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.

Saturday, April 25, 2026

ZOOM ZAPPED FOR BOND HEARINGS

Sunday Update:

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?


 Long gone are the days when we worried about bond hearings / first appearance in the REGJB. But we know that having Zoom was a boon for our colleagues, especially on the weekends. 

But that has apparently all ended because of one bad apple. All that we know was sent in an email from a certain criminal defense organization we are enjoined from mentioning by name. But that email was forwarded to us by several alert readers, and despite risking civil sanctions, we summarize its contents so as to fulfill our altruistic duties to our faithful readers who want to know WTF is going on and why do they have to trek down to REGJB for a bond hearing on Sunday  when a bunch of unscrupulous bond companies are going to try and steal the client  by calling the client's family members and telling them to come to meet them to get their loved one out of jail. The judicial high council can stop zoom hearings, but they won't do a damn thing about bond companies hustling cases. Shame. Shame!

From the ----- email: 

Good evening ----- Miami,

As forwarded below, our Circuit leadership has decided to remove Zoom for Felony First Appearance Hearings. 

We have spoken with multiple members of Circuit leadership, and they indicated that this change was precipitated by recent threats against the Felony First Appearance Judge.

We clearly and explicitly condemn threats against our local judges, the judiciary, and judicial independence. A judge should be able to rule on a case and not receive threats against her life, home, and place of worship. Period. Full stop.

...

In speaking with Circuit leadership, we learned that this change had been contemplated for months. Circuit leadership has been continually concerned that Zoom makes bond hearings are streamed via YouTube by a member of the public.  This livestream has a comment section where members of the public often express distasteful views on parties to the case—victims, the accused, judges, etc. This YouTube channel and its comment section were being monitored by Circuit leadership.

So now you know why there is no more Zoom for bond hearings. In essence the Circuit Court high council let One Bad Apple spoil the whole bunch. And that's a shame. 

 It's 66 degrees in the City with a high today of 72. Traffic on the FDR is building around the Brooklyn Bridge. And now coming at ya now it's the Osmands and One Bad Apple on 66, W...NBC!


 


To paraphrase Donny Osmond, how about if the Circuit High Council gives it one more try before giving up on love Zoom? 

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mindy Glazer has the easiest job in the circuit. She gets in at 930 and exists by 330 everyday. She doesnt deal with juries or trials. She doesnt have to write orders or deal with sleazy lawyers. She goes home with no work worries. Yet if some rando shit poster says something about her she goes whining to the administration to shut down zoom and hurt the defense lawyers. I plan on remebering this when she runs for election. I love how judges would prefer the public not see how they do their work.

Anonymous said...

I hate zoom. I hate it with the exception of using it to talk to my relatives when I dont want to waste my time and see them in person. And sometimes i pretend Im frozen to give the impression my connection has froze.

Anonymous said...

Best job in Dade County. Kudos to Mindy. The best judge in America.

Anonymous said...

The phenomenon “Winning at all cost” needs to be studied.

Anonymous said...

She was never good but she’s been going unhinged lately. For some reason she gets a pass but she’s said some real wacky and bitter stuff about private lawyers lately. Regardless, they are conducting that court virtually. The defendants don’t go to court and neither do the ASAs and PDs, those proceedings therefore must be public. I don’t think allowing the public to view a TV inside a courroom is going to cut it. If you broadcast it anywhere you have to broadcast it everywhere.

Anonymous said...

If I was a judge, I would never allow Zoom in criminal court

Anonymous said...

She is “America’s Judge!”

Anonymous said...

What are we going to do when you’re gone ? No one could link the zoom issue to the Osmonds except you Rumpole ! And that Mrs Lincoln punch line - just perfect.

Anonymous said...

Never forget ASA Mitchell was kicked off the Corey Smith case and hasn’t seen any repercussions for his unethical actions. At least VonZamft resigned.

Anonymous said...

This seems to be about the worst way to try to fix this problem. Why not address this issue with the Facebook account holder to have them moderate their comments section? Perhaps they contact Facebook to get their assistance? But no Zoom hearings?! Dumb!

Anonymous said...

LOL!

Anonymous said...

Never forget. MVZ didn’t resign. He had already retired. Acting like he resigned was KFR’s way of acting like she did something.

Anonymous said...

No, he did not retire. He is "inactive."
Michael Lee Von Zamft
Elected Status: Inactive
Not Eligible to Practice Law in Florida
Bar Number:
165827

Mail Address:
210 Saddle Tree Way
Sugar Hill, GA 30518-6970

Office: 305-775-4203

Cell: 305-775-4203 - No Text Messages

Email:
mlvz@bellsouth.net

Personal Bar URL:
https://www.floridabar.org/mybarprofile/165827

vCard:

County:
Non-Florida

Circuit:
00

Admitted:
10/18/1973

10-Year Discipline History:
None

Law School:
University of Miami School of Law, 1973

Federal Courts:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida

State Courts:
Georgia

New York

Firm Position:
Retired

The Find a Lawyer directory is provided as a public service. The Florida Bar maintains limited basic information about lawyers licensed to practice in the state (e.g., name, address, year of birth, gender, law schools attended, admission year). However, The Florida Bar allows individual attorneys the opportunity to add personal and professional information to the directory. The lawyer is solely responsible for reviewing and updating any additional information in the directory. The lawyer's added information is not reviewed by The Bar for accuracy and The Bar makes no warranty of any kind, express or implied. The Florida Bar, its Board of Governors, employees, and agents are not responsible for the accuracy of that additional information. Publication of lawyers' contact information in this listing does not mean the lawyers have agreed to receive unsolicited communications in any form. Unauthorized use of this data may result in civil or criminal penalties. The Find a Lawyer directory is not a lawyer referral service.
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Anonymous said...

