JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

TODAY IS ELECTION DAY

WE VOTED!
We walked into our polling place and three elderly women addressed us in Spanish. We replied in English, causing the woman who we approached to frown. She carefully checked our voter card and DL and then our name (Horace Rumpole) against her list and handed us a Republican slip.

HR: Wrong slip. I'm a democract.
Poll: Worker: No eess blank on my page so I give you wah I wan.
HR: Look on my voter card. It says Democrat.
Poll: Worker: No says on my list so I can gev you.
HR: Get your supervisor.
Much discussion in Spanish ensues, of which I can follow most including the supervisor telling the woman words to the effect of "I told you not to do this."
Supervisor: I'm sorry. It was a mistake.
HR: Has she done this before?
Supervisor: No.
HR: Then why did you just yell at her and tell her you told her not to do it again?
Supervisor: I didn't say that.
HR: Give me both your names so I can file a complaint.
More discussion in Spanish at which point I am given a form and told I have to fill it out there and return it to the Supervisor. I take the form, fold it and put it in my pocket.
Supervisor: You cannot do that.
HR: Call the police. In the meantime give me a democratic ballot before this gets worse for you.
I get the ballot, vote, and then to the mean stares of several elderly woman, scan my ballot and walk out.
Miami.

Something occurred to us: Why are Republican Governors enacting "voter fraud" laws which will effectively disenfranchise tens if not over a hundred thousand eligible voters from voting (mostly minority voters with less access to IDs) when the demonstrable election fraud for the last decade amounts to less than three hundred votes? Why not enforce the laws on the books? And yet, the same party which wants to enact dozens of laws to deal with a minuscule problem that is almost theoretical (one poll impersonation for every 15 million votes as per this Washington Post article) , shouts the party line that the laws on the books should be enforced when it comes to handguns. Today 8 more children will be shot by handguns. How many elections will be changed by voter fraud? Just a thought.

In no particular order, we like Judge Wolfson, Judge Don Cohn, Kathy Fernandez-Rundle, Robert Copel, Alex Jimenz-Labora, Mauricio Padilla, Michelle Alvarez, Judge Teretha Lundy-Thomas. Best of luck to all. 

Sex and the Single Girl: Helen Gurley Brown passed away yesterday. She certainly showed the world what Brown could do for you. 

Vote!

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, you said:
"We have arrived at a time in America where a person can criticize a black candidate for his views and actions and not be accused of being a racist."

If this is true, then persons like AM will have no other arrows in their quiver.

Anonymous said...

Good morning,It's nice of you to include some underdogs. However if you want to win an election you have to have more of a strategy and slogan than "just vote for "Me Me Me, #83 The Boy Scout Leader" I wasn't enthusiastic about voting for Santovenia, but I voted by default.

As far as voter fraud Rump, you seem to be very blind when it comes to voter fraud right here in Miami-Dade County, the very candidate you endorsed KFR, there was a great deal of voter fraud going on, 195 Absentee Ballots or more. It's the blind eye that is turned that is troubling.

Anonymous said...


"A good girl will go to heaven. A bad girl will go wherever she wants." RIP.

Fake Rep Heath Schuler said...

Come on Rump and everyone else. Just admit what all of Miami knows: from the clubs of south beach to the condos of Aventura, to the coffee shops on Calle Ocho, to the Farms of Homestead and Florida City: IT'S COOLER TO VOTE FOR POOLER!

Fake flava flav said...

Yo yo yo don't forget the homies from Liberty Citeee. Rockin from the bottom to the T O P. We be chillin an be cooler. All de boyz goin to vote for POOLER.

Anonymous said...

Padilla over Miller? You are insane. The kid was in diapers when Miller first became a Judge and has done nothing as a lawyer to earn a judgeship. Miller by a landslide.

Anonymous said...

Hernandez defeats Marino Pedraza in a major upset !!! Get ready!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Mauricio Padilla? The guy is awful. You may not like Miller but don't replace him with an incompetent and unethical guy who can't make an honest living.

Also, you failed to mention Cuesta. She has the trial experience and the professionalism to take the county court bench. Unlike her opponent.......

Rumpole said...

My problem with Miller is simple- he punishes people for going to trial. He wanted the nickname "Maximum Miller". To us, being a judge involves more than using a calculator to arrive at the highest possible sentence and then impose that sentence. That is not a Judge and anyone would be better than that.

Anonymous said...

Rumpole, why are you engaging AM? He is clearly some fresh graduate or law student who doesn't have any real basis for any opinion. His uninformed arrogance (and poor spelling and grammar skills) have been on display from day 1.

