In our opinion Judge Ramirez hit his judicial stride while serving on the 3rd DCA. Judge Ramirez recently served a term as a Chief Judge of the 3rd and he ran a good ship. Judge Ramirez was a common sense but no nonsense jurist whose opinions were mostly concise and well reasoned. He was a good Judge and it is the judiciary's loss that he has accepted retirement for (our speculation only) greener pastures with an arbitration/mediation firm. We wish him the best.
A RIDDLE: What do you call a county employee who worked one hour a week, but received full health insurance (costing $10,000.00 a year) while working "part time" the rest of the week for the federal courts for $100,000.00 a year?
Judge Farina calls her "honey" or more formally, his wife. Judge Brown calls her a big headache because he approved the "sweetheart" deal and ace Herald Reporter David Ovalle has blown the lid off of this scandal here.
THE SEARCH IS ON:
It is sometimes difficult to remember that in our advanced society we do not always have all the answers.
Currently the search is on for two great mysteries of the universe: The Higgs Boson, and a Judge that doesn't penalize your client for going to trial.
The good news is that one search may be nearing an end. Unfortunately it won't mean more reasonable sentences for clients who lose a trial.
But for unraveling the mysteries of the universe, the existence of the Higgs Boson may soon be a proven fact.
Bosons are subatomic particles (like photons, gluons, and brady material provided by the feds.)
Matter- the material of the universe- is made up of fundamental particles, whose behavior is predicted by the standard model of physics. But for sometime physicists could not precisely explain why matter had mass. It was eventually theorized (for extremely complicated reasons) that the Higgs boson gives other particles mass. But for that to be proven, science must first prove the existence of the Higgs boson.
Particle accelerators accelerate particles to almost the speed of light, creating collisions which in turn produce very small fireballs which fleetingly recreate energy conditions not seen around these parts since the first trillionths of a second after the universe was created (during which the very first lines to get into the REGJB were also formed). The results of recreating these conditions cannot be directly observed, but can be inferred from data collected from the aftermath of the collision. Sifting through some of the very most recent data from particle accelerators, scientists have seen hints that the Higgs boson exists.
But sadly, your client still gets slammed if s/he turns down a plea offer and goes to trial and loses.
See you in court.
46 comments:
Client may still get slammed, but he can rest easy in prison now that this Higgs bosom has nearly been found.
Juan Ramirez, Jr. was a county judge doing DUI trials on the first floor of the REGB before being appointed to the circuit court by, I believe, Bob Martinez (the governor who kept Turnpike tolls after the bonds were paid off).
I think he's doing it on purpose .....
(see my post of Wednesday, March 07, 2012 10:24:00 AM)
"His judicial career began as a Circuit Court Judge" - NOT. He was first a County Court Judge.
"Born in Havana, Ramirez began his judicial career in 1988 (Martinez)as a county court judge. From there he moved to circuit court in 1990 (Martinez). He has been a district court judge ... since 2000(Bush)."
Cap Out ....
Rumpole
Next you will want us to beleive that there is a Super Black Hole at the center of the universe.
DS
Judge Ramirez treats attorneys like dirt. That won't fly during paid arbitrations and mediations. Hopefully he changes his demeanor or he won't last very long.
Rumpole - any thoughts on this?
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/07/2681726/report-details-unusual-job-arrangement.html
The Judge Farina and his wife thing looks like another example of the appearance of impropriety getting you when there was no actual impropriety.
Sorry to rain on this parade but, really. Have you dealt with Juan Ramirez? He has an attitude and comes across like a Mitt Romney of the bench. I cannot remember him ever being human.
Riddle - I would call here a thief
I remember when Ramirez covered court for Dresnick. He was awful. He was far better sitting District than Circuit.
That said, his demeanor was nothing but pleasant and he's obviously very knowledgeable. I'm sure he'll make a good mediator.
BTDT
ramirez is going to crash and burn out of the womb, n the real world
crash and burn
agree wiht earlier comment: treats people like dirt.
was a marginal lawyer when he practiced.
welcome to the ring, big guy
There is no doubt that judge Farina should not have allowed this to happen but, judges think they, like cops, are above the law.
I remember Juan Ramirez as a county judge. Didn't like him there either but, as a DCA judge, his opinions have been OK with me.
Tony Soprano couldn't have crafted a better "no show" job.
Want to know whether this is a big deal? Look at the comments accompanying the Herald story. Folks struggling to make ends meet, who know there is no mercy for them should they find themselves before the court, just don't seem to understand that judges and their families are above the law.
Silly peasants.
It is obvious Rump has never appeared before Ramirez at the Third.
