On May 14, Governor DeSantis (R, Bizarro-Land)'s stay at home order expired. It was Part-tee time in Flor-reee-dah! There were 680 new cases a day of Covid being diagnosed in the Sunshine State. And the end was near. Or at least as Churchill famously said, it may not be the beginning of the end, but it was certainly the end of the beginning.
Now a month later into this liberal-Democratic anti-Trump- just like a bad flu- don't tell me to wear no mask- virus, Florida has 2,783 new cases a day. Yahoo! Who says science don't work?
Just to put these numbers in context, at the "height" of the pandemic, Florida on April 1, 2020 had 1,575 new cases. Way to go low Ron!
Not.
So you are asking..."What does this mean for me?" Well it means that we are 2,783 people a day from getting to a point where courts can open and we can have jury trials so prosecutors can slink out of the REGJB after another Rumpolian NG. Well actually, our reasoning is a bit off. What we need is a steady decrease of new cases, not what we like to call the Ronny-D Spike. So much for opening back up safely. Sanely. Scientifically.
I shot an arrow in the air
It fell to earth I know not where
(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
For so swiftly the DeSantis virus numbers flew high in flight
I could not follow it with sight
Someone breathed a Covid droplet in the air
It fell on a passerby who went I know not where
For who has sight so strong and keen
It can follow the mist of Covid 19?
Long long afterward on South Beach
I found the passerby drinking in a breach
And the virus whose numbers grew
I found more sick people that I knew
(Horace Rumpole, h/t to H.W. Longfellow).
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
A MATTER OF SEX
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace on the basis of, inter alia, (among other things) sex or blogger affiliation.
After enough electronic paper to deforest an electronic forest, pleadings, briefs, amicus briefs, appendixes, bench briefs, ad Infinium, the issue in Bostock v. Georgia boiled down to this simple question: when the law was drafted in 1963-64, and the term sex was used, did it just mean male/female, or sexual orientation?
Most people think it applied to sexual orientation. Conservatives, limited to the strict interpretation of the text, argued that sex meant male versus female in the context of discrimination.
One fun fact of the case: One plaintiff worked as a skydiving instructor, until it was learned he was gay, and then his ripcord was pulled and he was fired.
Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion. Legal conservatives now want to impeach him.
Gorsuch concedes that the term sex, as used in 1964, other than the extramarital escapades of President Johnson, referred to the biological orientation of the individual. So then that should be it-right? Case closed- fire all the gay people you want. Hurray and MAGA and pass the Champagne and condoms.
But wait- because of "because of" there is more. Huh? Let us elucidate. Gorsuch writes that because Congress used the phrase "because of sex" courts must apply a "but for test" which he says means change one thing at a time and see if the outcome changes. Now "but" has intruded into a gay sex case. Conservatives cannot be happy with this grim turn of events.
There is more to the majority opinion, but frankly although we like the results (our ox having been gored) we cannot abide by the reasoning. Justice Gorsuch must have found himself a hot-yoga studio in DC, because he twists and turns the language of the statute, conceding that that although "sex" as used in the statute simply and solely prohibited discriminating against someone because they were a man or a woman, it now means today (without- lord forbid, the court legislating such an outcome) much much more. It now protects people who engage in homosexuality, pansexuality, abstinence, monks, and those who peruse websites like "girls gone wild" and "underneath their robes".
Gorsuch correctly writes that "Title VII's message is simple but momentous: An individual employee's sex is not relevant to the selection, evaluation, or compensation of employees." Somehow Gorsuch finds in that phrase the additional prohibition again an employee's sexual activities. It is not there- but perhaps in the words of his ideological hero Justice Douglas, it exists in the "penumbra" of the words. See Grisworld v. Connecticut, in which Douglas, writing for a 7-2 majority, "finds" a right to privacy, not specifically written, but hiding in the penumbra in the amendments to the Constitution. Perhaps all it takes to be a great justice is a really big magnifying glass, the better to espy words not written, but floating in the penumbra of things.
The dissent says a lot of mean things about the majority opinion, but Justice Alito's argument comes down to this: sex and sexual orientation are two different things and if Congress wanted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation it would have said so. Unfortunately, Alito is right (for once).
If a statute prohibited discrimination against people who played sports, that does not mean it prohibits discrimination against people who support a particular sports team. You root for the Dolphins, that means you are used to enduring pain- you're hired. You root for the Buffalo Sabres, and nobody knows who they are- you're fired. Such a statute would prohibit preferential treatment to bowlers and runners but would not prohibit the justifiable goal of firing all employees who are Patriot fans.
So now perhaps your ox is gored. You like the result. You love the result. You cannot understand how we are criticizing the result. We are not. Run for Congress on the platform of passing legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and you have our vote. But unless you are a member of Justice Goruch's hot yoga studio and like downward dog, his opinion is deeply flawed.
After enough electronic paper to deforest an electronic forest, pleadings, briefs, amicus briefs, appendixes, bench briefs, ad Infinium, the issue in Bostock v. Georgia boiled down to this simple question: when the law was drafted in 1963-64, and the term sex was used, did it just mean male/female, or sexual orientation?
Most people think it applied to sexual orientation. Conservatives, limited to the strict interpretation of the text, argued that sex meant male versus female in the context of discrimination.
One fun fact of the case: One plaintiff worked as a skydiving instructor, until it was learned he was gay, and then his ripcord was pulled and he was fired.
Justice Gorsuch wrote the majority opinion. Legal conservatives now want to impeach him.
Gorsuch concedes that the term sex, as used in 1964, other than the extramarital escapades of President Johnson, referred to the biological orientation of the individual. So then that should be it-right? Case closed- fire all the gay people you want. Hurray and MAGA and pass the Champagne and condoms.
But wait- because of "because of" there is more. Huh? Let us elucidate. Gorsuch writes that because Congress used the phrase "because of sex" courts must apply a "but for test" which he says means change one thing at a time and see if the outcome changes. Now "but" has intruded into a gay sex case. Conservatives cannot be happy with this grim turn of events.
There is more to the majority opinion, but frankly although we like the results (our ox having been gored) we cannot abide by the reasoning. Justice Gorsuch must have found himself a hot-yoga studio in DC, because he twists and turns the language of the statute, conceding that that although "sex" as used in the statute simply and solely prohibited discriminating against someone because they were a man or a woman, it now means today (without- lord forbid, the court legislating such an outcome) much much more. It now protects people who engage in homosexuality, pansexuality, abstinence, monks, and those who peruse websites like "girls gone wild" and "underneath their robes".
Gorsuch correctly writes that "Title VII's message is simple but momentous: An individual employee's sex is not relevant to the selection, evaluation, or compensation of employees." Somehow Gorsuch finds in that phrase the additional prohibition again an employee's sexual activities. It is not there- but perhaps in the words of his ideological hero Justice Douglas, it exists in the "penumbra" of the words. See Grisworld v. Connecticut, in which Douglas, writing for a 7-2 majority, "finds" a right to privacy, not specifically written, but hiding in the penumbra in the amendments to the Constitution. Perhaps all it takes to be a great justice is a really big magnifying glass, the better to espy words not written, but floating in the penumbra of things.
The dissent says a lot of mean things about the majority opinion, but Justice Alito's argument comes down to this: sex and sexual orientation are two different things and if Congress wanted to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation it would have said so. Unfortunately, Alito is right (for once).
If a statute prohibited discrimination against people who played sports, that does not mean it prohibits discrimination against people who support a particular sports team. You root for the Dolphins, that means you are used to enduring pain- you're hired. You root for the Buffalo Sabres, and nobody knows who they are- you're fired. Such a statute would prohibit preferential treatment to bowlers and runners but would not prohibit the justifiable goal of firing all employees who are Patriot fans.
So now perhaps your ox is gored. You like the result. You love the result. You cannot understand how we are criticizing the result. We are not. Run for Congress on the platform of passing legislation prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and you have our vote. But unless you are a member of Justice Goruch's hot yoga studio and like downward dog, his opinion is deeply flawed.
Monday, June 15, 2020
ATLANTA SHOOTING 2.0
UPDATE: The DA of Atlanta announced tonight that there are three possible charges. First degree murder; Felony murder- the felony being aggravated assault; or manslaughter. Let us say this- one of the worst pandemics to hit the African American community is the felony murder rule. There are countless minority people serving life sentences for a murder they never committed. Filing a felony murder charge would be a total cop-out; an abandonment of the prosecutor's powers to bring charges. It's either first degree murder or manslaughter.
Ralph Waldo Emmerson wrote that "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", which is why- like the 11th circuit when they rule for the defendant and the government files a motion to reconsider- we are willing to reconsider our positions when we are wrong.
So here are our thoughts about the Atlanta shooting.
First, from the perspective of the police, the Monday Morning quarterbacking we are seeing is nauseating. You cannot judge a police officer until you have been in his or her shoes. Until you know what it is like to leave your home every day for work with two infant children, hoping nothing happens that day and you can be there to raise them until adulthood. So when the officer is running in the parking lot and Rayshard Brooks turns and fires at him, fear and training and instinct take over.
