OUT WITH THE OLD

Judicial rotation for the new year: Venzer, Eig, and Butchko to Civil.....

In with the new..........?????

Don't forget to watch the NBC Dateline's "Blind Justice" premiers tonight. The 2 hour news show is on the Christopher Sutton case. Bruce Fleisher for the defense. Stan Blake presiding. Carin Kahgan for the State.

Have a great weekend. Fins are in Green Bay and the Canes are in trouble.

UPCOMING EVENTS

BREAKING...Baby Lollipops jury votes 7-5 for death. Final decision up to judge Reemberto Diaz. Name the last Miami Dade judge brave enough to override a jury's recommendation of death. The lawyers in the case are excluded from the contest.

Longtime denizens of the REGJB will remember reporter Bob Gilmartin, who had stints at WT VJ and WSVN in the 1980's. Mr. Gilmartin, who now roams the halls as a big-wig at NBC in NYC, writes to tell us that not only is our humble blog enjoyed by various members of the media in the Big Apple (and who wouldn't enjoy a short jolt of well written humor every day?), but that there is an upcoming 2 hour NBC dateline about the tragic case of Christopher Sutton.

Christopher Sutton was recently convicted of hiring a hitman to kill his mother. Sutton's father, the well known and respected attorney John Sutton was severely injured in the attack and has lost his eyesight.

No funny quips about this tragic case. Just an alert to check out the NBC dateline program this Friday from 9-11 pm. See local attorney Bruce Fleisher fight his heart out for his client. One can only imagine the pain John Sutton suffered in seeing his son prosecuted for killing his wife. John Sutton's class showed when he thanked Bruce for the defense he gave his son. The whole two hours of the show is devoted to the case and is worth a look.

On a lighter note: want to see your favourite judge wiggle out of paying for his or her drinks?

There's an FACDL "Bench and Bar Mixer" at some nefarious establishment with the unlikely name of " Delores, But You Can Call Me Lolita" (1000 S Miami Avenue) next Thursday, October 21, 2010 from 5:00 -7:00 Pm. How they intend on getting the judiciary from leaving their cozy homes and trek back to downtown Miami for this soirée is beyond us.

Take our advice and skip this shing-ding. You probably have something more important to do, like clipping the cat's nails or sorting your paper clips.

As we often tell juries in closing argument in cases where the prosecution has used a snitch: "When you lie down with dogs, don't complain when you get fleas."

See you in court, but not at that ridiculously named bagnio.

WHERE ARE THE JURY TRIALS?

The title of the post links to the Florida Bar ("motto: "Lawyers hating Lawyers") News article about the serious decline in the number of jury trials.

Fact: From 1962 to 2002, federal civil trials decreased by nearly 10 percent, and federal criminal trials experienced an even greater decrease.

Fact: Florida Bar membership will soon pass 100,000 members.

So where are the trials going?

A few thoughts:

First: we make no pretense about understanding civil trials. How or why one would sue (or even serve) a debentured bond is well beyond our limited understanding of torts.

Second: As to criminal law, there is a built in bias to force a resolution of the case.

In Federal Court your client gets the 2-3 point guideline reduction for acceptance of responsibility in any case, and in drug trafficking cases with the ten year minimum mandatory, the safety valve provision can assure a 3-5 year sentence instead of risking a minimum ten year sentence if they go to trial and lose. The one good thing about the safety valve is that it puts the decision to waive the minimum mandatory in the hands of the judge and not the prosecutor.

In state court the incentives are similar. While there is no official acceptance of responsibility reduction in guideline sentences, there are marked differences between the prosecution's offer before trial and after trial. In many cases brave Judges will wade into the plea negotiations to help quickly resolve a case.

There are also similar incentive options available in minimum mandatory cases when the prosecution will often offer to waive the minimum mandatory sentence in exchange for a plea. However, as we have said before, there is no justification for putting the decision to waive a 25 year minimum mandatory sentence in the hands of a twenty five year old prosecutor as opposed to a fifty year old judge who has been practicing law for as long as the prosecutor has been alive.

