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.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

STATE OF THE UNION

STATE OF THE UNION:


We'll live blog for a bit during the state of the union address. So feel free to post your comments which will go up just about instantaneously. 




STATE OF THE STATE:
We think we have to side with the critics of the Captain's last post. From what we know, Mr. Labora is Hispanic and his decision to announce to run as Alex Jimenez Labora is no real problem for us. People are entitled to run for office in a manner in which their ethnicity is reflected in their name. The problem arises with individuals who co-opt the names of their spouse or long removed family members in order to capitalize on perceived ethnic advantages that they're  not otherwise entitled to take advantage of. 


The fact of the matter is that an individual's ethnicity means nothing regarding their intellectual ability to perform an elected office. However, to the extent that the experience of being a member of a minority may help that individual in understanding the minorities that they may be required to judge or otherwise render a decision about, a person's cultural experience is just something that cannot be separated from the person. 


This is a slippery slope. In the end we would prefer a society where a person is judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin. MLK knew a thing or two. 




Go ahead and live blog- the comment moderation is off for a bit. 

46 comments:

Real Fake Former Judge said...

Some of the more underrated State of the Union addresses that I think bear a good re-reading:

Carter's second- prolific and prescient for his predication of energy consumption, prices, and the federal debt.

Eisenhower's fifth- a masterpiece of setting the stage fir the following year.

Wilson's first- of course.

Hoover's first- underrated by a wide margin.

Clinton's third- his best.

Grant's second- rises to levels he never reached again.

ANy thoughts?

still in the 60's said...

What about Johnson's first (race and the great society- the war on poverty?) and his third- the vietnam war? How could you overlook those?

Stupid former judge indeed.

Anonymous said...

I got me a big ol stooge I bought from the Shumie cigar store. I got a nice bottle of bourbon, and a fire in my fireplace. I'll have a drink or three, enjoy a beautiful cigar, listen to the fire crackle and watch the state of the union.

Joseph Penobscot George For President said...

I still think that if I had the chance to debate senator herman mccain one on one I would have had a great chance to highlight the florida regional counsel miracle and it would have boosted my presidential aspirations into overdrive orbit. And stuff.

Fake Tannebaum said...

Attorneys who troll for clients with social media or otherwise promote their lousy law practices with social media outlets like twitter, Facebook, blogs, make me sick. They are frauds and should be run out of the profession. I have tweeted and blogged about this extensively.

I will also be tweeting, face booking, linkding, four squaring, and otherwise interfacing with all forms of social media to explain and pontificate the ideas of President Obama and myself during the state of the union.

mysugarfreelawlicenseistwiceassweet.me

Anonymous said...

That guy cracks me up.


Hey, how does Joe Biden have time to get such a great tan?

Rumpole said...

Chris Matthews says the Republicans made a conscious decision on day one of the Obama presidency to deny him any possible bi-partianship so as to blunt and negate the otherwise historic nature of the Obama presidency.

I am inclined to agree with that.

Rumpole said...

Big hug from Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Is she the next to go?

Anonymous said...

Yes Rump- once BO is re-elected she will retire.

You know there are always a few hottie congresswomen- do you think clinton tapped any of them after his SOTUs?

Rumpole said...

If you kill OBL, you get to brag about it.

Just how do the republicans look at themselves in the mirror when they criticize the president as being a socialist-peacenik, or an amateur, or someone not worthy of commanding troops when he made the gutsy call to go and kill Bin Laden?

Anonymous said...

Hey- who sits in the cheap seats behind the president?

Anonymous said...

i mean the ones behind and above the president. Not the ones with Biden and Bohner.

Anonymous said...

Do the supreme court justices have special robes they wear to the capitol? Or just is it any old robe? And what happened to the stripes that Rhenquist wore?

Anonymous said...

Obama pays tribute to the greatest generation; he praises us workers and us pride and what will the republicans say tomorrow? That he is an american apologist who belittles america whenever he can. How can they say that crap with a straight face?

Rumpole said...

Obama rightfully takes credit for saving the auto industry.

Anonymous said...

Does John Boehner look a bit irregular? Maybe he needs a dose of fiber or a nice enema? He just looks like he hasn't had a productive visit to the head in awhile.

Anonymous said...

Hey- government as a partner with business-government that gives tax incentives to businesses who stay in the us. WHo would have thunk it?

Anonymous said...

Eric Cantor looks like he hasn't had a great BJ in a year.

Anonymous said...

Al franken

Funny dude.

Anonymous said...

If tuition goes up, govt aid goes down??

How exactly does that help promote higher education?

Anonymous said...

