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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.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

JUDGE MAXINE COHEN LANDO HAS PASSED AWAY

Judge Maxine Cohen Lando has passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer.
Serving as a Judge and prior to that as a defense attorney, Max Lando was also one of the first female Pds to work in the office for Phil Hubbart. Judge Lando was a bright and shinning light of common sense, uncommon wisdom and you could always count on a warm smile when entering her courtroom. Her position can be filled, but she never will be replaced.


Services will be held onFriday, March 2, 2012 -- 11:00 a.m.

Temple Bet Shira
7500 S.W. 120 Street
Miami, Florida  33156
(305) 238-2601


From time to time we will post some of the comments on the front page:

Judge Lando helped me get my first "lawyer" job at the juvenile division of the Office of the Public Defender and mentored me as a young lawyer and then later as a judge. Her advice and guidance were invaluable. Throughout her diagnosis and treatment she exhibited both grace and courage. My sadness at her death is tempered by knowing that she hss been released from the fight. Her daughters can be proud of the many accomplishments of this remarkable woman. Gone but never forgotten. Victoria Sigler
Anonymous said...

One of the most caring, passionate women i ever knew, with the guts to do what she thought was right, no matter what public opinion may have been. May she rest peacefully now in the arms o Michael Gill. Godspeed, Maxine.

Anonymous said...

There are a handful of judges that consistently carry themselves and behave in a most "honorable" way and which embody what a fair and intelligent Judge should be on and off the bench. The Honorable Judge Maxine Cohen was such a judge. I had the pleasure of working and interpreting in her courtrooms at the REG. She always treated her staff and interpreters with respect and kindness, and loved to practice learning Spanish as she used to call it.

On many occasions, when some of us had questions about legal procedures or words in order to be able to interpret them to Spanish speaking defendants, Judge Cohen welcomed our inquiries and took the time to explain so that we could understand that which we had to translate. She was a "grande dame" who could tell a mean joke. May she rest in peace and my condolences to her daughters and family.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Max was a fine judge, a fine lawyer, and, most of all, a fine person. I am so sad to hear of her passing. We were opponents at times, but she was always the consummate professional. We swapped motherhood stories, and I considered her a friend. Rest in peace, dear friend.

Abbe Rifkin

Anonymous said...

Max was a PD.

pcalas said...

She had been an Assistant Public Defender. She was an amazing, compassionate person that served as a mentor to many young attorneys. She was an excellent, fair and brilliant judge but an even better friend. She will be missed by all.

Anonymous said...

Judge Lando Choen helped me get my first "lawyer" job at the juvenile division of the Office of the Public Defender and mentored me as a young lawyer and then later as a judge. Her advice and guidance were invaluable. Throughout her diagnosis and treatment she exhibited both grace and courage. My sadness at her death is tempered by knowing that she hss been released from the fight. Her daughters can be proud of the many accomplishments of this remarkable woman. Gone but never forgotten.

Victoria Sigler

DLT33160 said...

Rest peacefully Max. Thank you for your service.

Anonymous said...

So sad. Just to clarify, Judge Lando was a Public Defender, not a State attorney.

Source: http://www.reelectjudgemax.com/experience

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

The Captain Reports:

Judge Maxine Cohen Lando 
 Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida
 
Services will be held on
Friday, March 2, 2012 -- 11:00 a.m.
 
Temple Bet Shira
7500 S.W. 120 Street
Miami, Florida  33156
(305) 238-2601 

Cap Out .....

 

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I have never posted on this blog before, but I feel compelled to do so today.

Maxine Landau (I first knew her as Maxine Cohen) was a dedicated attorney who believed in the justice system starting with her days as an Assistant Public Defender. I tried many cases against her. Some I won, some she won. It was fun teasing her about her signature whinny "But Judge, that's not fair." She had a sense of humor about herself and a realistic knowledge of her clients.

One case in particular, which she successfully defended, was troubling enough to her (and me) that we sat and talked about it after the verdict and shared tears over what we knew should not have happened.

