BREAKING: Judicial rotations:
Here is what has been released- first, the resignation of Brennan has thrown the judiciary a curve ball. For the moment, Judge Sayfie who has been covering the division will stay in there, although reports of Judge Mindy Glazer being on the bench with Sayfie have been filtering in.
Judge Fine from dependency replaces judge Bloch, who exits stage left into the ether. Presumably Bloch will apply for Brennan's seat, and you know what? His name should be sent to the governor. He didn't win, and he didn't run the best race and the lawsuits were a colossal error, but the electorate got the vote wrong because he is more qualified by a mile than his successor. Which is the same thing we could say about Presidents 44 and 45, but that's for another day.
Judge Hanzman from civil switches with Judge Ruiz. Be nice to Judge Hanzman. He's wicked smart and was a legendary litigator and he will pick up criminal very quickly.
Judge Trawick to family, but no one in family has drawn a short straw to come to the REGJB, so the timing of this is still not set.
Judge Vicki Brennan, whose career has spanned being an Assistant State Attorney, Counsel to Governor Jeb Bush, and Circuit Court Judge, has resigned.
We have this confirmed from two separate sources.
Brennan suffered through a minor scandal this summer involving her actions in a personal matter in the Keys.
There are second acts in America, and Judge Brennan will certainly find her footing and re-emerge, as either the superb lawyer she once was, or in some other form of public service.
We are all human and we all make mistakes, and none of those things detract from our fundamental worth and value to ourselves, our family, and our community. Sometimes Judges and prosecutors lose sight of this. Only age and experience can allow someone to view an individual's actions through the lens of time.
We thank Judge Brennan for her service and we wish her well, fully knowing she has many more years of success before her.
It seems a bit silly in light of this post, but here are the survivor picks:
Lew and Lurvey go with the Vikes over Jax, while RFFJ picks the Falcons to beat the Rams.
For the first time this year, we can say that we may have a winner in the survivor pool! Good luck all.
See You In Court.
Good health. The most important thing!
ReplyDeleteHyman Roth: What we will do in the next two months will make history. Not even your father would have imagined it.
ReplyDeleteMichael Corleone: Then Frank Pantangeli is a dead man.
Hyman Roth: He's small potatoes.
What a bunch of JAMOKES! The Vikings??? I almost picked the Jags, who will win by the way, just to rub it in.
ReplyDeleteBut I like the Falcons.
And then I will be champion. A true people's champion.
Not like those fancy pants frick and frack who sip espresso in linen pants and loafers without sicks with their pinky's raised and chat in their upper crust nasal twang about the poor people who will suffer under Trump.
I'm a man's man. I drink Java and eat a donut and pick winners in football. Not like that former judge and his fufu friend and their members only fan club.
Brennan was a miserable little girl who never should have been a judge. AN awful judge who treated lawyers very badly and was a prosecutor wearing black robes. She will starve in private practice as she has no legal ability to offer. Let her go to the Keys and beat up some more teenagers. Good riddance to bad rubbish.
ReplyDeleteFor some strange reason, Rumpole likes Brennan. All I ever saw was a rude and nasty judge who was super state oriented. Whoever replaces her will be 100% better than what we had.
ReplyDeleteThe gracious tone of this post is curious. Yes, I don't believe in kicking someone while they're down. On the other hand, if a mere non-robed mortal like us had done what she did, we would have been arrested on the scene and then slapped with witness tampering charges after paying the victim off to ensure nonprosecution. Losing your seat sucks but it's better than a felony charge.
ReplyDeleteBrennan was as bad, ill tempered. unqualified person to wear the robes as any I have ever been before. Although she was not as stupid as Rosemary Jones, McKenzie,Greenbaum or many others she was still a prosecutor and not a neutral judge as all who appear before her deserve. The quality of the bench will be much better with her off.
ReplyDeleteA comment from the prior post stated that she resigned in lieu of removal. Since she was never arrested of anything, why was she facing removal?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid the the trial master is completely correct. The interesting question is why did Rumpole either adopt her or develop such complete blindness about her? Not even Lurvey holds her in such high regard.
ReplyDeleteTrump will name her co-attorney general, along with the other one from Tampa.
ReplyDeleteGB
I agree that we shouldn't kick someone when down but, Brennan kicked everyone who was down and really enjoyed being a bully.
ReplyDeleteWe are all better off without her wearing a robe.
Maybe I should be a judge. I judge people and judges for that matter on what I observe. I observed over the years a good judge who worked hard, was knowledgeable and read motions and case law and did her best to rule.