Here are our thoughts on why criminal jury trials are disappearing in state criminal court:

The first problem starts with over charging by the police and the prosecution.

The woman who gets in a fight with her boyfriend and slaps him before leaving his apartment is just as likely to be charged with burglary with a battery (a non-bondable offense for which the client can receive life in prison) as with simple battery. (Yes, we know about the case law that you can't convict someone for burglary when they were invited in, but tell that to the prosecutors, not us.)

The man who slugs his cousin in a bar fight and then throws a beer bottle at him is as likely to get charged with attempted murder as misdemeanor assault and battery.

The two above examples are taken from cases we've tried. We once actually tried a case of attempted murder and aggravated assault where our client allegedly swung a simple office stapler at his co-worker. Not even the prosecutor could keep a straight face in closing when the jury was smirking at her as she attempted to menacingly wield the stapler and argue it was a "deadly weapon".

When officers overcharge a client and the prosecution files the case, lawyers are put in the position of telling their client that if they reject the plea offer of probation and proceed to trial, the maximum penalty would be 30 years (for a first degree felony) or life in prison ( for a PBL). Many clients understandably don't want to take the risk of putting their life in the hands of a judge.

Why?

Take a look at this case reported on the JAAB Broward blog this week:

Uh oh - Michael Robinson finished up his first felony trial recently, with Shlomi Presser scoring what he thought was a big win for the defense. He won a lesser of Possession of Cocaine, nullifying a Possession of Cocaine with Intent within 1000 Feet of a School charge that carried a three year minimum mandatory prison sanction. The minimum mandatory had been waived by the SAO prior to the trial, on the condition of an eighteen month sentence. In any event, because of the Possession lesser, the defendant no longer scored mandatory prison sanctions (meaning probation was ok), and she didn't have any scoreable priors. The SAO asked for 18-24 months in prison (there was also a cannabis near a school charge), and the defense naturally sought non-prison sanctions. Robinson then proceeded to sentence the defendant to three years, matching the original minimum mandatory penalty. Observers were reportedly shocked, since there were apparently mitigating factors as well. Oh well. What's that they say about defense lawyers who become judges ... ?

When judges do not sentence reasonably or rationally, and when they punish clients for going to trial, even when the proof rises only to a lesser included offense, they grossly and greatly affect the decision a client makes in deciding to go to trial. When a Judge conducts himself in a manner in which he repeats in chambers that he wants to earn the nickname "Maximum...." he forces clients to accept pleas where they otherwise would win or be convicted of less serious charges if he otherwise elected to go to trial.

The question is "where did the jury trials go"?

In criminal court the answer is that the jury trial has been reduced to a quaking and quivering mass of jelly, shaking in a corner, frightened of irrational judges and minimum mandatory prison sentences.

Our response to judges and legislators is simply this: be careful what you ask for in life, because you may get it.

See you in court, turning down plea offers and trying cases.

TUESDAY CHAOS!!!!

Reports are flooding in of chaos at the REGJB this Tuesday morning (after a Monday holiday).

Long lines.

Jammed courtrooms.

Harried Judges.

No parking spaces.

Clients and civilian witnesses stumbling around, shocked by the confusion of a court system in disarray, administered by incompetents.

Bulletins when warranted.

HR.

SUPREME COURT SPECIALISTS

The NY Times covers the specialty practice of the Supreme Court. The title of the post links to the article.

In 2000, John Roberts now Chief Justice, then a litigator, sneered at the practice of Supreme Court specialists cold calling lawyers who had certiorari granted and offering their assistance:

“If I’m going to have heart bypass surgery, I wouldn’t go to the surgeon who calls me up, I’d look for the guy who’s too busy for that.” Roberts said.

It is now even more common for lawyers to solicit cases accepted for argument.

How is it that we can't just waltz into the jail and offer to represent the accused drug dealer on his 2 million dollar forfeiture case without risking sanctions by the bar, but these snooty Supreme Court hacks get away with whoring themselves out for the glory of doing battle with Judge Scalia?