Let's not forget that Judge Farina was the genius behind the State taking over all 67 counties clerk's offices revenue. Why? Because the Clerk's Offices were the only court agencies not operating in the red. Which of course led to thousands of layoffs (255 in Miami-Dade alone). So what's a "little" no-show job for his wife? Steal little, steal big!
The Farina thing is a disgrace. The Chief Judge should step down as chief judge and Judge Farina should resign from the court. What an embarrassment! If the Chief Judge needs to seek advice on whether this type of thing is wrong, he needs to spend some time in the Felony Division, as a defendnat.
this thing with Farina is a fucking disgrace. and while we are at it, why does each circuit have so many admin judges adn chief judges who dont do shit? with the court system starved for money shouldnt they do more than sit around on their leather asses and do nothing?
Impeach Farina. how arrogant. can every asa or afpd who left to get a federal job comeback and call the arraignment calendar and keep the clock running on the state pension? how arrogant but how typical of the judges in this circuit.
Kudos to the MD IG's office for uncovering this shitty boondoggle. they are actually one of the few truly useful parts of MD county government.
things like this Farina thing are why people hate government in the USA. It explains why people of little intelligence are attracted to the tea party. they pretend to their slack jawed moron listeners that things like this, as opposed to tax cuts for billionaires, are the reason that there is a big deficit.
Farina you should do the public a favor and quit. now!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Brown said Wednesday he relied on the expertise of his staff in approving the arrangement but insisted the “same consideration would have been given to any other veteran employee under policies in place at the time.”
Really Joel? Here I thought the folks in the black robes made independent decisions that disappoint at least one lawyer in the room every day. And you're telling us that you would have given the same consideration to any other veteran employee? REALLY? You're playing with OUR tax dollars. Now she gets to start collecting a pension immediately. Forget about the 10k, you've put her at 30 FULL pension immediately! This is a friggin' disgrace. NO employee should be afforded this kind of "consideration." Dress it up any way you like, it stinks and everyone involved should be ashamed.
BTDT
This is so unlike Judge Farina to turn a blind eye to something he must have known was wrong. Of course he assumed no one would notice. But Joe always was a pushover for a big set of boobs, and although that sounds simplistic, that really is the explanation for this ethical lapse on his part.
Farina never,never,ever helped a defense lawyer with shit. Now, it looks like he may need one.
Nice guy but,we now know that he thinks that judges are kings and we are all his subjects.
Hmmmm. Hard to find a nice comment about Judge Juan Ramirez. THERE'S A REASON FOR THAT!
So, I am assuming that Farina is writing a check to the county for the 10K?
As BTDT points out, the $10K a year in health coverage isn't the half of it.
She now gets to collect FULL pension (~$80K) instead of half, and to do so immediately. While keeping the federal job.
The more I think about this, the more it angers me. I have liked both Farina and Brown. But Farina should at least resign and Brown should at least step down as chief.
There won't be a prosecution, sadly. But there should be.
Brown & Farina should resign if they had any scruples. But they won't because they don't.
I won't publish comments specilating whether a person used their influence improperly without more. That's why you don't see your comment.
Will Tess Pooler win this time or not?
Shumie? Party of four? Shumie! Party if four?
The fever around Teresa Pooler getting on the bench reminds me of the 2008 Obama campaign.
We all need change and that change is Teresa Pooler.
"String theory, Marxism and the NFL draft" is now an EBook available on Amazon by the Blecher, the foremost disciple of The Q.
With all due respect to Ms. T. Pooler, "much ado about nothing".
It's cooler to vote for Pooler
No way. I'm the true disciple of the Q. Men admire me. Women lust for me The Q's annointed me.
If it's saturday night then come midnight it's karaoke with Kenny At sobes only hottest And hippest ping pong club. Tonight's set includes Mandy by Barry Manalow, Tiny Dance by Elton John, the Jazzman and Dem bitches by NWA.
Steve Bousquet of The Herald reports :
Probation officers alarmed by policy reversal on oversight of offenders.
Looking to cut expenses by about $79 million through June, the state’s probation officers are being told to curtail monthly field visits of offenders. Probation officers are alarmed by a cost-saving policy reversal by the state Department of Corrections scaling back oversight of offenders.
Bleeding red ink, the prison system must cut expenses by about $79 million for the four months left in the current fiscal year, so probation officers are being told to curtail monthly field visits through June, except to sex offenders and those who are under an intensive form of supervision known as community control.
Offenders on house arrest will receive a visit every other week instead of the current weekly visits.
Acting quietly, the prison system has not issued a written directive to employees on the new policy, instead communicating by phone. The agency hopes to save at least $400,000 over the next four months.
“There are a significant number of high-risk offenders who are not going to be receiving the same level of supervision in the coming months,” said Gil Fortner, 56, of Crestview, a 27-year veteran of the prison system and a probation officer based in DeFuniak Springs.
