JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2020 ..... THREE NEW JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:


MAJOR, MAJOR, BIG TIME BREAKING NEWS .....

Incumbent Judge Dava Tunis has drawn an opponent.

Candidate Rosy Aponte, who filed and qualified to run against Incumbent Judge Gordon Murray in Group 38 of the County Court has just switched and filed to run against Judge Tunis in Circuit Court Group 75.

Aponte has previously been unsuccessful in seeking a seat on the bench:

- she ran for a County Court seat against Judge Kristy Nunez in 2018, losing that race by 52 % to 48%.

- she ran for a Circuit Court seat against Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts and Carol Breece in 2016. Ms. Aponte failed to make the runoff as she gained only 26% of the vote compared to Rodrgiuez Fonts (34%) and Breece (40%) in the Primary.

Judge Tunis was first appointed by Governor Bush in 2005. She ran unopposed in 2008 and again ran unopposed in 2014. She has never faced an opponent. UNTIL NOW.
 

Mr. Vereen has now been qualified by the Department of Elections.



Ms. Martinez-Scanziani has also been qualified by the Dept. of Elections.



Ms. Delancey is still without an opponent.


Mr. Spector has not yet qualified to run against Judge Bandin.

UPDATE ON CANDIDATE ROD VEREEN:
He has submitted a NEW check at 11:41 AM today. This check has written at the top left:  
CAMPAIGN TO ELECT
RODERICK VEREEN




and

This check appears to be signed by his Campaign Treasurer. So, by all accounts, it appears that Mr. Vereen has resolved any issues with his qualifying check. 
 
 
 





DOES ROD VEREEN HAVE SOME QUALIFYING ISSUES? On it's face he appears to have two problems.  His check may not have been written from a "campaign account".  Also, his check was signed by Mr. Vereen - which according to the Election Rules (see below), he was not permitted to do. (He is not his own campaign treasurer). Story developing .....


Qualifying Fee The qualifying fee must be: • Paid by a properly executed check drawn on the campaign account. (A personal check, cashier’s check, money order, or cash is not acceptable); • Made payable to the Florida Department of State, Florida Secretary of State, or Florida Division of Elections; and • In an amount not less than the fee required. The check must be signed by the campaign treasurer or deputy treasurer. A check signed by a candidate who has not been designated as the treasurer or deputy treasurer is not acceptable.



Shaun Spector has just filed in Group 24 of the County Court against Incumbent Judge Christine Bandin.  Spector has been an attorney for nine years and runs his own law firm in Coral Gables where he primarily practices commercial litigation.  Judge Bandin was appointed to the bench by Gov. Scott in October of 2018. At the time she was a partner with Shutts & Bowen.  She has been an attorney for 13 years.  Ms. Bandin has only raised $12,780 from 45 contributors and loaned her campaign $500.  She does have a net worth of $540,979. 

Denise Martinez-Scanziani has just filed in Group 65 against Incumbent Judge Thomas Rebull.  She has a Net Worth of $1,423,019 and had income last year  of $323,657.  Judge Rebull was first appointed to the bench by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011. He ran unopposed in 2014.  Ms. Martinez-Scanziani first ran in 2008 against Incumbent Circuit Judge Bernard Shapiro losing 59% - 41%.  She next ran in 2016 in retiring Judge Gill Freeman's Group against three opponents. The primary results were no better for her: Mark Blumstein (29%); Luis Perez-Medina (25%); Renee Gordon (24%); and Ms. Martinez-Scanziani (23%).

Roderick D. Vereen has just filed in Group 57 to run against Carmen Cabarga. He has a Net Worth of $2,189,086 and income of $650,000 last year. Vereen is no stranger to campaigns. He ran for Congress in 2010 as a Independent against Fredricka Wilson and lost 86% to 14%. He then ran as a Democrat in 2012 for State Attorney against Katherine Fernandez Rundle, losing 60% - 40%.


BREAKING NEWS #1 .......

COUNTY COURT

Tahya Fuenmayor has decided that she will no longer be a candidate for any judgeship in 2020.

BREATHE - that’s the nine incumbent County Court judges all exhaling a sigh of relief.

Ms Fuenmayor, who had filed in County Court Group 35, and who was on the short end of the move by Governor DeSantis when the Governor appointed Judge Lody Jean to the Circuit Court last Friday, spoke with us earlier today. She was congratulatory towards Judge Jean. But she was disappointed that the Governor chose to steal the opportunity away from the voters of Miami-Dade County to name the Group 35 replacement. Remember, Gov DeSantis could just as easily have chosen Judge Jean on Monday, and then let the voters choose her replacement through an election.

We have it on good authority that there will be some last minute surprises in both County and Circuit Court. That means the nine incumbents in County Court will need to continue to hold their collective breaths for another three days. In Circuit Court, there are still two open seats with only one candidate each:

In Group 37, with Judge Celeste Muir retiring, Michelle Delancy is still unopposed.

