GOV. DESANTIS APPOINTS TWO NEW SUPREME COURT JUSTICES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR TWO NEWEST FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ARE .......

JUDGE RENATHA FRANCIS

ATTORNEY JOHN COURIEL

Today, Governor DeSantis appointed Judge Renatha Francis and attorney John Couriel to two seats on the high court that were open when former Justices Robert Luck and Barbara Lagoa were appointed to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Francis was born in Jamaica. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of the West Indies and her law degree from Florida Coastal Law.

Francis was first appointed to the Miami-Dade County Court bench by Gov. Scott in August of 2017. Ten months later, in June of 2018, Scott elevated Judge Francis to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Just over one year later, in October of 2019, Francis resigned her seat on the Miami-Dade bench only to be appointed as a Circuit Court Judge in Palm Beach County. Prior to joining the bench she worked as a lawyer for the 1^st DCA and then as an associate at Shutts & Bowen.

Amazingly, Judge Francis is NOT qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. Francis graduated from Florida Coastal Law in 2010 and became a member of the Florida Bar on September 24th of that year. According to the Florida Constitution, a Supreme Court justice must have been a member of the Florida Bar for 10 years. Therefore, Judge Francis will not be eligible to take her seat on the Florida Supreme Court until after September 24, 2020.

There has been much talk about the need for diversity on the bench, especially the Florida Supreme Court. When Justice Peggy Quince retired in January of 2019, that left the high court without a black justice for the first time in 36 years. Thirty-two people applied for the two open seats on the high court, six of them black. The JNC nominated one, Francis.

Slate, in an article from April 1, 2020, wrote about the controversy surrounding Francis' nomination by the JNC and suggested that Francis’ appointment is unconstitutional. They wrote:

There are two ..... constitutional provisions that are relevant. First, Article V, Subsection 11(c) states that "[t]he governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor." (DeSantis received the nominee list in January and was obligated to make his appointments no later than March 23, 2020.).

Next, Article V, Subsection 11(a) provides that "[w]henever a vacancy occurs in a judicial office to which election for retention applies, the governor shall fill the vacancy by appointing for a term." The plain language of the Florida Constitution does not distinguish between appointment and commission. The constitutionally significant event is the appointment, which is what fills the vacancy. How can a vacancy be filled if the appointee does not take office for a few months? It can’t.

John Couriel is a partner at Kobre & Kim, where he handles high-stakes cross-border disputes, with a particular focus on Latin America. A native Spanish speaker, Mr. Couriel conducts internal investigations and represents individuals and corporations in jurisdictions including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.

Before joining Kobre & Kim, Couriel served as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice (as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida), where he prosecuted significant wire fraud, money laundering, healthcare fraud, and other conspiracies, including in cases involving cross-border prosecutorial cooperation and extradition matters. 

Couriel has made more than one attempt at elected state office. In 2012, he ran against incumbent State Senator Gwen Margolis, losing badly to her with only 38% of the vote. In 2016, Couriel took a shot at the Florida House when he ran in District 114 as a Republican against Democratic candidate Daisy Baez. Baez defeated Couriel 51% to 49%; (1,336 votes separated the two candidates). Of note, Baez resigned her seat on November 1, 2017, after reaching a deal with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office to plead guilty to a perjury charge related to her place of residence.

Couriel attended Harvard as both an undergrad and law school. He has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2004.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

FLORIDA SUPREME COURT SUSPENDS ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY FOR ONE YEAR .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY SUSPENDED FOR ONE YEAR .....

"The uncontested report of the referee is approved and respondent is suspended from the practice of law for one year ...."

Those are the words from the opening line of a Florida Supreme Court Order suspending ASA Colleen Marie Dunne, a prosecutor employed by the State Attorney’s Office in Monroe County. Ms. Dunne has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2000.

From the Original Complaint:

5. Respondent was assigned to prosecute the case against Mr. William Thomas Skinner, who was arrested on June 1, 2009 for multiple felony counts, including attempted murder and burglary of a dwelling with a firearm.

6. In January 2010, the defense placed Respondent on notice that it intended to rely upon an insanity defense in the case. Respondent thereafter received two reports from the defendant’s two mental health experts.

7. The State hired its own expert witness. The State’s expert, Dr. Michael Brannon, advised Respondent to provide numerous items to assist in his evaluation of the defendant, including jail calls and other statements made by the defendant around the time of his arrest which would demonstrate his state of mind at that time.

8. Respondent was also advised by her supervisor that she should listen to the defendant’s phone calls on the jail’s recorded line. Both Respondent, and an intern acting at Respondent’s direction, listened to numerous phone calls of the defendant.

9. Three of the calls Respondent listened to were the defendant’s conversations with his son on the day of his arrest. These calls were significant in that they refuted many aspects of the defendant’s purported insanity defense as documented in the defense experts’ reports. The calls demonstrated that the defendant was lucid, organized in his thinking, able to plan, that he remembered the events in question and that he had not suffered any blackouts. The instant complaint arises from Respondent’s misconduct related to these phone calls.

10. On July 6, 2010, Respondent’s intern downloaded these three phone calls to a DVD, and notified Respondent of same via email.