The change surfaces as legislators make final decisions on the prison system’s budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. One of those changes: eliminating 256 probation officer jobs.
In response to Times/Herald inquiries, the agency issued a statement that verbally tiptoed around the changes, citing security reasons.
“Public safety is the first and primary consideration before any adjustments are made,” the agency said. “However, if a modification has been made, those probationers will continue to be monitored in other ways. Due to security, the department cannot discuss further specifics as it relates to our processes as we oversee and monitor probationers.”
Christina Bullins, a Teamsters Union member who is also a probation supervisor in Miami, said fewer field visits make it less likely that an officer will discover a technical violation of probation that could prevent more serious crimes later.
“Those visits help prevent further victimization later,” said Bullins, a 12-year veteran of the Florida prison system. “You’re just not going to be as familiar with them when you’re not seeing them as much.”
Vic Castellano, 72, of Land O’Lakes, is a retired probation officer with more than 30 years experience and a former assistant regional administrator of the prison system in Tampa.
“I really don’t think you know the offender unless you’re out there in the environment,” Castellano said. But he added that every time the top leadership of the Department of Corrections changes, new policies are put into effect.
Corrections Secretary Ken Tucker’s efforts to control costs have repeatedly hit political roadblocks. He proposed closing seven prisons because of a surplus of empty beds, but lawmakers plan to keep two of them open, in Hillsborough and Jefferson counties, at a combined cost of about $20 million next year.
A privatization of all prisons in South Florida, which was projected to have saved at least $16.5 million the first year, was defeated by the Senate on a 21-19 vote.
In yet another money-saving move, Tucker has closed two privately-run re-entry centers in Bradenton and Pompano Beach, a move that will force several hundred inmates back into the prison population even though many have less than a year left on their sentences. The private firm operating the two centers, Bridges of America, is considering filing a lawsuit challenging the action.
The Barrister
I think it's a great idea for probation officers budget to be cut, ensuring that supervisee's are checked on less often. while at the same time a judges wife pulls full time benefits for a job she works 5 hours a week.
Clearly there is no appearance of impropriety here. Perhaps the chief should get a raise for his creativity for fleecing the taxpayers
Karaoke with kenny waa great. Then we ll went to china grille and got wasted.
The wand chooses the wizard Mr Potter and the Q chooses his disciples.
In the paraphrased words of Senator Lloyd Bentsen, Teresa Pooler is no Judge Catherine Pooler.
Unlike her sister, Teresa Pooler has shown her disdain for her own clients as well as her disrespect for defendants that have appeared before her while she was a Traffic Hearing Officer.
Nepotism and cronyism is rampant in our courts, and you just have to read your blogs posts about the Farina/Haspil/Brown fiasco & The Miami Herald to see the impropriety and unfairness of it all. So if you really think Teresa Pooler is a good judicial candidate, then vote for her, but if you think she's going to be the next Hirsh-like prima donna but are voting for her cause of Judge Cathy Pooler don't!!
dont you all understand. unless governor scotts pals can make money off of government he just wants to cut everything. he does not care about he jeopradizes public safety.
What do you call a judge who shows up to work 2-3 hours late everyday and works only 3 days a week? Seems like judges are in the business of screwing their employers, "we the taxpayers" Judges in Miami are no good they do what they want with little or no consequences, the Supreme Court is a Joke, the JQC is a joke and the judges that sit there and cover up all the bad acts are nothing better than Judas, betraying the people for their own piece of silver.
as a regular non attorney person I can say it disgusts me to see some of you defend Farina. Really disgusting shows how ingrain corruption is in the legal system in Miami,no wonder no one trust lawyers. You guys are revolting. There are so many people with out jobs, correction personnel is gotten cut, clerks have gotten cut, yet that woman gets full pension for supposedly working an hour a day and God only knows if she showed up half the time. she is a crook, Farina is a Crook, Joel Brown is a Crook! Crooked Judges, Crooked Lawyers, Crooked System. Yeah that is what us real people think about this.
Judge Manno-Schurr has been reversed many times on cases taken to appeal. As of late 2011, about 45% of her decisions were sent back to her to fix a legal mistake. Does she deserve re-election this fall? Voters may want to think about how well – or poorly — she handles cases. now she has been let loose on the criminals, geeze lets hope she has some kind of legal background, before she gives the death penalty on a grand theft. judges now a days are as stupid and as crooked as the common folks.
t pooler wont be any worse than brinkley who not even a judge yet sends the bailiffs to go fetch her car for her....we don't like her much... wish she had opposition. it's n open seat common people...money in a campaign account does not mean anything.
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