MSNBC already has the entire text of the address on the website.

Anonymous said...

Bohner always looks like he has a sunburn.
Tanning booth?
Too much time on the golf course?

Anonymous said...

He didn't really just make that spilled milk joke, did he?

Anonymous said...

What's 30 % of 42 Million?

Rumpole said...

Warren Buffet has the most famous secretary in the world.

Anonymous said...

9:53,
you crying over his spilled milk?

Anonymous said...

half the shumie cigar gone.

half the bourbon too.

Anonymous said...

I think I just heard the gunshot that ended the career of his speech writer.

Did Obama really read the draft of that part of the address and say to himself "that milk line is going to kill!"?

Anonymous said...

Hillary just looks worse and worse every time I see her. Hubby Bill keeps getting more distinguished. I swear, she is the portrait to his Dorian Gray.

Anonymous said...

Nice to see support for troops finally got some of the a-holes out of their seats.

Anonymous said...

Love it,

Bin Laden is Dead,
GM is alive.

Rumpole said...

65 minutes. Up way past my bedtime. Going to try on moderation again and go to sleep soon. Get your last comments in quick

Anonymous said...

Does the President think we've all been asleep the last 3 years?

Anonymous said...

8:40 - you're a moron - get it

and

During the company's earnings call, Apple SVP and CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced that Apple now has $97.6 billion in cash on hand.

That's Billion with a B

weighing in on labora said...

I understand that Mr. Labora IS Hispanic and that he actually has the name Jimenez. But, why was he so proud of that spanish name that he chose not to use it for 18 years as an attorney, but as soon as he decides to run for Judge, suddenly the Jimenez name appears on the ballot.

Running for Judge is all about "Character". And the decision he made speaks about his Character.

Sure, having an hispanic background may help him in judging hispanics. Having the character that we expect from a jurist is much more important to me.

my2cents

Anonymous said...

the gobblers rule.

REAL FORMER JUDGE said...

Someone is trying to steal my name. It is trademarked and copyrighted. Please be considerate of intellectual property rights. I am the Real Former Judge. Who is this "Real Fake Former Judge"??? Rumpole please!

Anonymous said...

the bench is as low as i have ever seen in my decades of practice. most of them have no idea what the law is and they became judges because they could not make a dime in private practice. except for Izzy and Barzee. Its sad when a former anway salesperosn who has never tried a case or ever appeared in court is a judge. but thats the way it goes in dade county.

Real fake former judge said...

I am the real fake former judge and I am the real deal. I've done more , and know more than the cheap bust out wanna be jack coe/ may cain like former judge. Punk.

REAL FORMER JUDGE said...

Rumpole ... please intervene. Don't make me get mediator Kenny Weisman involved. What has this "Real Fake Former Judge" EVER achieved? Past rulings, Special appointments, Large cases, etc. Does he/she have any references? Could it be Jack Coe? If so, I would defer. If it is "Real Fake Judge Harvey Shenberg", then just say so. It is not right. I am the "Real Former Judge" and I am getting aggravated.

DS said...

If a Man's Grasp Can not Exceed his Reach, Whats a Heaven For...

Happy Birthday Robert Burns

The Barrister

Anonymous said...

Former judge is probably Ivan Hernandez. Or Izzy Reyes. Or maybe Marty Kahn. Not to many other notable former judges around.

Anonymous said...

The Captain la cagó with Alex Jimenez Labora's post.

Anonymous said...

To 2:45 A.M.

I couldn't agree more about the judges. There is a group, and I'm not sure of the percentage, that only try, maybe, two trials a year.

You might as well get a machine to do their job. Just put in the crime, score sheet, guidelines, the attorney, mitigating circumstances and you get a sentence. Very little other than that.

You could also hire an auctioneer to call the calender, as anyone can do that.

And please note that I don't believe these judges volunteer for trials outside their division nor do they ever stay until 5:00.

In three years how much have things changed? Quite a bit. And I think you could devote a whole day as to the causes for the unproductiveness we all can see. And until we have a comparison it will stand.

Anonymous said...

One thing about Navy Seal Team Six is that they don't take prisoners--they just take care of their business and disappear.

Anonymous said...

Bringing the Courts Back Under the Constitution
NEWT 2012 Position Paper Supporting
Item No. 9 of the 21st Century Contract with America:
Restore the proper role of the judicial branch by using the clearly delineated
Constitutional powers available to the president and Congress to correct, limit, or
replace judges who violate the Constitution.

Long Winded and Frightening, but a must read.
DS

http://www.newt.org/sites/newt.org/files/Courts.pdf