11. On July 16, 2010, the intern emailed the audio recordings of the three phone calls to Dr. Brannon, the State’s expert, along with a memorandum detailing the relevance and significance of each of these phone calls to refuting the purported insanity defense. Respondent was copied on this email.

12. On July 22, 2010, Respondent spoke for two hours on the phone with the State’s expert, Dr. Brannon. They discussed the three jail house calls during that conversation, and Dr. Brannon indicated he would utilize the calls for purposes of his evaluation of the defendant.

13. On July 26, 2010, Respondent deposed the first defense expert. The following morning, on July 27, 2010, Respondent deposed the second defense expert.

14. Respondent did not identify or produce the three jail house calls to the defense or the defense experts either prior to or during these depositions, despite an outstanding discovery request for statements made by defendant.

15. At the deposition of the defendant’s second expert on the morning of July 27, 2010, Respondent asked pointed questions which insinuated she had knowledge of statements made by the defendant to his son. Defense counsel, Ms. Cara Higgins, confronted Respondent and inquired directly:

Q. Is the State in possession of some statements allegedly made by the defendant that day that the State is referring to?

A. I’m not in possession of any statements Mr. Skinner gave to law enforcement or that I’m referring to. I’m not. I’m not in any possession. I have turned over any and all statements that he has made on that day.

Q. The State is not in possession of any statements allegedly made by the defendant to his son about organizing, et cetera, that is your entire line of questioning about this?

A. I will provide any and all statements that Mr. Skinner made that would be required under the discovery rules.

Q. Demand for discovery has been outstanding.

A. I know, Ms. Higgins.

Q. Is there something that the State is aware of?

A. Ms. Higgins, I’m well aware of my discovery obligations and I will provide any and all statements that I have . . . .

16. Following this deposition, Respondent returned to her office and emailed her supervisors requesting direction. The following morning, she filed supplemental discovery responses and produced the three jail house phone calls in question.

17. The Defense thereafter filed a Motion to Exclude the three jail house phone calls based on Respondent’s actions. A hearing on the motion was held on May 10, 2011.

18. At the hearing on the Motion to Exclude, Respondent attempted to explain the statements she had made to defense counsel at the deposition.

19. Respondent told the court that the jail calls were equally available to the defense as to the State. Respondent stated, "At the time of this deposition I was not in possession of those calls. Those calls were at IC Solution."

20. Respondent continued, "At the time that I was deposing these witnesses I was familiar that Mr. Skinner had been making phone calls, but I didn’t have them literally downloaded on a disk."

21. This statement was directly refuted by the July 6, 2010 email from Respondent’s intern to Respondent, indicating she was almost done downloading the calls to a DVD, and by the subsequent email from her intern on July 16, 2010, forwarding those recorded and downloaded calls to the State’s expert.

22. Respondent thereafter explained to the judge that she did not know she was going to use this evidence until after the depositions of the defense experts, stating that it was the defense experts’ answers that made her aware of the relevance or significance. At the same time, Respondent reiterated the false statement that she had not previously downloaded the calls: "Doctor Haber did not give specific answers to those questions. Doctor Haber was the first deposition which was taken place July 26th. The next deposition was Doctor Jacobson and in that deposition I still did not - - I had not downloaded those calls. I had not documented these calls. But that’s when I asked the questions that related to the characters which relate to the defendant’s behavior on the day in question."

23. Respondent’s purported lack of knowledge of the relevance of the phone calls is refuted by the July 16, 2010 memorandum documenting the calls and their significance, as well as by Respondent’s admission that the State’s expert directed her to look for exactly these types of phone calls and statements of the defendant which would demonstrate his state of mind close in time to the criminal acts.

24. Following the hearing on the Motion to Exclude, the court held that, although a violation had occurred, the Respondent had turned over the subject phone calls well in advance of trial, and there was, accordingly, time to cure the prejudice resulting from the violation. As a result, the phone calls were not excluded. The matter proceeded to trial, and the defendant was convicted. His subsequent appeal was denied.

25. In the interim, in 2013 the defendant’s counsel filed numerous public records requests to the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office, and litigation thereon ensued. As a result of the court’s orders, numerous emails between Respondent and her intern, and her supervisors, were discovered.

26. Throughout the pre-trial and trial stages, Respondent continuously denied having "possession" of the three phone calls at any time prior to her depositions of the two defense experts. It was not until the defendant’s 2013 public records request revealed the emails between Respondent, her intern, and the State’s expert from July 2010, that her misrepresentation was discovered. At that time, it became clear that Respondent in fact had both physical and constructive possession of the three phone calls weeks prior to her deposition of the defense experts.

27. As a result of that public records disclosure, the defense filed several post-conviction motions, including a motion for a new trial and a motion to disqualify the state attorney’s office from participating in any further proceedings.

