UPDATE : WE HAVE POSTED THE ORDER
UNCONSTITUTIONAL was the ruling of an REGJB judge about the new bond statute. Whilst we settle some tech issues preventing us from posting the order, take a guess about which judge issued the ruling and cited that noted legal authority Rudyard Kipling.
Devon Te Fry Pt d Constitutionality Order PDF by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd
36 comments:
Lots of complaints on the blog about Judge Hirsch being grouchy, but in the end, he's the best on the bench for our clients.
Judge Hersch?
9:49 AM,
That is why he is so perplexing as a prominent attorney and gifted judge; why does he have
to be so nasty about it? Since he does have exceptional talent, he should be able to empathize that maybe not all lawyers are of his caliber. He should try to teach lawyers rather than insult them. The demand to be in his court room first, as opposed to any others, and refusal to pass a case, has no excuse...it is as arrogant as it gets. If you went to Joe's, ordered stone crabs and the waiter bringing them to you says "Here's your fuckin' stone crabs you dumb shit asshole!" would that sit well with you? Nah, I can't give him a free pass since kindness and empathy must be essential. He may be smart with the law but his people skills are pathetic. If a person acted like that, yet they didn't have the protections of the robe, what would be the response? The retribution would arise to violence. That is why your praise of him is through rose colored glasses.
While I agree that the best judges are kind to all participants (see, i.e., Wolfson, etc.), let it be said that as lawyers, we are on notice TO BE PREPARED when appearing before Judge Hirsch, including being prepared to answer a bizarre question if so posed by the judge.
Bottom line, I will take Hirsch or Hersch any time for my criminal cases! They are by far the smartest and fairest judges that we have in Miami.
He is definitely not the best on the bench for our clients, not even close. He transparently hates our clients, he seems to have taken the bench because he didn't want to deal with the disgusting masses of criminal defendants anymore, and doesn't even try to conceal his disdain for those of us that do and have to try to manage a practice that doesn't prioritize his needs and schedule over everything else. Every legal order he enters that helps our clients gets reversed, and this one is a terrible one to go up to the Third, it barely even tries to deal with the actual constitutional issues, instead spending pages upon pages trying to show off his historical knowledge and how as usual he is smarter than everybody. His order won't even help THIS client, who he specifically says he is perfectly happy to keep in jail pretrial on other grounds. In trial, and in sentencing, he is very often quite bad for our clients, certainly far from the best. He is undoubtedly very smart. He is also undoubtedly a total prick who picked the absolute wrong profession.
Grouchy... not even close. He is a total fucking asshole to everyone.
Loved the order but, Milt, cut it out and be nice or get a female Hispanic opponent.
Where is the order?
I love reading these comments about Milt because they are so true. Every time I walk into that courtroom, I expect to be insulted by him and it’s getting very old after all these years. And the absolute disdain he shows for defendants and their families is terrible. God forbid a mother attempts to address the great and powerful Judge about her son in custody. It’s pathetic, nasty and evil every single time.
It blows my mind that people come here, with law degrees, speak poorly about elected officials, and still don’t have the mental capacity to process that Milton Hirsch and Richard Hersch are two completely different human beings. Not twin brothers, or even people who share the same last name. Both incredible judges, but they someone have become subsumed into one on this blog. Educate yourselves and get the facts straight before divulging into your diatribes I dare beg of you.
Enough of this “Milt” BS.
Rumpole … please! It’s that time of year for a STOCK MARKET update. What should your loyal readers buy?
Nvidia still a buy? Google ever going to have a viable AI product?
I’ve made a bloody fortune on your tips over the years and your “buy” on the low VIX has proven to be correct.
We all need your wisdom here Rumpole.
The condescension so obviously stems from insecurity, it's hard not simply take it as you would a toddler throwing a marshmallow at you.
