped prisoner intake at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade. That means arrestees from Aventura to Medley to Homestead now must all be delivered to the main jail in Miami's Civic Center neighborhood.



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/12/1923344/miami-dade-closed-jail-sparks.html#ixzz15BUCAnPD

Anonymous said...

Butchko and Jackie Scola should be sole nominees for a one way trip to the Gaza Strip.

EYEon ALexMichaels said...

Rumpole- lets congratulate Alex Michaels on his outstanding 5th place finish at the world series of poker, Rumanian Stud tournament.

This year saw 847 contestants play the unusual form of poker where players may select one player per hand and "pester, harass, yell, intimidate, and annoy" into showing them their hand and trading one card. "Come on, give me dat queen of diamonds you baby, you don't need it, dis is bullsheeet!".

Congratulations Alex! It's his fifth top ten finish in nine years.

Anonymous said...

barzee wouold be a disaster as a federal judge. that incident in which she is now claiming that she didnt tell a murderer that she was facing life and helping her with her post conviction motion kind of makes her like rick scott. she is either an incompetent moron or a liar.

and I dont think she is stupid...........

Anonymous said...

Let's go Heat! Tonight Bosh defeats the Raptors!

Anonymous said...

Miami-Dade mom sentenced to life loses bid for freedom in drug murder



Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/08/1415402/miami-dade-mom-sentenced-to-life.html#ixzz15Ck2KjCg

Yuby Ramirez, a single mother who once ran in the circles of legendary local drug lords Sal Magluta and Willie Falcon, will likely serve the rest of her life in prison for a supporting role in the murder of a government witness.

A federal judge has rejected Ramirez's bid for freedom based on a claim that her defense lawyers gave her poor advice when she turned down a plea offer for a five-year sentence before trial in 2001.

Ramirez, 38, was convicted with two others in the 1993 contract hit on a narco-smuggler who was going to testify against Magluta and Falcon, a pair of Miami High dropouts-turned-bigtime-bosses in the cocaine-cowboy era. Ramirez, a mother of two grown daughters, is serving a life sentence at a Tallahassee federal prison.

Ramirez testified at a hearing last year that her lawyers never told her she would face a life sentence when they advised her not to accept the U.S. government's pretrial plea offer. Had she known she could be spending the rest of her life in prison, she said, she would have taken the deal.

U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard found in a recent ruling that Ramirez's claim that her lawyers provided ``ineffective assistance of counsel'' rang hollow because they all were aware of the potential for a life sentence before and during trial.

Moreover, Lenard found, they rejected what the judge described as a ``generous'' government plea offer from the trio of prosecutors Pat Sullivan, Allan Kaiser and Michael Davis. Lenard found that it was because Ramirez and her lawyers thought she was ``innocent'' and that they could prevail at trial.

``While hindsight always renders decisions much clearer, Ramirez's self-serving statements that she would have taken the plea deal do not convert her `lost' opportunity to plead guilty into constitutional `prejudice,' '' Lenard wrote in her 46-page ruling.

``This is especially the case here, where the record is replete with evidence that her decision to go to trial was based on both [her and her lawyers'] belief in her innocence,'' Lenard found.

Ramirez was represented by then-assistant federal public defender Reuben Camper Cahn, now the federal public defender in San Diego, and then-assistant public defender Mary Barzee, now a Miami-Dade circuit court judge. Both have said they provided ``ineffective assistance'' to Ramirez.

Cahn testified at Ramirez's habeas corpus hearing last May that he never advised her of the potential life sentence before trial because he and Barzee believed the indictment charged her with manslaughter -- not premeditated first-degree murder -- and that she would face at most 10 years in prison if convicted.

He also said the defense believed the statute of limitations had expired on a manslaughter charge.

Ramirez's lawyers miscalculated -- badly.

Her new lawyer, David O. Markus, said he will take her case to the federal appellate court in Atlanta:


Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/08/1415402/miami-dade-mom-sentenced-to-life.html#ixzz15Cjmm6rS

Anonymous said...

re Judge Barzee

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/01/08/1415402/miami-dade-mom-sentenced-to-life.html

Operation Hold Your Hand said...

Former Miami Circuit Court Judge offers criminals a chance to hold his hand for $10K from start to finish of incarceration.

Basic consultation can range from $250 to $1500 dollars to prepare you for jail.

So if you robed readers seeking another line of work here is a new start.

Anonymous said...

That Barzee case is a typical case of a trial tax. The defendant had a very minor supporting role, yet, because she went to trial she's serving life and the actual killers with the starring role have been released for quite some time.

The problem with her, according to Lenard's order is that she maintained her innocence. This shows how screwed up are the constitutional priorities of the criminal justice system these days.