Monday, February 28, 2011

WHO IS THE BEST YOU EVER SAW?

SPENCE-JONES TRIAL UPDATE: Judge Rosa Rodriguez denied a prosecution motion to recuse herself from the case (because as a PD before becoming a Judge she once called the SAO "a house of cards", or some such other ridiculous reason) and as the Herald reports, opening statements were given Monday. The trial continues today.

GADAFFI SECRET DEFENSE PLANS: In an interview with the BBC yesterday, Libyan lunatic Colonel Gadaffi inadvertently revealed his secret plans for defending his grip on power: Gadaffi will resort to the Three Stooges double eye poke.

We're not kidding: the interview is here:

"Col Gaddafi challenged those, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron, who have accused him of having money abroad, to produce evidence.

He said he would "put two fingers in their eye" "


Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the 300 million dollars in last defense budget he submitted to train us troops in the "one handed block of the eye poke" would now prove to be a wise expenditure of funds. Yuk, yuk, yuk.


Sometimes readers drive the bus:

Sam I am said...

Rumpole: Everyone hates lawyers... (hard not to when you have to count Thomas Jefferson, Abe Lincoln, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela amongst your ilk). But here's a question for you and your able readers: Who are the five most vile attorneys of the past 300 years? I'll take my answer off the air.

Monday, February 28, 2011 6:07:00 PM


Rumpole says: It's nice to remember that we actually practice an ancient and honourable profession. So lets turn the question a bit and also ask who are the five best attorneys you have ever seen or hear or read about? Have at it (best or worst or both)* and let us know who was the best and we'll post or Twitter some replies.


Speaking of Twitter, we broke the news today of the decision in Michigan v. Bryant about the Supreme Court doing away with the confrontation clause. The decision is an awful example of liberal activist judges like Roberts and Alito and Thomas creating by judicial fiat exceptions to the hearsay rule that are not in the Constitution and were not passed by Congress.


David Marcus has all the gory details on his blog. However, once again DOM celebrates the dissent of Judge Scalia and we remind DOM that in this matter Scalia's ox was not gored, so he stood on principle. However such is not always the case with Nino.


More on this case later this week.


Follow us on Twitter as the flow of ideas guaranteed to make you rich, thin and happy continues at an ever escalating pace (and not one of those REGJB escalators due for repair.)


See You In Court.



* If you have an axe to grind against a particular attorney who currently practices in the REGJB and want to label him or her the worst you ever saw, more than likely we will not post the comment, so don't bother or be prepared to sign your name and advocate why they should be included on the list.

NO PARKING ...NO PEACE

No Parking...No Peace.

Or

No Parking....No Pleas.

Anyway you look at it, the unlawful usurpation of parking spaces in Lot 26 by the myriad of South Florida Police Agencies continues into its second month. Rumors swirl of jackbooted thugs threatening to arrest City Parking Attendants who dare to question the officers authority to park where their agency hasn't secured their right to park.

The outcry last week was admirably met by a quick response by Judges Slom and Soto. (No truth to the rumors that Slom and Soto may be taking their act on the road for summer stock in Connecticut this summer).

But a "we hear you" is one thing....a "problem solved" is something entirely different.

Twitter took down a dictator in Egypt. We are now Twittering (look over there-- to the left, and up a bit) and have our sights set firmly on Lot 26.

Watch out.

Parkers of Lot 26- email your photos today to Rumpole and we will get them up on Twitter and the blog asap.

See You In Court.


Sunday, February 27, 2011

RIP DUKE




EDWIN DONALD (THE DUKE) SNIDER passed away Sunday at the age of 84.

Believe or not kids, there was a time way before Starbucks, the internet, and cell phones, when New York had 3, count-em, THREE baseball teams. And none of the players had agents.

Centerfield for Dem Bums, the Brooklyn Dodgers, was patrolled by "The Duke Of Flatbush": Duke Snider. Snider put up some amazing offensive numbers: He hit 40 or more home runs in five consecutive seasons (1953–57), and averaged 42 home runs, 124 RBIs, 123 runs and a .320 batting average between 1953-1956. Those stats today would get you, oh, about a hundred million a year for ten years or so.

Duke Snider. Hall of Famer and perhaps the best center fielder who is rarely mentioned anymore.

Another one of the Boys Of Summer takes his place back in Ebbets Field forever. The Duke hit the last home run ever hit at Ebbets Field. And his first day as a major leaguer? Another rookie was trying to make the team that day with him: Jackie Roosevelt Robinson. Quite a pair of rookies.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

TWITTER!!!

Well our Twittering has been an unqualified success! And it's fun too!

In case you missed it, here are some of the things we discussed on twitter the last few days:

FEDS GO AFTER JURY NULLIFICATION ADVOCATE:
The US Attorneys Office in Manhattan (Motto: "In the Southern District Of NY our 'you know what' doesn't stink.") has indicted poor Julian P. Heicklen, 78 years of age. Mr. Heicklen has taken in the last few years to parade outside the Courthouse in the Southern District holding a "Jury Info" sign and handing out pamphlets in which prospective jurors (and anyone gets a pamphlet. Mr. Heicklen had no way of targeting members of the venire.) were told that they had the right to not follow any law they didn't agree with.


Well, the Feds decided they disagreed with Mr. Heicklen, First Amendment be damned, and they indicted him on jury tampering charges.

If that happened here, you'd be reading about Rumpole representing him for free.

MORE CIVILITY IN COURT:

What would you think about a courthouse that had greeters outside ready to wish you a good morning and answer any questions you might have? What about a Judge that doesn't talk down to people, but sits at eye level and speaks to participants clearly, simply, and with respect? Well in New York, where they indict people for speaking their mind in Manhattan, they treat defendants with respect in Brooklyn. (...and the Bronx is up and the Battery's down, and people ride in a hole in the ground. New York, New York, it's a hell of a town- It's an old song. Google the lyrics.)


“We don’t want going to court to feel like this Kafkaesque experience,” Mr. Berman said. “Little things like making eye contact, like saying ‘thank you,’ like saying ‘excuse me’ can go a very long way in affecting how people perceive the courts and government in general.”

Mr. Berman said he believed the Red Hook Community Justice Center in Brooklyn exemplified the impact that effective communication can have on the justice system. In addition to emphasizing alternative sentencing options, the court has made logistical changes that distinguish it from other courts. The courtrooms are better lighted, Mr. Berman said, and the judge’s bench is not elevated, so the judges do not have to literally talk down to the defendants. A greeter posted at the entrance to the courthouse helps answer people’s questions as they come in, Mr. Berman said.

Mr. Berman said that 86 percent of defendants who have been through Red Hook said they believed that their cases were handled fairly.


Rumpole says: So there you have it. And if you were following us on Twitter you would have had an exclusive first look at what we were thinking a day ago. So Join us on Twitter and follow us at the JusticeBuilding. There's still time to join for free, but hurry, offer good only while supplies last.

MONDAY: NO PARKING...NO PLEAS.... or......NO PARKING....NO PEACE...



Thursday, February 24, 2011

RUMPOLE ON TWITTER/PROBLEMS AT THE HAGUE

Before we get to Twitter, a quick report from the Colonel of County Court:

Attention All County Court Soldiers! The Colonel is in the House.

At ease soldiers, take a knee.

The major shake up in County Court has been the replacement of Judge Bloom with Judge Hague. Things are not going smoothly in Judge Hague's Courtroom, mostly because of Judge Hague's intransigence, which the comment below perfectly states:

Anonymous said...

Dear Judge Slom et al. Why did I have a case infront of Judge Hague at 9:30 am but did not leave his court room until almost 11:30 am? Please tell me why he must go through the calendar in alphabetical order, refuse to take attorney's out of turn and then wait to be done with every other calendar before going back to a certain time! I lost valuable time, I wept on the inside as precious seconds, minutes, then hours passed away from my not so young life and then were gone forever! Which in turn made me late for every single Judge I had to see that morning. Really annoying. Give the bar some respect.

Thursday, February 24, 2011 12:50:00 PM


The Colonel adds- The problem is even worse! Lets say you have Ansel Adams on the 9:30 Calendar and Zela Zelon on the same calendar. When the Adams case is called Judge Hague will normally NOT accommodate you and let you call your other client(s) on the same calendar. You have to sit down and wait. This is not even the "Slom Rule" (no switching between calendars- the clicking predisposes the judge to carpal tunnel syndrome.) This is a complete refusal to recognize that most attorneys in county court have several clients on several calendars before all the judges and IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to sit in Judge Hague's courtroom and wait until he calls each case in turn and make a living by handling the other obligations in other courtrooms. Something has to give because this type of inconsiderate conduct by the Judge turns heads.


Ok Soldiers, the Colonel is out, fall out. As you were.



RUMPOLE ON TWITTER:

@JusticeBuilding.....

A few thousands Egyptians brought down a regime with Twitter so lets see what one slightly dyspeptic and disgruntled blogger can do with the local Court administrators.


Our Twitters promise to be exciting and chock full of exclusive content that you will get nowhere else, including: our Twitter Diet Tip of the Day ( (c) Rumpole 2011); our Twitter Stock Picks ( (c) Rumpole 2011) among others.


Someone told us there is some way we can Twitter our posts so that, upon signing up you will be immediately alerted when our posts go up (usually between 5-6 am). There will also soon be some button you can click on to automatically follow us.


Twitter: It does a blogger good.


Coming soon- Rumpole deposes Castro with a keyboard, a Twitter account, a piece of string and two cups and a half a roll of scotch tape (and some scotch). Just watch. Also Judge Brown suffers a nervous breakdown, but that's for another day.


Wednesday, February 23, 2011

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SAM SLOM'S WORLD

Kudos to Judges Slom and Soto for responding to the complaints re: the infamous lot 26.

Dear Friends:

Judge Soto and I understand your frustration and we will chat with Chief Judge Joel Brown and our Trial Court Administrator as to what avenues can be pursued to address the parking issue. (Rumpole can't help it- "avenues", parking problems, gridlock. Pretty cute phrase.)

We have improved timely entry into the building for both attorneys and the general public. At 6:15 this morning I sent the e-mail below to our building manager to remind her about the importance of gaining timely entry into REG on a Tuesday following a holiday that falls on Monday.

In fact, at a meeting today, Judge Soto, Judge Brown and I briefly discussed the gridlock issue around NW 12 Avenue.

We will keep you apprised of our discussions and will likely include you in our efforts when we determine which course of action should be pursued.

Thanks,

Sam Slom


Ditto. We will address the issue asap!! Thank you for your patience!


Judge Soto


THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SAM SLOM:


Dear Sabrina, David and Rick:

As you know, each year, the escalators at REG are taken out of service for a period of time (normally 90 days for the service to be completed) for their annual maintenance.

We have requested that the building manager schedule the service during the summer so that it coincides with three judicial educational conferences because the population entering REG is lower during that period. As a consequence, it is hoped that the inconvenience experienced by lawyers will be somewhat minimized because fewer lawyers are noticed to appear during this period.

We have asked that the annual service maintenance begin approximately May 20th and continue thereon for the necessary period. We have also asked that the heaviest used escalators (the lower floors) not have their maintenance performed on our busiest days (the beginning of the week). Contractually, maintenance must be performed annually and there are limitations on when it can be done and the time frame in which it must be completed. Please be assured that we have discussed this issue at length in an attempt to arrive at the best solution.

While we are attempting to minimize the inconvenience escalator servicing has on our REG population, please do keep in mind that the County is ultimately responsible for and in charge of building maintenance. Additionally, due to the age of the building and the machinery therein, occasionally an unanticipated maintenance obstacle rears its head and could affect the timetable we have requested.

Judge Soto and I are mindful of your concerns and we both endeavor to make life at REG as pleasant as possible.

Thank you.

Sam Slom


So there you have it dear readers. Parking problems; escalator issues.


All in the day of the life of the chief judge of county court.


And all in the day in the life of a humble REGJB lawyer, striving for justice, and a few extra bucks to buy that nice bottle of GSM wine to drink this weekend.


See you in court.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

PARKING MAYHEM!!!!

UPDATES: DOM broke the news yesterday that the Washington whispers are that Judge Bob Scola is being vetted to replace Judge Huck. Scola, along with Judge Bagley and Fed Magistrate O'Sullivan were the three finalists. DOM also lost a tough one in Tampa on Tuesday. If you try cases (and your name is not Gerry Spence) you will lose cases. Pure and simple. But if you know David, you know he will never give up, he will never surrender, he will continue to fight for his client. There isn't any other lawyer we would want if we needed one.

In War-resolution. In Defeat-definace. In Victory-Magnaminity.
Churchill.

As many of you are aware, the parking nightmare that we predicted (
see, Thin Edge of A Large Wedge from January 18 of this year, when we also predicted the fall of the governments of Egypt and Libya.) has come home to roost. This Tuesday after a Monday holiday (always a super busy day) saw police officers from multi-jurisdictions take almost all the spots in Lot 26 that attorneys are paying a monthly fee for. Havoc ensued.

Here are some of the emails that went out today. We removed the authors of the emails because recent events world wide show that state security forces have a habit of dealing rather roughly with those that complain about them. Nobody wants to see our colleagues get a rash of tickets for "tires with thin tread" or "illegal tinting" or the other host of revenge related tickets that upset officers are wont to issue.

Judge Slom and Judge Soto,

I had court today at 9:30 so, I got a new look at the problems. Normally, I get to court before the crowds.

Boy, you should have see the mess outside the courthouse today. Total gridlock in all directions. Defendants are so freaked out about being late for court so they gridlock intersections. I wish the MPD or MDPD Court Liaison could put a cop or CSA in the middle of those intersections the first morning of every week from 8: 30 am – 10:00 am. It would really make a difference. Maybe you two can suggest it.

Now that the cops are “sharing” lot 26 (where we pay $80.00 a month to park) there are no spaces for us anymore. That means that we too are now late for court.

Cops block sidewalks, grass areas, intersections and even fire hydrants. It’s shameful to see a cop park a marked unit directly in front of a fire hydrant.

There has to be a better way to handle this.

When the people get to the door, they have to wait for a long time to get in. That is why I tell my clients that they must be in the courthouse at least one hour before court is called to order.I wish we had more people intensive calendars on Thursday and Friday.This is just my thoughts. I represents no one but, myself.

.....


Dear Judge Slom and Judge Soto:

I, as well as others, have been relocated to Lot 18, the main lot on the south side of the courthouse. I was told that this is to make room for the county vehicles that are now using Lot 26. While I’ve been able to find a parking spot each day, getting in and out has been a problem. May I suggest that the entrance on the south side of the lot be kept open full time. Since monthly parking permit holders as well as daily parkers utilize pre-paid tickets now, the gate is automatic and an attendant is no longer necessary to take fees.


....


Dear Esteemed Judges and Colleagues,

I have attached a photograph taken this morning at the height of the craziness. The situation is dangerous. It is a situation that will escalate until a just resolution is reached. The Miami Parking Authority is an independent organization, that apparently is in denial as to the unsafe environment they have created. It was my understanding that the Miami-Dade PD was to be allowed access to the lot on a temporary basis. However, today it was a mad house with police vehicles from multiple departments and unmarked units as well.

While it is not the usual purview of the court to get involved in these matters, perhaps in this situation it would be prudent to have a meeting to discuss this situation.


......



That’s my car illegally parked behind the police car but, hell, I was not blocking anyone. I also watched a cop get in an argument with a defense lawyer. Not pretty.


Rumpole says: not for nothing, but we're a bunch of lawyers. We contracted for a service, paid a fee, and the vendor has reneged on providing that service. Hmm...what to do...what to do...??? Can anyone say L...A...W...S...U...I...T????


First they do away with collective bargaining in Wisconsin, and now they take away our parking. Where will it all end???

AN INVITATION FROM JUDGE COOKE

An invitation from Judge Marcia Cooke arrived in our email inbox the other day. When emails arrive from federal judges we immediately start checking our bank balance to see if sufficient funds are available to hire Mr. Markus for defense. But not to worry, this email contained an invitation for a wonderful event.

EYE ON THE PRIZE: THE LEGAL JOURNEY OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN FLORIDA.

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 23, 2011, 4:00-6:00 PM AT THE WILKIE FERGUSON COURTHOUSE, 5TH FLOOR JURY ROOM.

We think its worth a trip just to check out the jury room.

The SCRIBD thing-a-ma-jig- below has the formal invitation.

Professor Chucky Ogletree from Harvahrd (motto: "don't bother applying, we won't let you in.") will be the moderator.




FDLABlackHistoryfinal 2 23_Invite

Monday, February 21, 2011

Friday, February 18, 2011

DOM DOES IT AGAIN

SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: FLIP-FLOP-A-DOLPOLIS: First actually voted for the funding before he voted against it. Sound familiar? No, it's not some erstwhile Massachusetts Senator running for president, it's Florida's own President of the State Senate who is running for Senator in 2012. In 2009 Mike Haridopolos (R-wishy-washy) voted to accept 2.4 billion dollars in federal funds to support a high speed rail train in Florida. Now- with Governor Rick Scott against the dollars- a Scott and a Florida Tea Party outlet pressured Haridopolos to reverse his support for the rail network, as per the Herald this morning.

And guess what? Haridopolos wants to go to Washington as our Senator much more than he wants to put Floridians to work, help reduce traffic and move Florida into the 20th century to join Japan and France, who have had high speed railroads since the 1980s.

No word on whether Flipodopolos will be supporting the use of horse and buggies for Floridians as gas prices approach $4.00 a gallon. Just as long as we can afford to fly him to DC.


Longtime and careful perusers of these electronic pages know that Rumpole's Fourth Rule of Trials ( (c)2011 Rumpole, all rights reserved) is
4)AVOID FRIDAY VERDICTS AT ALL COSTS!!!

Longtime and careful readers of the blog will remember that the last time our hero went to Tampa to defend Buju Banton, David Markus endured a tense Friday only to have deliberations halted for the weekend and resume on Monday, wherein the jury eventually announced they were hung.

Well David has done it again. He closed Thursday, endured an entire day of deliberations on Friday, only to have the jury call it quits for the weekend. This being a three day weekend, we think-but we're not sure- that jury deliberations will not resume until Tuesday.

Clearly, whatever David is doing is working, and we wish him the best. Having avoided the dreaded Friday verdict, it can only get better from here. We hope.


THE EMAS INVESTITURE.

Getting past all the "don't forget to turn out the lights"* comments to David Rothman, the investiture of Judge Kevin Emas at the 3rd DCA was a great one, as our Captain reports:

The Captain Reports:

Emas Investiture ......

The first three loaded the bases. Thornton. Rothman. And Moreno, were all spectacular. Then, of course, Emas knocked it out of the ball park. Funny, witty, compassionate, respectful, and honorable all rolled into one great speech.

Truly a memorable and amazing event for those that were present. Great to see the circle completed with Goderich swearing Emas in.

Cap Out ....

*Moreno, Rothman and Thornton were all in practice together at one time.

PROSECUTION MOVES TO RECUSE JUDGE ROSA RODRIGUEZ
The trial of Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence Jones is set for Tuesday. The Dade SAO's public corruption unit (Motto: "eventually we nolle prosse everything") has moved Judge Rosa Rodriguez to remove herself from the case over the charges that were filed against her (and dropped) over the funding of here election campaign in 1998.


THREE DAY WEEKEND! GET OUT AND ENJOY IT AND WE'LL SEE YOU TUESDAY or at the Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

MOVE ON

NORTH OF THE BORDER UPDATE: Courtesy of the JAA Broward Blog, your new Chief Judge Head Honcho for Browierd is none other than an old Brooklyn Boy -
Peter Weinstein!!! We had the pleasure of trying a case before Judge Weinstein a while ago, and a nicer and fairer judge you will not meet. He is well aware of the well earned reputation of his bench, and we have faith he will do something about it.

BUJU UPATE: DOM has the jury out in Tampa and they start deliberations today after closings yesterday. David cares about all his clients but something tells us he has really bonded with Buju. We wish him well and will be monitoring deliberations with our Tampa blog stringer.

JUDGE EMAS: INVESTITURE TODAY AT 3RD DCA. We always love a "REGJB Boy makes good" story. Brings a tear to our eye.



Time to move on. The only posts that have stayed up longer have been those remembering when someone we knew died. And thank goodness no one has died.

Nice to see the late Rob Pinero is up for an FACDL award. Kudos to whomever nominated him. Where do we vote?

The FACDL listserv was abuzz with a Rule 29 (JOA for us State court practitioners) that David Joffe obtained for his client facing a minimum life sentence (double 851 enhancement) in a big drug case. Biggest surprise seemed to be that none other than Judge Michael Moore issued the blistering rebuke to the government's case. Well done Mr. Joffe.

What's the deal with Twitter? We know it brought down a 35 year repressive regime in Egypt, but is it worth us spending our time on? Like most electronic communication inventions we just figured it was a new way to deliver porn or cheat on your spouse, but apparently we were mistaken.

You should check out DOM's blog this week.
As DOM fights for BuJu in Tampa, Jeff Marcus is doing a bang up job with the posts. He was fast out of the gate with like 11 new posts a day, but we reminded him the race goes to the slow and steady and he has toned it down a bit. But it's enjoyable reading.
No word out of Tampa yet, but we will keep an ear posted for a tidbit.
Those re-trials in Federal Court are real headaches.

That's it for now and we leave you with this thought: We are a nation in love with second chances. Let he who has not royally screwed up the first day on the job cast the first stone. There is no reason not to expect that with his honesty, integrity, dedication and intelligence, that Judge Hirsch will not end up being an outstanding jurist. (wow, that sentence is a triple negative but we think it works, right?)

See You In Court.




Monday, February 14, 2011

HIRSCH PRACTICE ORDER

UPDATE: The comments on this issue are fascinating as lawyers from around the state weigh in on the sesquipedalian Judge on the third floor. However, one comment really stands out and we readily admit we missed this angle:

Anonymous said...

Memo to Judge Hirsch - thanks for insulting all of the wonderful, intelligent, hard-working law clerks in your Memorandum. Despite what you think law clerks are often times just as bright and knowledgeable on the law as a lot of our Judges. Maybe not you - oh Judge of great wisdom and intellect
- but for sure a lot of these 10 year lawyer Judges out there.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011 8:38:00 PM


Here we go. The much discussed, (in)famous Judge Hirsch Practice order.


A few thoughts:

The order is dated January 4, 2011, the first working day of his term.
One could say it shows that he started his term prepared. Others could say that he issued an edict without even seeing how the courtroom was running, considering he had to spend the first week at Judges camp in Tampa.

The order starts off a little demeaning with "Attorneys may not calendar motions."
Nothing like a good negative shot across the bow to get off on the wring foot.