Unlike Janet Reno, Kathy supports “winning at all cost”

Anonymous said...

Katherine Fernandez Rundle “winning at all cost”

Anonymous said...

Hey Rump this goes for Courthouse and SAO Graham Building. County Buildings are old and shit.

1917.116(c)
No elevator or escalator with a defect which affects safety shall be used.
1917.116(d)
Elevator safety devices shall not be overridden or made inoperable.
1917.116(e)
Elevators and escalators shall be thoroughly inspected at intervals not exceeding one year. Additional monthly inspections for satisfactory operation shall be conducted by designated persons. Records of the results of the latest annual elevator inspections shall be posted in elevators. Records of annual escalator inspections shall be posted in the vicinity of the escalator or be available at the terminal.
1917.116(f)
Elevator landing openings shall be provided with doors, gates or equivalent protection which shall be in place when the elevator is not at that landing, to prevent employees from falling into the shaft.

Anonymous said...

You are an authority on elevator history

Anonymous said...

Although I don’t actively monitor bond hearings, I occasionally tune in and appreciate the ability to see how they unfold. Too often, crime in Miami-Dade County feels like a revolving door, with offenders back on the streets within days, to the detriment of the community.

Limiting public access to these hearings only makes matters worse. Transparency is in everyone’s best interest.

Anonymous said...

Brownyn Miller's motion to dismiss JQC complaint denied. SC2025-1633. She continues as these proceedings play out and will for at least many more months to sit on criminal cases and issues decisions on convictions obtained by KFR's office. The 3rd as a whole has acquiesced in this.

Re Zoom first appearances, people talking shit about you is part of being a public servant. If there's a credible threat get law enforcement involved. Everyone in this system has people talk about how awful they are and how much they hate them all the time--price of admission , nobody forced you to become a lawyer or a judge and you don't get the good parts of being a judge without the bad.

Anonymous said...

When you retire and stop paying dues you're "not eligible to practice"
He will be ineligible for other reasons very soon.
His motion to dismiss on his bar complaint was a total FLOP. Who hired that attorney for him... Oh probably KFR.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what the "threats" were...

Anonymous said...

Aside from this blog and bitter defense attorneys after a loss, who has EVER heard Kathy or anyone senior at the SAO say “win at all cost” ?!?(or any version of this oft used statement) You want to hate on KFR or the SAO? Enjoy yourselves. But why do you persist in this fantasy? There are plenty of reasons to bash the SAO aside from this urban legend created out of your own inability to win a case.

Anonymous said...

file motions to recuse her off your appeals. only way to assert our displeasure with the way its being handled...

Anonymous said...

Those are codes smart ass

Anonymous said...

“Win at all cost” has been around forever. You are a moron.

Anonymous said...

7:33pm you are really dumb.

Anonymous said...

Response to 5.18.09: Judge Glazer served as a referee in a judge-filed complaint against a sole practitioner lawyer. The Bar did not file a complaint until 11 months after a Grievance Committee (guided by the "investigating member" a puppy Asst USA whose "investigation" consisted of one phone call with the lawyer and one with the judge, did nothing more) found "PC." After a two-day trial, and the lawyer's submission of 93 pages of e-mails -- always made available on simple request to The Bar --- which proved the innocence of the lawyer, Judge Glazer submitted a carefully researched and thoughtful recommendation to dismiss the case. Then she granted the lawyer's motion to assess costs against The Bar (only allowed where the grievance lacked both a factual and a legal basis). The Bar did not seek review, and the Supreme Court dismissed the case, and approved the award of costs (which The Bar paid promptly).
It is clear to me that zoom is a Rule 3.850 gift to the accused. Some clever post-conviction lawyer, I hope, will commence to collect e-mails from the unnamed listserv, which show that zoom is the Lazy Lawyer's Civil Relief Act: The client pays a lot of money, then the lawyers don't go to court, don't watch the judges' preferences and rulings, don't learn from watching how more experienced advocates handle matters, don't pick up info on new law or administrative orders (like AI disclosure AO, issued on January 15, 2026, and effective that day), and don't meet live with clients being jailed pending trial.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for responding Judge Glazer. I hope you don't get hurt patting your back. You don't get a applause for following the law. The defendant will still be on video so we can't do anything different than we did before. You haven't justified turning off zoom so that the public can't see what you are doing. But we really appreciated your florida bar story.