He is defending Rivera and supporting Rod for 1 reason. Rod is black. I would bet he has never met Rod or heard of Rivera until this all came up. I agree with you that Rod is a nice guy but he should not win this race.

He should not win for the very same reason that Manny Alvarez should have (and was) defeated in the race against Ed Newman. Not because Manny wouldn't have made an excellent judge. But because we cannot allow the thug mentality determine who takes the bench. Judges should do what they think is right without regard for who they will piss off. That's why we pay them the big bucks.

To allow people like those behind these types of campaigns to attempt to terrorize judges into doing what they want, the rule of law be damned, is just wrong.

Anonymous said...

I'm shocked that you have picked Padilla over Miller. Like him or not, Miller is a fair judge, who works his tail off and is always in a jovial mood. Plus, Padilla's reasons for running are steeped in bad-faith. Come on, man!!!! Padilla picked Miller’s race because Miller ruled against him – that’s ridiculous! It is obvious that Padilla is looking to get on the bench for two reasons: (i) revenge against Miller; and (ii) steady employment – the guy made $16k last year.
Make no mistake, if Padilla is elected, Miami-Dade county will suffer!

Anonymous said...

Outrageous. First, Miller has evolved tremendously. Second, Padilla is an unqualified putz who is running out of spite and because he can't make a living.

Rumpy, have you gone bollocks?

Rumpole said...

First let me say I have been lucky enough to never have Miller sentence a client of mine. But I saw things that were shocking, including being in his chambers and listening to him gloat about how tough a judge he was. It was a sickening spectacle. I am glad to hear Miller has "evolved". has he mitigated the sentences of any people rotting in prison, or are their lives just sacrificed to his education and evolution?

Anonymous said...

Hottie spot alert: met a client at Starbucks at Mary Brickell Village (5K cash!) What a bunch of hotties! Legal secretaries in tight skirts and sheer tops, milfy lawyers bleary eyed, all wanting coffee and looking start-the-day hot. Even a beavy of college cuties, several came sashying in wearing cutoff jeans shorts. A rich target enviroment.

Anonymous said...

I hope Teretha Thomas can pull out a wuin. She was great when she was at REGJB and Gables and I've heard she's done good on the civil side too.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

VOTE JUDGE MILLER .....

Could not disagree with you more Horace. Every Judge in the building has made mistakes and has learned from their errors.

The first time around for Judge Miller in criminal was a disaster; noone has qualms with that assessment. But judges make mistakes and judges learn from their mistakes.

The second time around, Judge Miller did a fine job and was frequently heard to be keeping the State's feet to the fire on their handling of their cases. Defendants got a fair shake in his courtroom and he did not stand for the BS from the State. He had much distrust for police officers and their testimony. There was an eye-opening experience that took place for him in one particular hearing where an officer was caught red-handed in an outright lie. It seemed from that moment forward, that every officer that appeared in front of him did so with a lot less credibility as a result of this one particular officer. He did not just take their word for it. He questioned their authority.

And on the civil side, nobody works harder and is brighter than he is. He is exactly what we want from our jurists. He is dedicated to his job, takes it very seriously, reads everything, understands the law, and applies it fairly. He expects you to be prepared when you come into his courtroom. He will show up at any hour of the day, or night, to accommodate the litigants and the attorneys. He is far superior to many of the judges we currently have.

Judge David Miller should be retained.

And what happened to your statement yesterday: "We have refrained from making any endorsements".

There are some good contests today:

CIRCUIT COURT:

Judge David Miller V. Padilla
Coppel V. Verde
Labora V. Santovenia
De Yurre V. Pooler

We like Miller and Coppel. We don't know enough about the other two races to make a call. We have heard good things about both Labora and Santovenia. As for De Yurre, he was a politician back in the 80's when he was on the Commission in Miami. We don't know a thing about him as an attorney. We have heard good things about Pooler.


COUNTY COURT:

Judge Marino Pedraza v. Hernandez
Judge Pando v. Gonzalez
Judge Lobree v. Barakat
Judge Wolfson v. Spiegel & Wallace
Cuesta v. Seskin
Brinkley v. Yabor
Judge Lundy Thomas v. Hernandez
Judge Cohn v. Cambo

We believe Judge Marino has done a job worth retention. Hernandez is not nearly ready. We are not happy about the way Judge Pando has handled herself on the bench with the pending JQC investigation into her latest mishaps. Gonzalez is qualified and deserves your vote.

