DAVID PAULUS

ASA David Paulus has passed away at the much too young age of 46. 


Mr. Paulus was a worthy adversary  in court. He was a tough as nails negotiator, and his dedication to the people of the State of Florida and Dade County as a public servant was nonparell.  The people of Dade County are immeasurably better because of his service.  


We invite those prosecutors and friends who worked closely with him to write in with their memories. 


The Herald article is here. 

The Captain informed us:
If you want to give a donation, they can be made to the David Paulus Family Trust and mailed to David Kahn, Esq. at Green & Kahn, 317 71st St., Miami Beach, FL 33141. 

abe laeser said...

I will mostly miss David because of the week we spent on a recruiting trip. He showed a kindness and concern for others that he could hardly express as a gang and narcotics prosecutor.

We spent a great deal of down time speaking about his family and the things that were truly important to him. I learned more about the soul of this fine man than I ever could at the office.

It was obvious that David was a most decent person who was a prosecutor for only one reason: he cared.

Scott Saul said...

I battled with David many times. He was a very worthy adversary, tough as nails but always professional and the tax payers were very well served. Such a sad loss. Passing away at 46...really puts things in perspective.

DAVID PAULUS FUNDRAISER

From Raul Chacon, Esq, at Houck Anderson:

Sent: Mon, Dec 27, 2010 9:53 am

Subject: Domino Tournament in support of David Paulus

Hope the holiday season finds you and your loved ones well. The purpose of this email is to invite you to a fundraiser to benefit one of our own, David Paulus. As many of you know, David has been a lifelong prosecutor and a friend to us for many years. He has been a tireless and dedicated public servant and is currently the Director of the South Florida Money Laundering Strike Force. Recently, David was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As you can imagine, he and his family are now on a journey that is going to be not only physically taxing but also emotionally and financially draining.

We hope that you can join us on Friday, January 14, 2011 starting at 7:00 p.m. for a night of dominoes to benefit David and his family. All proceeds and donations will go to David. Details of the event are in the attached flyer. In the meantime, please keep David and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Best wishes to all of you for a healthy and happy New Year. See you on January 14th!

Sincerely,

Raul J. Chacon Jr.

President

Rumpole says: It's been a tough month of December but things don't always have to end badly. Here's a chance to step up for a friend and colleague and help him win his battle.

We can't print the flyer but here are the details:

January 14, 2011 at 7:00 PM at the Newport Beachside Resort in Sunny Isles, 16701 Collins Avenue.

$40.00 per team for dominoes. (team dominoes? we never knew...)

Call 305-302-1996 for early registration. Hosted by "MDPD Force Basketball team."

Lots of good food and drinks as well.

Hat tip: Rick Freedman for forwarding the email to FACDL and our spies who forwarded it to us.

FUNDRAISER FOR DAVID PAULUS

Before we get to the fundraiser details, the great man has spoken and we need to pay attention.


Albert Krieger in court was a magical thing to observe. His voice boomed from the podium, filling the courtroom. Its  rumbling bass made prosecutors tremble and witnesses crumble. Jurors nodded in agreement and vexatious judges were lost in the roar .  So when Albert Krieger speaks, even by email,you had better listen. And here is what he wrote on the FACDL listserv about the appointment of Richard Hersch:


"How wonderful for all of us, the bar and the public. Richard is everything a judge should be and we will all benefit from his service."
High praise for Mr. Hersch indeed. 


There is a fundraiser for the late David Paulus, an Assistant State Attorney who recently passed away after a courageous and lengthy battle with brain cancer. Mr. Paulus is survived by his wife and three children. If you know anything about health care circa 2012, you know that no matter how comprehensive the coverage, the portion of the bills not covered can be crippling, especially for a  public servant. This is a worthy cause, please attend or donate. 

Domino Effect - David Paulus 2012


Our final story is a crime drama. The perp wielded a machete. The victims kept their cool and handed over  $1,000.00 in cash. Luckily no one was hurt. The victim? United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, on vacation at his  Nevis vacation home. 
Maybe now he knows why eyewitness identification is so unreliable. One can hope. 
See You In Court. 

SUPER BOWL WEEKEND

Before we begin, this is well worth repeating: David Paulus was a career public servant. He bravely battled brain cancer for the last few years, and that battle was expensive. Mr. Paulus leaves his wife and three children. There is a Paulus Family trust which you can donate to: Make your check out to the  David Paulus Family Trust: and mail the check to : David Kahn, Esq. at Green & Kahn, 
317 71st St., Miami Beach, FL 33141. 