SUICIDE POOL

A brutal day in the suicide pool with Rumpole (Bills) Nick Basso ( Saints ) Juan Gonzalez (49ers) Cary Clennon (Bengals) DOM (Cowpokes who are now 1-3) all taking a loss. Indeed the only people who won took the Colts, and that game was up for grabs until late in the 4th quarter.

Plea D, Freeman, Miguel De La O, BTDT and Michael Feiler still survive. Mr. Feiler seems like a team of destiny based on his narrow escape a few weeks ago.

NFL WEEK 5 2010

Update: The Dallas game was low hanging fruit, while we squeaked out an over in the Ravens game. We finish the week 2-2 which included a flyer on an upset special for 50 wings on the Bills who jumped out to an early lead, but lost. We also lost the over bet in the Atlanta/Cleveland game, which leaves us up 415 for the week but still in the red 110 for the season. Four winning weeks out of five and still down. This is a tough business.

9-10 for the total of picks for the season. And we won our side bet with Mr. Markus, as the Giants whuped his Texans, while our Ravens/Over pick slipped through.

Rumple 3-2; DOM 2-2-1.

Update: trying to get something going here with the 4 o'clock games. 400 Salads on Tennessee at Dallas over 43. Really sweated out the over in the Ravens game.

Good Sunday Morning.

Today is October 10, 2010, or 10/10/10. What will you be doing this morning at 10:10 am? We will be out for our run.

Special Rumpole quiz: we will email you a private hint for the first five people who email us the digital equivalent of the binary number of today's date.

Suicide Pool:

Cary Clennon: Bengals; Nick Basco: Saints; Juan Gonzalez: 49ers; Plea D, Miguel De La Over, Rick Freeman, and Michael Feiler (who was cheering his Noles yesterday) Colts.

BTDT also picks the Colts. and a word here about BTDT: he sent in his entire picks for the season on week one. He's still alive in week five, and that alone is a remarkable accomplishment.

Rumpole: Ravens ; 52nd Street Irvin: Bills(!!!??). DOM: Cowpokes.

At the moment it appears Clay Kaiser had feet of clay and defaulted last week. No motion to set aside the default, but faker former Judge Colby did file a motion to set aside his pick of the Eagles last week, citing to Blog ex rel Feiler. But the motion was neither timely filed, nor did arrive with the required supporting documents (a one hundred dollar bill, preferably in a stack of the same), so it was denied.

A word about anonymity. Writing a brilliant and funny blog is hard work. And many is the time we have sat in Au Bon Pain and over heard conversations about the blog, and how the lawyers love reading it. And this is entirely true: we once over heard a fetching PD intern say that she thought writers were sexy and did anyone know who wrote the blog?

But there are advantages to anonymity, and this week was one of them.

Can you imagine walking down the hallways this week and hearing people snicker "he lost all his picks last week" and having to deal with snooty federal bloggers who would be crowing "hey, I picked against you last week, bought my wife a new Rolex. Thanks!" and other such claptrap?

First the bad news: We point out that our unofficial picks on teams regressing to the mean did very well. And if we hadn't seen the weather report and bailed on the over in the Cincy/Browns game, we would have won that one. But the man must be paid: we were down 1430 for the week, and start today at -525. We are now 7-8 for the year.

Picks:

Atlanta at Cleveland. While we like the Browns to post a win today, we really like the over 41. This one will get us right back in it. 300 Mangini's over 41.

Denver at Baltimore. Again, we like the Ravens here, but we really like the

over 39 1/2. 400 Flacco's over 39 1/2. And this is our pick with Mr. Markus, while he goes with the Texans -3 over the Giants.

Upset Special: The Jaguars go to Buffalo to play the Bills. The Jags had a big win over the Colts last week, while the Bills are just not as bad as their 0-4 record indicates. This game regresses to the mean. Bills -1 over Jags, 50 Chan Galleys.

MORE REGJB TRIVIA

Good Saturday Morning! This is a long weekend and courts in Dade are closed Monday. Broward being Broweird, courts are open Monday. They never much cared for Christopher Columbus North of the Border.

When some of our most self important robed readers were still in high school (1989) , a brave man named Lee Arthur Lawrence was gunned down in the parking lot of the Grocery store he and his wife owned in West Perrine.

Mr. Lawrence was the type of man most people can only aspire to be. In the midst of a crack epidemic that devastated this town, Mr. Lawrence refused to accept the scourge and fought back, chasing drug dealers off of his property and calling the police. Mr. Lawrence was killed for his beliefs by a drug dealing thug named Bobby Lee Robinson who ordered the murder of Mr. Lawrence.

We learned yesterday that Mr. Lawrence's brave widow has passed away. The Herald article is here.

Trivia question: Who represented Mr. Robinson at trial? What was his blockbuster defense unveiled during opening? And what happened to the lawyer because of the defense? What judge appointed the lawyer and what happened to that judge between the guilt and sentencing phases of the trial?

Weekend news:

Don't forget to send in your suicide pool picks as we enter week 5.

It was a pleasant 71 degrees this morning about an hour before sunrise as we biked over the Key Biscayne bridge. High today in the mid 80's.

Here's more evidence why that diet soda may be killing you.

DC may be under estimating Obama.....Trump's going to run for president.......and an aide to Jerry Brown, who's running for governor in California, discussed with Brown the possibility of calling his opponent Meg Whitman a ho.

Enjoy the long weekend.

IMAGINE

Imagine that John Lennon had lived to celebrate his 70th birthday on Saturday.

I wonder if you could.....

BROWARD COUNTER ATTACK

Judge Carlos Rodriguez is not going quietly into that good night; while he stares into the abyss of losing his entire criminal division to an onslaught of state motions to disqualify, he has struck back.

The Judge has struck at the soft underbelly of the Broward SAO: He has ordered the State Attorney, Mikey Satz himself, or the Chief Assistant State Attorney Chuck Morton (who happens to be a nice guy) or the the Chief of the Felony Division Jeff Marcus (a/k/a Dr. No) to be present for the soundings on October 7,13,14, 19,27,28 and November 3,4,10,17, 18 and December 1,8,9 ostensibly to assist the in court prosecutors who apparently have to keep leaving the courtroom to call their supervisors for permission on pleas. Apparently the same disease that infects the Dade SAO has spread to Broweird.

Talk about hitting below the belt! Talk about not fighting fair! It's one thing to undercut the prosecutor in court, but to order a supervisor to spend his valuable time in court during a calendar?? Why, that is almost unheard of. Who will count the coffee cups? Who will write the mind numbing emails outlining the latest new policy ("henceforth no prosecutor shall lend his or her in court copy of the Florida Statutes to any individual who is not an employee of this office..." ) ?

A copy of the order, courtesy of the JBB Blog is here.

From the order: "The volume and inability to handle the docket and issues requires a supervisor as designated in the above order from the State Attorney's Office for the orderly administration of the Court's docket. See, Code Of Judicial Conduct, Cannon 3B(3); The Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, Rule 4-3.5."

Thwack!

That sound you heard is the ball being soundly hit back into the court of the Broward SAO. How will they respond? We can hardly wait.

See You In Court.

BROWARD WAR!!!

Are you curious about the war? Well, according to Judge Carlos Rodriguez's retort to ASA Jennifer Hilal, "Curiosity is for cats." The title of the post links to the SAO's motion to recuse the judge. One of 450 (!!!!) motions filed.

Yes, it's war in Broweird County, and the difference here is that it's the SAO going to war against Judge Carlos Rodriguez.

The date: September 20, 2010.

The Judge: Carlos Rodriguez.

The ASA: Jennifer Hilal.

Case 1: State v. Benjamin Elmore.

Status: Open plea to the court.

Charge: DWLS and Possession of Cocaine.

Priors: Mr. Elmore had 4 prior possession of cocaine cases.