28. Following the April 2015 hearing on defendant’s Motion to Disqualify the State Attorney’s Office, the court entered an Order denying the requested relief on various grounds, notwithstanding its detailed finding that Respondent violated her ethical obligations in the case. Specifically, the court found that Respondent:

"clearly had the recorded phone calls in her possession at least one week prior to the defense depositions, if not much earlier, and she intentionally withheld them. . . . At [the May 10, 2011 hearing on the motion to suppress], the prosecutor, Colleen Dunne, violated her ethical obligation to this court when she clearly denied her possession of the three recorded phone calls prior to the deposition of the defense experts. . . . Ms. Dunne’s behavior in the instant case fell below the ethical expectations of this court, and that of the people of the State of Florida. The prosecutor has an ongoing obligation to properly disclose information relevant to a case. There is no question that the prosecutor knew the jail calls were damning to the defense of insanity, and that her delay in disclosing the calls was gamesmanship. Gamesmanship has no place in the criminal justice system."

THE COMPLAINT

LINKS TO SEVERAL DOCUMENTS IN THE FILE

THE CONSENT JUDGMENT

SUPREME COURT ORDER


CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

GOVERNOR DESANTIS APPOINTS SECOND SUPREME COURT JUSTICE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .......
(More Breaking News on the 3rd DCA below).

JUDGE ROBERT LUCK APPOINTED TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT:

A few minutes ago, before a large crowd of friends and family gathered at the Scheck Hillel Community School in Aventura, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the second of three Supreme Court appointments. Last week he stood at The Freedom Tower and appointed 3^rd DCA Judge Barabar Lagoa to the court to replace Justice Fred Lewis. That seat was reserved for someone who was a resident of the state’s Third Appellate District. Today, Gov. DeSantis’ selection is for one of the two remaining "at large" seats.

Judge Robert Luck graduated from North Miami Beach High School and he still lives in the area with his wife and two children. He graduated from UF undergrad (BA, 2000) and UF Law in 2004; (Editor in Chief of the Law Review). He then clerked for Chief Judge Ed Carnes of the 11^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before joining Greenberg Traurig where he worked in their appellate section. In 2008 he became an AUSA, and he was assigned to the Appeals, Major Crimes, and Economic Crimes Sections, spending five years there. In 2013, Gov. Scott appointed him to the Circuit Court. He won a full six year term in 2016 when he defeated Yolly Roberson (54% - 46%). He spent a total of four years on the Circuit Court bench presiding in the Criminal, Civil, and Appellate Divisions. In March of 2017, Scott elevated him to the 3^rd DCA. Justice Luck completes his meteoric rise in the Florida state court system with his appointment to the state’s highest court.

For anyone that has ever applied to the judiciary in the State of Florida, you know that the application asks you to describe "significant cases" you have handled in your career (as a lawyer or on the bench). In Luck's application,  he described what happened to him during a 2015 hearing concerning the prosecution of a defendant charged with Battery of a person over the age of 65:

" ... the defendant rushed up from his seat and jumped at me. He and I tumbled down the steps of the bench, and as I was laying on the floor, (he) was on top of me, punching my head. "My bailiff eventually ripped (him) off of me. I got up, dusted off my robe, fixed my chair, which had been knocked down, took my place on the bench, and dictated what had happened into the record. I then entered an order recusing myself from the case.

Despite the bleeding and bruising, I declined medical attention and refused to file a worker’s compensation claim. Hearing about the incident in Tallahassee, then-Chief Justice Jorge Labarga wrote me this note: ‘I want to commend you for the professionalism you displayed in handling what must have been a very disturbing situation. Your coolness and understanding was exemplary."

In Luck’s remarks today, he closed with a Jewish prayer and stated that he hoped that pray would guide him for the next 35 years on the bench; Luck is only 39 years old and with the constitutional amendment passing in 2018 allowing judges to serve until age 75, that would be possible.

Gov. DeSantis has one remaining appointment on the high court, and that name will come from one of the other nine JNC nominees that include:

Couriel, John Daniel,
Gerber, Jonathan D.,
Grosshans, Jamie Rutland,
Kuntz, Jeffrey T.,
Kyle, Bruce,
Muñiz, Carlos Genaro
Osterhaus, Timothy D.
Salario, Samuel J., Jr.
Singhal, Anuraag

THIRD DCA .......

Updating my post in the Comments section from last week concerning the subject, on Thursday, January 10, 2019, 3rd DCA Judge Kevin Emas was unanimously elected as Chief Judge of the 3rd, replacing Justice Barbara Lagoa, who had taken over as the Chief on January 1, 2019. Lagoa was named to the Florida Supreme Court by Gov. DeSantis on January 8th.  With the naming of Judge Luck today, the 3rd DCA now has two new open seats. We expect the JNC to announce their request for Applications shortly.  Judge Emas began his career on the bench in 1996 with his appointment by Gov. Chiles to the County Court bench. In 2001, Gov. Bush appointed Emas to the Circuit Court.  Finally, in 2010, Gov. Crist appointed Judge Emas to his current seat on the 3rd DCA.  Emas will serve as Chief Judge until June 30, 2021. Judge Ivan Fernandez becomes the Chief-Judge Elect.

(Our apologies for Rumpole for posting over his Monday morning post entitled "Gavels Up", which you can read just below this post).

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

　

Gov. DeSantis Announces First of Three Supreme Court Justices .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .......

Governor Ron DeSantis today appointed BARBARA LAGOA to the Florida Supreme Court.  It is his first of three appointments to the open seats on the Court as the result of the retirement of Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince.

The announcement was made at the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami this morning.  Newly elected Attorney General Ashley Moody opened the event, followed by Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez, who introduced the Governor.

Judge Logoa, 51, has been on the 3rd DCA for the past 12 years, authoring 470 opinions. She was appointed to the 3rd DCA by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006 becoming the first Cuban American woman  appointed to that Court. She was the Chief Judge of the 3rd DCA, having assumed that role just nine days ago.  She was born in Miami and grew up in Hialeah, graduated from  FIU (BA, 1989) and then Columbia Law School (JD, 1992).  Her husband, is attorney Paul Huck, Jr, and her father-in-law, Judge Paul Huck, is a Senior Judge on the Southern District of Florida. In 2003 she joined the United States Attorney's Office as an AUSA where she tried numerous criminal jury trials, including drug conspiracies and Hobbs Act violations. She also handled a significant number of appeals.  She spent three years three before becoming an appellant court judge.  Prior to her work as an AUSA she worked at Greenberg Traurig and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, among other firms.

CAPTAIN OUT ......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

WANNA BE A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE? TAKE OUR ADVICE

Ladies and gentlemen take our advice, if you want to be a supreme court justice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice. 

2018 11 27 Notice of Certification (1) by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd


 We can name you several US District Court judges (motto: "You need a continuance?...Wait until I stop laughing before I say 'no'. ") who started wearing robes in county court. We cannot name any on the Florida Supreme Court. Can you? 

18.12.7 Press Release Count... by on Scribd

Because we do not use quotes without attribution, we give you the originator of our wise piece of advice- Dr. Sidney Freedman:

AND YOUR NEXT THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES WILL BE CHOSEN BY GOVERNOR ?????

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE, PART TWO .....

Governor Rick Scott will not get the chance to choose the three new Florida Supreme Court Justices on his final day in office. So ruled the current Florida Supreme Court in an unsigned Order issued today.

Last Wednesday, we wrote a post entitled: "CAT 4 STORM TO HIT STATE CAPITAL, BUT IT’S NOT NAMED MICHAEL".   We described the controversy being litigated over which Governor, Rick Scott or the newly elected Governor (DeSantis or Gillum) would be the one to appoint the next three Florida Supreme Court Justices.

Today, the Florida Supreme Court issued the following Order in CASE NO.: SC18-1573, League of Women Voters, et. al. v. Rick Scott:

"The petition for writ of quo warranto against Governor Rick Scott is hereby granted. The governor who is elected in the November 2018 general election has the sole authority to fill the vacancies that will be created by the mandatory retirement of Justices Barbara J. Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, and Peggy A. Quince, provided the justices do not leave prior to the expiration of their terms at midnight between January 7 and January 8, 2019, and provided that the governor takes office immediately upon the beginning of his term. Governor Scott exceeded his authority by directing the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission ("the JNC") to submit its nominations to fill these vacancies by November 10, 2018.

The sixty-day period after nominations have been certified within which the governor is required to make appointments, as set forth in article V, section 11©, of the Florida Constitution begins to run only when the governor with the authority to appoint has taken office. As the JNC is an independent body, it is not bound by Governor Scott’s deadlines.

The issue of when the JNC can certify its nominations shall be the subject of oral argument to be held at 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 8, 2018. A maximum of twenty minutes to the side is allowed for the argument, but counsel is expected to use only so much of that time as is necessary."

In an interesting twist, Attorney Jeffrey Leonard Burns, today filed a VERIFIED MOTION TO INTERVENE FOR LIMITED PURPOSE, OR ALTERNATIVELY FOR LEAVE TO FILE INTERVENOR PETITION.

In Burns’ Petition, he claims that the three Justices, Pariente, Lewis, and Quince, should be disqualified from this action "due to their objective economic conflict of interest" in the case. He states in his Petition that "the Retiring Justices have an economic incentive to determine that their last day of work ends at 5:00 p.m. on January 8, 2019, as opposed to January 7, 2019. ... The three Retiring Justices will each lose one day of salary ($884.94) if they deny the Petitioners' request for relief."

Meanwhile, The Florida Supreme Court’s JNC met last Thursday and agreed to an interview schedule of the 59 applicants for the three open seats. The interviews will take place on November 3^rd and 4^th here in Miami and on November 8^th and 9^th in Tampa. The JNC had planned on sending the finalists names to Governor Scott on November 10, 2018.

