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.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

COURAGE

BREAKING #2 THURSDAY JUNE 23
REGJB MIAMI CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE CLOSED

Sort of 

All morning cases are canceled. There is chatter- confirmed with police officers- that there is "a legitimate threat" about two pipe bombs. 

However, Afternoon Bond hearings are not canceled. 

Which means, someone doesn't care very much about the safety of the afternoon bond hearing judge, staff, lawyers, and the public attending those hearings. 

This doesn't make any sense.  Unless there is NOT a credible bond threat and the chief judges just decided to pull the plug on court this morning  


BREAKING BOMB THREAT AT REGJB
COURTHOUSE EVACUATED 




UPDATE: Thursday is all about voting...

In our dear England, today is the day we vote on whether to remain in the European Union. Rumpole says vote to remain. 

In the House Of Representatives, Democrats are staging a good, old fashioned sit-in, refusing to let the House come to order until they are guaranteed a vote on the firearm's bill. 

"All we are saying, 
is let us have a vote"

Meanwhile in the REGJB, there are several important Possession of Marijuana cases being litigated. Throw in some disorderly conduct and loitering and prowling cases, and you have some serious legal stuff being done. 


Courage is doing what you think is right despite popular opinion to the contrary. 
As President Kennedy was fond of saying, the hottest places  in hell are reserved for those, who in times of moral crises, do nothing and preserve their neutrality. 

So all praise is due for the group of senators, who in the face of 90 percent of the American public approving of a ban on the sale of firearms to those people on a terrorist watch list, have held their ground, and refused to let the law pass. 

Yup, they are doing the lord's work. 

Either that or they are the most morally bankrupt, stupid group of politicians who so fear the NRA, that they are willing to let terrorists buy weapons at good-ol USA gun shows. Even when those weapons shoot up a night club or a school. 

Disgusting. 

See You In Court.  

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Boy, are people like you stupid. What exactly was voted down? Come on Mr. Lawyer-man, what did it say? Do you know? Does it matter?

You have no idea, right?

What was proposed by the leftist fantasy circus was that anyone on the no fly list would be prohibited from buying a gun. Has a nice ring to it. It sounds sort of like: I've read the A-form and it sounds pretty bad -- no bond. Better yet, guilty.

There are 10's of thousands of people on the no fly list. Nelson Mandela was on it. Ted Kennedy was on it. There was a 9 year old Cub Scout on it.

Two things are certain: there ain't no 10s of thousands of terrorists on in the US (not yet, anyway) and everyone I just mentioned (except perhaps Kennedy) doesn't belong there.

What the Republicans proposed is that a person on the no fly list be denied the purchase for 72 hours for the government to establish that they belong on the list.

It turns out that all they wanted is the due process that you demand for your child molester client because he gave you $500.

The Democrats did not want that kind of due process.

You're just a piece of shit hypocrite like all the rest of these moon bats.

No Longer JAFI said...

Um, actually, the Senate was voting on expanding the FBI's power to get meta-data without a warrant. Luckily, the Democrats did not nuke ALL of the filibuster rules when they controlled the Senate, so it required 60 votes, which it could not get.

Rumpole said...

to the Moron at 6:09- so to make sure as many people as possible get firearms you're going to allow terrorists on the no fly list to buy firearms, just so 9 year old timmy can get a .22.

Hmmm....fix the no fly list or grant every nut the right to buy a gun and shoot up a school and nightclub. You've chosen the latter, which is why you are a moron.

DMD said...

It appears that the dems are all too eager to waive and ignore "Due Process" when it suits their purposes! DMD

Anonymous said...

Diaz accepted a plea on nasty DUI Manslaughter to two years. I thought the State wasn't waiving 4 year min man anymore.

Anonymous said...

Good for Judge Ward... sending that asshole to prison for a long time for drugging and ripping off an old and blind person. He took more than $100k but, got a PD. Hmmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

Hey psycho gun nut, 99.5% of the people on the waych list are foreigners. Do you really think we should do nothing because it may inconvenience .5% of people? Of course you do, because youre a gun nut and a robot that spews out the NRA canned responses. Meanwhile the bodies keep piling up.

No Longer JAFI said...

"suspected terrorists" and "potential terrorists" yes, I will defend their due process rights.

Anonymous said...

Even more to the point is that it's all BS propaganda.

Their sit-in. As my old man used to say, "Who's shitting who?" The Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and the Presidency for many years. They could have passed anything they wanted, like the ACA, which they did without a single Republican vote.

Now, they're pretending this is about gun control and not about the complete failure of this President and his deliberate policy to move more "peace loving" Islamists into this country and the West.

Yeah, that's right, everybody's a moron that is confused by misdirection and misinformation. Keep it up. Everyone is listening.

Anonymous said...

6:09 DIPSHIT: "What the Republicans proposed is that a person on the no fly list be denied the purchase for 72 hours for the government to establish that they belong on the list." Yeah, the other Republicans voted that down also.

Anonymous said...

I've been saying it privately amongst friends, but Rump, you're one of the few I've heard say it publicly: Fix the No-fly list.
Everyone should go to The Intercept and read the rules for the TSDB (terrorist screening database) aka the Watchlist.
Seems to me with all of the reasonable suspicion required for these lists we should have a lot more arrests as well as a lot fewer names (in error) on it.
I don't agree with restrictions for those on the list. I think restrictions and regulations should be beyond that list. We regulate speech, we regulate assembly with time, place, manner restrictions; numerous other infringements on our Constitutional rights. We shouldn't be afraid of those who think the 2nd is absolute.

Eric C. Padron said...

Once again Rumpole ventures where he/she shouldn't because he/she can't exercise self-control. To those of us who have actually lived in Britain and still admire her from afar today I say leave. The Left always advocates for centralized control of citizens in order to create the "New Man". In Europe and the U.S., faceless, and overpaid bureaucrats engage in orgies of creative rule making for the purposes of ordering the lives of the people according to their whims and the unfulfilled fantasies of their professors at Harvard or the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Science Po). To paraphrase a quote from the greatest of Cuban patriots Jose Marti when asked about the difficulties of independence, the wine may be bitter but it is our wine.
Britannia once ruled and civilized the world, it's not difficult to fathom why her citizens want to at least rule their own small, damp, and glorious island.

And as far as the farcical gun debate is concerned, I don't recall the Democrats, when they were in complete control of the government, seeking to reimplement the "assault" weapons ban or seeking to amend the 2nd Amendment. I suppose the victims of gun violence weren't as important then as bailing out Detroit or Wall Street.
Cordially,
Eric C. Padron

Anonymous said...

If you think the shooting at Pulse was related in any way to Islam or the twisted manipulation of Islam, you clearly have no grasp of facts or reality, 8:30 a.m.

Rumpole said...

With all due respect Mr. Padron- and we applaud you for having more courage than us for posting under your name- we know an awful lot about Brexit, having just spent some time in London, and spoken with several MPs.
This is NOT about England regaining her lost glories. The colonies are gone. The sun has set on most of the British empire. The UK benefits greatly from being a strong member of a European Union. The UL benefits financially as well as their citizens benefit from membership. This vote is a "Donald Trumpish" back-lash against immigration and is being fueled by Xenophobic politicians who rail against Britain being called a member of Europe. But those who do not remember the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them. England's future, its financial future and its physical future are intimately tied to the well being of Europe. Britain is an island only physically. Its people and economy and well being are completely intertwined in the economies and well being of its continental neighbors. And my fellow Englishmen and Englishwomen will do the right thing and not vote to leave the EU.

earl rogers said...

Does anybody really think Rumpole is from England? I'm more English than Rumpole, and my ancestors left England (Sussex) over 300 years ago.

Anonymous said...

A guy steals a bunch of money and gets 17 years and a drunk girl kills someone and gets two? WTF.

Rumpole said...

I've lived in London. Had tea at Windsor Castle. Been to parliament. Spoken at the Old Bailey and I have closer ancestral tries than you. Being British is a state of Mind, Mr. Donald Trump Jr., it's not just bloodlines. Capiche?

Anonymous said...

Uh, I don't know what "the other Republicans voted that down also," means, but this CNN article should clear up that it was the lefties that didn't want due process. The vote was along party lines. The lefties didn't want any due process for people on this government list or for inclusion of mental health records in the background check system.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/senate-gun-votes-congress/

I wholeheartedly believe you were trying to make a point 10:00am; I really, really do. Perhaps given another chance you can actually make one.

Anonymous said...

You forgot to apologize and say sorry. Isn't that what all Brits do?

Anonymous said...

Runpole, you lose all credibility when you endorse a plan like the one being pushed by some Democrats to prohibit gun purchases to people in the no-fly list. As a criminal defense lawyer, you should know by now that the no-fly list is full of inaccurate information, unproven and unprovable secret accusations, spelling errors and inclusions based on First Amendmend-protected activity. There is no legal mechanism to challenge inclusion, no legal mechanism to be taken out and no due process at all. Yet, you advocate the denial of a constitutional right without due process of law to people on the no-fly list where they ended up, again, without any due process.

To fix the no-fly list in a constitutional and American fashion, Congress would have to come up with a legal mechanism for the government to petition a federal judge to include someone on the no-fly list with a detailed notice of any allegations, source of the allegations, and evidence to support them to be served upon the person sought to be included in the list with a reasonable time to review them and prepare a defense. The potential incluee would have the right to have a full evidentiary hearing (which the judge could close if there was sensitive evidence) where the government would have to prove the allegations by clear and convincing evidence to put the respondent on the list and both, the government and the respondent, could present evidence and witnesses. Likewise, anyone currently on the no-fly list would have to be notified of their inclusion and given the same opportunity to have a full hearing to seek their removal from the list. Only then, you could deny other constitutionally rights to someone included in such a list.

Ben Franklin, with incredible forsight, warned us of the dangers of giving up liberty for security (or the illusion thereof), but you, Rumpole, and the Democrats you defend, are, sadly, way to ready to do just that.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad our award-winning clerks office is so diligent and effective on getting us information on the internet. Not a peep on their website about cases that were on calendar today. Are they rolled for tomorrow? Should my client make the trip from Pompano? Will the clerk have the file tomorrow? Will the State have theirs? Life is full of mystery and wonder.

Anonymous said...

Dem Senator Says Due Process 'Killing Us'

9:48 AM, Jun 16, 2016 | By SHOSHANA WEISSMANN

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, "No person shall ... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law...." Senator Joe Manchin isn't sure the belief that one is innocent until proven guilty is always such a good idea. On Thursday, The West Virginia Democrat said the principle of due process is "killing us."

"The problem we have—and really, the firewall we have right now, is due process. It's all due process. So we can all say, 'yeah, we want the same thing,' but how do we get there. If a person is on a terrorist watch list like the gentleman—the shooter—in Orlando, he was, twice by the FBI, we were briefed yesterday about what happened. But that man was brought in twice. They did everything they could. The FBI did everything they were supposed to do. But there was no way for them to keep him on the nix list or keep him off the gun buy list. There was no way to do that. So can't we say that if a person is under suspicion, there should be a five year period of time that we have to see if good behavior, if this person continues the same traits? Maybe we can come to that type of an agreement. But due process is what's killing us right now."

.@Sen_JoeManchin: Due process is what's killing us right now https://t.co/OTf9LnxHXZ— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) June 16, 2016

Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, took issue with Manchin's statements in an interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD. "Government can't deny us our life, liberty, or property without due process of law," Shapiro said. Here's more:

With all due respect, due process is the essential basis of America. The Constitution was established to "secure the blessings of liberty"—that's the whole purpose of our government—and that government can't deny us our life, liberty, or property without due process of law. If the government wants to deny someone's liberty, it better have an awfully good reason and it better be ready to defend itself in court immediately—akin to what happens when someone is arrested or involuntarily committed. Otherwise, we'd live in a world where perhaps there's less crime, but also life isn't worth living. Senator Manchin may want to live in a police state, but few of us would want to join him there.

Continued in next post:

Anonymous said...

Continued from previous post:

Radio host Rich Zeoli eloquently addresses the subject on CBS Philadelphia.

There is a fundamental concept enshrined in our justice system that one is innocent until proven guilty. The Due Process clause of the Constitution provides that the government can't just arbitrarily take away your rights. In the wake of the Orlando terror attack, Democrats are once again showing their true authoritarian stripes as they want to take away the Constitutional rights of millions of Americans, many of whom are Muslim, without a judge or jury.

If you're wondering what happens when due process is set aside, civil asset forfeiture provides a dark lesson. In Forbes, George Leef explains that civil asset forfeiture is a practice by which government seizes "property from someone on suspicion that it was in some way connected with a crime."

"The individual need not ever be convicted or even charged, but won't get the property back without going through legal procedures which place the burden of proving innocence on him."

Just as Manchin claims suspending due process will enable authorities to prevent events like the Orlando shooting, Leef notes that, "Officials say that civil asset forfeitures help them fight crime and the drug war in particular. Whether or not that is true is beside the point when innocent people are deprived of property without due process of law. Those who enforce the law must be constrained by the rule of law."

Civil asset forfeiture is often abused. In one instance, a routine traffic stop in Oklahoma turned into the police seizing tens of thousands of dollars from the manager of a Christian band. In another instance, government used the practice to seize more than $446,000 from a family business on Long Island. In neither of these instances were the people ever charged with a crime.

While it is unclear whether or not suspending due process could have prevented the tragedy in Orlando, it is clear that government abuse follows the suspension of due process.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/article/2002854/

Anonymous said...

Court cancelled so went to the nearby new Mexican restaurant. Damn, so good I think Donald Trump will build a fence around it and make the owners pay for it.

Rumpole said...

OMG I am an anonymous blogger with zero accountability to anyone and I've lost ALL CREDIBILITY? You're kidding right?

Here's what I know about gun laws and gun violence: about 56,000 names are on the Vietnam Veterans wall as casualties for about 8 years of war. 36,000 Americans died last year from gun shot wounds. More will die this year. You're worried about Ben Franklin? Tell that to the families of the 25 school kids from Connecticut or the 49 people killed last week in Orlando and as soon as you do I'm sure they will tell you that Ben Franklin's quote makes them feel soooooo much better.

PEOPLE WHO ARE SUSPECTED TERRORISTS AND WHO CANNOT GET ON AN AIRPLANE CAN GO BUY A FEW SEMI AUTOMATIC WEAPONS TODAY. AND A FEW REPUBLICAN COWARDS WHO CAN'T STAND UP TO THE NRA ARE PREVENTING A VOTE. And they will continue to prevent a vote until someone they love gets shot and killed by a nut with a gun. And the way things are going, that will probably happen sooner than later considering the tens of thousands of Americans killed every year. But keep quoting Ben F. ranklin. It's so damn impressive

Rumpole said...

BTW just saw that there are more gun stores in the US than Starbucks and McDonalds combined. Godforbid you can't stop and get a firearm on every corner. It's made us sooooo much safer than other countries like say England which had 41 gun deaths a year.

Anonymous said...

You do realize that there are tons of guns in this country. It's too late to ban them. They are out there. I'd agree upon the founding of this country to make guns illegal; but we're way past that.

Remember, criminals don't follow laws. So if my house is ever invaded, I'll be protected with a licensed gun in the night stand. Who protects your family, a statute book and a cup of tea? Which do you think will stop a would be home invader.

No Longer JAFI said...

I suppose separating the arguments between what is happening in the House and what is happening in the Senate is out of the question, huh?

Anonymous said...

Did Rumpole really just respond to an argument based on the Constitution and due process with, "Go tell that to dead victims!!!!!"

And this blogger (whose eponymous blog is identical to this one, by the way) is a criminal defense attorney? At a high level?

Our founding fathers weep.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, your defense against the well-taken and well-reasoned legal arguments on due process, bring your credibility numbers lower still into negative territory. Not everyone that is on the no-fly list is a terrorist or suspected terrorist. You know or should know that. Your rant against guns is just that, a rant devoid of logic that never even approaches the necessary quality to be called an argument.

Kissimmee Kid said...

What we know so far

Fifty-one authorities out of 382 have so far declared their results.
Leave currently has 1,755,352 votes.
Remain currently has 1,808,139 votes.
Leave is ahead by 52,787 votes.
That puts leave on 49.3%, remain on 50.7%.
The results have been closer than expected, with leave securing heftier margins than predicted in some areas where they were sure to win.
Authorities voting to leave include: Sunderland, South Tyneside, Kettering, Swindon, Broxbourne, Hartlepool, Merthyr Tydfil, Stockton-on-Tees, Basildon, Weymouth and Portland, Blaenau Gwent, Southend, Eden, Rochford and Strangford, Denbighshire, Bury, Swansea, North Warwickshire, Fareham.
Authorities voting to remain include: Gibraltar, Clackmannanshire, Orkney, Newcastle, the Isles of Scilly, Shetland, Dundee, Eilean Siar, West Dunbartonshire, West Tyrone, Midlothian, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, City of London, West Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Exeter, Stirling, Oxford, Glasgow.
Turnout currently stands at 70%.
It’s expected that 16.8 million votes will be needed for one side to win.

Anonymous said...

The British voted for Brexit.

http://www.bbc.com/news/politics/eu_referendum/results

DMD said...

R--I know a little about the gun industry--and I question the source of your statement about more gun stores than Starbucks and McD combined--perhaps the source quoted is basing their skewed calculations on the number of FFL's issued by the ATF--not all of which FFL licensees actually operate gun stores and/or sell guns--you may wish to re-confirm the factual accuracy of your 3:55 statement. DMD

Anonymous said...

Your gun argument is terrible. No logic.

Anonymous said...

So rump, what's going on with jolly old England? The mayor of London is a Muslim and the next prime minister is a New York born fella. The sun has certainly set!

Anonymous said...

Eumpole is sounding more and more like this wild-eyed man who, having run out of logical arguments for gun control, resorts to ad hominem attacks against his opponent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-pc5xzRg0E

Anonymous said...

This is a problem for the UK. The truth is that they are not that important anymore. The EU gave them the opportunity to continue to dominate within a huge bloc of countries acting as one economic entity. Now the continent will remain one entity and Britain will be dealing with them and the other world economic powers from a position of relative weakness. France and Germany, which was stronger than England yesterday, are now in a much stronger position because they alone dominate Europe. The UK was at its greatest when it was an Empire, it hasn't been that for a long time now and this act of voluntarily giving up it's influence upon Europe is the literal sun setting on the UK.

Anonymous said...

Logic clearly dictates the needs of many outweigh the needs of the few.


If there are some who have problems with being on the no-fly list in error, let's work on a way to fix that. In the meantime, preventing unnecessary gun deaths should be a priority. We need to do more than just no 'fly-no buy' But it's a start.

Let's start somewhere.

Anonymous said...

The pride before the destruction. Good luck England you are going to need it now.

Rumpole said...

I think 3:58 is quoting Spock in Star Trek, the search for Spock.