But we are willing to consider this deeper. And here is what we know. Brooks was intoxicated. Brooks was searched and no weapon was found. Brooks resisted arrest and disarmed the officer of his taser and fled. The Monday morning QB say that the officer overreacted and should have just let him run and in a moment Brooks would have stopped, winded and being intoxicated, surrendered.
So the next question is whether this is a matter of race? Was Brooks being properly arrested? Yes. He was passed out, in a car, in a drive-through and apparently his breath alcohol as measured, was over the legal limit.
So Brooks should have been arrested regardless of his race.
Next question: If Brooks was a white man, would he have been shot?
Based on what we saw here, with the police officer reacting and over-reacting based on being attacked and having his taser taken- yes, we think when that officer went after Brooks he was not thinking about Brooks being black. Does that mean that the inherent prejudices that arise with black men did not in some way affect the officer's decision to shoot? There is no way of knowing.
Now, we have to take a moment and define our terms. Various social movements are highlighting the prejudices that arise simply from a man being black in America in 2020. The differences between the way the police treat a black man being stopped in a car and a white man being stopped in a car. Black parents have to speak to their teenage sons about the dangers of a traffic stop. White parents do not. This is what we mean by the term "inherent prejudice"- the simple and wrong action of judging someone as more dangerous simply because they are a black male.
We have to disagree with our conclusion yesterday. The shooting is not so clear cut justified.
But to take it a step further we have to engage in Monday Morning Quarterbacking. We have to say that the officer could have let Brooks run a bit more after Brooks discharged the taser at the officer. We have to say that the officer should not have actively chased Brooks and just remained a distance back and let him run himself out. These are all things that it is easy for us to do from the safety of our voluntary home confinement. Just like it is easy for us to decry how black men are treated differently by the police although we have never experienced such violent treatment.
What we want to say is that this is not a matter of race. And yet...George Floyd couldn't breathe when a white officer used his knee to end his life. And yet Arthur McDuffie in Miami was shot and killed and the officers acquitted. And yet there are literally hundreds of instances of black men like Trayvon Martin being killed by white men. In 2009 Oscar Grant, a black teenager, was shot in the back and killed by white officers in San Francisco. In November 2019, Ariane McCray was shot and killed by white officers in South Carolina after being stopped for shoplifting at a Walmart. Terrance Franklin, a 22 year old black man was shot and killed in 2013b with his hands in air by Minneapolis SWAT officers responding to a burglary complaint. The list goes on and on and on and on. It is why people are taking to the streets. They have had enough. And we- the wealthy, successful ruling class of America have not listened closely enough. We have shaken our heads in sadness until the next black man was shot and killed or choked to death and then we have shaken our heads again.
The time for just shaking our heads has run out. That is why people are protesting and burning things and attacking police stations.
So how can we say this is not a matter of race when time and time again race factors into an officer's decision to use force and deadly force?
We are confounded. We do not want this to be about race. And yet....
Ralph Waldo Emmerson wrote that "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", which is why- like the 11th circuit when they rule for the defendant and the government files a motion to reconsider- we are willing to reconsider our positions when we are wrong.
So here are our thoughts about the Atlanta shooting.
First, from the perspective of the police, the Monday Morning quarterbacking we are seeing is nauseating. You cannot judge a police officer until you have been in his or her shoes. Until you know what it is like to leave your home every day for work with two infant children, hoping nothing happens that day and you can be there to raise them until adulthood. So when the officer is running in the parking lot and Rayshard Brooks turns and fires at him, fear and training and instinct take over.
But we are willing to consider this deeper. And here is what we know. Brooks was intoxicated. Brooks was searched and no weapon was found. Brooks resisted arrest and disarmed the officer of his taser and fled. The Monday morning QB say that the officer overreacted and should have just let him run and in a moment Brooks would have stopped, winded and being intoxicated, surrendered.
So the next question is whether this is a matter of race? Was Brooks being properly arrested? Yes. He was passed out, in a car, in a drive-through and apparently his breath alcohol as measured, was over the legal limit.
So Brooks should have been arrested regardless of his race.
Next question: If Brooks was a white man, would he have been shot?
Based on what we saw here, with the police officer reacting and over-reacting based on being attacked and having his taser taken- yes, we think when that officer went after Brooks he was not thinking about Brooks being black. Does that mean that the inherent prejudices that arise with black men did not in some way affect the officer's decision to shoot? There is no way of knowing.
Now, we have to take a moment and define our terms. Various social movements are highlighting the prejudices that arise simply from a man being black in America in 2020. The differences between the way the police treat a black man being stopped in a car and a white man being stopped in a car. Black parents have to speak to their teenage sons about the dangers of a traffic stop. White parents do not. This is what we mean by the term "inherent prejudice"- the simple and wrong action of judging someone as more dangerous simply because they are a black male.
We have to disagree with our conclusion yesterday. The shooting is not so clear cut justified.
But to take it a step further we have to engage in Monday Morning Quarterbacking. We have to say that the officer could have let Brooks run a bit more after Brooks discharged the taser at the officer. We have to say that the officer should not have actively chased Brooks and just remained a distance back and let him run himself out. These are all things that it is easy for us to do from the safety of our voluntary home confinement. Just like it is easy for us to decry how black men are treated differently by the police although we have never experienced such violent treatment.
What we want to say is that this is not a matter of race. And yet...George Floyd couldn't breathe when a white officer used his knee to end his life. And yet Arthur McDuffie in Miami was shot and killed and the officers acquitted. And yet there are literally hundreds of instances of black men like Trayvon Martin being killed by white men. In 2009 Oscar Grant, a black teenager, was shot in the back and killed by white officers in San Francisco. In November 2019, Ariane McCray was shot and killed by white officers in South Carolina after being stopped for shoplifting at a Walmart. Terrance Franklin, a 22 year old black man was shot and killed in 2013b with his hands in air by Minneapolis SWAT officers responding to a burglary complaint. The list goes on and on and on and on. It is why people are taking to the streets. They have had enough. And we- the wealthy, successful ruling class of America have not listened closely enough. We have shaken our heads in sadness until the next black man was shot and killed or choked to death and then we have shaken our heads again.
The time for just shaking our heads has run out. That is why people are protesting and burning things and attacking police stations.
So how can we say this is not a matter of race when time and time again race factors into an officer's decision to use force and deadly force?
We are confounded. We do not want this to be about race. And yet....
SECOND WAVE
Grab your surfboard and head out. Surf's up:
If everybody has a virus
Across the USA
Then everybody would be sick
Like Floridi-a
You'd see them wearing their masks
rubber gloves too
A bushy-bushy blond hairdo
Sickness Surfin USA
(Sung to the tune of the Beach Boys Surfin USA)
Item: A month into reopening, Florida reported 8,553 new cases- the most since reopening.
Item: In Texas y'all, hospitalizations rose 6.3% to 2.056 the highest of the pandemic, and the third increase in three days.
Item: Arizona's new cases spiked in the last two weeks, hitting 1,187 last week. The Department Of Health asked hospitals to activate their emergency plans to staff all beds*
"There is a new wave coming" as per Eric Toner, senior scholar for Health Security at John Hopkins.
And yet, the virus, like a Miami Judge coming back from a long lunch during a difficult trial without Cuban coffee, is confounding and confusing and often acts without rhyme or reason.
Take for example Georgia, where despite the Governor thankfully opening tattoo parlours and bowling alleys before all hell broke loose, the number of new cases has plateaued. California closed first and is still opening slowly. There are no new cases in San Francisco over the last three days, while half the State's new cases are in LA. Tripindicular dude. Totally rad.
So here we are in the Sunshine State, where the Governor is a conservative and the shots are flowing on South Beach and all is well except our citizens, who are rapidly getting sick.
"You'd catch em spiking a fever in Homestead
(Inside outside USA)
The Broward County Line
(Inside outside USA)
Tampa Bay and Jacksonville
(Inside outside USA)
Pensacola too
(Inside outside USA)
All Over Miami
(Inside outside USA)
And down Tallahassee way
(inside outside)
Everybody's gotten sick
Florida's got Corona Virus Today.
*Source: Bloomberg News, "Second Virus Wave Emerges" June 10, 2020.
If everybody has a virus
Across the USA
Then everybody would be sick
Like Floridi-a
You'd see them wearing their masks
rubber gloves too
A bushy-bushy blond hairdo
Sickness Surfin USA
(Sung to the tune of the Beach Boys Surfin USA)
Item: A month into reopening, Florida reported 8,553 new cases- the most since reopening.
Item: In Texas y'all, hospitalizations rose 6.3% to 2.056 the highest of the pandemic, and the third increase in three days.
