MILLAN RESIGNS

Facing an uproar over his conduct, and a Florida Supreme Court not in the mood to tolerate Judicial name calling that has racial overtones, Judge Stephen Millan, who was elected to the Circuit bench, has resigned. 

A DARK DAY

Lots of breaking news. Check the prior post of the Captain to see your two new county court judges- Elijah Levitt and Ramiro Areces. Congrats to both. 

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality." 
Dr. Martin Luther King

It is 2018. There is no place for racists in our midst, much less on the bench. And yet....

From the Miami Herald: 

A Miami judge faces suspension for using the word "moolie" to describe an African-American defendant and referring to another man's supporters in court as "thugs."

An investigative panel for Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended that Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stephen Millan be suspended for 30 days, fined $5,000 and be issued a public reprimand. Millan agreed to the punishment, which must be approved by the Florida Supreme Court.

Millan, 52, who is of Italian and Puerto Rican descent and grew up in New York City, "readily admitted to his misconduct" and paid to attend racial sensitivity training. Still, the JQC said, suspension was "warranted to demonstrate to the public, and to remind the judiciary, that racial bias has no place in our judicial system."

Millan sat on a bench in the courthouse of the great Judge Ed Cowart. Of Judge Henry Oppenborn who fought as a paratrooper for his country. This is the courthouse where Attorney General Janet Reno had her office as State Attorney. Ms. Reno sent her prosecutors to court every day telling them to do justice and go where the evidence leads them. 

It is a dark day when we learn that in this courthouse  where we all work  and strive to do justice, that a person with repugnant ideas and ideals sat wearing robes in judgment of others. 

Stephan Millian very simply should not be a judge. His ideas darken the doors of our courthouse. He casts a shadow of hate and ignorance that reaches back to a time when courthouses in Miami were built with two water-fountains side by side and multiple rest- rooms to accommodate segregation. 

Millan has the right to his beliefs. He just does not have the right to sit in judgment of any one at any time for any reason on any case. 

It's probably true that Millan feels bad that this has come to light. The question is whether he feels bad about what he said and did? Is there any remedy for  a person who looks at people of color as thugs and demeans them with a dirty racial epithet? 

This is shocking. This is sad. It's a sad day for justice in Miami. 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article211618154.html#storylink=cpy