Max carried that dedication and faith in the system to the bench. Max was a strict, but fair, judge. She did not put up with a lot of BS and got great job satisfaction out of always trying to do the right thing.

I will miss her as a friend and colleague.

Jeffrey Swartz

Jonathan T. Colby said...

I found out this morning from Judge David Young. I am devastated. I loved Max. That is so overwhelmingly sad. We both started as Judges together in 1990. When she was first diagnosed, I met Max up in New York as she was getting additional opinions from experts. She wanted to have breakfast at the Loews Regency Hotel (owned by her relatives the Tisch's). After breakfast, she wanted to see Fox News where my sister Jamie is Anchor and then go to a Broadway show with David and Scott. This was after receiving such painful news, yet she still wanted to live each day with a smile and kindness to others. She was so full of life, a great friend and a wonderful person. I will miss her very much. I will say a prayer for her and her family. Very sad. Too many of our wonderful colleagues are dying way too young... God Bless you Max....

Anonymous said...

2/29/12@ 12:59 pm. Why would you leave such a post and Rumpole why would you publish it? Obviously, the theme dedication

Anonymous said...

11 am friday. Bet Shira in Pinecrest

Shoot The Lawyers said...

Hey 12:59. Really classy.

Shoot The Lawyers said...

Hey 12:59. Really classy.

Anonymous said...

Maxine Cohen Lando was my first judge when i was know-nothing 2L CLI at the State Attorney's Office. A great judge and a great person. I'm glad she has to fight no more. She will be missed.

Rumpole said...

I am sorry about that comment. I am traveling, or trying to travel out of Boston, and doing most things with an old-cranky blackberry and my eyes aren't what they used to be and in my desire to get the comments up quickly I missed one. But I removed it.

Anonymous said...

She was good person.. I really liked her....

South Florida Lawyers said...

So very sad, she will be missed.

Anonymous said...

What a remarkable lady--miss you Max.

Anonymous said...

One of the most caring, passionate women i ever knew, with the guts to do what she thought was right, no matter what public opinion may have been. May she rest peacefully now in the arms o Michael Gill. Godspeed, Maxine.

Anonymous said...

That comment was in poor taste, and the person who wrote will have some bad karma heading his/her way...but since when does this group, of all groups, censor?

Anonymous said...

Judge Lando Cohen had a way of making most of those around her feel good. Her class and style reminded me of this Maya Angelou quote "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

rick freedman said...

Max (Maxine Cohen as I first knew her) was my first boss at the PD's office in 1983. I was a CLI in Judge Tom Scott's courtroom and my three PD's were Max, Edith Georgi, and Gary Nunes. I was lucky enough to try nine jury trials, mainly because Max handed me a caseload and let me have at it.

I remember one great story.

We were handling a sex bat case together and taking the lead detective's depo one day in her office. Max was asking him questions and she wasn't taking any of his shi- . At one point it got very heated and the detective got up and started to walk out of her office. Max got up and they were face to face in the doorway. Oh, I forgot to mention that she was eight months pregnant at the time, half the size of the detective and in his face. (I just sat there quietly like a good intern should). She always fought hard for her clients and was very passionate with her role in the criminal justice system.

After leaving the PD's office, she went into private practice for a few years before finally becoming a Judge in 1991 in County Court.

By 1995 she was in Circuit Court and was assigned to Criminal. She then handled Family Court and has been in Civil for a while now. She was the Associate Administrative Judge in Civil.

My blessings go out to Rachel & Sari, her two daughters. Your mom was loved and respected by so many in our legal community.

I will miss her greatly.

Rick Freedman

Rumpole said...

156- make no mistake that this is my blog and mine alone. While I usually do not censor comments that abide by a few rules, I also feel that when someone has passed away and people gather to share memories I do not want to facilitate moronic cowards and let them leave nasty comments about dead people. So I censor those.

Anonymous said...