Item: Arizona's new cases spiked in the last two weeks, hitting 1,187 last week. The Department Of Health asked hospitals to activate their emergency plans to staff all beds*
"There is a new wave coming" as per Eric Toner, senior scholar for Health Security at John Hopkins.
And yet, the virus, like a Miami Judge coming back from a long lunch during a difficult trial without Cuban coffee, is confounding and confusing and often acts without rhyme or reason.
Take for example Georgia, where despite the Governor thankfully opening tattoo parlours and bowling alleys before all hell broke loose, the number of new cases has plateaued. California closed first and is still opening slowly. There are no new cases in San Francisco over the last three days, while half the State's new cases are in LA. Tripindicular dude. Totally rad.
So here we are in the Sunshine State, where the Governor is a conservative and the shots are flowing on South Beach and all is well except our citizens, who are rapidly getting sick.
"You'd catch em spiking a fever in Homestead
(Inside outside USA)
The Broward County Line
(Inside outside USA)
Tampa Bay and Jacksonville
(Inside outside USA)
Pensacola too
(Inside outside USA)
All Over Miami
(Inside outside USA)
And down Tallahassee way
(inside outside)
Everybody's gotten sick
Florida's got Corona Virus Today.
*Source: Bloomberg News, "Second Virus Wave Emerges" June 10, 2020.
Sunday, June 14, 2020
THE ATLANTA SHOOTING
UPDATE: Here is some footage of the shooting. It first shows the man violently resisting arrest. He takes the officer's taser and he flees. While he is being chased he turns and apparently fires the taser at the officer. We do not care that the police have previously taken the position that a taser is not deadly force. This is a violent attack on the officer and the shoot was justified. There are other videos showing the officers interacting with the man- investigating the DUI. They do nothing wrong and the man is cooperative until as they try to cuff him, he suddenly and violently responds. There is nothing wrong here other than a tragic loss of life because a drunk driver violently resisted arrest.
Item: Atlanta police officers make a DUI arrest at a Wendys. The suspect resists arrest and disarms the officer of his taser- which is a very dangerous scenario. The suspect flees and is shot and killed and the officer is fired. And for good measure the protestors burn down the Wendys the next day.
Let's start with the Wendys. They had nothing to do with what occurred. Most likely the Wendys was owned by a franchisee. Why burn their business down?
Now lets move on to the officer. Being disarmed of the taser creates a situation where the suspect could disable any officer by stunning them and then harm them further or disarm them of their firearm and kill them. This, in our opinion, allows any officer to use deadly force against such an individual.
And yet the police chief of Atlanta resigned and the officer was fired.
What are we missing?
Friday, June 12, 2020
ROSY APONTE ON RACE
UPDATE FRIDAY 1PM: REGJB Courthouse ordered evacuated. Reasons murky but appear to be a pending protest of the arrest of protestors arrested on Thursday. This time we have it right. The courthouse is as empty as the legal and social knowledge of a certain candidate for judge. See below. It is as empty as a Megan Markle lecture on the etymology of the racist lexicon. See below. It is as empty as ….Just see below and stay away from the REGJB.
There was a candidates debate, zoom style.
You can watch the entire one and half plus hours here.
But we want to focus on the answers, the elocution, the command of the English language, and the anachronistic use of the term "COLORED PEOPLE" by candidate for Circuit Judge, the one, the only, the Rosy Aponte.
We have transcribed the pertinent points, which you can listen to for accuracy, bemusement, and downright shock at her inarticulateness and deafness when it comes to speaking about people of color. Also watch how deep she digs the hole.
We pick up at the action at 1:25:20 into the debate. The topic is alternative forms of release: The text in red are Rumpole's thoughts.
RA: Yes I think we just need to get a little more creative. I think that there's a lot of instances where somebody can be given an ankle bracelet and be sent home and be monitored through the ankle bracelet. We don't need to have people incarcerated in one big jail system. [As opposed to a bunch of small jail systems?]. A lot of these crimes are crimes that are are not so so ummm so severe that you cannot have somebody have ahh ankle bracelet have them go and ah report every day to a probation officer. [There is an idea here somewhere. With a map and a little cognitive training, she will find it someday]. I think that we need to use those kinds of means more than just always sending anybody to jail umm and and where we can it will be less it will be more cost effective and it will be better for the community if some of these crimes that are not such not high crimes [Historical and constitutional scholar that she is, we are sure she is referring to high crimes in the context of the meaning in the usage contained in Article II, Section 4 of the constitution] umm we would just give them an ankle bracelet and have people remain in their home and only go out if they have to work or have to go report to a probation officer. I think we need to be more creative on how we do these things umm going forward especially after this whole covid 19 pandemic.
We want to dwell on this fascinating reference to high crimes a bit more. In 40 plus years of legal work in the courts of Dade County, we have NEVER had a judicial officer refer to our client's act as a "high crime".
But now lets move on to the good stuff. Let's really see how her legal mind clicks. The question posed is how people who are on the bench interact with those who come before them.
At 1:27:11 the moderator asks the genius about her experiences with the AFRICAN AMERICAN community. We capitalize that for a reason as you shall soon see. It's as if he was giving her a hint-but she missed it. Here is her answer. Listen to it yourself. We did NOT change one word.
RA: The only thing that comes to mind right now is Camillus House. I volunteered a lot at Camillus House. And as you know that is a very diverse community of people. The homeless people. [Yes we know that is a bit of a non sequitur, but put on your seat belts for what she says next]. Ummm There's a lot of colored people in that that depend on Camillus House so I think that what comes to mind right now is me volunteering to cook and to feed people in the Camillus House.
Rumpole cannot help but say that the only thing that comes to mind right now is that people who express themselves as if they have the IQ of a potato slug should not be running for judge. The second thing that comes to mind right now is that Ms. Aponte should look at a calendar. It is 2020 Woman. WE DO NOT CALL AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE COLORED PEOPLE. Well apparently most of us don't. She does.
The third thing that comes to mind is....we can't. We just can't continue. We are rendered speechless. She used the term COLORED PEOPLE when addressing the WILKIE FERGUSON Bar Association. Does she know Wilkie Ferguson wasAfrican American colored?
At 1:29:57 the moderator, having pulled himself off the floor and collected his thoughts returns to the phrase that doesn't pay.
Moderator: Attorney Aponte when addressing the last question.. the term you used was "colored people"...would you care to clarify that statement?
Now Ms. Aponte, chess master, uses the Elizabeth Warren Gambit and calls herself "colored" because she has Indian and African American ancestry- although she did not say it that eloquently.
RA: Yes. I consider myself a colored woman. To me a colored person is somebody who has a diverse background. I have Indian and African American in my family so that makes me a colored person. Anyone who has diversity in in in a different color in their skin that is not white...I consider myself to be a colored woman because as I said I have African American and Indian in my family history.
The Moderator then asks her if she realizes how that phrase can be offensive to some people. What occurs next is destined to become a classic in American political rhetoric:
RA: Ummm I keep hearing different politically correct (jumbled ) on the one point they said it wasn't politically correct and now their saying it's back to being politically correct. The other day I mentioned being a minority they told me: 'no you can't say you are a minority you have to say you are a person of color.' So I keep getting contradicting ahh opinions about that. And The reason I said colored is because when I was mentioning minority they said minority was no longer politically correct.
So it's hard to keep up with the politically correctness that people keep changing back and forth. I used to say minorities and now they say minorities is not politically correct. You have to say that you are a person of color.
Rumpole wonders, who is "They" that she keeps referring to? Is there some political correctness teacher she is consulting? And if so maybe that person can remove their white hood so Ms. Aponte can hear them better.
Dr King: I have a dream.
Rosy Aponte: So I keep getting contradictory opinions about that.
We also, on reflection, realize we need to apologize for the Potato Slugs comment. To all the Potato Slugs out there, we apologize for slurring them with this.
Moderator: You just cited to us your history in working with minority communities...Are you saying this the first time someone has ever told you that the use of the term colored person could be considered offensive?
RA: I just saw Megan Markle call herself a colored woman on national TV. I never heard that it was offensive.
Some legal scholars quote Gladstone. Others quote Chief Judge John Marshall. Some peruse literature for guidance and inspiration. Shakespeare for example.
And some quote Megan Markle.
You say Potato. She says Colored Person. You say Native American. She says Indian.
True or False: RA in closing mentioned the many colored friends she has?
False. But- and we are guessing here- it's only because she ran out of time. She did say she started her career as a civil rights attorney!! and a teacher!!!- and then she said this:
and we kid you not: "I want to bring on my experience as a public school teacher who knows how to speak to people."
We leave it at that. Because we are speechless. We cannot top it. We do not have the experience she has as someone who knows how to speak to people.
Rumpole drops the mic and walks away.
There was a candidates debate, zoom style.
You can watch the entire one and half plus hours here.
But we want to focus on the answers, the elocution, the command of the English language, and the anachronistic use of the term "COLORED PEOPLE" by candidate for Circuit Judge, the one, the only, the Rosy Aponte.