ReplyDeleteI did hear others say she was rude and had problems with her demeanor. There isn't much excuse for a judge being rude. It's part of their job to be impartial. I guess I am more impressed these days with a judge who is smart and knows the law then on whether they growl at me, since I really don't pay much attention to their scowling.
There are judges in the REGJB who are rude AND Ignorant. Who were total failures as lawyers and now are insufferable pompous jerks, and they know who they are.
I didn't find Brennan to be that way. But I do admit her widespread reputation was one of being rude and in that regard, maybe a change of scenery is just what she needs. I do wish her well and I'm not going to change that.
You never really know what a person will be like as a judge until they put on the robe. It brings out the best in some, and the worst in others.
ReplyDeleteAnd no Rumpole you should not be a Judge as you obviously would overlook the behavior of judges like Victoria Brennan even more as her colleague. It's time for you to resign and join Victoria Brennan. Give up the Blog to someone who at the very least has a clue about what goes on in REG!
ReplyDelete"Minor" scandal? Really? Commits a crime, bribes the victim, covers it up, puts chief judge in a bind and you call that a minor scandal? And all of that comes from a judge who said things like once a criminal, always a criminal.
ReplyDeleteRump,
ReplyDeleteYoull be in the severe minority on this one. Brennan was a disaster on the bench. Very rude and basically a prosecutor in a robe. And I worked with her at the SAO where I liked her. I gave her every chance in the world and was one of her defenders in the beginning, but no more after a couple years. I realized EVERYONE else was right.
Im not that sensitive that I need a judge to be nice to me. But just be fair and rational. She wasnt either.
Just got an email from Kevin Hellman at the PDO wanting money to.... (wait for it)... pay APDs enough to keep working at the office.
ReplyDeleteWait a minute, let's get this straight. Donations to pay PDs enough that they don't run fleeing from the office the first chance they get, in order to have enough income to live middle class lifestyles in Miami and perhaps service their enormous student loans?
Isn't that what the state of Florida is supposed to provide? And isn't that perhaps the biggest part of Carlos Martinez's job, to lobby Tallahassee in order to provide APD salaries that are commensurate with their education, workload, and service to the community?
"Well Tallahassee doesnt want to pay it."
No shit, that's why the job of the PD in Florida's biggest city (and one of America's biggest cities) is to lobby, politic, strong-arm, negotiate, make allies and throw weight around.
I suppose the same can be said of KFR.
Does the governor and state legislature want tourists to come to South Florida? Do they want tourists to know that, heaven forbid, they are robbed, a well-paid prosecutor with experience and training will seek justice? Or, heaven forbid the tourist is arrested for RWOV on Ocean Drive, a well-paid PD with experience and training will defend their rights?
I agree with Kevin, who is an awesome lawyer and great person, that APDs are embarrassingly underpaid. But does anyone believe the appropriate solution is to solicit donations rather than correct the underlying problem?
If Carlos Martinez cannot either successfully lobby for middle class salaries and/or eliminate waste from his office, he should respectfully not seek reelection. Carlos, too, is a great guy. But Im a great guy and I don't collect $154k from taxpayers because I do not have the know-how or connections to lobby Tallahassee. Why don't we elect someone who does?
9:14, I am shocked, simply shocked, that ASAs , and especially APDs, are not paid what they deserve, what they are worth. Simply Shocked
ReplyDeleteSo what,most APD's who handle 2nd degree murders and other life felonies only make $60,000 a year. How much would an attorney in private practice make with that caseload?
ReplyDeleteGood riddance to Cruella Deville. Hope other condecending, rude, mean-spirited judges like Milton Hirsch follow in her wake.
ReplyDeleteI have known Victoria Brennan since she was a young ASA in Miami. I have never liked her.
ReplyDeleteWhen she was a domestic violence judge she hammered everyone and loved to make PD's look like jerks.
In circuit court, she was about the most offensive and horrible state prosecutor with a robe. Good by.
The tourist on SoBe is not sticking with the PD, they are hiring me. And therein lies the problem.
ReplyDeleteNobody gives a shit who is working at the PDs office until they get into trouble and can't afford an attorney. Sadly, those people are the most under represented in our society and have no voice....except perhaps the Congresswoman from Miramar who is too busy picking out colorful hats to give a crap about the Florida legislature.
What sucks, is that prosecutors are underpaid so that the fucking being given to the PDs doesn't look too unfair. Absent the PDs, you would see ASAs making starting salaries close to 6 figures because the legislature would be happy to pay to fight crime.