First Proposed Court Sentence: Adj, and CTS. Upon learning that Mr. Elmore had obtained a hardship license, the court decided to change the sentence to a withhold so Mr. Elmore would not lose his license. The State pointed out that it was an illegal sentence because of the number of withholds Mr. Elmore had for the same offense. The court then accepted the plea on the DWLS and set the possession charge for trial.

Objection: ASA Hilal, having heard the court say that he did not want to see Mr. Elmore lose his license after he just got one, moved to recuse the court because she felt the court had already prejudged the case.

Best Quote: "THERE IS NO CURIOSITY IN COURT. CURIOSITY ARE FOR CATS" (sic)

Case 2. State v. Pelfrey.

Charge: Grand Theft.

Plea: State and defense worked out a plea to a withhold and 12 months probation.

Court: Rejected plea and sentenced defendant to a withhold and one day probation.

Objection: State objected to plea and asked for time to have the victim address the court.

Best Quote: Ms. Hilal: So you don't want to hear from the victim in this case?"

Judge Rodriguez: "Have a seat at counsel table will you?...And stay there."

Motion to recuse: "There was no reason for Judge Carlos Rodriguez to order Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Hilal to be confined to her chair..."

In the third case, Judge Rodriguez rejected a negotiated plea to 18 months probation between the state and defense and imposed a one day probation period, which he promptly terminated. When the prosecutor objected and asked for time for the victim, a law enforcement officer to be present, the court said that the case was set for that day and it was the prosecutor's problem as to why her witnesses were not in court. When the prosecutor rightly stated that she had a deal with the defense and thus had no reason to suspect the plea would change, Judge Rodriguez stated that she was now on notice that any time a case was set, even for an agreed upon plea, the court reserved the right to reject the plea and impose a plea of its own.

CONGRATULATIONS JUDGE CARLOS RODRIGUEZ. We have been practicing law in Florida courts for more than a quarter of a century and you are the first judge to make us feel sorry for a prosecutor.

The fact is that when a Judge does what this transcript shows, it demeans the court and the entire judicial process. There were law enforcement officers who were victims who had been told the defendant would be getting 18 months probation. They had no reason to suspect a judge would act crazy and start rejecting pleas and giving away the courthouse.

The transcript shows a Judge who was demeaning to a prosecutor, who did not treat her with the respect all lawyers are entitled to be treated to, and who had a blatant disregard for the legal process. For the first and perhaps only time in our career, we are on the side of the Broward State Attorneys Office. And prior to today we would have bet a million bucks we would never write that sentence.

ABHORRENT FREE SPEECH

Very sad scenario: Your son was killed in defense of his country. His body is returned to your home town for burial. At the cemetery is a group of completely wacky religious nuts from a church in Kansas. They are demonstrating and holding signs that say things like "G-d hates fags", "Semper Fi Fags", "Don't pray for the USA" , "Thank g-d for dead soldiers", and other such abhorrent nonsense.

The protestors obey all local laws. Their protest is fueled not by animus towards the dead Marine, but by their belief that the lord is exacting punishment on our country for our lax moral standards. The dead soldiers are proof that the lord is punishing our country.

The Marine's father (bless him) sued in US District Court and received a judgment of 5 million dollars.

The Fourth Circuit reversed, holding that the First Amendment protects such "utterly distasteful" speech.

The Supreme Court hears argument for one hour at 10:00 AM on Wednesday in Snyder v. Phelps, et.al (09-751). All nine justices will participate.

Rumpole says: The strength of our country lies within the protections fringe groups receive.

However, we can't help but believe that while the First Amendment protects the rights of this group and others to provide their message in a public forum, the First Amendment does not give them the right to dishonor a dead Marine, or any dead soldier who has died for their country. If we can uphold laws that prohibit the burning of the flag (which quite frankly we believe is an act protected by the First Amendment) then we certainly can have a law protecting the sanctity of a solider's funeral.

The right to publicly distribute offensive material does not include the right to force that material on someone in a private setting. Just as these "church members" have no right to invade a home to distribute their literature, they have no right to force their views on individuals engaging in intensely private acts that occur in a public setting.

The law would not allow these people to storm a church or temple during a religious service to spread their offensive messages. And while their conduct is ostensibly conducted in public, it is designed to disrupt a private service.

For all we care congress can pass a law exempting funerals from the First Amendment.

We don't care how the nine justices twist and contort themselves to uphold the verdict. But we know this: while this Marine died to protect their right to spread their vile thoughts, the law ought to protect him and his family's right to a private and dignified funeral.

Semper Fi.

MNF DOLPHINS EDITION

First the bad news: Suicide deaths include Colby (and now we don't have to deal with that headache anymore) and Peter Sauter. Long time "pooler" Dan Lurvey really did commit suicide by picking the Bills over the Jets. BTDT stayed alive with the Jets, as did Nick Basso. Michael Feiler, still feeling lucky with his last minute pick of the Bruins last week, kept afloat with the Saints. 11 players remain heading into the second month of the season.

Our first losing week of the year, and it was a bad one. You know it's going to be bad when you cancel the only bet that would end up having won- the over in the Cleveland/Cincy game.

We went o-2 yesterday, bringing our season total to 7-6, and we lost 660, bringing our total down to a meager 245 Huizengas. And to make matters even worse, we lost out bet with Markus, and that standing is now Rumpole 2-2, Markus 2-1-1.

Monday night is get even night.

There is no way the Dolphins should lose this game. Furthermore, if they do lose it, they will have lost to the two division rivals at home in consecutive weeks. On that basis alone you can kiss the season goodbye.

The over/under is 49. Despite the Cheaters high powered offense, the Fins, Brandon Marshall not withstanding, don't have the firepower to run with them. Furthermore, we like the Fins D, and we expect the Fins to come out running and try and slow the game down. The more minutes the offense has the ball, the less time pretty boy Brady has to throw it to bad boy Moss.

Under 49 for 400. We also like the Fins -1, but instead of making that bet outright, we're going to parlay 300 under 49 and Dolphins -1.

Remember that a parlay pays 13-5.

Go Fins!!!!

FIRST MONDAY IN OCTOBER : 2010 EDITION

Baby Lollipops update: We received this urgent email from a loyal reader:

Rumpole: Breaking news at the sentencing phase hearing for the woman accused of killing her child: Judge Ward- yes you read that right- Judge Ward has momentarily crippled the State's ability to proceed. The case is set before Judge Reemeberto Diaz, and as the case began, veteran and grizzled homicide prosecutor Susan Dannely was momentarily stunned when Judge Ward ordered two thirds of her prosecution team to her courtroom regardless of the fact that they were beginning the delicate sentencing phase portion of the case. As the PD piled motion upon motion to the State, Dannely was reduced to pleading for "judicial intervention" to help recoup her prosecutors.

Rumpole says: This highlights a more important issue: the ridiculous nature of judges who order attorneys to their courtroom without regard for what the attorney is otherwise engaged in. And having been in private practice, Judge Ward should know better. But she is far from the only judge who acts as if their cases are the only cases that count.

It's the First Monday in October, and you all know what that means:

Yes, they now change the soup menus in Au Bon Pain to reflect the Fall Harvest, but it is also the opening session of the United States Supreme Court.

Nick Allard of Politico has this Op Ed piece: "Mr. Chief Justice Open These Doors."

Because the great bronze door entrance to the Court, above which is chiseled in stone these words: "Equal Justice Under The Law", remain locked as the justices quiver in the face of terrorist threats.

Mr. Allred writes:

The diplomat George Kennan, in his famous 1946 “long telegram” from Moscow, which issued a stern warning about Soviet aggression, cautioned that the greatest danger that can befall a free society, in coping with foes who seek to destroy us and our way of life, is to allow ourselves to become like them.

For all of you Supreme Court groupies, the court today will hear Abbott v. US/ Gould v. US, which examines the fascinating question about the "except clause" of 18 USC 924(c). For those of you who practice federal criminal defense, the questions surrounding the 924(c) count, with it's 5 year consecutive sentence for possession of a firearm during a criminal offense, is an important one.

For the rest of us, we are just looking forward to the new soups.

See you in court.

NFL WEEK 4 2010

Good Sunday morning! Before we begin, there is an excellent comment in the previous post by someone who is well versed in the procedures of what occurs when a pregnant inmate gives birth while in custody. We are proud that we have such a diverse group of readers.

Week 4 presents as every week does, some problems and some opportunities. What we remind our readers who play along with us, is the topic we have often discussed on this blog: the regression to the mean. In plain english, what this means for those who wager a bob or two on the games, is that 95% of the teams in the NFL are neither as good as they seemed the week before, or as bad.

We are 7-4 for the season and plus 905.

Dolphins vs. Cheaters. We've been running the metrics on this game all week, and some surprising numbers jump out: teams that pass with play action on the cheaters' defense are 16-19 for almost 200 yards and 3 TDs. Obversely, pretty boy QB is 17-20 for almost 200 yards and 2 tds when passing out of the shotgun. Meaning: the Fins have the better defense, but can they run with the cheaters? We'll make a pick on Monday. The game is MNF in Miami.

Eagles vs Redskins. Gonna ride this Vick train until it crashes. Eagles -5.5 for 300.

Cheesesteaks. Long time and careful blog readers will remember our fondness for Pat's Cheesesteaks and not Geno's. Any Philly guy knows they are both right across the street from each other. Of course we take our cheesesteaks "wit".

UPDATE: It's pouring rain in Cincy. Cancel the pick . Browns at Bengals. Something we've seen in examining statistics leads us to take the over for the second straight week in a Browns game. Last week we shocked the betting community by picking the over in the Browns/Ravens matchup. When we checked with 52nd street in Vegas, where he helps set lines for a sportsbook, Irving told us that the books were way out on the under- meaning they had a lot more money bet on the under than the over and were facing a substantial loss if the game went under. When I asked him why they weren't moving the line down to attract over bettors he just chuckled. The game went over and they made a pretty penny. (remember a book's goal is to have the same amount bet on each side so they risk nothing and just rake in the ten points on the losers).

Over 37 Browns/Bengals for 200 Pennington's.

Regressing to the mean: Giants(-3) over Bears, Houston over Oakland (+3) ,

Seattle over St Louis (+1.5). These are not official picks. We're merely putting these out there to se if our theory holds.

SUICIDE POOL: WEEK FOUR:

Never mind about the stupid stuff we posted yesterday, Feiller picked the Bears and they won. He's alive. Sorry, nipping at the Bourbon all day.

Week four picks:

Colby-fake or otherwise: Eagles; Plea D: Falcons; Peter Sauter: Titans.

SAINTS: Juan Gonzalez, Miguel De La Over, Rumpole. DOM.

CHARGERS: Cary Clennon, Rick Freedman.

RUMPLE (2-1) v. MARKUS (1-1-1).

DOM surprised us last week, getting in his pick while waiting out his jury. At the last minute we jumped on the Fins and took our first loss of the year. This week we take the Titans -7 at home over the Broncos. And for the season running total we'll put 300 Buju's on the Titans.

Mr. Markus picks Houston -3.

Update: if you read DOM's blog, you know he lost his cell phone on a flight back from NY (really David, it's time for NetJets.)

Well, we know someone who found it. Tomorrow: "The surprising phone numbers in David's Phone." Only on the JB blog.

IN RE GLICK

More comments on the Glick sentencing, and the tide seems to be turning against the Defendant. There is apparently an article in the Herald today, but we can't find it on line.

This comment appears to sum up the prevailing sentiment:

Anonymous said...

As a defense attorney, I got to admit that at 1st I believed the facts posted on the defendant's website and thought the punishment was way harsh.
But after going to Glick's ctrm. for the hearing yesterday, I was wrong. It came out that defendant has 5 or 6 arrests (I lost count), in several different states, violations of probation and a previous case where she punched a cop before.

She's also lost her control in court yelling at her own attorney and in the hallway at the trial witnesses.

