TO TELL THE TRUTH

 When dog bites woman, no news story. When AUSA bites dog....

When an AUSA tells the court during a contempt hearing that her job, and pardon us while we use a technical legal term....SUCKS...it makes news. 

Such was what occurred in a remarkable display of honesty by former (see  below) government lawyer Julie Le, Esq.,  appearing before US District Judge Jerry Blackwell, who was holding a "Trump Hearing" to determine why his orders were not being followed. 

Ms. Le made a few mistakes. First, she volunteered to go to Minneapolis to help with the backlog of immigration cases. As any military vet knows, never volunteer for a mission. 

Second, she told the truth. Her job sucks, and being incarcerated for contempt would give her some much needed rest. (She actually said that). 

What happened next was predictable. 

The government fired her. 

You can google a hundred articles on this mess, or start by clicking here. 

So, SDFL AUSA's, why not follow your colleague and tell the truth?  Or are you going to continue to take your marching orders from Goebbels  Bondi and continue to defy orders of the court they (her and her boss) don't like?

JUDGE FRED HENRY

 Judge Fred Henry is the man! Our new favourite judge. 

Click here and read why. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1172886492/gov.uscourts.txwd.1172886492.9.0.pdf

H/T David Markus. And like him we won’t spoil the order and just post this tidbit: 

With a judicial finger in the constitutional dike,
It is so ORDERED. 

Gotta love this judge. We need more like him. 

And don’t forget to scroll down and read El Capitan’s post about county court. 

JUDICIAL NEWS, PART 2, COUNTY COURT ELECTIONS .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS: 

As promised last Thursday, today we present the races in County Court. 

COUNTY COURT JUDICIAL ELECTIONS .....

There are 10 County Court seats up for election in 2026. The term runs from January 6, 2027, for six years. The following is a list of those judges whose term expires on January 5, 2027. An (F) next to their name means they have filed with the Department of Elections for the upcoming election. All ten incumbents have filed. In Group 9, newly appointed Judge Hernandez will not need to face the voters until 2028. In Group 24, we are looking to confirm whether Governor DeSantis has named a replacement for US Attorney Jason Reding. None of the incumbents has drawn opposition yet. Qualifying week runs from April 20-24, with the election scheduled for August 18, 2026.

COUNTY COURT

Donald Cannava (F)

Betty Capote-Erben (F)

Raul Cuervo (F)

Ritamaria Cuervo (F)

Victoria Ferrer (F)

Kevin Hellman (F)

Jennifer Hochstadt - resigned - Group 09 (replaced by Joanne Hernandez)

Natalie Moore (F)

Gordon Murray (F)

Luis Perez-Medina (F)

Jason Reding-Quinones - resigned to become US Atty last August  - Group 24

Stephanie Silver (F)

CIRCUIT COURT UPDATE .....

One update in CIRCUIT COURT. Judge Marcia Caballero, who sits in Group 51, has contacted us to let us know that she is retiring from the bench. She will not serve out her term and will be retiring in a few weeks. That would mean that her seat will be filled by Governor DeSantis instead of the voters. She joins Judge Richard Hersch, Group 69, who is also retiring. We believe, though, that Hersch intends to complete his term in January of 2027. We have not heard back yet from Judge Orlando Prescott (Group 35) and Judge Angelica Zayas (Group 05), both of whom have yet to file for reelection. 

One final note. Someone in the Comments mentioned that the JNC was taking applications for Judge Caballero’s seat. We have been told that the four seats that the JNC is currently taking applications for are all new seats, two in Circuit Court and two in County Court, with all four new seats created by SB 2508.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

COLD SUNDAY

 It's a cold  🧊Sunday  in Miami with "feels like" temperatures in the 20's, much like the heart of a new DeSantis judge sentencing a single mother with no priors who lost a jury trial on two counts of resisting with after the judge threatened informed her that she faced ten years in prison. 

It is also the first Sunday with no professional football since the dog days of August. What to do? 

You can, in no particular order, 

Brush your cat; put on a hat; go out for a walk; call a friend and have a talk. 

You can make some soup and bake some bread, and like Admiral William McRaven famously says, make your bed. 

Or you can do what we love best, read a book!