We have transcribed the pertinent points, which you can listen to for accuracy, bemusement, and downright shock at her inarticulateness and deafness when it comes to speaking about people of color. Also watch how deep she digs the hole.
We pick up at the action at 1:25:20 into the debate. The topic is alternative forms of release: The text in red are Rumpole's thoughts.
RA: Yes I think we just need to get a little more creative. I think that there's a lot of instances where somebody can be given an ankle bracelet and be sent home and be monitored through the ankle bracelet. We don't need to have people incarcerated in one big jail system. [As opposed to a bunch of small jail systems?]. A lot of these crimes are crimes that are are not so so ummm so severe that you cannot have somebody have ahh ankle bracelet have them go and ah report every day to a probation officer. [There is an idea here somewhere. With a map and a little cognitive training, she will find it someday]. I think that we need to use those kinds of means more than just always sending anybody to jail umm and and where we can it will be less it will be more cost effective and it will be better for the community if some of these crimes that are not such not high crimes [Historical and constitutional scholar that she is, we are sure she is referring to high crimes in the context of the meaning in the usage contained in Article II, Section 4 of the constitution] umm we would just give them an ankle bracelet and have people remain in their home and only go out if they have to work or have to go report to a probation officer. I think we need to be more creative on how we do these things umm going forward especially after this whole covid 19 pandemic.
We want to dwell on this fascinating reference to high crimes a bit more. In 40 plus years of legal work in the courts of Dade County, we have NEVER had a judicial officer refer to our client's act as a "high crime".
But now lets move on to the good stuff. Let's really see how her legal mind clicks. The question posed is how people who are on the bench interact with those who come before them.
At 1:27:11 the moderator asks the genius about her experiences with the AFRICAN AMERICAN community. We capitalize that for a reason as you shall soon see. It's as if he was giving her a hint-but she missed it. Here is her answer. Listen to it yourself. We did NOT change one word.
RA: The only thing that comes to mind right now is Camillus House. I volunteered a lot at Camillus House. And as you know that is a very diverse community of people. The homeless people. [Yes we know that is a bit of a non sequitur, but put on your seat belts for what she says next]. Ummm There's a lot of colored people in that that depend on Camillus House so I think that what comes to mind right now is me volunteering to cook and to feed people in the Camillus House.
Rumpole cannot help but say that the only thing that comes to mind right now is that people who express themselves as if they have the IQ of a potato slug should not be running for judge. The second thing that comes to mind right now is that Ms. Aponte should look at a calendar. It is 2020 Woman. WE DO NOT CALL AFRICAN AMERICAN PEOPLE COLORED PEOPLE. Well apparently most of us don't. She does.
The third thing that comes to mind is....we can't. We just can't continue. We are rendered speechless. She used the term COLORED PEOPLE when addressing the WILKIE FERGUSON Bar Association. Does she know Wilkie Ferguson was
At 1:29:57 the moderator, having pulled himself off the floor and collected his thoughts returns to the phrase that doesn't pay.
Moderator: Attorney Aponte when addressing the last question.. the term you used was "colored people"...would you care to clarify that statement?
Now Ms. Aponte, chess master, uses the Elizabeth Warren Gambit and calls herself "colored" because she has Indian and African American ancestry- although she did not say it that eloquently.
RA: Yes. I consider myself a colored woman. To me a colored person is somebody who has a diverse background. I have Indian and African American in my family so that makes me a colored person. Anyone who has diversity in in in a different color in their skin that is not white...I consider myself to be a colored woman because as I said I have African American and Indian in my family history.
The Moderator then asks her if she realizes how that phrase can be offensive to some people. What occurs next is destined to become a classic in American political rhetoric:
RA: Ummm I keep hearing different politically correct (jumbled ) on the one point they said it wasn't politically correct and now their saying it's back to being politically correct. The other day I mentioned being a minority they told me: 'no you can't say you are a minority you have to say you are a person of color.' So I keep getting contradicting ahh opinions about that. And The reason I said colored is because when I was mentioning minority they said minority was no longer politically correct.
So it's hard to keep up with the politically correctness that people keep changing back and forth. I used to say minorities and now they say minorities is not politically correct. You have to say that you are a person of color.
Rumpole wonders, who is "They" that she keeps referring to? Is there some political correctness teacher she is consulting? And if so maybe that person can remove their white hood so Ms. Aponte can hear them better.
Dr King: I have a dream.
Rosy Aponte: So I keep getting contradictory opinions about that.
We also, on reflection, realize we need to apologize for the Potato Slugs comment. To all the Potato Slugs out there, we apologize for slurring them with this.
Moderator: You just cited to us your history in working with minority communities...Are you saying this the first time someone has ever told you that the use of the term colored person could be considered offensive?
RA: I just saw Megan Markle call herself a colored woman on national TV. I never heard that it was offensive.
Some legal scholars quote Gladstone. Others quote Chief Judge John Marshall. Some peruse literature for guidance and inspiration. Shakespeare for example.
And some quote Megan Markle.
You say Potato. She says Colored Person. You say Native American. She says Indian.
True or False: RA in closing mentioned the many colored friends she has?
False. But- and we are guessing here- it's only because she ran out of time. She did say she started her career as a civil rights attorney!! and a teacher!!!- and then she said this:
and we kid you not: "I want to bring on my experience as a public school teacher who knows how to speak to people."
We leave it at that. Because we are speechless. We cannot top it. We do not have the experience she has as someone who knows how to speak to people.
Rumpole drops the mic and walks away.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
THE STATE ANNOUNCES A NOLLE PROSSE
Your State Attorney sees "no value" in prosecuting protestors arrested for curfew violations.
Here is what occurs to us:
Tell us State Attorney, the "value" of the tens of thousands of prosecutions for misdemeanor marijuana possession that has occurred during your tenure. Do you know the effects of even a misdemeanor conviction?
Tell us the "value" of the resisting with violence prosecutions (usually someone just asking why they are being arrested)? The "value" of the Battery on law enforcement prosecutions where the defendant has a broken eye socket and the officer claims a bruise that never materialized?
We could go on and on.
But instead, we will help our State Attorney out. Because what she couldn't fit in her tweet about having a heart and dropping the curfew violation arrests, what she couldn't say as she enlightened us with her progressive prosecutorial style, was that there just so happens to be an election coming up where she is on the ballot.
Don't forget to vote.
Did we spell Nolle Prosse correctly? It just doesn't roll off the tongue, especially when it comes to the above cases in Dade.
Here is what occurs to us:
Tell us State Attorney, the "value" of the tens of thousands of prosecutions for misdemeanor marijuana possession that has occurred during your tenure. Do you know the effects of even a misdemeanor conviction?
Tell us the "value" of the resisting with violence prosecutions (usually someone just asking why they are being arrested)? The "value" of the Battery on law enforcement prosecutions where the defendant has a broken eye socket and the officer claims a bruise that never materialized?
We could go on and on.
But instead, we will help our State Attorney out. Because what she couldn't fit in her tweet about having a heart and dropping the curfew violation arrests, what she couldn't say as she enlightened us with her progressive prosecutorial style, was that there just so happens to be an election coming up where she is on the ballot.
Don't forget to vote.
Did we spell Nolle Prosse correctly? It just doesn't roll off the tongue, especially when it comes to the above cases in Dade.
CONSTITUTIONAL CALENDAR
It's been a while, but we have been busy with...ahhh..something or other but the unusual event escapes us, but no matter.
This is Judge Hirsch's Constitutional Calendar for June 9 and it is a great one:
This is Judge Hirsch's Constitutional Calendar for June 9 and it is a great one:
In 1807, Aaron Burr, former Vice President of the United States, was tried for treason. The trial was presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall. Burr participated in his own defense, but was also represented by (among others) Luther Martin, a legendary trial lawyer of that era.
On June 9, Burr made an application to the court: President Jefferson, in a proclamation to Congress the previous November 27, had referred to a letter and other papers received by him from General Wilkinson, the principal witness against Burr. Burr had good reason to believe that these papers would exculpate him in part, and would demonstrate that the case against him was a political plot to discredit and destroy him. He had applied to the Secretary of the Navy for permission for his counsel to inspect these papers, and had been denied. “Hence,” claimed Burr, “I feel it necessary ... to call upon [the court] to issue a subpoena to the President of the United States, with a clause, requiring him to produce certain papers; or in other words, to issue the subpoena duces tecum.”
Marshall labored long and hard over the order adjudicating the motion. That order concluded:
"It cannot be denied that to issue a subpoena to a person filling the exalted station of the [presidency] is a duty which would be dispensed with more cheerfully than it would be performed; but, if it be a duty, the Court can have no choice in the case. If then, as is admitted by the counsel for the United States, a subpoena may issue to the President, the accused is entitled to it of course; and, whatever difference may exist with respect to the power to compel the same obedience to the process as if it had been directed to a private citizen, there exists no difference with respect to the right to obtain it."
