Sad news to report that retired REGJB Judge Ric Margolius a/k/a Ric Zweig has passed away.
This is a complicated obituary to write. Much like Jimmy Carter, Ric Margolius accomplished a lot when he left the bench. A music career that earned him accolades and in which he donated profits of CDs to charity. Click here and here.
When he returned to the REGJB to do some coverage, he was, well, a character. We once saw security stop him in a back hallway, sure the person they were seeing did not belong there.
Ric Margolius started his career as a public defender. He served on the bench during a time when there was not 24/7 scrutiny and exposure of every little thing a person does. To put it politely he did not suffer fools lightly. His manner in court could be caustic, cantankerous, or just ornery. He would not get high marks on Judicial Temperament.
But that means he called it as he saw it. He was not afraid to lambast a prosecutor who was stepping over bounds or hiding behind a "victim wants max" mantra. He wanted to see justice done. And he was not beyond giving a defendant a good old-fashioned dressing-down when they pled guilty to a crime.
But there was obviously another side to him, and his life after the bench, spent making music and working for charities speaks a lot to the heart he had and his desire to make Miami a better place than he found it.
We are certain we will not see his like again in our courthouse. He spoke his mind freely, and did what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences or who was offended.
He was certainly one of a kind. May he rest in peace.
2 comments:
Ric was mercurial. He let everybody know what he thought. He didn’t like drug cases, thought drug laws were not effective nor utilitarian to stop drug use and used primary on poor people. A pound of pot or an ounce of coke no big deal. But pity a defendant who was found guilty of Robbery or Grand Theft, ‘ your a thief he would tell them especially GT Auto. He would go on saying, with his voice raising with every word:
Imagine you are in Coral Gables having an anniversary dinner with your wife and you come out of the restaurant to find your car stolen .
BUT he never added a trial tax just sentenced a defendant to what he thought was deserved.
Rick was a true character once he assumed the bench. I had one trafficking case where a female then judge granted my motion to recuse her since her baliff tried to date the defendants wife while the defendant was in custody with no bond. The case fell to Ric. He motioned me to sidebar and told me to wait 2 days and he would grant the bond that the female judge had denied before she got recused. Later he spent time in central America having a good time with some of the local ladies. He was truly unique. Sad to hear of his passing.
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