Our recommendations:

A great Biography of Richard Nixon that covers new ground and treats the former president in a very fair light is Richard Nixon The Life, by John A Farrell.  Query: Which president formed the EPA, did more for protecting and preserving clean water than any president since Teddy Roosevelt, supported and signed legislation requiring yearly cost of living updates to social security, tried to enact national health insurance, and in the words of an old Vulcan proverb:  went to China? RMN of course. His sensitivities to personal attacks are reexamined in the historical light of just how fairly or unfairly the press actually treated him, and the result is a very balanced biography that will have you re-thinking your thoughts about Nixon. If you are a history fan like we are, you will luxuriate in the deep examinations of fascinating incidents mostly lost to history like his involvement and probable illegal activities to undermine the peace talks with Vietnam in the waning days of the Johnson administration (as he was running for president) with a character like Madame Anna Chennault.  The examination of his unsurpassed political survival instincts when during his run with Eisenhower for the vice presidency he was accused of running a slush fund will have you shaking your head in admiration. Not only did the Democrats want him off the ticket, so did Eisenhower and most of his inner circle. And yet his famous Checkers Speech saved him from political ignominy and not only rescued his career, but out maneuvered both Democrats and Eisenhower and left many ordinary Americans who watched the speech in tears. 

Well worth a read. 

If your interests are British as ours always are, Henry V The Astonishing Triumph of England's Great Warrior King, by Dan Jones is a very good read. 

And if you need a little fiction in your life see if Atonement by Ian McEwan floats your boat. 

There is more to life than Football on Sunday. Now go brush your cat. 

STREETS OF MINNEAPOLIS

 Thursday is National Curmudgeon day.  A holiday we naturally celebrate.  See below:

And there is this: The Streets of Minneapolis: 

Just don't believe your eyes/ It's our blood and bones/And these whistles and phones/Against Miller and Noemi's dirty lies/ We will remember the names of those who died/On the Streets of Minneapolis

ICE OUT NOW! (rinse and repeat) 

Curmudgeons Day, celebrated on January 29, honors those delightfully grumpy souls who never hesitate to speak their minds. The date marks the birthday of W.C. Fields, the American comedian and actor famous for his sharp wit and hilariously cantankerous personality. Rather than seeing grumpiness as something negative, this day embraces the humor and honesty that often come with it.

A curmudgeon is typically described as someone who is stubborn, opinionated, and resistant to change. However, behind the gruff exterior there is often intelligence, experience, and a refusal to accept nonsense. Curmudgeons remind us that not every trend deserves applause and not every idea is brilliant. Sometimes, a little skepticism keeps the world balanced.

Celebrating Curmudgeons Day can be as simple as watching a classic W.C. Fields film or sharing your own tongue in cheek complaints about modern life. It is also a fun opportunity to appreciate the outspoken people in your life who say what others are thinking but hesitate to voice.

Above all, the day encourages good humor. Being a curmudgeon is not about spreading negativity. It is about clever commentary, playful grumbling, and perhaps offering wisdom wrapped in sarcasm. So on January 29, embrace your inner grouch and do it with a smile.

BLOGGER CERTIFICATION: This post was NOT made with the use of AI or respect for any judicial authorities. Being a curmudgeon we resent even having to do this. 

• 
  

JUDICIAL NEWS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS: 

JUDICIAL NEWS IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY .....

JUDGE KEVIN EMAS IS RETIRING .....

There’s lots of judicial news going on in Miami-Dade County. Let’s start with the 3rd DCA. Judge Kevin Emas has announced his retirement from the bench effective March 31, 2026. Judge Emas has led a distinguished career, beginning with his employment as an Assistant Public Defender in Bennett Brummer’s office in 1982. He went on to private practice with the law firm of Fine Jacobson, and then with Thornton Rothman & Emas. He then began a 30-year career serving on the bench. He was first appointed to the County Court in 1996 by Governor Lawton Chiles. He was elevated to the Circuit Court in 2001 by Governor Jeb Bush. Finally, he was tapped by Governor Crist to sit on the 3rd DCA in 2010. He has served on the 3rd DCA for the past 16 years and served as Chief Judge of the Third District from 2019 to 2021.

Judge Emas has held numerous leadership roles in the Florida Conference of Circuit Judges. He also served as a faculty member of the Florida Judicial College, New Appellate Judges Program, Florida’s College of Advanced Judicial Studies, and the National Judicial College. He served as an adjunct faculty member at both FIU College of Law and UM Law. He served as a member of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, Chair of the Supreme Court’s Criminal Court Steering Committee, and Chair of the Florida Criminal Procedure Rules Committee.

Thank you, Judge Emas, for your incredible dedication to the citizens of Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida. 

The 3rd DCA JNC is now accepting applications for Judge Emas' replacement, with a deadline of February 26, 2026.

11TH CIRCUIT JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMITTEE (JNC) .....

The JNC has announced that it is now taking applications for two Circuit Court seats and two County Court seats. These four seats are new and were created by the Florida legislature with the enactment of SB 2508. The deadline to submit your application is February 20, 2026. The JNC expects to conduct interviews on March 13. The Governor is expected to name the four new judges by no later than May 14, 2026.

CIRCUIT COURT JUDICIAL ELECTIONS .....

There are 34 Circuit Court seats up for election in 2026. The six-year term begins on January 6, 2027. Qualifying Week is April 20-24, 2026. The election is scheduled for August 18, 2026.

