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.

Monday, June 10, 2013

WE HAVE A BUTT SLAP



The Judge threw the flag after she caught Chad "ocho cinco" Johnson slapping his lawyer's butt during the plea colloquy. 30 days BCJ. It was Broweird after all.





Here's your slo-mo replay: Ol 85 was taking a plea to a violation of probation. The agreed upon resolution was some additional probation and classes. When the judge asked Johnson if he was happy with his lawyer's services, and Johnson said yes, and the Judge went on to praise Adam Swickle, son of Miami Dade Defense attorney of yesteryear Harvey Swickle, Johnson patted his counsel's derrière.  This pat occurs at 56 seconds of the video. The spectators laughed, the judge threw the flag, and Johnson turned a no-jail plea into 30 days. 

Only in that one county where nothing happens in court with a problem. 
Our view: the judge way overreacted. But then again, she sits in the twilight zone of courts. 

See You in court, where despite their desires, our clients are strictly instructed to keep their hands to themselves. 

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Seriously??? Talk about over reacting. Because the courtroom laughed? He can't control what the people in the gallery do. Idiotic.

Anonymous said...

because the courtroom laughed u get 30days...this isnt justice it is vindictive...complaints should be filed against her...lawyer should have continued matter for cooler heads..what a sad day for justice...
true Chad is a clown..in wrong circus today...must we worry about govt reviewing these emails..BIG BROTHER IS WATCH YOUR BUTT...was this disrespect to court...NOT

Anonymous said...

Since 8 Years Old, Young Football Players Are Taught That A ButT Slap IS No Different From A High Five Or Even Hand Shake.........This Judge Saw The Cameras And ThE Crowd Reaction And Couldn't Take It......Terrible And Sad

Anonymous said...

She totally overreacted. I can't take Broward or West Palm seriously.

Anonymous said...

I heard she is legally blind...

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...



The Captain Reports:

Judge Katie McHugh .....

I want "to help people before they get into real trouble".

So said Judge McHugh during her interview with the Miami Herald last summer when she was running for judge for the first time.

She is has been a member of The Florida Bar for 18 years. She took office in January and has been on the County Court bench for 5 months.

The Miami Herald had this to say about her when she ran for County Court Judge in the Fall 2012 election.

"Ms. McHugh enjoys a more impressive legal résumé covering 18years of trial work, including service as a public defender from 1995 to 1998 and 100 jury trials. Her current practice includes business and commercial litigation. She is also a juvenile dependency attorney representing indigent parents charged with violations by the Department of Children and Families.

Ms. McHugh’s courtroom experience gives her the edge in this race. She says serving on the bench in county court, where defendants often have their first brush with the law, presents an opportunity “to help people before they get into real trouble.”

Boy did she ever help Chad Johnson. Now he gets 3 hots and a cot for the next 30 days at taxpayer expense.

After watching this video, can anyone in their right mind find anything that deserved a 30 day sentence.

Put in another light. Wide Receiver Dante Stallworth got 30 days in jail FOR KILLING A HUMAN BEING WITH HIS CAR.

CAP OUT .....
captain4justice@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

All things being equal, it is best in Broward, if you are male, to appear as white as possible. If I were a Black male, I would never live in that county.

Anonymous said...

Makes me want to move to Broweird and run for Judge.

Anonymous said...

Did the judge sua sponte sentence Ocho to 30 days or did he subsequently plea knowing it was an open plea?

During a plea colloquy, a trial judge may announce that he or she is not bound by the plea agreement. But that announcement does not mean that the trial judge can ignore the terms of the negotiated plea and sentence the defendant as the trial judge sees fit. The announcement means that the trial judge can reject the plea agreement if “other factors (unknown [to him or her] at the time [of his or her acceptance of the plea] ) may make his [or her] concurrence impossible.” Id. If the trial judge rejects the terms of the plea agreement the defendant must be given the opportunity to withdraw his or her plea King v. State 578 So.2d 23 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991).

Anonymous said...

She is getting a case of "black robe fever" awfully fast. She has been on the bench since January after winning as the underdog in a race for county court in 2012. Her conduct here was uncalled for and I hope that she gets opposed in 2018-never too early to start planning. 30 days for sapping your lawyer on the butt? Mchugh needs a reality check.....

Avoid broward said...

Talk about a judge who has ZERO clue on being human. Geez, relax. It's not as if Chad shouted at her, rolled his eyes at her, or was dismissive towards her. Clearly, this judge has a complex and felt that any laughter in her court was an insult towards her. What an overreaction. If this had happened before a judge in Miami, nothing would have been done by that judge.