Here is the interview schedule:

Miami International Airport Hotel

Terminal E; Level 2 to hotel lobby (7th floor conference rooms once in hotel)

(Door #11 if arriving from outside the airport)

305-871-4100

Nov. 3 – Miami

 

9:00 a.m. Alexander Bokor

9:30 a.m. Amy Boulris

10:00 a.m. Jeffrey Burns

10:30 a.m. Howard Coates

11:00 a.m. John Couriel

11:30 a.m. Cynthia Cox
1:00 p.m. James Duncan
1:30 p.m. Manuel Farach
2:00 p.m. Jonathan Gerber
2:30 p.m. Edward Guedes
3:00 p.m. Bradley Harper
3:30 p.m. Terrance Ketchel
4:30 p.m. Mark Klingensmith
5:00 p.m. Jeffrey Kuntz
5:30 p.m. Bruce Kyle
 

Nov. 4 – Miami

9:00 a.m. Barbara Lagoa

9:30 a.m. Norma Lindsey
10:00 a.m. Robert Luck
10:30 a.m. Mark Miller
11:00 a.m. Carlos Muniz
11:30 a.m. Hayden O’Byrne
1:00 p.m. William Roby
1:30 p.m. Cymonie Rowe
2:00 p.m. Leonard Samuels
2:30 p.m. Edwin Scales
3:00 p.m. Anuraag Singhal
3:30 p.m. Elijah Smiley
4:30 p.m. Donna Greenspan Solomon
5:00 p.m. William Thomas
5:30 p.m. Daryl Trawick
 
Tampa interview location:
Airport Executive Center
2203 N. Lois Avenue
Tampa, FL
(813) 348-4963

Nov. 8 – Tampa

 

9:00 a.m. Michael Andrews
9:30 a.m. J. Andrew Atkinson
10:00 a.m. Ross Bilbrey
10:30 a.m. Hunter Carroll
11:00 a.m. Angela Cowden
11:30 a.m. James Daniel
1:00 p.m. Bryan Gowdy
1:30 p.m. Jamie Grosshans
2:00 p.m. Laurel Lee
2:30 p.m. Robert Long
3:00 p.m. Mark Mahon
3:30 p.m. Scott Makar
4:30 p.m. Michael McDaniel
5:00 p.m. Timothy Osterhaus
5:30 p.m. Thomas Ramsberger

Nov. 9 – Tampa

 

9:00 a.m. Eric Roberson
9:30 a.m. Clayton Roberts
10:00 a.m. Samuel Salario
10:30 a.m. Tatiana Salvador
11:00 a.m. Stephen Senn
11:30 a.m. Pat Siracusa
1:00 p.m. Jonathan Sjostrom
1:30 p.m. Adrian Soud
2:00 p.m. John Stargel
2:30 p.m. Anthony Tatti
3:00 p.m. Matthew Thatcher
3:30 p.m. M. Kemmerly Thomas
4:30 p.m. Waddell Wallace
5:00 p.m. Thomas Winokur

You have to feel for Judge William Thomas and Judge Daryl Trawick. They will be the last two applicants interviewed on day two. I sure hope the JNC members are taking their no-doz, (do they still sell that stuff), that day.

 

It will be very interesting to see how all this plays out.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

　

CAT 4 STORM TO HIT STATE CAPITAL, BUT IT’S NOT NAMED MICHAEL .......

UPDATE: WE RECEIVED THIS COMMENT: 

steve bousquet said...

Rumpole:

You and your writing staff are to be commended on what I consider to be one of the best blogs I have had the occasion to read. I am the Tallahassee Bureau Chief for the Tampa Bay Times and I read many blogs. Your writer's commentary today on the firestorm brewing up here in the state capital is spot on. Keep up the good work.

Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times

Wednesday, October 10, 2018 1:26:00 PM

Rumpole Responds: Dear. Mr. Bousquet:

Thank you for the nice comment. Welcome to what is generally

considered the finest legal blog in the land; nee the Universe.

The writing is superb; the opinions spot on, and we are read by all the movers and shakers of the legal community. And beyond that, we are also read by those who wear black robes to work. And if you can get beyond the hoi polloi, you will find a blog that informs, entertains, and provides football picks that are usually 100% winners (like last week). In short, we report ….you decide. (hmmm that seems familiar). No fake news we. We hope you and your community made it through the storm, although if you took an honest poll of the residents of South Florida, there isn't one person who wasn't experiencing schadenfreude at the Panhandle's misfortune. See, no other blog uses words like schadenfreude or hoi polli even though a substantial portion of our readers (see the above comment about black robes) do not know what those terms mean. 

Yr obt svt,

H Rumpole, 

Blog Proprietor.  

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS:

The Florida Supreme Court JNC met today and voted to interview all 59 applicants.  The interviews will take place in Miami on November 3rd and 4th and in Tampa on November 8th and 9th.  The JNC will then meet on the evening of the 9th and into the 10th, if necessary, with the plan of sending the names of the finalists to the Governor on November 10th.


SO, YOU WANT TO BE A FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE .......

On Monday, January 7, 2019, a convergence of significant events will take place in Tallahassee, Florida. If you thought the effects of Hurricane Michael were going to have a major effect on the surrounding community for a long time, the Hurricane that I speak of will be one hundred times stronger and will last for one hundred years longer.

You see, on that date, Governor Rick Scott’s term concludes at the end of the day on that first Monday in January. And, at the exact same time, three members of the Florida Supreme Court will retire, including Justices Barbara Pariente, Fred Lewis, and Peggy Quince. It is also important to note that, the new Governor’s term begins on "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January"; in this case that means on Tuesday, January 8th.***

Now, anybody that follows the decisions of the current make-up of this Supreme Court, and the one immediately before it knows what all this means. Until December 31, 2016, an overwhelming majority of the controversial decisions of the court were split 5-2; the five voting together included Pariente, Lewis, and Quince, along with Justice’s Labarga and Perry. When Justice Perry retired on the last day of 2016, Governor Scott appointed Justice Alan Lawson to replace him. For most of the past 21 months, the overwhelming majority of the controversial decisions of the court have been a 4-3 vote, with conservative Lawson joining the side of Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston.