The following is a list of judges whose terms expire on January 5, 2027. Some of these judges will be retiring. An (F) next to their name means they have filed with the Department of Elections for the upcoming election. Six incumbents have not yet filed, while three newcomers have filed to run.

CIRCUIT COURT

Michelle Alvarez Barakat (F)
Tanya Brinkley (F)
Beatrice Butchko (F)
Marcia Caballero - has not yet filed - Group 51
Carmen Cabarga (F)
Yvonne Colodny (F)
Ivonne Cuesta (F)
Jorge Cueto (F)
Abby Cynamon (F)
Michelle Delancy (F)
Dawn Denaro (F)
Reemberto Diaz (F)
Veronica Diaz (F)
Spencer Eig (F)
Carlos Gamez (F)
Stacy Glick (F)
Laura Gonzalez-Marques (F)
Carlos Guzman (F)
Christine Hernandez (F)
Richard Hersch - has not yet filed* - Group 69
Peter Lopez (F)
Denis Martinez-Scanziani (F)
Alberto Milian (F)
Cristina Miranda - will be filing soon** - Group 48
Spencer Multack (F)
Joseph Perkins (F)
Orlando Prescott - has not yet filed - Group 35
Jose Rodriguez - retired - Group 07 - 
Mavel Ruiz (F)
Migna Sanchez-Llorens (F)
Laura Stuzin (F)
Daryl Trawick (F)
Andrea Wolfson (F)
Angelica Zayas - has not yet filed - Group 05 -

*Judge Hersch is retiring.

We communicated with Judge Miranda, who indicated that she "intends to file shortly and hopes to continue serving the people of Miami-Dade County as she has for almost 29 years."

The three non-incumbent attorneys who have filed to run include:

Group 05 - Attorney Alexander Annunziato

Group 07 - Attorney Cristobal Padron

Group 69 - Attorney Rita Baez

Tomorrow, we will cover the County Court races.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

AI

 Good cold Tuesday morning as all eyes in the nation are on South Florida as we dig out and struggle from under 50-degree bitter cold. We are tough. We are hardy. We will get through this like a calendar call in Hialeah with a judge an hour late. We will survive. 

If like us, you live for Miami-Dade Court administrative orders, then Monday was a day you will not soon forget. It reminds all of us that AI stands for more than Asinine. 

There's a new administrative order requiring all parties to include the following certification on all motions (this in addition to the already required certifications:  "I certify that nothing in this motion mentions global warming or climate change"  [The DeSantis certification];  "I certify that nothing in this motion speaks favorably of the rights of immigrants, trans people, or veganism"  [The 2026 Life in America certification]; and of course the "I hereby certify that nothing in this motion makes any reference to diversity, equity and inclusion other than to rightfully ridicule such ideas" [The DEI certification]).

The filing shall include a statement substantially in the following form: "Generative artificial intelligence was used in the preparation of this filing. The undersigned certifies that all factual assertions, legal authority, and citations have been independently reviewed and verified for accuracy and accepts full responsibility for the contents of this filing." 

We are not making this up.  Sometimes judges just make life for a legal blogger so very easy. 

First- if you are a lawyer and you are using AI to write motions and are not carefully checking each citation AI is giving you, shame on you. Do your job which is more than creating IG posts. 

Second, why? 

If a lawyer cites a case to the court that does not exist, then they get what they deserve. They should lose and be roundly shammed. 

So what is going on here? You have come to the right place for the answers you will not get anywhere else. 

As usual it is our civil brothers and sisters who are driving this train wreck. Rumor is that in filing the hundreds of boilerplate motions seeking legal fees from insurance companies, the civil firms are using paralegals and AI in the place of a real lawyer. Then, poor civil judges are wading through the motions, seeing cases they don't recognize, and discovering that the cite is fake. Then, at the five-minute motion hearing the lawyers are blaming AI, and as Sy Gaer might have said, are muttering mea culpa and that it's "A sad and tragic mistake that will not happen again" (of course Sy would never have used AI). 

But until now the civil judges were powerless, something akin to them getting the check at lunch at Joes- a very uncomfortable feeling for them.  They could find that the lawyer violated Bar rules for candor towards the court and to prepare for hearings, but they could not impose a fine, and ahhh therein lied the rub, because what's a good civil case without the threat of sanctions? 

So now, our civil friends have to sign the pleading with the certification and when a fake AI case slips through, your favourite civil robe wearer can do what makes them happiest (because in civil court they cannot impose a max sentence after trial), they can impose Sanction$ !!!

So pull up your motions to suppress and dismiss and continue and rules to show cause and include the certification on every motion and thank your civil friends for once again making the practice of law even harder than it should be. 

And don't forget to add to all your criminal motions the Victim Certification "I hereby certify that I fully understand the victim wants the max!" 

