GOVERNOR DESANTIS: REMOVE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL UTHMEIER .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

In 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis stated:

“If a prosecutor wants to ‘reform’ the criminal justice system, then the appropriate thing to do is resign from office and run for the Legislature on such a platform.’’ 

Today, those words demand consistency.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE CALLS ON GOVERNOR DESANTIS TO REMOVE FLORIDA ATTORNEY GENERAL JAMES UTHMEIER .....

On May 23, 2024, Jaylen Eubanks was arrested in Broward County and charged with Carrying a Concealed Firearm and Improper Exhibition of a Dangerous Weapon (Case No. 24-5748-CF-10-A). At the time of his arrest, Eubanks was 18 years old.

His counsel, Assistant Public Defender Thomas Cottone, filed a Motion to Dismiss the concealed firearm charge, arguing that Florida Statute 790.01(3) is unconstitutional. While Florida law permits concealed carry without a permit for individuals 21 and older as of July 1, 2023, it continues to prohibit concealed carry by those under 21.

Broward Circuit Court Judge Lorena Mastrarrigo denied the motion. Eubanks subsequently entered a no-contest plea, expressly reserving his right to appeal.

The case is now pending before the Fourth District Court of Appeal (Case No. 4D2025-1698). The Public Defender’s Office filed its Initial Brief. On February 6, 2026, under the direction of Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey DeSousa filed the State’s Answer Brief.

In that filing, the State concedes that the conviction for carrying a concealed firearm should be reversed.

Attorney General Uthmeier has maintained that the State should not prosecute firearm cases involving 18-to-20-year-olds because, in his view, the statute is unconstitutional. In effect, the chief legal officer of Florida has chosen not to defend a duly enacted law of this State.

HAROLD PRYOR V. JAMES UTHMEIER: STEEL CAGE MATCH .....

In a highly unusual move, just three days later, the Broward State Attorney’s Office—led by Harold F. Pryor—filed a Motion for Leave to File an Amicus Brief.

State Attorney Pryor argues that prosecutors are constitutionally obligated to enforce the laws as written unless and until those laws are declared unconstitutional by the courts. To selectively decline enforcement based on personal constitutional interpretation, he contends, places an official above the law and neglects the duty of office.

In his Motion, Pryor emphasized:

     “Statutes are presumed to be constitutional and must be construed whenever possible to effect a constitutional outcome." 

The Motion went on to state that “the concession by the Solicitor General on this point deprives this Court from conducting the review  of the finding of the trial court, contrary to the wishes of the people of the State of Florida."

On February 17, the 4th DCA GRANTED Pryor’s Motion to file an Amicus Brief.

DESANTIS’ HISTORY OF REMOVING ELECTED OFFICIALS FOR NEGLECT OF DUTY.....

The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to suspend local government officials for:

   “malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, drunkenness, incompetence, permanent inability to perform the member’s official duties, or commission of a felony."

In 2022, DeSantis removed Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for "Neglect of Duty", after Warren pledged not to prosecute abortion-related cases. When the governor removed Warren from office, he accused Warren of "putting himself publicly above the law" by pledging not to enforce laws that criminalize abortion and prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.”

At the time, DeSantis stated: “If a prosecutor wants to ‘reform’ the criminal justice system, then the appropriate thing to do is resign from office and run for the Legislature on such a platform.’’

In 2023, DeSantis removed Ninth Circuit State Attorney Monique Worrell for Neglect of Duty, citing a pattern of policies that allegedly failed to hold criminals accountable. At the time of her removal, DeSantis stated: "Worrell’s practices and policies have too often allowed violent criminals to escape the full consequences of their criminal conduct."

A QUESTION OF CONSISTENCY

The issue now is straightforward:

If a state attorney’s refusal to enforce a law constitutes “neglect of duty,” what is the standard for the Attorney General of Florida?

If the Attorney General believes a statute is unconstitutional, the appropriate course is to seek legislative reform or await judicial invalidation — not to decline defense of the law based on personal constitutional interpretation.

Governor DeSantis has set the standard.

The question is whether he will apply it uniformly.

What was “putting oneself above the law” in 2022 cannot become “principled discretion” in 2026.

If the Governor intends to remain consistent with his stated principles, then the same measure he applied to others must now be considered here.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

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

GRRR

 Here are the things bothering us today. 

Having to use Authenticator for logging on to CMECF. Thank You Putin. 

The never ending same commercials on all of our Sirius Radio channels including that very annoying guy who get's you out of your time share. If you were stupid enough to buy a time share suffer the consequences, especially since now we all have to listen to this annoying guy over and over and over again. 

Speaking of which, the sob stories by two people- one lost her husband, the second his father, and both them are urging us to buy life insurance. Sorry for your loss, but we are so done with hearing about your tragedies that, trust us, if we needed to buy more life insurance, we would not use that company that you are both shilling for hundreds of times a day. STOP IT. 

Valentines Day.

And St Patrick's day. And Easter. And mother's day. And father's day. And grandparent's day.  These holidays have all been coopted by the card companies to get you to buy cards, flowers, chocolate and beer (well, the beer is okay, but not the rest). 