So, as you can see, with the departure of Pariente, Lewis, and Quince, the three most liberal justices on the court, a win by gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis next month would result in a dramatic shift of the court to the right with a resulting 6-1 right wing majority. On the other hand, a win by candidate Andrew Gillum, would result in the court maintaining a razor thin 4-3 lean to the left.

Now that you understand what is at stake, understand that Governor Rick Scott, (whose successor will be elected on Tuesday, November 6, 2018), has decided that he, not the Governor-Elect, will appoint the next three justices to succeed Pariente, Lewis, and Quince.

That’s right, a lame duck Governor, who is term limited, has decided that, rather than let the voters of the great State of Florida decide, through their choice at the ballot box, whom between DeSantis and Gillum should choose the three new justices, Scott will do that for them.

*** Note that, in the recent past, Governors Jeb Bush, Charlie Crist, and Rick Scott, all took the oath of office well before the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January so as to assume gubernatorial duties immediately on the first day of their respective terms.

In order to head off this constitutional crisis of Category Four proportion, last year, the League of Women Voters filed suit against Rick Scott. The League asked the Court to issue a writ of quo warranto against Governor Rick Scott prohibiting him from "filling any judicial vacancies on Florida's appellate courts that occur due to terms expiring in January 2019." The League's basis for filing the petition was Governor Scott's December 2016 announcement of his intent to appoint the replacements for three justices of the Court.

In their opinion issued on December 14, 2017, LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF FLORIDA, et al., Petitioners, v. RICK SCOTT, GOVERNOR, Respondent. (No. SC17-1122), the Florida Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 6-1, that the issue presented was not ripe for consideration, and the Court dismissed the petition. The lone dissenter was Justice Lewis.  The opinion can be read here.

Fast forward to September of 2018. On September 12, 2018, at the direction of Governor Scott and his legal counsel, the Florida Supreme Court’s JNC announced that they were accepting applications to fill the three upcoming supreme court vacancies as the result of the mandatory retirement of Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince due to all three reaching the age of 70. The application deadline was set for October 8, 2018.

On September 20, 2018, the League of Women Voters filed their new Petition Quo Warranto against Governor Scott. League of Women Voters, et al. v. Hon. Rick Scott, et al., (SC18-1573). The Docket can be read here.
 
On September 21, the JNC met to discuss retaining legal counsel to respond to the Petition. They hired former Justice Raoul Cantero. The League of Women Voters is repped by Former Speaker of the House John Mills.

By the deadline of October 8^th, there were a total of 59 applicants for the three seats. Two of the seats are At-Large while one seat must be filled by a resident of the 3^rd DCA jurisdiction (Miami-Dade and Monroe County).

On October 11^th, the JNC will meet to discuss the 59 applicants and to consider and select applicants for interviews and further consideration to fill the three positions of Florida Supreme Court Justice.

For many voters around the State, the issues of jobs, the economy, the environment, health care, and immigration dominate the landscape. But for many in the legal community, there will be no more important decision made over the next decade than the one that involves the replacement of the three retiring justices.

As stated above, the Florida Supreme Court JNC received a total of 59 applications for the three open seats. Of those, a total of 11 are residents of the 3^rd DCA. The applicants for that seat include four judges currently on the 3^rd DCA:

Judge Barbara Lagoa
Judge Norma Lindsey
Judge Robert Luck
Judge Ed Scales

and two Circuit and one County Court Judge:

Judge William Thomas
Judge Daryl Trawick
Judge Alex Bokor

The remaining applicants include 12 DCA judges, 27 Circuit Court Judges, and 1 County Court Judge along with 12 private counsel.

We will be closely watching the current Florida Supreme Court as they review the legal briefs and then render a decision on this latest Petition for Quo Warranto filed by the League of Women’s Voters. (As of the posting of this story, the Court has not yet agreed to set the case for Oral Argument).

Anyone care to guess how they will rule this time .......

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE - Florida Supreme Court - 3rd DCA - Circuit Court .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE .....?

As a result of the retirement of Justice James Perry, who has announced his retirement effective December 30, 2016, the Florida Supreme Court’s JNC interviewed 11 candidates and nominated three to Governor Rick Scott. The judge must reside within the jurisdiction of the 5^th DCA.

The three finalists are:

Wendy Berger, a 5th District Court of Appeal judge

C. Alan Lawson, chief judge of the 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona Beach

Daniel J. Gerber, of the Orlando office of the law firm Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell

All three candidates were heavily promoted by The Federalist Society. Promises from many of those interviewed went something like this: 'I promise to maintain my conservative principles; to not legislate from the bench; to bring to the bench a core set of conservative principles; I admire Justice Canady for his judicial philosophy and for his frequent dissenting opinions; I am an originalist', etc etc etc. All of the finalists were praised by Federalist Society's Florida Co-chair Jason Gonzalez as being "imminently qualified and hav[ing] demonstrated a textualist judicial philosophy similar to that of the late Justice Antonin Scalia".

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A 3^RD DCA JUDGE ..... ?

Also in the news, with the retirement of Judge Frank Shepherd from the 3^rd DCA, the JNC accepted applications from four sitting judges and seven lawyers who have applied for the open spot on Florida's Third District Court of Appeal.

Those that have applied include:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judges Norma Lindsey, Robert Luck and Bronwyn Miller and Broward Circuit Judge Carlos Rodriguez.

The other applicants are:

• Assistant U.S. attorney Jonathan Colan
• Michael Dono, Hamilton, Miller & Birthisel, Miami
• Miami Deputy City Attorney John Greco
• Susan Scrivani Lerner, public defender, Miami
• Former Miami-Dade County & Circuit Court Judge Fleur Lobree, now with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office
• William McCaughan, K&L Gates, Miami
• Assistant Miami-Dade County attorney Oren Rosenthal


The Governor also will be naming a new Miami-Dade Circuit Judge before the end of December to replace Judge Stan Blake.  Finalists include: Jason E. Dimitris; Ayana N. Harris; Spencer Jet Multack; Victoria del Pino; Lourdes Simon; and Andrea Ricker Wolfson.

CAPTAIN OUT .....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

CAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT THAT BASS, NO TREBLE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS on JUDGE DAVID YOUNG (read below) .....

A SCENE FROM A COURTROOM INSIDE THE MJB, CIRCA 1990*** ......

JUDGE LNU: Clerk, call the next case.
CLERK: State v. James Williams
DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good morning, your honor.  The Captain, appearing on behalf of Mr. Williams.
JUDGE: Mr. Captain, good to see you.  Can you please approach the bench.
CAPTAIN: Of course, your honor.
JUDGE: Mr. Captain, you know I am running for re-election, don't you?
CAPTAIN: Yes, your honor.
JUDGE: Please take this envelope, (slipping the Captain an envelope); I noticed that you had not given to my campaign yet.
CAPTAIN: No problem, your honor.  Of course I will be donating to your re-election campaign.

***This actually happened to me while appearing in Circuit Criminal many years ago.  The Judge, who has since passed away, was a well liked judge and was thought by most, on both sides of the isle, to be a very fair judge.  But, to be clear, what s/he did was not legal under any of the judicial campaign laws at the time.

***And we all know that, when running for Judge, that it's all about that bass ($$$), and lots of it, that makes a campaign go; a treble (thin) bank account is a quick ticket back into private practice.

On January 20, 2015, SCOTUS will hear the case of LANELL WILLIAMS-YULEE, PETITIONER, V. THE FLORIDA BAR, RESPONDENT.  The Daily Business Review covers the story here.

The case comes directly from the Florida Supreme Court and you can read that court's opinion here.

The Florida Supreme Court's opinion starts out this way:

"We have for review a referee’s report recommending that the Respondent, Lanell Williams-Yulee, be found guilty of professional misconduct. The referee recommended that the Respondent receive a public reprimand as a sanction. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 15, Fla. Const.

For the reasons explained below, we approve the referee’s findings of fact and recommendation that the Respondent be found guilty of violating Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 4-8.2(b) (Judicial and Legal Officials, Candidates for Judicial Office; Code of Judicial Conduct Applies) for personally soliciting campaign contributions in violation of Canon 7C(1) of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct. We therefore reject the Respondent’s constitutional challenge to the ban imposed by Canon 7C(1) on a judicial candidate’s personal solicitation of campaign contributions, and hold that the Canon is constitutional because it promotes the State’s compelling interests in preserving the integrity of the judiciary and maintaining the public’s confidence in an impartial judiciary, and that it is narrowly tailored to effectuate those interests.

.......

We approve the referee’s recommended sanction of a public reprimand."

In September of 2009, attorney Lanell Williams-Yulee decided she would become a candidate for County Court Judge in Tampa.  One of her first acts as a candidate was to sign a campaign fundraising letter where she personally solicited campaign contributions.

The Campaign:

Judge Dick Greco, Jr was elected to the County Court bench in 1990 and reelected in 1996,  He left the bench and returned to private practice in 2002.  In 2009, Governor Charlie Crist appointed Greco to an open seat on the County Court bench.  He ran for "reelection" in 2010.  Ms. Williams-Yulee filed to challenge incumbent Judge Greco.  In the primary, Judge Greco garnered 80% of the vote, defeating Williams-Yulee.

The Bar:

The Florida Bar investigated the charges against Williams-Yulee, which included misconduct and minor misconduct, violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct, violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct, and violations of supervisory responsibilities.

The relevant part of the referee's findings, as they relate to the case before SCOTUS, is the finding of guilt by Williams-Yulee of directly soliciting for campaign contributions.

SCOTUS:

The Bar has retained heavy hitter Greenberg Traurig partner Barry Richard (he of Bush v Gore) to represent the interests of The Respondent.

The Petitioner, Williams-Yulee, is challenging on First Amendment grounds, Canon 7C(1) of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct, which bars judicial candidates from soliciting campaign contributions.

Amicus briefs were filed this week by some of the most respected attorneys in the State, on behalf of the Bar, including Major B. Harding, Harry Lee Anstead and Stephen Grimes, all former chief justices of the Florida Supreme Court; along with four others who are past presidents of the Florida Bar.

The Bar's amicus supporters believe that Canon 7C(1) "strikes a proper balance between a judicial candidate's right to free speech and the right of future litigants to due process, while placing a minimal burden on the former." (At least 33 other states have a judicial Canon similar to Florida's).

Let's face it, even though judges are not supposed to ask us directly for money, who's kidding who here.  Every candidate, and Judge, running for reelection, knows who gave to their campaign and who gave to their opponent.  It's online, it's public record.  So, what's the big deal if we eliminate the middle man and just let the candidate/judge do the asking? 

What do you think?


BREAKING NEWS ........

JUDGE DAVID YOUNG, is running for Judge, again:

Judge David Young, who served on the County and Circuit Court bench from 1993-2007, and then became a TV Judge (2007-2009), has most recently been mediating and serving our community on several boards.  He announced today that he has entered the race for Circuit Court Judge in Group 39.  That seat is currently held by Judge Rodriguez Chomat.  Chomat is retiring (aged out) and therefore cannot seek reelection.  Qualifying for the seat ends on May 6th of 2016 and the election will take place on August 30th.


CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

LABARGA TAKES THE GAVEL

Justice Jorge Labarga becomes Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court today in a "passing the gavel" ceremony in Tallahassee. 


Trivia: name the last Florida Supreme Court Justice to serve on the circuit bench in the hallowed halls (not to mention asbestos stuffed ceilings) of the REGJB?

Juveniles cannot be sentenced to life. Graham v. Florida, 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010).  So can a 16 year old with a life expectancy of 74 years be sentenced to 60 or 70 years?  Is it disingenuous to sentence a juvenile to 70 or 80 years? 

What happens when you're going to be late for work because your hot water is out; you work for a world wide company and you mistakenly email the entire company instead of your work group? 
Jokesters like Rumpole respond to your tweet. Check this extremely funny string of tweets on Buzzfeed. 

Trivia: T/F: A Florida Supreme Court Justice was once arrested for drug trafficking? 

History: The Florida Supreme Court was created when Florida became a State in A) 1840; B) 1845; C)1859. 

The Court had three justices from inception until the number was increased to its current size of seven in A) 1900; B) 1940: C)1957.

In which of the following cases does the court NOT have mandatory jurisdiction: A) Death Penalty cases; B) Cases where there was a suit between counties; C) Review of Statewide agency rates for gas, electric, and telephone utilities. D) Bar complaints against certain, anonymous bloggers. 


The answers are below.

Short Holiday week. Who's going out of town, and who is staying? 

See You In Court. 







Give yourself an "A" of you answered "B" to all the questions. 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION UPDATE ....

The first week of early voting ends tomorrow and you can still vote through next weekend without having to stand in line on Tuesday, August 26, 2008. Don't forget to exercise your right to vote; we could have as many as nine new judges on the bench come January.

DRUG COURT UPDATE ...

Also, as was previously reported on the blog, Judge Jeffrey Rosinek is officially retiring and he will be present for his last Drug Court Graduation Ceremony on Friday, August 15, 2008 in Courtroom 4-1 at 11:30 am. If you have not seen a graduation before, you should go by and see the successes of Judge Rosinek and his program. You can also thank him for all his work as Judge Deborah White-Laborah takes over Drug Court on Monday.

SUPREME COURT UPDATE ....

One of our local Circuit Court Judges, Judge Kevin Emas, is a finalist for one of the two open seats on the Florida Supreme Court. His name was sent to Governor Crist's office today with the names of four others. One of them will replace retiring Judge Cantero.

The other finalists include: Judge Charles Canady, 54, Lakeland, Second District Court of Appeal, Edward G. Guedes, 44, Miami, Attorney, Judge Jorge Labarga, 55, West Palm Beach, 15th Judicial Circuit and Judge Vincent G. Torpy, Jr., 52, Daytona Beach, Fifth District Court of Appeal.

Canady is a former state legislator (6 years) and US Congressman (8 years) before becoming a Judge on the 2nd DCA in 2002; Guedes has been an attorney for 20 years and works in the appellate division of Greenberg, Traurig; Labarga started his career with the Public Defender's Office (3 years), then moved to the State Attorney's Office (5 years), then to private practice (9 years) before being appointed by Gov. Chiles to the Circuit Court in West Palm Beach in 1996; and Torpy started out as a police officer (6 years), before going to law school at Florida State University, then into private practice for 16 years before joining the Circuit Court in 1999. He spent just over three years there before joining the 5th DCA in 2003. While it is true that Gov. Crist is also a Seminole, he did not go to law school with Torpy. Crist attended FSU undergrad (1978) and went to law school at Cumberland in Alabama.

The competition is stiff, but if you want to help out Judge Emas, you can write to the Governor at: Governor Charlie Crist, The Governor's Office, Tallahassee, Florida 32301.

CAPTAIN OUT ..........