And then we get to the now infamous "Nothing" clause which we repeat in its epically pompous entirety:

"There is nothing- absolutely nothing- so unprofessional as handing a judge a reported opinion in support of a motion. A lawyer who attempts to hand a judge a reported opinion in lieu of a memorandum of law is saying to the judge in unmistakeable terms: 'Neither my reputation nor the outcome of this case matters enough to me to prompt me to litigate in a lawyerly fashion. And I have so little respect for you Judge, that I'm treating you as my law clerk. Here, take these cases and read them, and figure our how, if at all, they apply to my motion."

(Having typed that clause from the order, pardon us a moment while we go take a shower.)

OK, we're back. Where to begin? Where to begin? Well, since we now have the absolute limits of disrespect for his court (handing a case to him to read without a memorandum of law) we guess showing up in shorts and t-shirt with a beer and a Marlins cap to argue a motion is not as disrespectful to his court as having the audacity of handing him a case. So now you know just how far you can go.

Hirsch: Counsel, look how you're dressed!
Lawyer: But yeah dude, but I gave you a memorandum of law like and dude I don't have no cases to be handing you.
This scenario is apparently not as bad and less disrespectful then after prepping for a motion and discovering a new case, copying the case and handing it to the Judge as the latest case law on point sans new memo.

But lets really get to the problems. First- what if you write a detailed memorandum of law and find a new case? Do you need a supplemental memorandum of law? No one knows. There is no precedent. Second- what will the Judge do if you hand him the perfect case on point? Not read it and make a wrong decision? Fine you? Storm off the bench morally insulted beyond the bounds of human endurance? No one knows.

But the real problem is the inherent misconception that attorneys (read PDs and Regional Counsel attorneys) who have case loads of 80-200 are going out of their way to insult him when they plow through their cases, find issues of law, and file motions that aren't appropriately supported by memorandum of law. Furthermore, consider the PD, having worked on Sunday to go through the upcoming trials a few weeks away, and having prepared a dozen or so motions, then finds himself or herself in trial during their trial week. With the pending motion set for Friday (as the order mandates) the PD struggles home at 8pm, tries to deal with family, prepares a closing argument for the next day, and oh yeah- does some last minute research for the motion and lo and behold finds a new case! Uhho. Now what do they do? Stay up another hour banging out a memo of law or lord forbid, just give the judge the case? Talk about your dilemmas.

And finally, surprisingly, here is the tactical maneuver that the order fails to comprehend. For a Judge who comes to the bench as an attorney who had a lot of experience trying cases and arguing motions, just how detailed do you think the best lawyers want to be when they prepare a motion? Because in this day and age, preparing a detailed motion is akin to giving the prosecution a roadmap and saying: "hey-your stupid cop went into the house and looked around before getting the warrant so I'm going to spell it out and brief it because that's what the Judge wants so make sure you pre-try your cop and he throws in one of the 4th amendment exceptions that allow him to do that, although he failed to mention any reason why he went in the house during the deposition."

The whole thing is overblown. Maybe attorneys should brief the case law in their motions. Granted in many cases this is the proper and professional way to prepare a case and certainly the Judge had the well earned reputation as a professional and thoroughly prepared advocate. And maybe the Judge might spread the word that this is the procedure he prefers. But when the Judge paints with a brush so broad that he labels the actions of every attorney who has the unmitigated gall to hand him a three page case without a memorandum of law as the absolute unbearable insult to the dignity of court (and he presumably wrote the order before he was a Judge) well, that is just too much for us to bear. And quite frankly surprising for a Judge who has stood in our shoes (defense attorneys) and is well aware of the problems of maintaining a large practice or being a PD.

To quote that legal scholar Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates) in Stripes:
"LIGHTEN UP FRANCIS!"

If the court is not too busy reading memorandums of law, we invite a reply which we guarantee on our oath as an anonymous blogger will be published unedited and WITHOUT commentary.