Judge Lobree is qualified and has done a fine job and deserves a full term. Same for Judge Andrea Wolfson. No question that the most qualified lawyer running is Cuesta; she deserves your vote today. Brinkley and Yabor should be an interesting race. Both have good qualities. Most in this building don't know Yabor because he works on the civil side.

Judges Lundy Thomas and Cohn deserve your support. Both have done a fine job on the bench.

NORTH OF THE BORDER .....

There are three contested Circuit Court races and we are watching two of them with keen interest.

In one, our least favorite Judge Dale Ross is up against Herald endorsed Michael Rocque. And former Judge Julio Gonzalez is running again, against three opponents. He was voted the most qualified jurist on the bench when he was a judge; only to lose at the polls. Let's see if the people of Broward can get it right this time around.

Cap Out ....

Anonymous said...

Right on the money with Miller, Rumpole.

Cisco Kid

Anonymous said...

@9:40-- Your first paragraph nails it!

Rump- let us get back to more important issues-- condoms and hotties.

Anonymous said...

Been there. Tapiocaed that. Old news regarding the legal secs for sex at the MB star-b's. Word up.

Rumpole said...

Again. How many people are languishing in prison because this man had to learn? Do we just toss their lives away? So sorry- Judge was new and not very self confident. Hope you don't mind your life was sacrificed for his learning curve.
How do people that made such grivious errors that wrecked people's lives sleep at night?

Anonymous said...

Rump, what little credibility may have been left you was just obliterated by two words: Mauricio Padilla.

Look, Miller has a lot of personality, and not everyone likes him. But he gives a good trial, reads what's put in front of him, decides rationally, is reasonably congenial to the lawyers before him, and -- best of all -- he cuts through the crap when folks bring him crap. I'd be willing to bet a statistical analysis would show he sentences about like every other judge in the building: harshly in accord with the harsh laws of this state.

Padilla, on the other hand, is a guy with nothing to recommend him as judge who, as far as I can tell, ran to spite Miller after a decision went against him, hoping to pander to identity voters. That hasn't worked out all that well, as everyone from CABA presidents to Hialeah housewives is on to him.

Anonymous said...

Pando gets a bad rap because of the JQC issue. Yet, no one addresses the fact that the JQC issue was brought forth by insurance defense lawyers trying to get her recused from PIP cases, because she doesn’t cave in to the insurance companies, their lawyers and lobbyists. Pando is more qualified that Gonzalez any day and twice on Sunday. Indeed, it is those same insurance defense lawyers who are bank rolling Gonzalez’s campaign. Thus, we know Ms. Gonzalez will favor the insurance companies at the expense of the everyday Floridian. Gonzalez has engaged in nasty campaigning and defamatory advertising, because she can’t beat Pando on the issues, substance or experience.
Vote Pando!

Anonymous said...

Best election story in Dade this year is sitting with Supreme Court Justice Labarga as well as Former Justice Cantero at the CABA judicial luncheon and having candidate Alex Labora come to our table during desert to pass out his election cards (cheesy to say the least) and handing them all to Justice Labarga. It was painfully obvious he didn't know who he was or what Court he sat on.


CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Rump. The candidate you are supporting, Padilla, has been an attorney for all of nine years. You have railed against those running and those appointed to the bench when, n the past, someone with such little legal experience wants to wear the robe. Why not here?

Padilla was so successful in his legal practice that he took home 18k last year. Are you kidding me. And he runs against a standing Judge that has 33 years if experience handling civil and criminal cases. With a background of being an appellate attorney before attaining the bench.

You are upset about a few poor soles that are languishing in jail because Miller sent them away for far too long. Did you feel the same way about Ellen? She had the same rep, "pal".

And these sentences were handed out to defendants who had been found guilty. And their cases have been upheld on appeal. Were some of them "deserving" of more consideration for mitigation, and thereby less jail time. Sure. But they were guilty and knew the consequences of their actions, both the action of doing the crime, and of the action of turning down the plea and going to trial.

You practice law in this community and you are seriously suggesting that Padilla is more qualified to be on the bench then Miller. Would you like Padilla handling your next first degree murder death case nine years out of law school?

Cap Out ....


CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


And one more thing. If Padilla gets elected, this will be no different than what happened in Broward when Julio Gonzalez lost his seat. You railed against that in the past.

Padilla has spent $3,000 on the campaign while Miller has spent nearly $180,000. With everyone from Hialeah voting twice for Padilla, Miller does not stand a chance.

Cap Out ...