Anonymous said...

Her over-reaction was based on the fact that people in the courtroom were laughing, not the defendant who took the proceedings seriously. If judge was a doctor, we would call a first strike.

Anonymous said...

I'm all in favor of judges controlling their courtrooms as I've repeatedly posted, but 30 days for that is ridiculous.

BTDT

Anonymous said...

And judges still wonder why people make negative remarks about them on blogs and new sites. It's because the decisions they make are ridiculous and absurd and we have a right to criticize them. They waste our tax money by having another individual in jail for something so petty, there is no space as it is and it's costly.

Anonymous said...

This is not vindictive at all. This is a judge not putting up with crap from some guy who is used to getting away with his boorish behavior because he is a professional athlete. Good for her in not putting up with it.

wrt said...


The other day Rumpole, you posted something about pro bono service in the legal profession and stated that if an individual is a lawyer, then it is NOT up to an individual to do with their time whatever they want.

I checked with the Bar and they referred me to rule 4-6.1 where it states that "the professional responsibility to provide pro bono legal services as established under this rule is aspirational rather than mandatory in nature. The failure to fulfill one's professional responsibility under this rule will not subject a lawyer to discipline"

So, what's your beef. Every lawyer has to decide on their own whether and to what degree they want to donate their time or money to the poor.

As for me, I donate my time at my church that I attend and spend hundreds of hours doing that. I don't do any pro bono legal work, except for the kind that another person mentioned, when we get stiffed on a fee.

I understand your feelings with the nature of altruism and your disgust with the Bar's quest to have all attorneys donate to the poor, but, at the end of the day, it is not a mandatory requirement to donate, like you suggested, and like I do, every one of us can decide NOT to participate in the program.

Anonymous said...

12:12 PM, Putting up with what?? Did he endanger anyone's life??? Did he insult the judge or hit anyone??? Was he deliberately disrespectful???

You're right that he's a professional athlete and more so a celebrity now in days, but Judge McHugh was trying to make an example of him, but instead she overreacted.

And what we now have is ridiculous headlines that read "Chad 'Ochocinco' Johnson Loses Plea Deal After Butt Slap."

I still think her reaction is ridiculous and I wouldn't vote for Judge McHugh if I lived in Broward.

Anonymous said...

How is this much different than my client putting his arm around me and saying thanks for getting him a good result?

This is not the first time a Boward judge has acted like an asshole.

Why has she not fixed this mistake and released him?

I hate broward court. Too many assholes with robes.

Anonymous said...

Probably an overreaction by the judge, but Chad Johnson probably has no respect for anything or anyone. The fact that the courtroom reacted to his antics (intentional or not) is irrelevant. It's inappropriate behavior in a courtroom.

That being said, the judge should have just taken him into custody and thrown him in the holding cell for the remainder of the calendar or reset the case for the next morning. Thirty days seems a bit harsh.

BTW Chad, get a suit and lose the earrings for court. Idiot.

Anonymous said...

All the judge had to say was: "Let the record reflect that Mr. Johnson was indicated non-verbally his satisfaction with the services of his attorney" and continued on with the colloquy. That's what a mature judge with a sense of humor and no self-importance would do.

Anonymous said...

I have been around for way too many years and should be living in a bingo hall somewhere now but I remember a time when every defendant and every juror wore a suit to court. It was considered disrespectful to do otherwise. In 1966, no one would even have thought of doing something like that. It was called civility and respect for the institution of the courts. Kudos for her Judge McHugh. Maybe people will watch this and stop treating the courtroom like it is a locker room.

Anonymous said...

It's gotten to the point where defendant's are the only ones that are deserving of any respect in the courtroom. They can shoot the judge a bird, or say F U, or wear pajamas, tank tops or pants down to their knees with their asses hanging out and everybody just has to take it. The presumption of innocence and all the other constitutional safeguards that protect defendants do not require this tolerance. I counsel my clients on decorum. If a judge is a jerk I tell them to expect it and to always behave appropriately. Johnson actions were inappropriate and offensive to the court (i'm not saying the judge, i'm saying the court) as well as the process. You know what? F him.

Circle K

Anonymous said...

Let me get this straight, for headbutting your wife you get probation and classes, for tapping your lawyers butt to prove you are satisfied with his services you get 30 days because the judge doesn't think it conveys "seriousness". When the judge is a clown everything appears not serious. This judge is a menace and an embarrassment, impeachment or removal is order.