Here's what you do: On Friday or Saturday night skip that night out at Capital Grille or The Palm or Mortons, and mail a check for $250.00 or whatever you can afford. Then check out last weeks post and go to one of the pizza joints and get a pie and a six pack and sit at home and eat some pizza and drink some beer and feel great about doing a really good deed. 


The Captain Reports:

Welcome back Judge Glick .....

That's Lenny Glick by the way as he will be sitting in for Judge Colodny who will be on an extended leave from the bench. 

Great seeing you Judge. 

Cap Out .....


Super Bowl: There is one more football game to be played this Sunday. A few facts: If they win, the Giants will be the first 9-7 team to win the super bowl (The Cardinals advanced to the super bowl as a 9-7 team a few years ago, but lost in the last minute.) The Giants will also be the first team to win a super bowl that gave up more points then they scored in the season (-6 for the year).   This will be a close game but we look for some surprises. The cheaters could come out....running?? Meanwhile the Giants defense which beat and battered Brady into submission a few years ago is expected to blitz often. Just don't be surprised if they drop 8-9 into coverage and try and force Brady into making some mistakes. 


More on the game this weekend. 


How are the new judges doing? Are they finding their home room ok? Are they getting along with each other at lunch? 


Here's the thing with Mitt: He just can't help himself. Every time he gets  a big win, he puts his foot in his mouth. 


See You In Court. 




Coming Saturday: WWMS? (what would Mitt Say?)

DAVID PAULUS REMEMBERED

Every now and then we are brought back to earth and reminded that all of this is worthwhile and there are things more important than work. 

We received this amazing comment which is now posted in the blog post about her dad:

I just found this blog after 4 years I am 13 now and I know its late but I wanted to say thank you to all the people who supported my family and wrote these things. He really was the best parent and lawyer and I still miss him everyday. I also wanted to give thanks to the people who worked at the Justice Building with my dad because you gave him the best years of his life working there and sometimes I still think he is gonna come back from there with his briefcase. I remember take your child to work day and walking around the office talking to his co workers and friends I remember looking through some files and playing with the badges he had in his office. I am really proud of the man he was and I wish he could have seen me now and helped protect the streets. He fought a long battle and actually lived longer than he was supposed to I remember the hospital visits. I also remember the people working at the Justice Building and his co workers supported us and gave us comfort and brought on DAVID PAULUS

Elizabeth Rogers Paulus

Dear Elizabeth:

Thank you for reading our blog and I am  beyond happy that you found the blog post about your Dad which is here. Your comment was heartwarming and I guarantee you that it will bring more than a few tears to our readers' eyes. 

There are so many more qualified people who can tell you wonderful things about your Dad. But I will tell you this: he was a true hero. He was a great lawyer, and he devoted those talents to protecting the people of Miami. For that, and because of the wonderful person he was, he is remembered, and his memory is honored. And anyone who has read your wonderful words knows that your Dad would be so proud of you. 
Be well, and always know you have many friends at the Miami Criminal Courthouse and the Dade State Attorneys Office. 
Keep in touch. 

IN REMEMBRANCE

UPDATE #2 Robert Bork, whose nomination hearings changed the way people used sentate confirmations- and not for the better- has died.

UPDATE: Lots and lots of new names added after the original post.

At this time of year thoughts turn to those who have been here before us and have since departed. Many of those who graced our courthouse and this earth planted seeds which grew into giant oak trees.  These are the men and women who made the practice of law in Dade County a great thing. 

So in no particular order, except for the first, we remember Judges and attorneys we knew.  Please email or post your remembrances and we will put those names on the front of the blog.

Ed Cowart- the first among many.  Rob Pinero. Manny Crespo. Gerald Klein. Phil Knight. 

Sy Gaer. Ned Davis. Wilkie Ferguson. Henry Oppenborn. Julio Jimenez. Henry Leyte-Vidal. Fred Nesbitt. 

Ellen Morphonios. Arthur Snyder. Stanley Goldstein (founder of the first drug court in the nation!).  Calvin Mapp. Tom Carney. 
George Orr. Gemma Cosentino. Greg Wenzel, who died in the line of duty of serving his country and was a former dade PD. 