Curling. These people are not athletes. They are regular Joes and Janes with skates and a broom. Jesse Owens they are not.  Stop calling it a sport. No one says "hey what are you doing today? Want to play golf?" "No, I'm curling." That never happens. Ever. 

Tenting our laptop when entering federal court. What does that prove? Nothing. NOTH>>>ING. Stop. Just run it through the machine. 

Have we mentioned how much we despise that guy who gets you out of your time share? Oh yeah. Well, it bears repeating. 

SIX DEGREES

It's time to play Six Degrees of Jeffrey Epstein!!! 

(Announcer) Jack Lang! Come on down and play six degrees of Jeffrey Epstein! 

Emcee: You were France's cultural minister when your family had financial dealings with JE.  Johnny, tell our contestant what he has won.

Announcer: You will be resigning from your current position as head of the Arab World Institute which you have headed since 2013. (Who knew the Arab World had an institute?). And you will be CANCELED and are currently facing at 86 a criminal investigation. 

Our next contestant, Mona Juul, come on down and play six degrees of Jeffrey Epstein! 

Emcee: You were Norway's ambassador to Jordan and Iraq when it was revealed that your husband had financial dealings with Jeffrey Epstein. Johnny, tell our contestant what she has won.

Announcer: You are being forced to resign and quit any participation in Norway politics. You and your husband are now being investigated for criminal wrongdoings. 

Moroslav Lajcak come on down and play six degrees of Jeffrey Epstein! 

Emcee: You were the national security advisor to Slovakia's prime minister when you exchanged emails with Jeffrey Epstein about young girls. Johnny, tell our contestant what he has won.

Announcer: You have been forced to resign and are being ostracized in your home country. 

Peter Mandelson come on down come on down and play six degrees of Jeffrey Epstein! 

Emcee: Peter you were a long-time fixture in British politics and were ending your stellar career with an appointment by current PM Keir Starmer as His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States where weekly parties and high-end dinners and socializing with the top politcos in DC was in your future. Johnny, tell our contestant what he has won. 

Announcer: You have been forced to resign and end your career in shame. 

And finally, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor come on down and play six degrees of Jeffrey Epstein! 

Emcee: Andrew MW, your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has cost you all your English Titles, a Lordship, several peerages, your home, all of your honorary military titles, and you are now an ostracized figure upon whom scorn is heaped by your fellow countrymen. You have been exiled to a rundown farmhouse where most of the servants that are employed as caretakers have refused to work there if you are living there. 

And that is today's edition of Six Degrees of Separation with Jeffrey Epstein. Don't miss our special upcoming editions where former President Clinton and former secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be testifying before congress about their encounters with Jeffrey Epstein including the former president's trip to Africa on Air-Epstein. 

OLA!

 We are old enough to remember the   English Only crusade that tore into the Magic City in the early 1980's. Indeed, there is now a play about it-  called English Only by Nicholas Griffin, author of the definitive account of the drug wars and Mariel Boat lift- The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees, and Cocaine in Miami 1980. 

We thought those days were behind us. We learned enough Spanish to order meals, ask for more beer and the check, and accepted Miami as the international city it had become. 

And now comes this: 

So, here we go again???

Cue Jaws theme: Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the DMV... 

But wait! There's more!! 

While the Florida DMV is English Only, the Super Bowl halftime show was Spanish only courtesy of the Bad Bunny.  That must have gotten the attention of the DEI hatein' maga drones in Tallahassee and DC. 

We nailed the coin toss, Seattle -4.5 and the under 45.5 (barely) and overall had a very good $uper Bowl. See ya in 2027 (maybe). 

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY PART DOS

Update: We once again correctly predicted the coin toss. Heads. We were a bit concerned about Joe Montana's shoulder, as we intimated in the prior post. But when we saw him grip it and rip it, and we saw the rotation on the coin and the height, we knew we had it locked in on heads. 

Now if only our other picks can pay off, we can open an Opus One in the fourth quarter with out chili. 

Defense wins championships. Full stop. Steelers. Bears. Ravens. Giants. Very good to great defenses win championships. Seattle has a very very good and complete defense. Seattle will win the game. They are an exceptionally well balanced and well coached team. What worries us is the -4.5. We Seattle up 31-21 going into the last two minutes of the game and now you can get a Patriots back-door cover with a TD and the final score 31-28 or 29 and you lose having given -4.5. So be careful. Check out our chart below. Seattle is 7-3 vs Patriots in the last ten games. But what jumps out even more is that 7 games were decided by 4 points or less. Youch, 

Even though we predicted the score above, we are leaning towards the under 45.5. Everyone loves the over. It's more fun to root for an exciting game full of scores. But the stat of the day: Drake Maye has been sacked 15 times in the post season. 15. Count em. Seattle can go up 24-10 and run the rock and hold the Patriots off. If over hits, it will be late in the fourth quarter, which makes the line fun to bet either way. 

What can go wrong? 