Anonymous said...

In other election news -

Predictions:

Run Off's for November are:

Mayor:
Gimenez / Martinez

Commissioner's

Gibson / Jordan

Hardemon / Austin

Barreiro / Garcia

McGillis / Moss

No Run Off:

Zapata - get's the 50 percent needed to win tonight.

Anonymous said...

American Minority, time to take your meds.

Signed,
Your Doctor.

Anonymous said...

This is getting ponderous, man.

Anonymous said...

I've been reading this blog since about 2007. Today after reading a comment by the owner of this blog it made me realize this guy is not a jackass and really cares about people. This is what Rumpole wrote, (BTW he is correct and Captain you are a putz!):

"First let me say I have been lucky enough to never have Miller sentence a client of mine. But I saw things that were shocking, including being in his chambers and listening to him gloat about how tough a judge he was. It was a sickening spectacle. I am glad to hear Miller has "evolved". has he mitigated the sentences of any people rotting in prison, or are their lives just sacrificed to his education and evolution?"

Anonymous said...

If all these voter ID laws are so horrible, why does 75% of the people support them?

After all, the country is not 75% Republican.

Anonymous said...

I voted my conscience. Hope my choices end up being the right ones. Sorry, Padilla, I don't trust you so I bubbled Miller in.

Anonymous said...

You know, it was true. It was cooler to vote for Pooler.

welcome back kotter fan said...


Horshack is dead. Long live Horshack; long live Kotter.

Rumpole said...

I never said Morphonios was a good judge. For the most part I think she wasn't. As I have said, being a human calculator is not being a Judge. My vote was against Miller. You so freely toss aside the lives of those people he crushed in a desperate attempt to make a name for himself. No person who puts himself, his name, and his reputation against the life of an individual that society has entrusted him to judge fairly deserves to wear robes. Period. I don't care what they do with his replacement. But Miller forfeited his right to be a judge by his conscious decision to hurt people to make a name for himself. End of discussion. What he did to some people was a crime. Just be happy it wasn't you or your client, because it easily could have been.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


to 1:39 pm.

Putz. Is that all you got. Come on, bring it on mister big penis. I'll have you know that my wife has called me a lot worse that a putz. And it's Mr. Putz to you.

And, on a serious note, I invite you to answer the same question I posed to Rumpole:

You practice law in this community and you are seriously suggesting that Padilla is more qualified to be on the bench then Miller. Would you like Padilla handling your next first degree murder death case nine years out of law school?


Cap Out ....

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


He did do it to my client. He sentenced my client on a VOP. Most judges would have restored the client to probation, or given them county time. He sent my client away to state prison.

I thought the sentence was harsh. But, my client did violate probation; he did know the consequences of violating his probation. The judge was within his right to dole out the sentence he gave my client. But it was harsher tenfold then most judges in the building would have given him.

But I judge the total body of work here, not my one case, or just a few cases of the many thousands of cases he has handled with his time on the bench.

This is one that you and I will just have to agree to disagree with. I hope the citizens of Dade County get it right and keep him on the bench.

Cap Out ....

Anonymous said...

Fuck anyone who thinks miller is a good judge he is not. He gave a woman 30 years for running thru a red light who was driving recklessly. She was not under the influance. Cap is OUT of his mind.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Cap but I also got to disagree with you. Miller was mean and spiteful when he was on the criminal bench. We have or had some judges that were not very good such as Espinosa-Dinnis and Sanchez-Llorens but both are nice people just not good judges. Miller is a bright guy but as mean as a rattle snake.

Anonymous said...

Cap
You are an establishment dweeb. And you are a shit attorney, apparently.

Peckins was the much better choice back in the day.

Miller is a tool. Cut from the peter adrian cloth.

Fake Joe Gersten said...

Alvarez over Lobree? Since when is mediocre eye candy better than smarts?

Anonymous said...

Rumpole: How quickly you forget. Mauricio Padilla = Peter Adrian. Same credentials and background. How did that work for you?

Anonymous said...

Yeah, so Miller sent some people to prison for longer than they deserved when he first started out. Hey, it happens. I'm sure those clients agree. Hell, he was just confused that his role was to make a name for himself. He's learned, and the civil lawyers love him, so how couldn't anyone want to pay him back for his past transgressions?

"Mistakes" by judges are things like demeanor and timliness. The fact that you may realize now that in the beginning you threw away some people for the benefit of your own reputation, is not a reason to let you remain on the bench.

Idiots.

Anonymous said...