Harold Solomon. Sydney Shapiro. Richard Hickey. Richard Gerstein. Paul Mendelson. Margarita Esquiroz. Dixie Chastain. Mattie Belle Davis. Norman Roettger. David Dyer. Maxine Cohen-Lando. Michelle Block. Ed Newbold. John Tanksley. Morton Perry (a real gem of a man) C.P. Rubiera- who loved to mentor young attorneys,  and one of our favourites: Dominick Koo. Joe Durant. Gabe Martin. Bill Meadows- another gem of  a man.

Harry Prebish (founded FACDL Miami Chapter along with Daniel Pearson), Daniel Pearson,  Carol Guralnick- somebody should write a book about her, Gino Negretti (the cuban rocket), Paul Pollack. Rodney Thaxton- amazing PD, FACDL gives an award in his name. Carl Vizzi. Danny Velaos.

David "Sterno" Stern. Ted Klein- they don't make them any better than Ted, Arthur Maginnis. Vince McGhee- brother of Rayfield McGhee, Arthur Winton. Bill Schurr. Meek Robinette- yes you young ASAs and PDs, there once was a judge named Meek. Murray "The K" Klein. Henry Carr. Harvey Baxter, who ran for judge with the slogan "Put a Mensch on the Bench." He won. 

David Paulus. Ira Dubitsky, Terry McWilliams, Jeff Raffle, Kirk 
Haas, Norman Haft, Max Kogan, John Durant, Milton Farrell  Jr.
Max Engle. Stuart Mishkin. Steve Chaykin- a great lawyer and a great man who died way too young.
And ditto for Steve Levine, a judge who was cherished and taken from us way too soon. Joe Eaton. Lenore Nesbitt, Sidney Aroncvitz, James Payne, George Gold,Tom Duff, Kirk Marmar and John Komorowski.

Jeff Samek- led the defense in the Country Walk trial. 
Adele Faske- the first woman ASA.  Walter Gwynn. Ben Cohen. Rosemary Jones. Paul Louis. Bill Ferguson. 

These names are in no particular order and we are sure we have forgotten many who deserve to be remembered. Think of this as a start. Please email us or post a name and we will put it up. 

See You In Court. 

THE RIDDLER WRITES

THE MAN WHO ASKS QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS, ENEMY OF BATMAN, CONTRIBUTOR TO THE BLOG, ASPIRING WRITER OF FICTION, THE RIDDLER, GRACES OUR PAGES WITH THIS GODFATHER RIPOFF:

Rumpole:
I have to beg your indulgence for another round of rumours that have surfaced. My contacts have been text messaging me for the last 24 hours on a series of events that are both stunning and shocking. A source close to the players involved here has agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. It seems that the Greico resignation was a red herring for the real story. Greico is considering running against county sheriff David Miller. Miller heard about this and requested a "sit down" with Greico and his people at Granny Feelgood's on Thursday late afternoon.

The meeting was sanctioned by Don Lenny Glick, father of the diabolical Glick Crime Syndicate and his son Stacey. Farina also gave his blessing.

What happened next is somewhat unclear but we have pieced the together the following:

Miller arrived at Granny's and flashed his judge badge and his 4 holstered sidearms, 2 granades, a C4 bar and a surface to air missile concealed under his jacket. He was also wearing pancho villa style criss cross leather ammo holsters. Miller arrived with his bailiff and newly hired campaign maven and part time body guard David "no min mans waived" Paulus.

Greico walked in shortly thereafter with his new consultant, Clay Kaiser.
The Kaiser move was designed to show Greico as a compassionate conservative. The waitress did not identify Greico per se, but she described the candidate as flashing 14 little badge pins worn on on an FBI or DEA laniard around his neck. We have to assume this was in fact Greico.

What Miller's camp did not realize was that earlier that afternoon, Kaiser entered the Granny Feelgood's mens room and planted a snub nose .38 behind the toilet disguised as the late great Murray Klein. The sit down started with the discussion surrounding Greico's intent to kick off his campaign with a huge block party at the Mahi Lot. As advertised, Greico is the DJ and women under the age of 22 only will be admitted. Miller and Greico shared a hummus platter appetizer with extra pita and olives as the discussion progressed. Clay Kaiser sat at the table looking confused and indifferent, much the same way he does at morning calender. (image placeholder)

At some point between eating hummus and waiting for a tuna sandwich on 12 grain bread with extra sprouts, Greico asked if he could use the men's room.

