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, August 24, 2020

SUPERVISED RELEASE

BREAKING: Dolphins announce 13,000 fans will be allowed in the stadium for football games. Marlins expected to follow suit (this sentence is a sarcastic one). Let us examine this scientifically. 

There is a virus with no known cure or preventative vaccine.  The virus is transmitted though respiration (people breathing). The Miami Dolphins are proposing bringing 13,000 people together to watch a game. A game! Well, we will say this- for those of you who have said you would die for football or without football- this is your chance. Tell us where to send the flowers.  Morons. 


Well, not exactly SR- but a supervised practice order for all the new lawyers who were de-barred from taking the Bar. 

The uproar over whether this year's crop of newly minted lawyers will be allowed to work and practice and learn the craft we perform so well has been answered by the Florida Supreme Court (Motto: "We have a heart after all"). 

The Great Oz and company issued an administrative order (below) turning lose the hordes of hungry post grads on to our field of play. 

Props to Attorney Brian Tannebaum who worked gratis in helping the new lawyers (memo to the new lawyers- get used to working for free). 

Couple of practice tips: 

Don't handle cases you are not qualified for, or you could be--hypothetically speaking-- disbarred from say...hmmm.. bankruptcy court if you take a case you are not qualified to handle. 

Do not work for out of state lawyers not licensed in Florida. Do not work for non-lawyers. They are just using your bar card. 

Do not work for firms that use illegal and unethical means of getting clients. You will get sued and your former clients will spill the beans on your unethical conduct which could (and should) result in your disbarment. 

Find a mentor. A more experienced lawyer you can trust. You will encounter ethical issues throughout your career. They never get easier. Run those questions by your friend/mentor. 

Learn to listen more than you speak, especially in dealing with someone who is upset. Most of the time all the other party wants is someone to listen to their complaint. 

Your reputation is all you have. You will spend a lifetime building it and it can all go away in thirty seconds on the record. Let your handshake and your word be your bond, even if in the end it is to your detriment. There is nothing more important than building a reputation that you can be trusted. 

If, somewhere along the line you violate rules one, two and three, then apparently you are qualified to be a Circuit Court Judge in Miami-Dade County. But all that glitters is not gold, and be careful what you ask for in life because you may get it. 

Here is the order for your perusal. 


AOSC20-80 by HR on Scribd

31 comments:

LSLM said...

DEFUND THE BAR!
DEFUND THE BAR!
Older lawyers are driving Porsches and we can't afford a car
DEFUND THE BAR
DEFUND THE BAR
White lawyers have homes for vacations
while we are getting evicted - its a double standard nation
DEFUND THE BAR
DEFUND THE BAR
Rich lawyers are eating caviar
while we eat scraps from a jar
DEFUND THE BAR
DEFUND THE BAR
Rich white lawyers have a pool
while we struggle with no AC to remain cool


LAW STUDENTS LIVES MATTER

Anonymous said...

Talk less, smile more...

Anonymous said...

They defunded The Ren (A venue) sigh....

Mike Tyson said...

The blog has never been better these last few months. You've hit your stride and are firing on all cylinders. Be like Barry Sanders and retire at the top. And don't come back.

Anonymous said...

Allowing these kids to practice Under supervision is an opportunity for unscrupulous attorneys to take advantage by paying peanuts to kids desperate to find a job. Unless the bar exempts them from taking the bar exam altogether, I see dark clouds of bar complaints on the horizon.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Matthew Dietz and Brian T for filing the Petition. You failed to mention Mr. Dietz.

Anonymous said...

Any word on Fantasy and/or pick'em league this year?

Rumpole said...

You really want that ? It’s hard enough to run when I am in the states. I have zero interest in spots this year including football. It seems so... pedantic when people are dying of covid 19. I guess it’s a diversion.

Rumpole said...

That should read “sports.”

Anonymous said...

Exxon has been a Dow component for nearly 100 years And they were removed today. Thoughts Rumpole.

Rumpole said...

I missed it. But my thoughts are this is a tech world. Tech leads the market. Traditional valuation standards no longer apply. I bought over a thousand shares of Tesla between 50 and 150 and sold the last ones I had at 800. Look what I missed -over a million bucks. Tesla at 2000 is a company that would have to produce 20 million cars a year justify current valuation. It does not have the factory capacity to produce that many cars. But traditional valuation methods are out the door. I worry that much of the potential valuation Robin Hood investors see in Tesla, lemonade and that gaming stock the guy from barstool promotes is similar to the market bubble of the late 1990s with companies like AOL and PETS.COM. But I missed the rally from the mid March lows although I nailed the crash by selling short in February. I’ve day traded TQQQ against my better instincts but it’s allowed me to profit from the rally while remaining in cash.
Exxon’s day is done. Feel how hot it is outside ? Robin Hood investors don’t like energy companies and they are driving this market in part. Chipotle over McDonalds because of them. Crowd funding over banks. Same reasons. Out with the old. In with the new. Have fun.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Two individuals who worked at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building, 1351 NW 12 St., in the locations listed below, have tested positive for COVID-19.