It all became clear to me while hearing his voir dire, in which he eagerly insisted on speaking a few sentences in Spanish and French. There are many Miamians who speak multiple languages -- even us gringos. We do not seek opportunity to advertise that fact because we are not seeking the affirmation of some crowd of veniremen. He needs that affirmation.
He's a very smart guy, discriminating in his thought, with colorful interests and passions (Shakespeare, Cubs, etc). Miami, and criminal practice in Miami, is richer because of him.
It's saddening that in old age, he still hasn't quite addressed his insecurity and that this often translates as abrasiveness, subverting his real goal of seeking approval.
But he does run a clean, orderly courtroom -- on time, which is a small miracle in this culture. And when he compliments your lawyering, it can make your week.
Cheers to him.
12:46 AM,
The two rhyming "H" judges have been included because both are smart lawyers but they have morphed into cantankerous jurists. Milton is just plain rude while Richard loses his patience way too quickly . Since they are "elected officials" they should be nicer towards the electorate. A big aspect of the job is patience, understanding, compassion and creating a comfortable court environment. Richard gets a C while Milton gets an F. They wanted the job so they should assume the good, bad and the ugly of being a Miami-Dade circuit judge.
I turn down all court appointments from Milton. I don't need to be abused by him for $75.00 per hour. I had a court appointment with him the same day as a high paying client before another judge. Both cases were set for a brief report. I went to the other judge first and called and told Milt's JA that I would be late.
When I got there, he told me..."we don't start court at 9: 16 am and told me to go away and come back another day.
So, Milt, what makes you more important than all the other judges when I have to be in more than one place at the same time?
I think Milt needs to go back to probate.
Judge Hirsch assumed a division that was way behind, with stacks of unresolved 3.850 motions. Anyone who knows him knows that he hates not to be current and on point, and he is just as nasty to his friends as he is to anyone else.. I suspect that he holds all of us to a standard that we do not expect in state court, but maybe we should, and maybe the Cubs will do better. Finally, the desire to bring his docket current serves all of our interests, and a simply "Fuck you" whispered only to ourselves as we walk out tends to balance things.
Yes. Please Rumpy. Your opinions and picks on Wall Street. Tell us about Nvidia, Jensen the CEO and how, and if, AI will make us money on stocks - and which stocks for 2024.
Apple stock a buy??
I did recently say, in silent mode, FUCK YOU when I left Milton's courtroom and yes, I felt better.
Remember when Alex Michaels said fuck you in Romanian and got held in contempt? The judge heard it. We gotta be careful.
The means do not justify the ends. No reason nice to be nice and who wants to go to work and be abused and aggravated ? If a lawyer displayed "Hirschian behavior" it would be an ethical grievance so why would a judge get a free pass ?
The means do not justify the ends. No reason not to be nice and who wants to go to work and be abused and aggravated ? If a lawyer displayed "Hirschian behavior" it would be an ethical grievance so why would a judge get a free pass ?
So Hirsch Shumied the bond statute. (Yawn). Wake me up when something unusual happens.
He sets 50 cases for 9AM, calls only one of them on time and then gets pissed if lawyers aren’t sitting around watching him whisper.
What an ass MR. Justice Hirsch is.
The arrogance of Milt Hirsch spans the lifetime of his legal career. It includes his demeanor when he speaks to "friends" and colleagues. Everything that happens to him is always somebody else's fault, not his. He throws friends under the bus instead of accepting responsibility. When he disagrees with you he speaks in pejorative terms and believes he walks on water. These are just a few reasons he has no real friends.
The rules set by the Florida Supreme Court are just that - a procedural rule. The legislature, the last I heard, has the constitutional right to overrule a procedural rule. The defendant's due process rights are protected in the statute. Admittedly the easy fix is for bond hearing prosecutors, once they see a non-bondable offense has only to move for pre-trial detention and set for the the facts in the arrest affidavit and the matter set for what we know as an "Arthur Hearing" (no matter what the defendant's name is).
That is not any judge I have known that tries to demonstrate his supposed intellectual superiority more than Milt, and that includes Alan Schwartz. Cut from the same cloth of narcissism.