In Group 57, with Judge Bernard Shapiro retiring, Carmen Cabarga is also still unopposed.

BREAKING NEWS #2 .......

YOUR THREE NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE:

CARLOS GAMEZ. Judge Gamez has been an attorney for 11 years. He is currently employed as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Miami. He was first hired out of law school by Perez & Rodriguez. He takes over for Judge Ramiro Areces who was recently elevated to the Circuit Court.

SCOTT JANOWITZ. Judge Janowitz has been an attorney for 14 years. He was an ASA in Broward County for three years. He is now an associate with Geyer, Fuxa, Tyler, PLLC. He fills the vacancy created when Judge Christina DiRaimondo was recently elevated to the Circuit Court.

JEFFREY KOLOKOFF. Judge Kolokoff has been an attorney for 13 years. He was an ASA in Miami-Dade for six years. He is currently an associate with Beighley, Myrick, Udell and Lynne. He replaces Judge Robert Watson who was elevated to the Circuit Court recently.

Two closing points on these three recent appointments.

First, it is even more transpicuous what Governor DeSantis pulled with the Judge Lody Jean appointment (and the one for Judge Zachary James). It took him 57 days (he has a maximum of 60) to name these three new County Court Judges from the date the nominees were placed on his desk. By contrast, he named James after 14 days and Jean after 28 days - the two shortest turnarounds in Miami-Dade County history for Gov DeSantis.

Second, it bears repeating what I wrote about last Friday. The Governor has once again made it crystal clear of his insouciance toward anyone that has the name Assistant Public Defender on their resume. The count is now 62 judges appointed by DeSantis; 43 of them are former ASAs/AUSAs/AAGs and only one was appointed out of the P.D. office: Judge Ayana Harris. This time the Governor had 18 names on his desk for these three open seats, including APDs Kevin Hellman and Gale Lewis. They never had a chance.


We will update these pages regularly with any breaking election news.


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

FIVE OPEN SEATS ON THE CIRCUIT/COUNTY COURT BENCH .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:


MORATORIUM ON HAND-SHAKING AT ALL MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURTHOUSES .....

Our longtime faithful readers will recall this headline from August 31, 2009. At the time, our country was in the midst of another pandemic, the "swine flu (H1N1)" and we wrote this post encouraging fist pumps and elbow pumps in all Miami-Dade courthouses.  Kudos to Rumpole for his early preparation checklist posted yesterday as we all prepare for COVID-19. 

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT/COUNTY COURT JUDGE .......

The 11^th Circuit JNC met and interviewed 25 attorneys to replace three County Court Judges who were recently elevated to the Circuit Court bench: Judges Christina DiRaimondo, Robert Watson and Ramiro Areces.

The JNC nominated a total of 18 attorneys for Governor DeSantis’ consideration. He will have 60 days to choose three new County Court Judges. The nominees include:

Karl Brown
Cristina Rivera Correa
Renier Diaz de la Portilla
Carlos H. Gamez
Rita Gonzalez Cuervo
Christopher Green
Marcia Hansen
Peter Heller
Kevin Hellman
Chiaka Ihekwaba
Scott M. Janowitz
Jeffrey Kolokoff
Gale Lewis
Steven Lieberman
Griska Mena
Christopher Pracitto
Patricia Salman
Craig Weissberg

Two Circuit Court Judges have announced that they are retiring from the bench. Judges Jacqueline Hogan Scola and John Schlesinger (his last day is April 3rd), notified Governor DeSantis of their intention to retire. The JNC is now accepting applications for those two open seats on the Circuit Court. You have until 5 p.m. on Monday, Mar. 16, to submit your application to:

Walter J. Harvey
School Board Attorney
The School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida
1450 N.E 2nd Avenue, Suite 430
Miami, Florida 33132

SO, YOU WANT TO RUN FOR JUDGE .......

Qualifying to run for Judge takes place the week of April 20-24, 2020. With seven weeks left before the end of qualifying, so far there are a total of five contested elections - two in Circuit Court and three in County Court. Of note, in County Court, Incumbent Judges Joe Mansfield, Lody Jean, and Gordon Murray, Jr. have all drawn opposition. In Circuit Court, the only incumbent to draw opposition so far is Judge Mavel Ruiz.

GRISKA MENA - ONE WAY OR ANOTHER ........

Former ASA Griska Mena (2006-2019), currently Staff Counsel for the South Florida PBA, is determined to become a judge, one way or another. For the past few years she has repeatedly applied to the JNC for open seats on the County and Circuit Court bench. She has repeatedly been granted an interview by the JNC. She has on a few occasions been nominated by the JNC to the Governor’s office - most recently in April of 2019 when there were two open seats; November of 2019 when there were four open seats; and again in February of 2020 when there were three open seats. He name is currently before Governor DeSantis (see above).