Hey Rump, what's with the dig at the elderly Hispanic ladies at your polling place?

Listen, the poll workers are generally not the cream of the crop of any ethnic group. This morning at my precinct I had to actually look my own name up in the binder because the middle-aged, alphabetically challenged white guy looking up my information couldn't find my name on the list.

Not accusing you of being a bigot, just asking you to be a little more sensitive. Maybe the lady was not some fraudster but just a grandmother who was confused. Maybe my guy wasn't an idiot but just someone who got flustered by the pressure.

Don't file a complaint, the supervisor seems like she took care of it. There's no reason to make some old lady's life miserable when she was probably just trying to help out... just like David Miller.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


Putz and establishment dweeb, I can take. But shitty attorney too. That I will not stand for. You are banned from posting on my blog.

Boy it's tough being Captain Justice sometimes. Rump, you really have to have some thick skin to make it through days like this. How do you do it.

Hey M.F. How bout a little help here.

Cap Out .....




Anonymous said...

4:53,
I had to read your post 2x to realize the sarcasm.
Careful, people might really think you feel that sentencing clients unfairly is no big deal.

Portly Judge said...

I'm sad to admit that I need some help. Over the years that 34 has become a 44 and I've pudged up. Now my wife saysI have to do Nutrisystem.

Anyone ever do it? For men?
I like good food and don't want to be eating junk on a shingle.
Any feedback?

Anonymous said...

I voted in Hialeah, I voted early on August 5th, or should I say, "maybe". This is what happened to me. I go with my wife to vote, my wife gets her ballot, my name is not on the list. I have my voter registration card, I show it to them, they can't find me. I tell them I voted in the last election, they look at me as if saying "shame on you". They call the elections department, they can't find me. Finally, they decide to give me a provisional ballot (I feel like I'm playing golf), except that the ballot they give me is NPA, I tell them I am a registered Democrat, they tell me they cannot assume that I am a Democrat so I have to vote NPA, I show them my voter registration card that says Florida Democratic Party, they say they can't do anything because the provisional ballot number has been matched up already with an NPA ballot, I ask to speak to the elections department, they put me through to a lady who begins to explain that since I don't show up as a registered voter I can only vote as NPA. I tell her that is unacceptable, I would vote with a provisional ballot, but it would have to be a Democrat Ballot. After much discussion with someone on the other side of the line, she asks me to speak to the lady next to me. They speak for about a minute, and then finally the lady hands me a provisional Democratic Ballot. I vote and deposit by provisional ballot in a box that says absentee/provisional ballot. They give me a tracking number so I can follow the progress of my ballot, I checked this morning, and it's still pending review by the canvassing board. I called elections and asked them why it's still pending, they answered that they will not make a decision until after the polls close. We'll see!!!

Anonymous said...

I once had the unfortunate luck to eat with miller and I can tell you that he is a sack of shit. He doesn't care about people and he wanted to be known as maximum miller. He spoke about it openly. I hope thousands vote two and three times against him. I don't know who his opponent is but I will take my chances. Cap is dead wrong.

He won! said...

The race to watch!

Anonymous said...

5:05 may not accuse you of being a bigot, but I will. Between you and the cap, there is a tinge a xenophobia and bigotry on this blog on an alarmingly regular basis. If similar comments were made about the yids in our little dysfunctional community, you all would be up in arms . . .

Anonymous said...

Brown proudly sttod firm to her position that single women were free to sleep with married men -"It was a wife's responsibility to keep her husband faithful."

She was ahead of her time, for sure.

All my women friends who ignore their men and place their whole self worth on their children or themselves would be well served to heed Ms. Brown.

Anonymous said...

One time, I had several different brands, samples. Lifestyles, Durex, Sheik, and Trojan. To test each, I purposely, with my hands tried to tear a hole and break the condoms with my hands ... the most resistant and strongest definitely was the Trojan, it eventually gave and broke of course, but was obviously the strongest, allowing me to stretch it pretty far before it finally broke. The Lifestyles and others tore and broke almost immediately, some surprisingly and unsettlingly easy, some were better than others, but I've always used Trojans and no problems yet. So Trojan in my opinion is the best. Spermicide is always a good idea too.

Durex Love Condoms-- this is one of the most comfortable condoms I've ever worn. It fits my wee-wee like a smooth glove.

Signed,
Official Condom Inspector

Anonymous said...

@portly judge, forget about packaged food. Replace the rice and beans with some steamed vegetables and you will see a difference right away. taking the stairs once in a while wouldn't hurt either.