JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2014 - UPDATED

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2014 
UPDATED REPORT .....

On Tuesday, August 26, 2014, voters will go to the polls for the Primary Election of 2014.  Judges in contested elections will be on the ballot that day.  If a Run-Off is needed, that will take place on Tuesday, November 4, 2014.

This election cycle, 47 judicial groups are up for election; 38 in the Circuit Court and 9 in the County Court.

The deadline to file your papers and run for office is Friday, May 2, 2014.

Currently, of the 38 Circuit Court Groups, there are four contested elections.  Of the other 34 Groups, all 34 Incumbents have filed to run and NONE have OPPOSTION to date.

In the County Court, all nine Incumbents have filed for re-election and TWO of those Incumbents currently face opposition.

CIRCUIT COURT

GROUP 16 (UPDATED)

Judge Leon Firtel is retiring.  TWO candidates have filed.  They include:

Thomas Cobitz
*24 years Florida Bar; criminal defense practice

Stephen Millan
*22 years FB; criminal defense practice; ran unsuccessfully in the past for Judge; 2006 lost to Karen Mills Francis in a County Court race; 2008 lost in a run-off to Yvonne Colodny in a three way race for a seat on the Circuit Court; (Pat Kopco was eliminated in the primary)

Renier Diaz de la Portilla
*6 years FB; Miami-Dade School Board 8 years; Florida House Legislator 2 years, 2000-2002; (ran again in 2012 and lost); Mediator; (HAS MOVED TO DIVISION 70 AS OF 4/21/14).

GROUP 27 (UPDATED)

Judge Ronald Dresnick is retiring.  THREE candidates have NOW filed.  They include:

Mary Gomez
*18 years FB; marital & family practice

Albert Milian
*26 years FB; criminal defense practice; ran unsuccessfully for State Attorney in the past.  2000 lost to KF Rundle; 2004 lost to KF Rundle after defeating Leslie Rothenberg in the Republican primary; Gary Rosenberg also lost in the general election as he ran as an IND.

Joseph Perkins (UPDATED)

*Mr. Perkins has been a member of The Florida Bar for 6 years.  He graduated from Drexel with a degree in International Area Studies and while there interned for a US Senator and performed research for a US Representative.  He went to law school at Boston University and while there acted as a student attorney representing indigent clients in immigration proceedings. He currently works for the law firm of Garbett, Stiphany, Allen & Roza, practicing in the area of complex commercial litigation, with an emphasis on representing small and large businesses, banks and financial institutions, and governmental entities, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.  We reached out to Mr. Perkins back in January, (as you may recall) and asked him why he was running for Judge.  To read his unedited response, please go to the Tuesday, January 21, 2014 Blog Post to read Mr. Perkins open letter to our readers on why he feels he is more than qualified to run for Judge.

GROUP 58

Judge Marc "SHU" Schumacher is retiring.  Three candidates have filed.  They include:

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts
*13 years FB; criminal defense & immigration practice

Mavel Ruiz
*17 years FB; criminal defense practice

Martin Zilber
*25 years FB; Mediator; Councilman in Coconut Grove; Public Health Trust Member; In House Counsel to transportation companies; insurance defense; corporate & real estate

GROUP 70 (UPDATED)

Long time Judge Sandy Karlan has elected to retire.  Two candidates have filed.  They include:

Veronica Diaz (UPDATED)

*Ms. Diaz had previously filed to run in County Court against Incumbent Judge William Altfield.  On 4/17/14 she filed papers to run in this Circuit Court seat.  Four days later, de la Portilla joined her in the race. 

Ms. Diaz has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years. Prior to working for the City of Miami City Attorney’s Office, she was in private practice with two law firms where she specialized in commercial and real estate litigation. Ms. Diaz joined the Office of the City Attorney in March 2007. Presently, she practices in the Transactional Division where she handles complex commercial transactions for the City, including construction and development, public-private partnerships and other general business matters. She also serves as counsel to various City boards.  We have twice reached out to Ms. Diaz and asked her several questions about her qualifications.  We told her that her response would be posted, unedited.  We have not had the courtesy of a reply email.

Renier Diaz de la Portilla
*6 years FB; Miami-Dade School Board 8 years; Florida House Legislator 2 years, 2000-2002; (ran again in 2012 and lost); Mediator; (HAS MOVED TO DIVISION 70 AS OF 4/21/14).


*If we have made any errors in the bios, I am sure our fine readers will point them out and correct us.

The following Incumbent Judges have filed and currently have no opposition:

Jerald Bagley
Beatrice Butchko
Marcia Caballero
Jeri Beth Cohen
Yvonne Colodny
Jorge Cueto
Abby Cynamon
Reemberto Diaz
Spencer Eig
Ariana Fajardo
Rosa Figarola
Alan Fine
Stacy Glick
Eric Hendon
Richard Hersch
Jacqueline Hogan Scola
Norma Lindsey
Fleur Lobree
Peter Lopez
Cristina Miranda
Celeste Hardee Muir
Orlando Prescott
Thomas Rebull
Jose Rodriguez
Maria Sampedro-Iglesia
Migna Sanchez-Llorens
Bernard Shapiro
Victoria Sigler
Rodney Smith
Daryl Trawick
Dava Tunis
Diane Ward
Sarah Zabel
Angelica Zayas


COUNTY COURT

GROUP 13 (UPDATED)

William Altfield
*Judge Altfield initially drew opposition from attorney Veronica Diaz when she filed on March 14, 2014.  On April 17th she switched races and she is now running for an open seat on the Circuit Court.

If you drop by Judge Altfield's courtroom right about now, you may catch him humming his best impression of Pharrell's number one hit.

GROUP 19 (UPDATED)

Incumbent Judge Jacqueline Schwartz NOW has TWO opponents.  Attorney Rachel Dooley has filed to run against her.  And now, attorney Frank Bocanegra has also filed to run against her.

*Ms. Dooley has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years and handles criminal defense and family matters.

*Mr. Bocanegra has been a member of The Florida Bar for 6 years.  After a career in law enforcement with the MDPD, he became an attorney in 2008.  He quickly closed his law practice, presumably unsuccessfully.  He then became the Town Manager of Miami Lakes.  And, last year he applied to become the Village Manager in North Bay Village.  Now he wants to be your County Court Judge.

GROUP 36 (UPDATED)
Judge Nuria Saenz now has an opponent. On April 21, 2014, attorney Victoria Ferrer filed to run against her. 

Judge Nuria Saenz
*Judge Saenz has been a member of The Florida Bar for almost 17 years.  For at least the past eight (of those 17) years she has been on the bench.  We are checking our records and have been unable to confirm if she took the bench prior to 2006?

Victoria Ferrer
*Ms. Ferrer has been a member of The Florida Bar for 6 years.  She currently works for the Law Firm of Neil Gonzalez.  She handles PIP cases, PI cases, and real estate matters.

The following Incumbent Judges have filed and currently have no opposition:

William Altfield
Donald Cannava
Betty Capote
Jason Dimitris
Carlos Guzman
Spencer Multack
Rodolfo Ruiz II


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