Here is the Admin Order. 

Administrative Order No. 26-04 Disclosure of Use of Generative AI by Anonymous PbHV4H

BLOG CERTIFICATION 

The undersigned certifies that all factual assertions, legal authority, and citations have been made by the blogger without use of any legal authority or Artificial Intelligence and without much concern for factual or legal accuracy. 

H Rumpole, Blog Proprietor 

NLF CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY 2026

 Good Sunday morning. There's a lot going on in the world and the sporting world, so let's get to it. 

A massive winter ❆storm is hitting the middle section of the country and the president has squarely laid the blame on the small Caribbean island of Antigua, demanding they surrender their island for reparations. "No one has ever seen anything like this storm, and the democrats and Antigua are to blame" said the president on his social media platform bullshit for beanbrains. 

China's dictator Xi Jinping eviscerated the top leadership of the People's Liberation Army, announcing investigations into China's top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli.  Zhang's removal is the most shocking, as he and Xi are childhood friends and he was one of only a few PLA generals who had combat experience, leading a division in the lengthy boarder war with Vietnam that started in 1979. Investigations in China are similar to those announced by US Attorney General Pam Bondi- closed minded affairs with the filing of charges a forgone conclusion. The difference is that in the US we have a (semi for now) independent judiciary, but Bondi and the president are doing their level best to change that.   

As for the NFL we have two intriguing games on tap.  First up is the Cheaters at Denver who lost their star QB on a freak play at the end of the game. We are betting with our heart, not our head and taking the Broncos at home +4.5. Fun fact. Cheaters have never won a playoff game in the Mile High stadium. They are an 0-4.  The weather is a chilly 10 degrees with mild wind that will make it feel like 0. If you want to have some fun, bet Bronco QB Jarret Stidham to have over 209 passing yards. 

The best game of the day is LA at Seattle. Defense wins championships. Period. End of story. And the Seahawks have quietly built the best defense in the NFL. That D will be up against arguably the best player in the NFL this year- the fun-name-to-say Puka Nakua.  The Seahawks are a paltry -2.5 favorite mostly because Vegas books see a big chance for Seahawks QB Sam Darnold to screw is up, while Rams QB Matthew Stafford has been there (and NFC championship game) and done that (won).  It is really hard for us to pick against a great D. Steelers. Ravens. 85 Bears.  86 and 90 Giants with Lawrence Taylor.  

The totals in both games are tough as well. 43 in Denver (weather related) and 46 in Seattle (will the D hold up against Stafford and Nakua?)

We may just sit this one out and enjoy the game for its entertainment value, as hard as that seems to believe.  But if you are not suffering like us through the last week of Dry January and will be enjoying a few 🍺 watching the games and eating 🐔wings and pizza 🍕, then you have to take the Seahawks -2.5. 

This is the last NFL football Sunday of 2025, and it has been a fun one. It may also be our last blogging about it.  And if that is the case, we truly thank you for tuning in and reading all these years. It has been fun. As championship Golfer Gary Player wisely says about his rules of life, change is the price of survival. 

ZOOM 2.0

 We received these two comments and are posting both in their entirety.  

The Judge goes first: 

Good evening!

Zoom is indeed available in my courtroom! It simply is not available for trial setting and evidentiary hearings. Pop in for arraignments tomorrow and you can see for yourself.

I hope this clarifies things. I am simply trying to follow the law on in-person trials and eliminate the Zoom information on trial notices, which is terribly confusing for all parties involved.

Feel free to come by Chambers for coffee to discuss anytime. Seriously. I am not above receiving constructive criticism. I welcome feedback and hope to continue to serve the community to their satisfaction and in accordance with the law.

If you wish to send me feedback anonymously or otherwise, I also monitor my judicial email regularly.

Best,

Judge Bach Armas

Thursday, January 22, 2026 6:27:53 PM

Rumpy:

This matter is a bit more nuanced than you may know. Judge Bach does not seem to want to eliminate Zoom for those 10-second hearings that do not need one’s physical presence. He seems to want to avoid the prosecution from announcing READY for trial when they really aren’t.

The rules of criminal procedure, as you have noted, are clear. We just need to file a pleading that requests Zoom hearings where appropriate. I have been filing such requests since the day that rule was passed by Florida’s Supreme Court.

While I would not be so formal in my requirements if I were a judge, I am not the judge, he is. And that position gives him the power to run his courtroom as he chooses, as long as it is within the law.

The law says that you need to request a Zoom hearing; he is asking that you do that. That probably isn’t too much to ask (that we follow the law).

Let’s see how this all plays out. If, down the road, his policies are not to your liking, you can always run against him, or support someone who will do so. In the meantime, perhaps your favorite saying should apply to us defense attorneys: ‘Lighten up, Francis.”

Wednesday, January 21, 2026 8:48:38 PM