Truthfully I would have put a little bit of a beatdown on this defendant too. Even African-American community activist Georgia Aires got up yesterday and spoke and said she herself had no sympathy for the defendant and defendant needs to learn some r-e-s-p-e-c-t and made her recite it.
And it was said yesterday and then confirmed in this morning's Miami Herald local section that the State DID recommend 3 years prison.
Still think the punishment was a little excessive, but good for Glick at least giving the unborn kid a shot (assuming mom doesn't get arrested again) at being born outside a cell.

Saturday, October 02, 2010 2:01:00 PM

SUICIDE POOL: WEEK FOUR:

Before we begin, Michael Feiler, who is a long time blog reader and sp player, dropped the ball last week and forgot to make a pick until Monday night, at which point, having previously taken the Packers, he was stuck with the Bears. Our thought is to give him a second chance and make him pick two games this week, but we leave it up to the kind, caring, and considerate thoughts of our players. Please vote.

Also- we have a player who says he is former Judge Jon Colby. We have since received an email from someone else who says he is Jon Colby and asks me to cease and desist from using his name in "an unsavory yet public spectacle of gambling, and on the sabbath yet."

This Colby claims that should he in the future seek appointment back on the bench, he does not want to be "smeared with the stain of your disreputable blog".

We're not sure what to do, other than publicize that the names of the individuals we use in the pool are not represented by us or anyone to be those actual people. Kindly act accordingly.

Week four picks:

Colby-fake or otherwise: Eagles; Plea D: Falcons; Peter Sauter: Titans.

SAINTS: Juan Gonzalez, Miguel De La Over, Rumpole.

CHARGERS: Cary Clennon, Rick Freedman.

RUMPLE (2-1) v. MARKUS (1-1-1).

DOM surprised us last week, getting in his pick while waiting out his jury. At the last minute we jumped on the Fins and took our first loss of the year. This week we take the Titans -7 at home over the Broncos.

For our picks tomorrow, we're running the simulations and looking very closely at

Indy (-7) at Jax.

Upset special: Look for the Browns to notch a win at home against Cincy.

FIRST FRIDAY IN OCTOBER

UPDATE: as predicted below, Judge Tunis sentenced Tavares Calloway to death for the execution murders of five men during a drug ripoff.

Good Friday Morning!!!! The Dolphins play the cheaters at home Monday night, and speaking of Monday....while the first Friday is October is meaningless, the First Monday is not. We welcome a new Supreme Court and the first term of Obama's second appointment- Justice Kagan.

Regarding the post yesterday about Judge Glick and the pregnant defendant, the comments were solidly against Judge Glick's sentence. However, we are surprised no one has mentioned this: When you incarcerate a pregnant woman, you are incarcerating an innocent child. The child will be born in prison and then taken away from her mother. What an awful way to start a life. Our question is this: were the crimes of the defendant so horrible and was her conduct so dangerous to the community that the need for incarceration outweighs the child's needs? Just a thought.

If you don't read the JAAB blog, you are missing the soap opera like atmosphere of that wonderful courthouse north of the border. With the judicial elections finished, and a new election for chief judge on the horizon, the long knives are out. A criminal court judge of 20 plus years experience is being rotated-against her will to civil (Judge Leebow), while other judges stew and snipe. And then there is the Public Defender, who is being sued in federal court by a psychologist who claims his supportive testimony for outgoing Judge Aleman before the JQC caused Howard Finklestein to retaliate against him by ordering his office to no longer use his services, causing losses of $500,000.00 per year!!!

Somebody needs to get a film crew and start the reality show: "The Real Life Judges And Lawyers of Broward County."

The big murder case before Judge Murphy ended with a guilty verdict Thursday night. Gail Levine notches the win for the State, while Charles White takes the loss. Next up: the case now proceeds to a sentencing phase with Bruce Fleisher for the defense.

Meanwhile Judge Tunis sentences a defendant to death today after a 7-5 recommendation, and the Baby Lollipops sentencing phase starts up Monday before Judge Reemberto Diaz.

That's it for now. See you in court.