At the same time, in June of 2019, Mena filed in Group 64 of the Circuit Court to run for judge. Clearly she was anticipating that Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola was going to retire at the end of her current term. Unfortunately for Mena, Hogan Scola chose to retire early and informed Governor DeSantis that her last day on the bench would be March 6, 2020. Not coincidentally, as Judge Hogan Scola told me this past weekend, she always intended to end her career on that date as March 7^th is her birthday and that was a birthday gift to herself.

Of course this now means that Governor DeSantis and not the voters will chose the next judge to fill Group 64. This also means that Mena must file in a different Group if she still wants to run for judge and if she is not chosen by Governor DeSantis for an open seat herself.

By the way, Ms. Mena, you need to check your mail. According to the Division of Elections, your campaign Treasurer has failed to file the required reporting documents on several occasions. Letters were sent to you and your treasurer on November 5, January 13, and again on January 31 informing you of that. To date, Mena has raised $19,235 from 48 separate contributors.

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

A VERY DIVERSE BENCH IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

DIVERSITY ON THE BENCH .......

Congratulations to our seven newest judges in Miami-Dade County; three to the Circuit Court and four to the County Court. And more importantly, congratulations to the one and only lawyer appointed to the bench by Governor DeSantis that comes directly out of the P.D.’s or F.P.D.’s office - AYANA HARRIS.

On another local note, the bench is a changing. For you old-timers,  you will recall a day when, in your law school class, there might have been one or two female students in your class. The same was true of the bench as it was tough to find a female judge in Miami-Dade County "back in the day". To the credit of our last several Governors and to the voters of Miami-Dade County, that has dramatically changed.

Today, there are a total of 123 judges in Miami-Dade County - 80 Circuit and 43 County. Of the 80 Circuit Court Judges, 44 are female and 36 are male. In the County Court the numbers are even more dramatic with 26 female judges and only 14 male judges with three open seats to be appointed by our Governor. Who could have predicted in 1989 that thirty years later 57% of the judges in our County would be female.

It was also nice to see Governor DeSantis choosing three attorneys of color of the four County Court appointments.

One final note: some will recall the brouhaha in 2018 when Judge David Miller was up for re-election. Seemingly out of nowhere an attorney with 11 years of experience from Cole, Scott, Kissane filed to run against Miller. Her name, Elisabeth Espinosa. After she filed, her law firm filed two dozen Motions To Recuse Miller from cases before him where the defense law firm was CSK. Miller denied all of the Motions and the 3^rd DCA upheld his decision in each and every case. Well Judge Miller, you can now welcome your new judicial colleague to the bench: The Honorable County Court Judge Elisabeth Espinosa.

One more final note. On Friday, Gov DeSantis appointed another five judges to open seats, four to the County Court and one to the Circuit Court bench. Of course, it almost goes without saying that all five are current or former government attorneys. Shannon McFee to the 20th Circuit is a former ASA; Sara Shullman and Melanie Surber were both appointed to the Palm Beach County Court directly out of the AG’s office; current AUSA Michael Bagge-Hernandez was appointed to the Hillsborough County Court; and finally, James Moody III received an appointment to the bench in Hillsborough County Court. He is a former ASA. You might recognize the name "Moody" as in our current AG Ashley Moody. James is her brother.

With 51 appointments to the bench in Governor DeSantis’ first year in office, AFPD Ayana Harris stands as the lone appointment coming directly from either the PD’s or FPD’s office. In contrast, according to a piece in the Florida Bar News, 44 of the appointees had ASA, AUSA, AAG, and/or Judge in their resume.

Happy Holidays to all of our readers. Make it a safe New Year. See you in 2020.

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

TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES COMING TO A COURTROOM NEAR YOU .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND YOUR TWO NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE:

LAURA SHEARON CRUZ. Ms. Shearon Cruz is 39 years old and she has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2007 out of Tulane Law School. She spent her first four years working as an ASA, then left the office in 2011 to join Wicker Smith doing civil litigation (defense insurance cases). She returned four years later in 2015 and she is currently a DC and handles homicide cases. She was born in Memphis and she grew up in Alabama. Her father was an attorney and her great grandfather was criminal court Judge in Tennessee. She is married to Erick Cruz, former ASA and current criminal defense attorney. Judge Cruz replaces Judge Ivonne Cuesta. ***Up until today, Shearson Cruz was a candidate in Group 18 of the County Court running against Mike Mirabal. (Group 18 is an open seat due to the retirement of Judge White Labora).

CHRISTINA DIRAIMONDO. Ms. DiRaimondo is 33 years old and she has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2010 out of Nova Law. She is also with the State Attorney’s Office and she replaces Judge Laura Ann Stuzin. She is also a Division Chief and has been with the office for all seven years of her career.

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