Persons identified as having been in close proximity to the confirmed individuals have been notified and are asked to take all necessary precautions.


Last Days Worked:
Thursday, 8/20/2020
Thursday 8/13/2020

Work Areas:
9th Floor Clerk’s Office areas
Courtroom 7-3
Courtroom 3-2

Anonymous said...

Don't they know that the Dems want the economy as screwed up as possible until after the election?

Anonymous said...

Tanny for Lawyer of the Year!

Anonymous said...

Rump, great advice but only quality competent young lawyers will follow. The bottom feeders who are vastly unqualified will continue to seek a judgeship only because it represents a substantial raise from their present despair. And if they have a Latin surname they will beat a non-Latin no matter how qualified he/she may be. However Aponte's "promotion" may be short lived with the Bar and JQC breathing down her back. Miami has had many very questionable judges over the years such as Rosemary Jones, Martin Greenbaum, Joe Gersten, Lantz, (remember the Paco comment) James Earnest, and Harold Featherstone among others. But none as bad as Aponte. Not even a present judge who sold Amway with no judicial experience before donning the black robes. But "it is what it is" very sad and pitiful.

Rumpole said...

10:22 with all due respect I really think we need to stop the racial/ethnic politics/ I won't say who, but you know who, a couple of those judges up there approach the "Aponte standard" and they are Anglos.

Fred Moreno is not a great Venezuelan judge- he is a great judge. Tom Careny wasn't a great Irish judge- a great judge. Mario Godderich was not a great Cuban judge- just a great judge.
Will Thomas not a great black judge - but a great judge.

I could care less Aponte's ethnicity- as I said a few of those Anglo judges you mentioned never should have been judges and I refrain from identifying them as they have passed away and unlike POTUS I try not to speak ill of the departed.

Here is all you need to know about Aponte's selfishness and her desire to get a steady paycheck- when asked why she challenged Tunis she did NOT mention Tunis' speaking short to lawyers and litigants- criticisms that lawyers not involved in the campaign and lawyers supporting Tunis have said. She said Tunis was a great judge who should be appointed to the 3rd DCA. Because it was never about Tunis- just about the fact she was playing an ethnicity game and all she wanted and wants is a steady paycheck at the expense of the people of Dade County. WHAT IS SHE QUALIFIED TO DO AS A JUDGE? No one has stepped forward and pointed to one case where she had an area of expertise. Can you imagine her being appointed a referee in a Bar proceeding when she has open Bar proceedings and the person who owned her firm was disbarred in NY State? I can't.

Rumpole said...

That should read "lawyers supporting Aponte"

Anonymous said...

Although I knew Tom Carney very well, even played golf with him at La Gorce and helped him to the bench when he was a lawyer with Gerry Pyska's office, he was not a "great judge". He was usually ok but on occasion he was not fair at sentencing and punished a defendant who beat a first degree murder with a manslaughter verdict and maxed out the juvenile 17 year old with a 30 year sentence merely because he said the defense lawyer did an amazing job and but for that the defendant should have been convicted of murder one.

Rumpole said...

You are entitled to your opinion. Tom was a forerunner of Dennis Murphy. A civil lawyer who became a (great) criminal court judge. I think he could separate the wheat from the chaff. I saw him JOA murder counts and roast prosecutors who brought bad cases. If a defendant caught a break, I am not surprised to hear you say he did what he did. Those were different times. Depending on when he issued the sentence, that kid would have done less than half on 30. But I see your point and it's well taken.

Joe Klock said...

What contact have you had with Ms. Aponte? Do you Tunis diehards really think that the comments you are making about this young woman are appropriate and in keeping with the Canons of Professional ethics.
Judge Tunis would have lost that race to Camacho Adrien or to Fala because she thought she owned the place and only had to be nice to her friends. That is a shame because she was a great County Judge. I hope you get great satisfaction out of trashing the names of dead jurists. We elect judges, so judges need to be electable. If you no longer care what people think, then you should not be surprised if someone runs against you and beats you. It is a shame that the opponent does not meet the high standards of an accomplished back-bencher.
I never knew Ms Aponte until I was brought in on a case where she had picked up a client who had been unethically and badly abused in the federal system. She developed an alternative theory and worked the case, including depositions, until she got an excellent result for a young man who together wit his family, really needed the money.
I feel badly that as a result of having to defend scandalous, unprofessional, childish, and vindictive attacks on this newly-elected judge, I may never be able to appear in front of her. I guess she should have been faulted for saying something nice about Judge Tunis. I do not fault her for that, and I believe what she can say is strictly governed by the Code of Judicial Ethics.
I also think that folks who are married to judges should try to raise themselves a bit above the fifth grade level of character assassination. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.
I recently picked up a case where Retired Judge Rhea Grossman is on the other side. She was a great judge and is a great advocate. Like so many women of her time, she had to put up with rank discrimination because of gender. Today, because of women like her, it is typical to see women populating the bench and law firms, but there is still a distance to go. What you are doing is just not right.
And, your silly business about there not being Black, or Jewish, or Jewish, or Latin judges, if you did not know better, would be naive. But it is just over-the-top progressive pap. Joe Klock

Anonymous said...

