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Thursday, October 09, 2014

CONTEMPT-ABLE

More than one robed-reader has told us that they are taught in Judicial College that by the time they hold a lawyer in contempt they have already failed and lost control of the courtroom.

David Ovalle tweeted this today:



Judge Miranda held Herb Walker in contempt Mon for constantly speaking out of turn, acting unprofessionally, speaking obections. Fine: $250





Judge Miranda actually stopped closing arugments, sent jury out and held contempt hearing on Herb Walker right then and there.

Final straw: Walker said "this is ridiculous" in front of jury in att murder case, after Judge Miranda sustained objection during closings.

Disclosure: We have no love for Mr. Walker. We didn't like him as a prosecutor. 

And apparently Judge Miranda doesn't like him as a defense attorney. 

NB: Judge Miranda was the same judge that found Alex Michaels in contempt and sentenced him first to two days jail on a Friday afternoon and did not grant him an appeals bond (something the appellate court was disturbed about). 

Just saying that one is an aberration and two is a pattern. 
Williams rule reasoning. 


Letters of support from the

LEAGUE OF PROSECUTORS

have been sent to
the Governor and
Florida's U.S. Senators
for the following
judicial nominees:

For Circuit Court
Jason Dimitris
Ayana Harris
Charles Johnson
Rodolfo Ruiz
Diana Vizcaino

For U.S. District Court
Peter Lopez

See you in court. 



28 comments:

Juniper said...

I hate objections during closing.
Sometimes they're valid but often they're exercises in posturing and bad manners.

Anonymous said...

I once heard Phil Risentsten give a CLE seminar in which he said in closing you need to go Big or your client doesn't go home.

Kissimmee Kid said...

Bullshit,

The reason the bar sucks is 'cause Judges are toothless.

One judge, and outlier, says, "enough is enough," and brings the hammer down on a pair of deserving assholes and you are all, "Oh, judges school."

Fact: Judges go to Judges School to become emasculated, and what ever the word is for female ball-less wimps.

You can be sure these two losers won't show their butts to this Judge again. I say, WELL DONE, YOUR HONOR!

Rumpole said...

The reason we allow anonymous comments is so that you can speak your mind. Tell us how you really feel.

Anonymous said...

I think his point us that a real judge has better control and it doesn't get to that point.

Anonymous said...

Cysco kid endorses Mary Barzee for District Court judge. Lopez is a republican.

Anonymous said...

Herb walker was an impossible prick as a states attorney . Can't imagine he'd be any different now

Anonymous said...

I have always wondered why being an ASA or Ex-Asa becomes the best path to the bench. Why? Some of our Ex-ASa's are nice people such as Judge Lobree and Judge Fajardo but are crappy State oriented Judges. Not in terms of demeanor but they always rule for the State.

I remember Judge Miranda as a prosecutor and she was nothing special but yet got appointed to the County Court. She was there for years and never distinquished herself as a judge but yet got appointed to the Circuit Court over a number of better qualified candidates. Why? Obviously she has some juice because it's not based on temperment or ability. It's just to bad she is not going with Fajardo in January to another building.

Juniper said...

@KissimmeeKid. Being without literal balls doesn't mean anything in terms of courage. For instance, my ovaries are made of steel. The practice of law frequently sucks because of too many people (judges included) running around acting like toddlers in need of a nap, a snack, and a smack on the backside -- not necessarily in that order.

Anonymous said...

I will always side with Christina Miranda. She was a very professional prosecutor and . as a judge, she is a sweetheart. You have to be a total asshole to get her riled up. I feel that because of her sweet disposition, lawyers take advantage of her.

Herb Walker is a creepy weirdo. As an ASA he sucked, demonstrating a sick, oppressive attitude well beyond being a "tough prosecutor". Peter Adrienne should have never been a judge yet his demise was contributed by hypocritical, bible thumping Herb being the division chief in that division.