So much for the “ civility “ sign that is many courtrooms
I join the chorus of distain for Milt Hirsch. If you are one second late at 9:00 am he puts on a hissy fit and insults you. What a jerk. Nushin, please send Milton back to probate and send Peter Lopez back here. It will be night to day...in on second.
Hey, Mr/Ms 11: 22 am
Milton has not turned his chair when lawyers are talking. Alan Schwartz did that. Milton does not make fun of people having a disease.. Alan joked about a defendant having AIDS.
That being said, Milton needs to stop being a jerk. I too am tired of his rude and condescending attitude. While at it, quoting Shakespeare doesn't make you smarter than everyone else in the room.
I'm just sayin....
When Shumie or the Q walks into court they get an ROR
Judge Michael Hanzman? Much smarter than Milt. No comparison. And much kinder and more respectful.
Bring him back from civil.
Hirsch has become a caricature of a senile uncle at the Thanksgiving table who thinks Claude Kirk is still governor of Florida. The citations to Kipling are nothing more than showing off his self-perceived superiority. Like "hey everyone, just in case there is one laywer out there who does not thing I am a pompous ass, here is a quote from my good friend Rudyard just to remove all doubt." I hope he goes to hell when he dies, not because he deserves it but because there are so many people there now who do deserve bunking with him for eternity.
I usually have a rule about not looking at the comments, but I thought this blog might afford an exception. I am shocked by all the hateful and disrespectful nonsense in these comments by the defense attorneys turned anonymous keyboard warriors. I am guessing most are from the private defense bar and either aren’t good at their jobs, don’t take state court seriously, or haven’t figured out how to move through the courthouse in a way that avoids being in the position to get on the judges’ last nerves. Judge Hirsch probably offers more protection from the unconstitutionality and shenanigans facing the defendants then all of you combined between refusing to sign bad warrants, actually granting defense motions, and having the bravery to write orders that give a fighting chance in appeals. Everyone has faults and occasionally mishandles things. However, compared to how most judges treat defendants and their counsel in the Justice building, Judge Hirsch is one of the few that value the rule of law and justice.
Rather than complain about coming to court late, how about your being in court on time? “Better to be 10 minutes early than five minutes late.” Is it really that hard to be a professional? You are on notice that the Hirsch/Hersch’s start … wait for it … on time! Would you prefer to appear before a judge who shows up an hour late? If you want to be a lazy lawyer, don’t complain when the good judges call you out on it. Sheesh!
Civil lawyer here . . . I've always enjoyed reading Judge Hirsch's orders. He's the Bard of the Bench in South Florida (runner up is Magistrate Judge Goodman). This one is a clunker. Too many ruffles and flourishes. No doubt that on occasion, we all whiff with the game on the line and men on base.
I think the problem is harassing lawyers who were before other judges. It’s nonsensical and just wrong. Most lawyers in the REGJB are running from court to court. I did it for decades and almost every judge knew if I wasn’t before them when the case was called I was in another courtroom. The best of those told my client they knew me and were sure I was in another court and would be there shortly. The worst of them berated my absence to my client when I wasn’t present.
I think I’m going to do a post on this and invite judges who chastise lawyers to contribute. This is a big problem.
Rumpole at Sunday, 946pm and Rumpole at Monday 1005am look like two different authors.
Too bad the unnamed judge does not spend more time reading the professionalism code, or attending the mandatory #8262 Professionalism/Ethics online free seminar.
But 10.51 is wrong in pairing Hirsch with the late and brilliant Alan Schwartz. Hirsch hides middling skills behind pages of fluff/silliness/Kipling-Shakespeare quotes, and is regularly reversed (as he should be). Judge Schwartz was a truly brilliant lawyer, who never wrote at length if a short and to-the-point response would resolve the issue before him. Too bad Judge Hirsch never learned that basic point: KISS (keep it short, stupid).
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