Darnold can melt down. Unlikely, but always possible.  It is more likely that Maye gets rattled with a strip sack and a few INTs. 

Don't count out NE's D. It is nearly as good as Seattle's. So that brings the game back to QBs, who makes a mistake, and whether Jaxson Smith-Njigba goes off. And if the Patriots manage to do something nearly no other team has done and shuts down JSN, then Cooper Kupp, the aging WR vet will step up. If you have some extra money, throwing some on Kupp to catch a TD (+260) and over 36.5 yards in receptions (-115) is not a bad bet to keep you interested between the buffalo cauliflower dip and the chicken wings. 

     SEAHAWKS V, PATRIOTS (LAST TEN MEETINGS) 

Date	Winner	Score	Venue
Sep 15, 2024	Seattle	23–20 (OT)	Gillette Stadium
Sep 20, 2020	Seattle	35–30	Lumen Field
Nov 13, 2016	Seattle	31–24	Gillette Stadium
Feb 1, 2015	New England	28–24    Super Bowl XLIX	Phoenix
Oct 14, 2012	Seattle	24–23	CenturyLink Field
Dec 7, 2008	New England	24–21	Qwest Field
Oct 17, 2004	New England	30–20	Gillette Stadium
Oct 24, 1993	Seattle	10–9	Kingdome
Sep 19, 1993	Seattle	17–14	Foxboro Stadium
Sep 20, 1992	Seattle	10–6	Foxboro Stadium

 

SUPER BOWL SUNDAY 2026 PART UNO

 Good Super Bowl Sunday. In this post we will handle some preliminary matters. 

As all good MAGA Americans with a GED know, the Super Bowl is a right enshrined in the Bible and Constitution. 

"There shall be unto you this day of rest when all work shall stop and you shall watch two enemies battle over an unclean skin"  Recriminations, I:14; and "Congress shall make no law infringing on a day of rest, within 40 days of the new year, on  Sunday, when a contest all Americans may watch with food." US CONST, Art VIII,  §4.  

Rumpole's Game Day Chili:  People have offered large sums for our secret chili recipe. We provide it here, free of charge. There is a secret ingredient, which if you follow our instructions exactly you cannot help but make great chili. Now we prefer chili without beans (Texas style) but you can use canned black beans. And we use ground turkey, sometimes mixed with ground pork as our protein, but ground beef works just fine. And we roast a half a dozen tomatillos in our air fryer on roast, 400 degrees, 11-12 minutes, drizzling oil and salt on them before roasting before starting anything else.

But here is the secret ingredient you MUST use. Ready? Drum roll please.......FLOUR! 

Now, as Bruce Springsteen sings in Tenth Avenue Freeze Out, in concert, as he gets to the line "The change was made uptown and the big man joined the band" he first says (or sometimes yells) THIS HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART!:  

Take a cup of flour per pound of protein and place in a cast iron skillet and cook on medium to high heat until the flour browns. You need it to turn brown. That's the secret. Then set aside. Put your protein into the skillet and sauté until cooked. Add the spices you like, including half of the roasted tomatillos, a can of cut up tomatoes with the liquid, onions, garlic, and pepper. Cook until the tomatoes break down and are incorporated into the meat. You can also add a small can of tomato paste. 

Begin to incorporate your browned flour a few large spoonfuls at a time into the meat mix, adding chicken broth (you can use beef broth, but we like chicken broth) into the pan until you have what appears to be a smooth paste. If you are adding canned beans, add them now with the liquid.  Cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed. When that is done, add another cup of broth, add the rest of the flour, turn to low heat, cover and check every 15 minutes and keep adding broth until it is fully incorporated and you like the mixture. Add some more roasted tomatillos and tomato chunks, cook for a few more minutes until they are incorporated, and turn off heat and enjoy. 

OUR PROP BETS. Listed in order of best to far flung. 

Sea George Holani over 1.5 receptions. -125. He's Darnold's go to back for passes out of the backfield. 

Sea Sam Darnold over 1.5 TDs. -175. This is Darnold's fourth team. He's been through the wringer.  He has a chip on his shoulder. He is going to throw the rock. 

Sea Sam Darnold over 235 passing yards + over 1.5 passing TDs. +149.  See above.

Sea Jaxon Smith-Njigba 2Td receptions. +500. Yes, NE is going to double team him. Ask him if he cares. 

NE Drake Maye under 38.5 yards rushing + Rhamonde Stevenson under 50.5 rushing yards. +232. Defense wins championships. 

That's it for now. We will have our game predications up before the game. As to the rock solid, almost never lose coin flip bet, we have had some issues. The constant movement of the seismic plates in San Francisco is an issue, which also affects the earth's magnetic core in that area. The prevalence of wind gusts that are hard to predict, along with a difficult to measure dew point, and some concerning chatter about the shoulder of the coin tosser, have set our algorithms all over the place. Currently our computer simulations are running nearly 50-50 after ten million runs, with the small and slightest edge to heads, depending on the temperature at the time of the flip. We are monitoring this closely.  Spend your money on Darnold going off today, which gives you an insight into who will win the game. 

 

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