DAVIS TAKES THE STAND

An email on Former Judge Phil Davis testifying is below. But first....

In Broward, there was some big shot lawyer named Scott Rothstein. He hired ex-sheriff Ken Jenne when he got out of federal prison. He hired ex-prosecutors and ex-judges, and set up shop as a big, politically connected lobbying firm.  Personally, being North of the Border, our opinion was WGAS? (it's not to hard to figure out- hint: G=Gives, A=a") Now comes word Rothstein, who was also running an investment program(scam) has flown the coop and millions of dollars of investment funds are missing.  Rothstein has been reported in Morocco and/or Venezuela, both of whom coincidently enough do  not have extradition treaties with the US. (which just goes to show you he's smarter than Bernie Madoff.) 

The Broward  Blog has coverage here and David Markus has an interesting take here that essentially with the layoffs at newspapers, the blogs are the one that broke and followed this story. WGAS? 

We received this email:

Rumpole: Please accept this as an application (I didn't see any formal forms) to be included in your 14th Street Irregulars. As such, I file my first report from the courtroom of Judge Beatrice Butchko, and State v. Phil Davis. 

Your readers will remember Phil Davis as the former circuit court judge arrested and disgraced (but acquitted) in the federal bribery investigation famously known as Courtbroom. Soon after his acquittal Davis managed to get himself disbarred based on some shenanigans he pulled before a Federal Judge in California. 

Davis is being charged in some sort of paper case fraud arising, I think out of money he received from state and federal grants from some misbegotten charity he was running. 

I saw the cross. Davis will be acquitted. 

This prosecutor did not lay a glove on him. Davis, looking much older and sporting a shock of gray hair and a gray beard has not lost his touch. Plus he was well prepped. He was soft spoken but did not give any ground.  He was erudite and well knowledgeable about the forms in question to the point that he several times assisted the befuddled prosecutor who was cross examining him. 

Your readers will remember that before winning election against Fritz Mann, Davis was a trial lawyer himself. It showed. He assumed command and did not give ground to the prosecutor. He could see every question coming, he knew when the prosecutor was trying to lay the ground work for a trap, and he answered everything in a professorial and forthright way. He peppered his responses with soft mentions that he was running a charity that was taking kids to Viscaya and helping the underprivileged in the community. In short- he ate this guy's lunch. I haven't seen the whole trial, but from what I saw, they should call this before the prosecutor hurts himself anymore. 

It should come as no surprise Davis is accused of stealing from the public. He sold his robes for some bus and cocaine money. But it doesn't seem to me these wonky paper case prosecutors were any match for Davis's ability on the stand. He will skate again. 

Rumpole says: Thank you and consider yourself the first in what is hopefully many 14th Street Irregulars.  I am not fooling when I say I will be out of town until the end of the year and beyond and I cannot keep this blog running without helpful reporting and tips.  Indeed, I can no longer sign off with my famous "see you in court" because for the next few months, sadly, I won't.