SENIOR JUDGES AND MARKUS AND MARKUS.

Word reaches us that senior Judges from Miami and North of the Border have applied for re-certification.

Any persons having knowledge bearing upon the fitness or qualifications of any of the senior judges on the list to continue service as a senior judge should send written comments to Thomas D. Hall, Clerk, Florida Supreme Court, 500 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, or by e-mail at seniorjudge@flcourts.org, or by telephone to the chair of the appropriate review board as noted on or before April 13.


The Miami Judges:
Review Board Three (Judge Gerald Cope, Jr., chair, (305) 229-3200):
Jack Block, Eli Breger, Phillip Cook, Robert M. Deehl, John W. Dell, Richard Y. Feder, Seymour Gelber, William E. Gladstone, Edward S. Klein, Gerald J. Klein, Gerard J. O’Brien, Jr., Leonard Rivkind, Michael H. Salmon, Alan R. Schwartz, Martin Shapiro, Herbert Stettin, and David L. Tobin.

North Of the Border:
Review Board Four (Judge Frederick A. Hazouri, chair, (561) 242-2078): James E. Alderman, Richard B. Burk, Marc A. Cianca, David C. Clark, Patricia W. Cocalis, Harold J. Cohen, Walter N. Colbath, Jr., Robert O. Collins, John E. Fennelly, Robert J. Fogan, Howard H. Harrison, Jr., Barbara S. Levenson, Hubert R. Lindsey, Mary E. Lupo, Gerald Mager, James A. McCauley, James W. Midelis, John A. Miller, Estella M. Moriarty, W. Herbert Moriarty, Robert H. Newman, Jerry Pollock, Edward Rodgers, and C. Pfeiffer Trowbridge.

Rumpole says: Gerry Klein- he’s a treasure (the FACDL doesn’t think so, but who cares what they think?). He does the work of two Judges and still gets on the golf course most days. We encourage everyone to email comments about Judge Klein. We also support Judge Tobin, Judge Schwartz, and Judge Salmon. We don’t have any negative opinion about the other Judges, we just haven’t been in front of them lately.

As to North of the Border, certain religious vows cause us to aver that we cannot say anything nice about any Judge up there- except- if there was ever a Judge who didn’t belong in Broward- its Judge Fogan. A wonderful man. He started the Broward Drug Court, and makes Judge Rosinek look like a tyrant.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

We Just can’t keep our noses out of Mr. David O Markus’s business and blog.

Fresh on the heels of his foray into the contretemps surrounding Judge Highsmith (who once loudly chewed us out for asking for an interpreter when out client responded “yes” in court- and didn’t want to hear that “yes” was the only word in English he knew.) comes this mess:

From our favourite federal blogger’s blog yesterday:

"David Markus" ineffective
So the calls and emails started rolling in this morning. Who was that lawyer taken to task throughout the opinion in Richard Thompson v. United States, they asked.

I quickly jumped onto the 11th Circuit website and read today's opinion.

The coffee I was sipping went all over my desk!

Judge Barkett, writing for the 11th Circuit, in a published decision explained how criminal defense lawyer "David Markus" was ineffective for a whole host of reasons.

The thing is, it's not me -- it's the other criminal defense lawyer in town named David Markus. He's David Scott Markus. I'm David Oscar Markus. The court didn't use any middle initial. So now what do I do? Any suggestions?


Rumpole sez: The ol’ "It’s the other guy with my name defense” huh? .

We do that all the time in State court. Rarely works.

Actually, the good news for clients in South Florida is that either David Markus you hire for a criminal case is an excellent lawyer. We don’t know the particulars of the decision written by Judge Barkett (it’s going to take more than this to get us to read a case) but we do know about David S Markus. He is a former prosecutor, and an excellent and well respected criminal defense attorney. Perhaps that David Markus will be blaming some other David Markus. If this keeps up, there might be a real identity defense here.

Anyway, its been a tough week for our favourite federal blogger.

A couple of six figure federal fees should snap him out of it.

But since he sought advice, we refer him to the wonderful Bard, whose prose we read for succor and sustenance of the soul:

JULIET:

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man.

O, be some other name!

What's in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;

To which we humbly add:

Markus, doff thy name, And for that name which is no part of thee -Take all myself.

Of course, the Bard didn't have to worry about Google searches from prospective clients.

See You In Court trying the "its the other guy with my name defense" again.