I still remember over 30 years ago like it was yesterday, waiting to have lunch with Maxine, Vickie Sigler, and Danny Aaronson and watching her in chambers of then circuit Judge David Gersten slice and dice and play three prosecutors at once in order to get the case she wanted set 1st for trial. I was in awe! Rest in peace my dear friend, Max. Jamie Benjamin

Michael Feiler said...

Max was a friend and an inspiration. Even after she fell ill, her attitude was always wonderful. Max cared about the people in her life, and the citizens she served, to an extraordinary degree. She gave tirelessly of herself, and didn't take crap from anyone. I am a better lawyer from having worked before her, and a better person from having her as a friend.

RIP and safe passage.

Pardo said...

As we lose great jurists, we are saddened by the loss.
Max will be missed.
Where are the next great Judges, who is going to be the one to replace these gems of the bench we have lost all too frequently.

RIP
Bob P

Anonymous said...

Rumpole-

It's your blog. Your rules. Let someone else start one if they think they can do better.

Removing that post was the right call in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

There are a handful of judges that consistently carry themselves and behave in a most "honorable" way and which embody what a fair and intelligent Judge should be on and off the bench. The Honorable Judge Maxine Cohen was such a judge. I had the pleasure of working and interpreting in her courtrooms at the REG. She always treated her staff and interpreters with respect and kindness, and loved to practice learning Spanish as she used to call it.

On many occasions, when some of us had questions about legal procedures or words in order to be able to interpret them to Spanish speaking defendants, Judge Cohen welcomed our inquiries and took the time to explain so that we could understand that which we had to translate. She was a "grande dame" who could tell a mean joke. May she rest in peace and my condolences to her daughters and family.

Lenny said...

I was saddened to learn of Max's death. I knew her both before and after she became a Judge. She never caught "black robe fever" and retained her sweet, friendly touch.

Having been out of Florida for nearly a decade, I hadn't seen her in a while, and was also saddened to see she was preceded in death by her husband, who I never had the pleasure of knowing.

Sometimes, the remove of time and distance causes a person to fade from one's memory. Didn't happen that way with Max.

Rest in peace, and thank you for all the good you did for so many people, and for those of us lucky enough to have known you.

Lenny Cooperman
Springfield, MA

secret Judge said...

While I totally agree with the decision not to post a comment critical of an individual who has just passed, I do take exception to your obsessive compulsion to constantly remind all that YOU and only You own the blog. I would respectfully submit that ALL the readers and ALL those who post comments, as well as those who provide direction of the blog, such as yourself, collectively share in its ownership. Anotherwords, the blog belongs to the legal community. Please consider this position in the future. Having said that, you did good Max, rest well.

DS sez said...

I met Max when we were both in private practice and became friendly. In 1990 She ran for County Court and my dad was running for County Commish. I would run into Max all over the Dade at campaign events. We became fast friend, sharing the irony that campaigns are. I always worked hard for Max to get the
UTD endorsement.
I had to pause a few times reading the above comments due to the tears,
Max was a great LADY. G-D bless..
DS

Anonymous said...

Max was my first supervising attorney when I was an intern at the PD's Office in 1976. I learned the basics from Max. We were in Judge Paul Baker's Court. Baker treated her like she was his daughter. The other PDs in there were Clinton Pitts and Tam Wilson.

Max was always a great friend. Even after she left the MJB and I wouldn't see her for years at a time, when I ran into her we were just two old friends. She will be greatly missed.

Steve Haguel

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS ON THE ELECTION FRONT .....

ANA MARIA PANDO HAS AN OPPONENT

Attorney Diana Elizabeth Gonzalez has filed to run against Pando. Gonzalez has been a member of the Bar for seven years. Also, Pando has been re-assigned from County Civil to County Criminal.

More news to follow in a later post.

Cap Out .....

Anonymous said...

She was a fine person, an excellent Judge, spoke more than three languages, inspired a lot of respect and also respected everybody. I never got a chance to tell her how much I admired her, but I beleive she knew. She will be missed. To her family, you will not beleive how many people had tears in their eyes when they found out she passed, I know I did, and it was an honor for me to have met her. Rest in peace, you will always be remembered, someone will take your position but nobody can replace you.