To question Miranda's discretion, as she has such a great track record, in dealing with Herb Walker, who's track record is disrespecting women (remember how he left the SAO) is horseshit.

I cringe at how many of the black defense attorneys are so accepting of this guy in private practice when he shitted on his own kind as a devious prosecutor.

Anonymous said...

No, please do remind me how Herb left SAO. I forgot.

Anonymous said...

Herb Walker was a horrible prosecutor. Really bad.

Claude Erskine- Browne said...

" this is ridiculous"
What is wrong w that in closings? Its part of an argument to persuade ., so why can't you say the evidence is ridiculous or that the state's case is ridiculous?
Or did he say that the Judge's ruling is ridiculous? That's different

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

And speaking of being held in Contempt of Court .....

Anybody following the retrial of polo mogul and Palm Beach billionaire John Goodman, remembers that his first trial ended in a guilty verdict and a 17 year sentence. But, post trial motions resulted in the judge granting a new trial because one juror conducted drinking experiments and then wrote a book about the trial.

So now they move the jury selection to Tampa. All week they have been choosing a jury. The prospective jurors were all clearly warned not to go online and perform any research on this case.

Yesterday, during a break, one prospective juror was caught searching the Internet and researching the trial. The judge arrested him.

Here is the full story from the Sun Sentinel:

Both sides in Wellington polo mogul John Goodman's DUI manslaughter retrial agreed on 10 jurors late Thursday — but not before a juror's gossip took the proceedings off course and ended in his arrest.

Prospective juror Travis Van Vliet was handcuffed and hauled to jail after Palm Beach County Court Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Colbath learned he told another man in the jury pool that the case was being tried for the second time. The incident sparked concern among the judge and attorneys that other jurors might have been exposed to details of the case and led the judge to ask all the remaining jurors if they'd discovered anything about it.

http://touch.sun-sentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-81626383/

Cap Out .....

Anonymous said...

I don't know if Peter Lopez is a Republican or not, but I can tell you that he is a gem of a civil court judge: intelligent, fair and courteous.

Anonymous said...

Miranda versus Herb Walker ?

There's nothing to think about. Miranda is an accomplished, well-liked professional and Walker is a future criminal prosecution or law suit.

Anonymous said...

My first year as a high school teacher I gave kids "detention" all the time.

By the time I knew what i was doing, I never needed to. I could control the classroom. Expectations were set and met.

Instead of electing former prosecutors to the bench, let's elect former teachers.

Just Another Intern said...

The rules are going to have to change. It is no longer a matter of not reading the paper and turning off the 3 channels on tv. People are connected to all the news in the world 24/7. Expecting jurors to completely unplug is just setting them up to fail.

REAL FAKE KENNY W. said...

I think that the NFL Suicide Pool is too easy this year.

Rumpole, next year make it tougher.

Anonymous said...

Peter lopez is a member of the Republican Party - to the victor go the appointments. He must wait.

Anonymous said...

I have practiced before Miranda hundreds of times and did a few jury trials with her too.

I saw nothing but, decent, fair, nice, polite and respectful.

Herb..... another story.

Anonymous said...

What was the outcome of the trial?

Anonymous said...

11:57, that's a terrible idea. we need you in the classrooms, not the courtrooms-- and plenty more like you.

Anonymous said...

Peter Lopez is indeed Republican. However, he is a good man and would make an good federal judge unless you are defending a criminal case. Then, all bets off bro.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole … Let's see the picks for the NFL suicide pool and tell us your picks? Who is going to win this year?

Anonymous said...

I reckon that was a PM contempt hearing seeing as the good Judge is rarely in the building b4 noon

Anonymous said...

Judge Miranda is nice, fair and respectful of all who come before her. However, don't let that fool you into thinking she is unintelligent, or that she will suffer fools gladly. She won't. Good for her, to call out the clowns who make court a joke.

Anonymous said...

She,ain't a lady. She can be a Witch.
Worse , she acts as a Head Coach for the SAO. She is all smiles as she screws Due Pricess,