The principle is as old as Magna Carta: Rex non debet esse sub homine, sed sub Deus et lege. The king – or the president – is not subject to other men, but is subject to God and the law.
Tuesday, June 09, 2020
NEW CORONA SCHEDULE
Maybe this means something to our readers. It causes more questions than it answers.
But if knowing that Judge Glazer (not to pick on her, just a random example, we are sure she is doing a fine job) is in courtroom 1-5 a lot in June helps practitioners, then as altruists, we provide this service.
But if knowing that Judge Glazer (not to pick on her, just a random example, we are sure she is doing a fine job) is in courtroom 1-5 a lot in June helps practitioners, then as altruists, we provide this service.
Corona Schedule[1] (1) by HR on Scribd
TAKING IT TO THE STREETS
UPDATE: Judge Don Cohn has passed away. We do not know the details but we have triple confirmed it.
They took it to the streets yesterday by the REGJB. A bunch of lawyers showing up after their mid-afternoon Pilates class and before their 8pm Zoom gin and tonic hour with friends. In between, according to David Ovalle's twitter, with a h/t to Phil Reizenstein who apparently attended and was videoing the event, as well as some other video clips sent directly to us, the lawyers marched, and chanted- including a jazzy "hey hey..ho ho..KFR must go" in front of the SAO as old, white, male, SAO investigators looked on with a bemused look on their faces at times. No trash cans were set on fire, but some lawyers did recycle their water bottles.
The most important thing is that members of the legal community- old and young, male and female, black, white and Hispanic, showed solidarity with a movement that is changing the country and maybe the world.
Which brings us to the Defund The Police movement. Initially we were opposed because we did not understand it. But the more we think about it, the more we think the idea has merit. In our view defunding the police does not mean shutting the police department down. What it really means is moving funds for community involvement and responses to non-dangerous issues to a different group.
We cannot count the times a distressed family has shown up in our office recounting a story where they called the police because of an issue and the cops ended up arresting one (or more) of them. If we think about it, it was normally an African-American family and white cops. The fact is that many police officers get burned out. They end up resenting parts of the community they serve and they take their anger out on innocent people that have very little ability to fight back.
Missing child or wandering grandparent. Loud music from the neighbors. Environmental complaints. Identity theft. Stolen or vandalized cars. Graffiti. These problems do not need armed officers responding. A different community resource department can handle them. This will go a long way to defusing the resentment between the police and the citizens they serve by removing points of contact that simply have not worked for the last 50 plus years.
The second issue is to remove Internal Affairs Investigations from the Police Department and authorize a Citizen Review Board staffed by citizens, prosecutors, defense attorneys and law enforcement. Much like the JNC has lawyers and non-lawyers making judicial recommendations to the governor. A CRB would employ investigators and make recommendations for criminal or departmental prosecutions. And if the case were to go to court, much like the State established a series of Regional Counsel Offices to handle PD conflicts, the State should establish a separate prosecutors office to handle public corruption and police prosecutions. It is a conflict of interest for a prosecutor's office to work hand-in-hand with police officers on 98% of their cases, and prosecute police officers in the other 2% (or whatever the number is) of cases.
These are our thoughts. Have at it. And take it to the streets when you have a chance. And recycle those water bottles you take with you. And ease off those gin and tonics at night. But we are in favour of Pilates classes.
They took it to the streets yesterday by the REGJB. A bunch of lawyers showing up after their mid-afternoon Pilates class and before their 8pm Zoom gin and tonic hour with friends. In between, according to David Ovalle's twitter, with a h/t to Phil Reizenstein who apparently attended and was videoing the event, as well as some other video clips sent directly to us, the lawyers marched, and chanted- including a jazzy "hey hey..ho ho..KFR must go" in front of the SAO as old, white, male, SAO investigators looked on with a bemused look on their faces at times. No trash cans were set on fire, but some lawyers did recycle their water bottles.
The most important thing is that members of the legal community- old and young, male and female, black, white and Hispanic, showed solidarity with a movement that is changing the country and maybe the world.
Which brings us to the Defund The Police movement. Initially we were opposed because we did not understand it. But the more we think about it, the more we think the idea has merit. In our view defunding the police does not mean shutting the police department down. What it really means is moving funds for community involvement and responses to non-dangerous issues to a different group.
We cannot count the times a distressed family has shown up in our office recounting a story where they called the police because of an issue and the cops ended up arresting one (or more) of them. If we think about it, it was normally an African-American family and white cops. The fact is that many police officers get burned out. They end up resenting parts of the community they serve and they take their anger out on innocent people that have very little ability to fight back.
Missing child or wandering grandparent. Loud music from the neighbors. Environmental complaints. Identity theft. Stolen or vandalized cars. Graffiti. These problems do not need armed officers responding. A different community resource department can handle them. This will go a long way to defusing the resentment between the police and the citizens they serve by removing points of contact that simply have not worked for the last 50 plus years.
The second issue is to remove Internal Affairs Investigations from the Police Department and authorize a Citizen Review Board staffed by citizens, prosecutors, defense attorneys and law enforcement. Much like the JNC has lawyers and non-lawyers making judicial recommendations to the governor. A CRB would employ investigators and make recommendations for criminal or departmental prosecutions. And if the case were to go to court, much like the State established a series of Regional Counsel Offices to handle PD conflicts, the State should establish a separate prosecutors office to handle public corruption and police prosecutions. It is a conflict of interest for a prosecutor's office to work hand-in-hand with police officers on 98% of their cases, and prosecute police officers in the other 2% (or whatever the number is) of cases.
These are our thoughts. Have at it. And take it to the streets when you have a chance. And recycle those water bottles you take with you. And ease off those gin and tonics at night. But we are in favour of Pilates classes.
Monday, June 08, 2020
PDS MARCH FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER
Query: Should Rumpole attend?
From FACDL Head Honcho (emphasis original)
From FACDL Head Honcho (emphasis original)
Good afternoon all,
The Office of the Public Defender is hosting a march in support of our black communities. Please find the information below, should wou wish to attend
TODAY, MONDAY, JUNE 8 AT 5:30PM.
Per the PD’s Office:
Here is the plan:
- Please meet on time at 5:30pm in front of BHB (1320 NW 14th Street)
- We will begin with a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to honor the lives of George Floyd and the other black men and women who have died as a result of police violence
- We will then march around the area immediately surrounding the office, courthouse, and jail.
Important reminders
- Masks are required
- Please practice social distancing
- Remember that whatever you wear and write (i.e. signs) are representative of our office and our Public Defender. Show your support for our black community, but use your best judgment.
As always we note that this email was forwarded to us because it is a violation of SEC rules for us to peruse the listserv.
Saturday, June 06, 2020
THE FIRST WEEK OF JUNE
June 4, 1942: The Battle Of Midway occurs. The Japanese sought to lure America's last (what they thought were two) carriers into a final battle. The destruction of the carriers would leave the West Coast of the United States completely open to invasion. The Japanese brought 200 hundred ships into battle. The US Navy had 50. But it was the US, under the command of Admirals Nimitz, Spruance (who was replacing Admiral Halsey who had the shingles) and Fletcher, who lured Japan into a trap, including the surprising appearance of the Yorktown, who the Japanese thought was out of action after the previous month's battle of the Coral Sea. It all came down to who could find the other side's carriers first. Enter 40 year old Lt. Commander C. Wade McClusky, leading Fighter Squadron 6 from the Enterprise. He was running low on fuel when he spotted a Japanese destroyer moving at top speed. He led his squadron of SBD dive bombers and found the entire Japanese fleet without air cover as the fighters were on deck refueling. McClusky led the attack and sunk three Japanese carriers. The fourth was sunk later that day. The US lost the brave Yorktown, but the battle was won and Japan would never launch another offensive naval campaign. All because of the bravery of a group of men who refused to back down when the odds were against them. Out manned and out gunned, they out thought their enemy, and when the chips were down, young American fight pilots drove home the attack, sunk four enemy carriers, and turned the tide.
June 6, 1944. The Citizen Solider of the United States was once again going into Europe to save humanity. They would be facing the professional military Wehrmacht of Germany. The 18, 19, 20 year old boys from the back woods of West Virginia, the dust bowls of the mid-west, the cities of Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and LA jumped into the darkness over Normandy, and waded off of landing ships into the teeth of devastating fire. The darkness of Nazism had descended over Europe. But the Jewish , Catholic, Baptist boys and the like from Italian, Irish, and European descent, raised during the depression, went up against the most professional and fearsome army the world has ever seen. And they beat them, heads up, man on man.
Inscribed on the walls of the US Cemetery at Normandy are many inscriptions, including these:
The Battle belonged that morning to the thin wet line of Khaki that dragged itself ashore on the coastline of France. General Omar Bradley, commander of the landing forces.
If ever a proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not a conquest, it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest. All we asked for was enough soil to bury our gallant dead.
General Mark Clark.
June 5, 2020
Police officers in Buffalo, New York push to the ground an unarmed, 70 year old man who had a history of peaceful protests. His head struck the ground and he began to bleed from the ears as the riot clad police marched on by. In the police report after the protest, it was noted that one protestor was injured when he tripped and fell.
What happened in 80 years? How did we go from Wade McClusky to this?
June 6, 1944. The Citizen Solider of the United States was once again going into Europe to save humanity. They would be facing the professional military Wehrmacht of Germany. The 18, 19, 20 year old boys from the back woods of West Virginia, the dust bowls of the mid-west, the cities of Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, and LA jumped into the darkness over Normandy, and waded off of landing ships into the teeth of devastating fire. The darkness of Nazism had descended over Europe. But the Jewish , Catholic, Baptist boys and the like from Italian, Irish, and European descent, raised during the depression, went up against the most professional and fearsome army the world has ever seen. And they beat them, heads up, man on man.
Inscribed on the walls of the US Cemetery at Normandy are many inscriptions, including these:
The Battle belonged that morning to the thin wet line of Khaki that dragged itself ashore on the coastline of France. General Omar Bradley, commander of the landing forces.
If ever a proof were needed that we fought for a cause and not a conquest, it could be found in these cemeteries. Here was our only conquest. All we asked for was enough soil to bury our gallant dead.
General Mark Clark.
June 5, 2020
Police officers in Buffalo, New York push to the ground an unarmed, 70 year old man who had a history of peaceful protests. His head struck the ground and he began to bleed from the ears as the riot clad police marched on by. In the police report after the protest, it was noted that one protestor was injured when he tripped and fell.
What happened in 80 years? How did we go from Wade McClusky to this?
Friday, June 05, 2020
HOW TO GET AN A FORM
We serve many functions as the blog of the REGJB. Besides critiquing our State Attorney when she is busy sucking up to Marco Rubio while Miami erupts in flames, taking cheap shots at those who wear black robes to work, and stirring up the pot with brilliant commentary that makes people think, we also want to make the work lives of our readers easier.
Courtesy of the new head honcho of the Miami Chapter of the FACDL, One Matthew Meyers, Esq., and forwarded to us by an alert reader, because as we all know it is a violation of USDA Rules for us to read the FACDL Listserv, comes these helpful email addresses to get the A forms you need:
Courtesy of the new head honcho of the Miami Chapter of the FACDL, One Matthew Meyers, Esq., and forwarded to us by an alert reader, because as we all know it is a violation of USDA Rules for us to read the FACDL Listserv, comes these helpful email addresses to get the A forms you need:
Felonies
Misdemeanor
DV
Rumpole will add the following emails:
beaten@miamibeachcops.ouch
setup@cityofmiamicops.dropseycases.net
whatbrady?@miamisao.com
and of course, the infamous
Victimswantthemax@miamisao.com
Wednesday, June 03, 2020
A NATIONAL LYNCHING
We go where others, writers of less ability and courage, fear to tread. You, loyal readers, expect no less.
The increase of charges against Derek Chauvin, and the announcement of charges against three other former officers- Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and Andrew Kueng, has the potential to turn this case into a national lynching. And we know exactly the sensitivity that term evokes in African Americans. We use it for a reason. First, we choose our words carefully (except the other day when we said the criminal court was closed and it wasn't. Our mistake for the year). The case has the potential to turn into a national lynching. It is not one yet.
Lynching denotes the illegal killing of a human being based on his or her race with little regard to their innocence or proportionality to the crime. Black men in the south were lynched for as little as supposedly leering at a white woman. It was a mob mentality. Mob rule. Mob punishment. Mobs demanding immediate justice for a perceived crime- due process be damned. Anything ringing a bell?
Four men are going to be prosecuted, three ostensibly because mobs are demanding it. After a week of rioting, billions in damage, a country torn asunder, can anyone have faith in the decision of a prosecutor to bring charges against the three police officers who did not touch George Lloyd? Maybe they are culpable. Maybe they are not. But charges are being brought because the mob demands it, and this is not acceptable. Ever.
As to Chauvin, Minesotta Attorney General Keith Ellison has announced his office is increasing the charges filed by the local prosecuor to second degree murder. When has that ever occurred before? Sound like mob rule to us.
We are do ourselves as a nation no favours by giving into the passions, prejudices, anger and resentment exhibited by the protestors. In America, two wrongs do not make a right. There are more than a hundred years of law enforcement brutality against people of colour without justice being done. Police shoot and kill people of colour and get away with it. Black parents have to tell their children, especially their sons, how to handle themseleves when in a car pulled over by the police, because they have a very real fear their child will be beaten or murdered. You do not need us to recount the abuses of a century and more of racism.
We are speaking about the operation of the criminal justice system.
What jury in this country will not have heard of this case? What jury will not feel the pressure to convict? Can you imagine the fear of mob reprisals if a jury acquits one of the officers ? Must these men be sacrificed for a system they did not create and for crimes in the past they did not commit?
In this country Jews defend Nazi war criminals. And African Americans defend racists. Lawyers of all faiths and colour defended terrorists accused of plotting to destroy our country. It is what we do. The FACDL proclaims to be the last line of defense. Lawyers like the great Albert Krieger, who recently passed away, relished walking into a courtroom to defend someone no one else would defend. This is what we do because we know our actions do not connotate agreement with the crime, but a defense of the Constitution and the principles it embodies that protects us all.
So we rise to speak for the unspeakable. And to defend the un-defendable. To accuse the prosecutors in Minnesotta of bowing to the pressures of the mob. Of not having the courage to seek justice. Of only trying to molify a people rightfully angry.
Of forgetting the basic principle that two wrongs do not make a right.
The defense does not rest. We never rest. We have only just begun to fight.
The increase of charges against Derek Chauvin, and the announcement of charges against three other former officers- Thomas Lane, Tou Thao, and Andrew Kueng, has the potential to turn this case into a national lynching. And we know exactly the sensitivity that term evokes in African Americans. We use it for a reason. First, we choose our words carefully (except the other day when we said the criminal court was closed and it wasn't. Our mistake for the year). The case has the potential to turn into a national lynching. It is not one yet.
Lynching denotes the illegal killing of a human being based on his or her race with little regard to their innocence or proportionality to the crime. Black men in the south were lynched for as little as supposedly leering at a white woman. It was a mob mentality. Mob rule. Mob punishment. Mobs demanding immediate justice for a perceived crime- due process be damned. Anything ringing a bell?
Four men are going to be prosecuted, three ostensibly because mobs are demanding it. After a week of rioting, billions in damage, a country torn asunder, can anyone have faith in the decision of a prosecutor to bring charges against the three police officers who did not touch George Lloyd? Maybe they are culpable. Maybe they are not. But charges are being brought because the mob demands it, and this is not acceptable. Ever.
As to Chauvin, Minesotta Attorney General Keith Ellison has announced his office is increasing the charges filed by the local prosecuor to second degree murder. When has that ever occurred before? Sound like mob rule to us.
We are do ourselves as a nation no favours by giving into the passions, prejudices, anger and resentment exhibited by the protestors. In America, two wrongs do not make a right. There are more than a hundred years of law enforcement brutality against people of colour without justice being done. Police shoot and kill people of colour and get away with it. Black parents have to tell their children, especially their sons, how to handle themseleves when in a car pulled over by the police, because they have a very real fear their child will be beaten or murdered. You do not need us to recount the abuses of a century and more of racism.
We are speaking about the operation of the criminal justice system.
What jury in this country will not have heard of this case? What jury will not feel the pressure to convict? Can you imagine the fear of mob reprisals if a jury acquits one of the officers ? Must these men be sacrificed for a system they did not create and for crimes in the past they did not commit?
In this country Jews defend Nazi war criminals. And African Americans defend racists. Lawyers of all faiths and colour defended terrorists accused of plotting to destroy our country. It is what we do. The FACDL proclaims to be the last line of defense. Lawyers like the great Albert Krieger, who recently passed away, relished walking into a courtroom to defend someone no one else would defend. This is what we do because we know our actions do not connotate agreement with the crime, but a defense of the Constitution and the principles it embodies that protects us all.
So we rise to speak for the unspeakable. And to defend the un-defendable. To accuse the prosecutors in Minnesotta of bowing to the pressures of the mob. Of not having the courage to seek justice. Of only trying to molify a people rightfully angry.
Of forgetting the basic principle that two wrongs do not make a right.
The defense does not rest. We never rest. We have only just begun to fight.
RUNDLE DROPS CHARGES AGAINST JOURNALIST
Fair is fair. The State Attorney immediately dropped charges against a journalist arrested by police who was out after curfew covering the marches. Journalists are exempt from the curfew order when covering the story of a march or others violating curfews. This was the correct decision.
The WSVN story is here.
ERRATUM: The courthouse did NOT close yesterday. Your judges bravely held the fort and the line.
Remember our motto: "Sometimes wrong...never in doubt".
This is the flyer some protestors were handing out yesterday.
Personally, we think they could have chosen a more flattering picture.
The WSVN story is here.
ERRATUM: The courthouse did NOT close yesterday. Your judges bravely held the fort and the line.
Remember our motto: "Sometimes wrong...never in doubt".
This is the flyer some protestors were handing out yesterday.
Personally, we think they could have chosen a more flattering picture.
Tuesday, June 02, 2020
REGJB CLOSED AS PROTESTORS COME
The REGJB is closed this morning as protestors have announced their intention to protest in front of the courthouse. The Judges' parking lot is closed. The valets have left. The few intrepid workers who wear black robes fled quicker than being at a table at Joes when the cheque arrives.
The streets are closed off. The feeling is edgy.
It is April 30, 1975 Saigon. (For those judges who read the blog and were born in the 1980s, this refers to the inglorious end of the Vietnam War. Vietnam is a country in Asia where we fought a war and lost because of the same dominoes old men play on Calle Ocho. Really. Just Google Domino theory).
If ever there was a time of the moment meeting the woman it is now.
Our State Attorney could show up with hundreds of bottles of cold water for the protestors. She could meet with them and talk with them and let them know they are being heard. She could invite some of them to meet with her regularly. She could give them her cell phone and her email and stay in touch with them.
Ahhh, we can dream, but who are we talking about?
Someone who has shown herself so far to be as tone deaf as President Trump trashing a Gold Star family.
Someone who sends out newsletters in May that are so out of touch with reality that ...we are struggling for a simile here...it's like tweeting "business as usual" just before Covid 19 shut down the world. It's like being inaugurated the Governor of Alabama and saying in your inauguration speech "I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
We hope it is not personal. We hope this is not stubborness. We hope our State Attorney is not drawing a line and refusing to acknowledge the protestors because we are pushing her. We hope she is bigger than that.
"Kathy, I'm not good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of two little people do not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you kid."
Identify the quote from the movie. Win valuable acclaim.
#WHEREISKATHY?
#PROTESTMIAMI
The streets are closed off. The feeling is edgy.
It is April 30, 1975 Saigon. (For those judges who read the blog and were born in the 1980s, this refers to the inglorious end of the Vietnam War. Vietnam is a country in Asia where we fought a war and lost because of the same dominoes old men play on Calle Ocho. Really. Just Google Domino theory).
If ever there was a time of the moment meeting the woman it is now.
Our State Attorney could show up with hundreds of bottles of cold water for the protestors. She could meet with them and talk with them and let them know they are being heard. She could invite some of them to meet with her regularly. She could give them her cell phone and her email and stay in touch with them.
Ahhh, we can dream, but who are we talking about?
Someone who has shown herself so far to be as tone deaf as President Trump trashing a Gold Star family.
Someone who sends out newsletters in May that are so out of touch with reality that ...we are struggling for a simile here...it's like tweeting "business as usual" just before Covid 19 shut down the world. It's like being inaugurated the Governor of Alabama and saying in your inauguration speech "I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
We hope it is not personal. We hope this is not stubborness. We hope our State Attorney is not drawing a line and refusing to acknowledge the protestors because we are pushing her. We hope she is bigger than that.
"Kathy, I'm not good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of two little people do not amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Here's looking at you kid."
Identify the quote from the movie. Win valuable acclaim.
#WHEREISKATHY?
#PROTESTMIAMI
Monday, June 01, 2020
RUNDLE TWEETS!
UPDATE: Item: In twenty seven years the State Attorney of Miami has not charged one police officer in a wrongful shooting case. Not one. Maybe they were all righteous shoots.
Item: In 2016 Harvard Law School's Fair Punishment Project identified Miami-Dade County (and you know who) as one of four "outlier counties" in Florida that shared "a history of overzealous prosecutions, inadequate defense lawyering (Hey! Whatch you talkin about Willis?) and "a pattern of racial bias and exclusion."
She's not deaf. She knows our city is in Flames. Dozens of protestors have been arrested. Will they be ROR'd? How will the prosecutions proceed? Does she stand with the protestors? Just wait...it doesn't get better than this.
In Michigan, Sheriff Chris Swanson took off his helmet, told his officers to drop their nightsticks and he walked with the protestors in a show of solidarity. The NY Times reports here.
In Dallas, Texas, law enforcement officers prayed with protestors.
In Minnesota, the chief of police, interviewed on CNN repeatedly took off his hat as a sign of respect when addressing George Lloyds's brother.
And our state attorney? What did she tweet?
The leadership from law enforcement that our town needs has arrived...in the form of a newsletter that mentions NOT anything about the protests.
From the newsletter: "Other jurisdictions continue to look to us for insights on how they can better deliver justice." (We kid you not. She wrote this).
We can imagine this. (Once again, satire, protected speech, no minimum mandatory sentences apply to us) The prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan where Sheriff Swanson walked with protestors this weekend.
Top Prosecutor: "We need to do more. Swanson walked with the protestors and that was a great start. But we need to show a commitment to justice, so lets see what Rundle is doing in Miami...Hmmmm a newsletter. Huh. Well...."
She could not be more tone deaf.
Item: In 2016 Harvard Law School's Fair Punishment Project identified Miami-Dade County (and you know who) as one of four "outlier counties" in Florida that shared "a history of overzealous prosecutions, inadequate defense lawyering (Hey! Whatch you talkin about Willis?) and "a pattern of racial bias and exclusion."
She's not deaf. She knows our city is in Flames. Dozens of protestors have been arrested. Will they be ROR'd? How will the prosecutions proceed? Does she stand with the protestors? Just wait...it doesn't get better than this.
In Michigan, Sheriff Chris Swanson took off his helmet, told his officers to drop their nightsticks and he walked with the protestors in a show of solidarity. The NY Times reports here.
In Dallas, Texas, law enforcement officers prayed with protestors.
In Minnesota, the chief of police, interviewed on CNN repeatedly took off his hat as a sign of respect when addressing George Lloyds's brother.
And our state attorney? What did she tweet?
The May newsletter is out!! Hooray! (Note the exclamation point is hers, not ours). All questions will be answered.
Yup Our intrepid State Attorney had her own Steve Martin/The Jerk/The New Phone Books are here! moment.
The leadership from law enforcement that our town needs has arrived...in the form of a newsletter that mentions NOT anything about the protests.
From the newsletter: "Other jurisdictions continue to look to us for insights on how they can better deliver justice." (We kid you not. She wrote this).
We can imagine this. (Once again, satire, protected speech, no minimum mandatory sentences apply to us) The prosecutor in Genesee County, Michigan where Sheriff Swanson walked with protestors this weekend.
Top Prosecutor: "We need to do more. Swanson walked with the protestors and that was a great start. But we need to show a commitment to justice, so lets see what Rundle is doing in Miami...Hmmmm a newsletter. Huh. Well...."
She could not be more tone deaf.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
MIAMI IS IN CHAOS AND THE QUESTION IS....
The Americans: There are times when all that is needed to settle us is a quick review of Gordon Sinclair and his classic: The Americans (A Canadian's Opinion). Do yourself a favor and watch it.
This was a June, 1973 editorial that Mr. Sinclair, a well known Canadian commentator of the day wrote. It was set to music and he recorded it and it received a lot of air play in its time. In many ways, it is still relevant today. There is a measure of pride in hearing our country praised for a century of help to other countries of the world. We are a good people. We do put our scandals on our front pages for the world to see. From our pain and suffering will come growth and renewed spirit and strength. We returned to space this weekend- it was a private American company, displaying the entrepreneurial spirit that makes our country great that did it. God Bless America.
UPDATE # 3 : Sunday 10:30 PM. Things are quiet in Miami. Violent protests continue in other cities such as NYC.
UPDATE#2: In a direct threat to the livelihood of FACDL members, the Miami protestors have marched to FDC where they are chanting "shut it down!" Personally, we prefer the "no justice-no peace chant." We have plans to dine again at 11 Madison Park, and for that we need clients.
UPDATE: SUNDAY 4:30 pm: a large group of protestors are in downtown Miami marching towards the City of Miami Police Department (Motto: "How many cops does it take to throw a protestor down a flight of stairs? None. He fell..." ). There is a sundown curfew in the City.
FACDL has a volunteer hotline: 786-759-0992- where protestors who need legal representation can call and be put in touch with an attorney who will represent them for free. (We didn't read this on the listserv- that would be a violation of SALTII. We received emails from members about it).
Where is the State Attorney?
Yesterday, as peaceful protests in Miami turned violent, Ace Miami Herald Reporter David Ovalle was at ground zero and tweeted that "Miami is in Chaos" as the protests turned violent.
Melba Pearson, running for State Attorney tweeted this: "If you are in #MIAMIPROTEST and arrested for NON VIOLENT actions, DM me and I'll connect you with attys to represent you Pro Bono. If you are law enforcement I strongly encourage the use of civil citations instead of arrests as we are in Covid-19 crisis."
In Coral Gables, Police Officer knelt with protestors and prayed.
And our State Attorney? This was her last message on social media: "Ditto. Felicidades"- which was three days ago when she retweeted someone else wishing Senator Marco Rubio (R, Bewildered) happy birthday.
Does she know Miami, like in 1980 (McDuffie), 1982 (Police shooting in video arcade in Overtown) and 1989 (Officer Lozano acquittal) is burning again? Maybe not. This is how we imagine (satire- protected speech, can't be prosecuted, no minimum mandatories apply) a meeting between her and her Chief Honcho Don Horn:
KR: I got an email from a victim. Some law furniture was stolen and we placed the offender on probation and they wanted five years prison.
DH: I check on it and chastise the prosecutor.
KR: Other problems?
DH: Well, have you seen that on the streets...
KR: Hang on. There was that manslaughter case we lost on self defense. Why didn't they death qualify the jury?
DH: It wasn't first degree murder. We cannot seek the death penalty for crimes other than first degree murder.
KR: Well that should be brought up in Tallahassee next month. What about minimum mandatories? Are they up? Remember our Motto: "A minimum mandatory a day makes the State Attorney Say: "I am happy and that is the way to prosecute crimes every day'." Are we saying that every day in assembly?
DH: We don't have assembly. There is this problem with the streets...
KR: We should have assembly. I thought the assembly task force recommended assembly. Can I see that report?
DH: Yes but there is rioting because of Minnesota and...
KR: It was Marco Rubio's birthday last week. Did he get my box? I ordered that fruit box where they make decorations with fruit. Can we tweet a picture of that out please? Oh look at the time, I have the Victim's task force meeting, then the police officers as victims task force meeting, then the judges need to listen more to victims task force meeting with judges, and finally the victims rally task force meeting where we are discussing the link between increased prison sentences for first time marijuana possession and a decrease in property crime. Gotta run....
In May and June 1980, after the acquittal of four Miami Police Officers who killed Arthur McDuffie, we walked into the Justice Building (as it was called at the time) as armed national guard troops stood outside. Miami Burned (see the amazing post with Roy Black and Abe Laeser here). If you do nothing else today, read that post written mostly by Messrs. Laeser and Black.
Three people were killed in a riot outside of the Justice Building after the verdict. The next day twelve more people died in rioting in Liberty City and Overtown. Police did not enter the area because of snipper fire. But we had a State Attorney-Janet Reno- and Civic Leaders who acted. They went into the community and talked to people.
A significant number of businesses were looted in Overtown and Liberty City and never returned. Old time Justice Building denizens will remember that "Wally the Bailiff" (Wally Leahy, who has since passed away) owned a butcher shop in downtown Miami that was looted and burned. He never reopened the business. His story was one of many at that time.
Now we are in a time of crisis that is expanding. As the virus crisis started the State Attorney tweeted that her office would be open for "business as usual". There were disturbing reports early on that staff workers were told they would have to use vacation and sick leave if they did not come into work. That of course changed when events overtook the nearsightedness of both the State Attorney and the Judicial administration (and the President) and the virus showed that it did not care what people did. It was going to kill indiscriminately, and it did.
The riots across the United States are ostensibly because of the murder of George Lloyd. But if you think the economic pain, frustration and fear caused by this virus is not also fueling the social unrest, then you are clueless: business as usual.
It would be nice to see the State Attorney lead. To have her appear at bond hearings and authorize the release of peaceful protestors and seek full prosecution of agent provocateurs - looters taking advantage of the protests.
It would be nice to have a State Attorney who could lead and not follow.
This was a June, 1973 editorial that Mr. Sinclair, a well known Canadian commentator of the day wrote. It was set to music and he recorded it and it received a lot of air play in its time. In many ways, it is still relevant today. There is a measure of pride in hearing our country praised for a century of help to other countries of the world. We are a good people. We do put our scandals on our front pages for the world to see. From our pain and suffering will come growth and renewed spirit and strength. We returned to space this weekend- it was a private American company, displaying the entrepreneurial spirit that makes our country great that did it. God Bless America.
UPDATE # 3 : Sunday 10:30 PM. Things are quiet in Miami. Violent protests continue in other cities such as NYC.
UPDATE#2: In a direct threat to the livelihood of FACDL members, the Miami protestors have marched to FDC where they are chanting "shut it down!" Personally, we prefer the "no justice-no peace chant." We have plans to dine again at 11 Madison Park, and for that we need clients.
UPDATE: SUNDAY 4:30 pm: a large group of protestors are in downtown Miami marching towards the City of Miami Police Department (Motto: "How many cops does it take to throw a protestor down a flight of stairs? None. He fell..." ). There is a sundown curfew in the City.
FACDL has a volunteer hotline: 786-759-0992- where protestors who need legal representation can call and be put in touch with an attorney who will represent them for free. (We didn't read this on the listserv- that would be a violation of SALTII. We received emails from members about it).
Where is the State Attorney?
Yesterday, as peaceful protests in Miami turned violent, Ace Miami Herald Reporter David Ovalle was at ground zero and tweeted that "Miami is in Chaos" as the protests turned violent.
Melba Pearson, running for State Attorney tweeted this: "If you are in #MIAMIPROTEST and arrested for NON VIOLENT actions, DM me and I'll connect you with attys to represent you Pro Bono. If you are law enforcement I strongly encourage the use of civil citations instead of arrests as we are in Covid-19 crisis."
In Coral Gables, Police Officer knelt with protestors and prayed.
And our State Attorney? This was her last message on social media: "Ditto. Felicidades"- which was three days ago when she retweeted someone else wishing Senator Marco Rubio (R, Bewildered) happy birthday.
Does she know Miami, like in 1980 (McDuffie), 1982 (Police shooting in video arcade in Overtown) and 1989 (Officer Lozano acquittal) is burning again? Maybe not. This is how we imagine (satire- protected speech, can't be prosecuted, no minimum mandatories apply) a meeting between her and her Chief Honcho Don Horn:
KR: I got an email from a victim. Some law furniture was stolen and we placed the offender on probation and they wanted five years prison.
DH: I check on it and chastise the prosecutor.
KR: Other problems?
DH: Well, have you seen that on the streets...
KR: Hang on. There was that manslaughter case we lost on self defense. Why didn't they death qualify the jury?
DH: It wasn't first degree murder. We cannot seek the death penalty for crimes other than first degree murder.
KR: Well that should be brought up in Tallahassee next month. What about minimum mandatories? Are they up? Remember our Motto: "A minimum mandatory a day makes the State Attorney Say: "I am happy and that is the way to prosecute crimes every day'." Are we saying that every day in assembly?
DH: We don't have assembly. There is this problem with the streets...
KR: We should have assembly. I thought the assembly task force recommended assembly. Can I see that report?
DH: Yes but there is rioting because of Minnesota and...
KR: It was Marco Rubio's birthday last week. Did he get my box? I ordered that fruit box where they make decorations with fruit. Can we tweet a picture of that out please? Oh look at the time, I have the Victim's task force meeting, then the police officers as victims task force meeting, then the judges need to listen more to victims task force meeting with judges, and finally the victims rally task force meeting where we are discussing the link between increased prison sentences for first time marijuana possession and a decrease in property crime. Gotta run....
In May and June 1980, after the acquittal of four Miami Police Officers who killed Arthur McDuffie, we walked into the Justice Building (as it was called at the time) as armed national guard troops stood outside. Miami Burned (see the amazing post with Roy Black and Abe Laeser here). If you do nothing else today, read that post written mostly by Messrs. Laeser and Black.
Three people were killed in a riot outside of the Justice Building after the verdict. The next day twelve more people died in rioting in Liberty City and Overtown. Police did not enter the area because of snipper fire. But we had a State Attorney-Janet Reno- and Civic Leaders who acted. They went into the community and talked to people.
A significant number of businesses were looted in Overtown and Liberty City and never returned. Old time Justice Building denizens will remember that "Wally the Bailiff" (Wally Leahy, who has since passed away) owned a butcher shop in downtown Miami that was looted and burned. He never reopened the business. His story was one of many at that time.
Now we are in a time of crisis that is expanding. As the virus crisis started the State Attorney tweeted that her office would be open for "business as usual". There were disturbing reports early on that staff workers were told they would have to use vacation and sick leave if they did not come into work. That of course changed when events overtook the nearsightedness of both the State Attorney and the Judicial administration (and the President) and the virus showed that it did not care what people did. It was going to kill indiscriminately, and it did.
The riots across the United States are ostensibly because of the murder of George Lloyd. But if you think the economic pain, frustration and fear caused by this virus is not also fueling the social unrest, then you are clueless: business as usual.
It would be nice to see the State Attorney lead. To have her appear at bond hearings and authorize the release of peaceful protestors and seek full prosecution of agent provocateurs - looters taking advantage of the protests.
It would be nice to have a State Attorney who could lead and not follow.
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