10:22 Don’t forget Mary Ann Mackenzie.

Theodore Mastos said...

The system always somehow goes on. I have seen more people come and go over 47 years in that REG Building than most folks walking the halls(if we ever can walk those halls again). There is always an uncontested divorce calendar in Homestead or North Dade that Rosy might be able to handle. Our judiciary took a serious beating this time around. We are the losers.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of errant judges, fresh from today...

http://onlinedocketssc.flcourts.org/DocketResults/CaseDocket?Searchtype=Case+Number&CaseTypeSelected=All&CaseYear=2020&CaseNumber=1251

He already pre-negotiated his slap-on-the-wrist.

Rumpole said...

Mr. Klock I can almost hear people from the 1950s and 1960s talk about the "silly business" of black and white people dating each other and marrying. I can hear the talk in the 1980s and 1990s and 2000s about the "silly business" of same sex couples getting married. I am sure there was a ton of talk about the "silly business" of black and white children going to school together. Your dismissal of not playing along with racial and ethnic politics belongs right up there with the silly business of global warming. Step outside please. Great change takes great courage.
Moving on, Aponte said that Judge Tunis should be on the 3rd DCA. But she felt compelled to run against her?
Go ahead and post your case number with Aponte, lets take a look at the pleadings. I have pleadings sent to me that I did not ridicule her on with non-sequiturs and no legal reasoning. I have affidavits filed in lawsuits about her work for a firm using runners to go to scenes to solicit accident cases. You never address that. That she worked for a disbarred lawyer and signed her name to pleadings and that her firm engaged in the slimy practice of using non-lawyers (who were paid) to go to scenes to solicit cases. Please address that if you want to defend her. How can she be assigned as a Bar Referee when she engaged in such unethical acts?
As it stands she is 100% the worst possible candidate I have ever seen become a Judge. She had no support from the community. She cannot speak intelligently in public. She was nervous at the Wilkie Ferguson Bar function? JUDGES SPEAK IN PUBLIC UNDER PRESSURE. How nervous is she going to be with ASA Gayle Levine on one side of a death case and some high powered lawyer on the other side pushing her on every single issue? But then again we do not know because she had the audacity to seek a circuit court position WITHOUT EVER TRYING A CASE.
Waiting for your response.

Blonde PD said...

Klock is tangling with Rumpole. With all due respect this is not going to end well for Klock. Rumpole is in a class by himself in these types of arguments.

Anonymous said...

Top four in an argument Shumie/Q/Rumpole/David Boies

Top 8,376,292,199 in argument- Klock

Anonymous said...

Worst person to become a judge ever? We had a ton of judges go to prison for accepting bribes and doing coke in chambers etc. Also two words Peter Adrien

Anonymous said...

Joe Klock and David Boies are the only people of the five cited by 5:07 to argue a case in front of SCOTUS. And Klock won his case, as I recall.

Anonymous said...

6:44 pm you just stepped in it. Klock thought a brilliant argument was to memorize the names of the Justices and to repeat their names every time he addressed them. Problem was, he repeatedly mistakenly referred to one by the wrong name - by deceased Justice Brennan, I believe. And Souter (?) had to scold Klock to “stop doing that.” The panel - indeed the gallery - all laughed at Klock. It was an embarrassment to the Miami Bar. Like the demise of SHD, while Joe was managing that firm.

Klock - what was the style of the federal case you handled with Ehponte? Please provide it so we may all review those public filings. You brought it up, big fella. Put your money where your mouth is.

Anonymous said...

Rump; the case was tried twice. the kid was sentenced in 2001. He will do most of the 30 in light of the recent Florida Supreme case of Pedroza which overruled the former Supreme Court case which permitted juveniles with a 20 year sentence to be resentenced. The three new justices replaced 3 more liberal ones who had to retire because of age. Ironically if he had been convicted of Murder one or given a life sentence on Second degree murder he would be eligible for a review as the State and the Courts have conceded. Tom was my friend and an overall great guy. A former pro golfer as well. But he was not one of our GREAT judges in the clothe of Ed Cowart, Michael Hanzman, Paul Baker and a few others.He was just angry about the jury's verdict and acted as a 13th juror. Whoever said "the law is an ass" must have talked about this case.......

Rumpole said...

He was no Ed Cowart. Few are.