Paulus nodded to Miller and Greico was granted permission. Greico found the .38 and confronted Miller. Greico fired twice hitting Miller in the chest. Greico and Kaiser took of in Kaiser's volvo. What they did not know was that Miller was wearing the kevlar vest he obtained during the invasion of Grenada and was not even injured.What has happened since this stunning turn of events is anyone's guess. Greico may be hiding out at Bill Mcghee's auto theft war room in central Dade. A

t least his car will be safe there. I was also told by a good source that he was hiding in the KFR "Justice in Motion" mini van often seen parked in the Graham lot. He may have been having sex in there, but we don't know.Miller has been seen driving around South Miami in his tank in what he has dubbed "Operation MySpace.com."I have heard that Judge Thomas may be tapped to arbitrate this feud picked after denying whites, jews, hispanics, females and bulgarians to make sure this high profile case is handled by a black judge.

Rumpole, please consult with your minions and tell us what is happening here.

Side note: "The Warren Schwartz Story" being produced by the Lifetime channel in conjunction with the Oxygen Network and Oprah, has narrowed the actors being considered for the role of Warren. Sam Slom and Danny DeVito are the finalists. Marlene Schwartz will be played by Eva Longoria. Rory will be played by either John Goodman, Sinbad or Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid. Bennett makes a cameo as well as Raul from the pickle barell and Ronny the supply guy at the PD's office.Critics are already saying that this may be the motion picture event of 2007. I myself can't wait.

Rumpole, again please help separate fact from fiction here. The Dade legal community can only wait in anticipation.


A Godfather fan adds his/her two cents:

There was a man who came to REGJB, and he made this courthouse what it is today. That man was David Miller. And now there is not so much as even a plaque in his name here."Make sure Judge Thomas gets a friggin' plaque.

AND FINALLY, A READER ADDS:
"This is the business we have chosen"


Rumpole concludes with the fact that we like the Moniker “Don” Lenny Glick. We think he’ll like it to. Everything else is fiction. At Granny Feelgoods, try the soy burger. It’s the best in the city.

BOO!

SCARY REGJB STYLE IS......

Walking into Judge Areces or Adrien's calendar on a Friday morning and seeing your client's case is on page 89.

Walking into the Third DCA and seeing Judge Rothenberg on your panel chomping at the bit.

Doing a weekend bond hearing with a new county court judge from Civil.

Trying to get a rational discussion started with a prosecutor on why a drug minimum mandatory should be waived. All you get is "go see David "psych-NO' Paulus".

Trying to get a continuance from Judge Huck. (OK. It's not a REGJB issue, but it's still scary).

Walking into a criminal court North Of the Border and seeing the Former Chief Judge sitting in for your judge for the day. Ouch!!

ADD YOUR OWN SCARY STORIES:

OUR QUALIFICATIONS:

Fakey Fakerstein said...

Rump - I love your blog and your articles/commentaries, but I'm starting to question your qualifications as a defense attorney....

Rumpole replies: My qualifications are well known: I am on time; I have a file; I'm ready to go; my hangover is better after a few aspirin. For religious and personal reasons I will not read statutes nor case law and you can easily spot me as I carry around the 1989 Florida Rules. In my opinion, nothing important has happened since then.

BECAUSE WE TOOK A CHEAP SHOT:

Anonymous said...
On the issue of early start times: Judge Areces has a system and it seems fair and works. State and PDs' in court by 8:30 A.M.--Private start calling cases at 8:45A.M. Free for all at 9:00-10:00, Don't be late, sigh and a shrug if she has to go back!. Sometimes we come in late, traffic, front door-back door, client tardy. But over all, you can set your watch to her.

Rumpole says: Equal time for a fan of Judge Areces.

And maybe it's a little unfair to make fun of Judges Adrien and Areces and the large calendars they have. As Judge Moreno used to say when he was a Circuit Court Judge "That blind clerk doesn't like me."

JUDGE REYES'S BAILIFF

The comments section on the previous post has some complaints about Judge Izzy Reyes's bailiff. Here's what we know: As long as an individual is not being disruptive, anyone in America has the right to sit in any courtroom as long as that courtroom is open for business. No one- not a bailiff, not a police officer, not a Judge, has a right to tell anyone they cannot sit in a courtroom that is conducting business, unless the proper procedures have been followed for sealing the courtroom.

If we recall, this issue was raised North Of the Border, where the new Chief Judge responded that outside of legitimate space issues, bailiffs would stop baring anyone who was not a defendant from entering the courtroom. We don't think the problem is that bad in Dade and doesn't Joe Farina have other problems to worry about?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN