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Thursday, April 02, 2015

POP QUIZ

Hope you studied. 

What do you call a place where a judge emails a public defender advice on how to get a lower sentence in his division and the SAO responds by filing a motion to disqualify the judge in every single case in his division? 

Think hard….

BROWEIRD!!! (  © Rumpole & Justice Building Blog. All Rights Reserved.). 

The Sun Sentinel article is here

The Judge is John Contini. 

The County is Broward. Where anything can happen, and usually does. 

See you in court, where in Dade judges rarely grant downward departure motions, much less email instructions about how to get one. 


12 comments:

Anonymous said...


Sorry Rump, but the Herald got you beat by a few years on the "Broweird".


Posted on December 31, 2007 by Michael Froomkin
Miami is weird and wonderful. But Miami people say that Broward, the next county north, is just weird. That's not completely fair, but you'd be forgiven for thinking it after you take the Miami Herald's fun Broweird news quiz.

Sample question (I had to think about this one):

But we enjoy your Blog's Broweird posts much better.

Anonymous said...


But it was several Dade Judges that had no problem accepting bribes and kickbacks in Operation Courtbroom from attorneys wanting to get the bulk of court appointments.

But give Broward Judges credit for trying to keep up their reputation for weirdness.

Anonymous said...

Relax people. Contini only sent a template of how a proper motion for downward departure should look. It was from a Palm Beach case. He didn't discuss any particular case but, he should have sent it to both sides. Motion for DSQ denied. Lesson learned. Be more careful next time.

Now contrast that with what Victoria Brennan did. She held the guy in contempt, then violated him and then sent all kinds of advice to just the AG on how to defend the entire thing at the DCA. Hold the press... she didn't just send one email she sent a bunch. Her justification: I was defending MY case since I held him in contempt. Motion for DSQ denied.

3rd DCA: Writ granted. Judge became an advocate. Wait... she does that every day.

Berdie, please send Brennan to civil.

Anonymous said...

Brennan in civil? She would get slammed.

She would probably be favored by the Plaintiff's bar, since she is so used to slamming any litigant entitled "Defendant." She could take her form orders over to civil since they all say "Defendant's Motion is hereby DENIED." Or are those already pre-printed? Just fill in the case number.

Anonymous said...

The Brennan situation is an outrage and an almost daily occurence. In her defense she doesn't see herself as a classic judge but as a super prosecutor making sure that everyone who enters her court is appropriately punished. The jqc needs to intervene. Hopefully a well qualified and funded latin candidate will step up and run against her. How could she possibly have thought that what she was doing was appropriate?

Anonymous said...


On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King spoke in Memphis, TN. His remarks on that occasion are remembered as the "I have been to the mountaintop” speech. They conclude with these words:

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!

And so I'm happy, tonight.

I'm not worried about anything.

I'm not fearing any man.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

They were the last words Dr. King ever delivered to an audience.

He was assassinated the next day.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of Broward, what's loud mouth Gary Ostrow pleading guilty to now?

Case Docket

Case Number: SC15-582 - Active

THE FLORIDA BAR vs. GARY STEPHEN OSTROW
Lower Tribunal Case(s): 2013-51,437(17I), 2014-50,304(17I)


03/31/2015 PETITION-CONDITIONAL GUILTY PLEA CO The Florida Bar FB BY: CO Randi Klayman Lazarus 360929
03/31/2015 APPENDIX-BAR CO The Florida Bar FB BY: CO Randi Klayman Lazarus 360929 EXHIBIT A
03/31/2015 AFFIDAVIT/STATEMENT OF COSTS
04/01/2015 No Fee Required
04/01/2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENT LETTER-NEW CASE Supreme Court Florida FSC BY: Supreme Court Florida FSC

Anonymous said...

BE careful ... JUDGE BRENNAN is RUMPOLE and now knows who you are!

Anonymous said...

I hear the criticism of Brennan. But I will say one thing: she is very tough on prosecutors. I've appeared in front of her repeatedly. She expects you to know what you're doing. If you don't, she will slam you.

Anonymous said...

Please do not advocate sending "Bad New Brennan" to civil. We have too many little girl fomer prosecutors like Gordo, Ruiz Cohen, and others who have no idea what the heck they are doing. Keep her in criminal where most are guilty and away from the important cases that involve money, oftent alot of it in civil.

Anonymous said...

4:42 is absolutely correct. What drives the "judge' is her belief that the prosecutors are not like her and therefore wanting. In the vacuum she must rescue the community by taking over the role of prosecutor. Yes she is tough on prosecutors but only because she thinks she can do their job better. At core she does not respect the system or her role in it.

Anonymous said...

Maybe Contini was tired of crappy motions for downward departure and sent a template on how to do one. He wouldn't sent it to the prosecutor because they don't file those motions anyway.