Rufus, I don't know that APDs should make what private practitioners make. Privates accept all the risk and so should be compensated differently than a government employee.
ReplyDeleteBut APDs and ASAs in America's 7th biggest city (with an above average COL), should earn what they do in similarly sized and priced cities. Do they?
Have we simply given up on the idea of a career PD or prosecutor, who can raise a couple of kids and live in a 3 bedroom house in Miami? Maybe so, but that sucks.
The point of my original post was that we should not let Florida off the hook for that reality, and simply solicit donations to ease the pain. Nor should we accept a head PD or SA who does not make this the number one goal of his or her administration.
This civil litigator never dealt with Brennan. But when my criminal defense attorney told me the judge presiding over my hogwash DV case was a Nazi, I believed him. I suppose there's some irony in here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI am very sorry to hear that PD's salary is low and not up to par. I was hired by Phil and later stayed when Bennett became the PD. Phil and Bennett always went to bat in Tallahassee and secured top dollar for their assistants. We always were paid more then the SAO's. But its a different era and of course there are a lot more mouths to feed then when I was there.
ReplyDeleteRump! She wasn't ignorant but she wasn't fair. She was rude, crazy and to quote McMurphy " she liked to rig games."
ReplyDeleteAs a staff member with over 25 years experience, Victoria Brennan was the absolute worst judge I've ever had the misfortune to serve with. Arrogant, opinionated and with an undeserved sense of superiority. My only terror is that she will come back as a senior judge.
ReplyDeleteMost PD's & ASA's (many exceptions) I know aren't worth what they are being paid. Unless you are an idealist and wish to serve the public, then I commend them. But seriously, after spending so much time in school, are those positions the ones you aspire to? Or is it I'll take whatever I can take so I can eat? Not judging, been there.
ReplyDeleteOne of these 6 will be your next Third DCA Judge, replacing Frank Shepard:
ReplyDeleteJohn Greco
Judge Norma Lindsey
Judge Robert Luck
Fleur Lobree
Judge Bronwyn Miller
Oren Rosenthal
Who cares what PD's and Asa's make, I make nothing, but this blog is about Brennan not about my pay scale. I also worked at Taco Bell when I was 16 but I survived on the minimum wage then too. I just want Rumpole to explain to all of us why he defends her so arduously. Is he on retainer? Brennan is and will always be evil singularly personified and I am a prosecutor who had the misfortune of being in her courtoom for more than three months. I loathed her more than most of the defense attorneys that appeared before her so I understand what every defendant and their counsel feel about her. I felt dirty being a prosecutor in her courtoom. She acted like she was one of us from the bench. Fortunately, for every person charged with a crime in her courtroom, she is gone. Now she will have to work for a living without having the ability to destroy lives.
ReplyDeleteSchadenfreude.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your gracious comments Rump. I mind it incredibly sad how many people in our community take such pleasure in the suffering of others. Especially since we typically don't know the back stories that create the people/situations we encounter.
Vicky wasn't perfect (who among us is?), but was good. I, for one, appreciate judges who hold lawyers to the task. I'm tired of judges letting lawyers do whatever they hell they want. It's not good for the system, cases, or clients. Vicky cared enough to try and make a difference and always has. She has my respect.
BTDT
PS---I can't imagine that anyone who knows Vicky's back store doesn't respect everything she's accomplished and the person she is.
Vicky Brennan was a very smart, loving, caring judge. Every person that went in front of her, knew that they were getting a fair judge. Im a ex correction officer, and many inmates would say that they didn't like her, but they knew when they went in front of her, she would rule fairly. people in this blog, are just lazy, unintelligent people. that didn't want to do there homework when they went in front of her, so she made sure they knew, by putting them in their place! she knew the law very well. goodnight
ReplyDeleteBrilliant jurist. Ha ha. Peace out B
ReplyDeleteTo the Dec 14 comment that you're an ex corrections officer, and "many inmates would say that they didn't like her, but they knew when they went in front of her, she would rule fairly", that is hands down, one of the funniest things I have ever heard. You should be ashamed of even posting that ... She was one of the very worst, period ...
ReplyDeleteCarlos doesn't understand the importance of lobbying. Never has. That office is doomed unless someone more qualified takes over. Bennett was no lobbyist but he respected his trial attorneys, Carlos neither lobbies nor respects trial attorneys.
ReplyDeleteVictoria R Brennan rejoin the SAO? 78k
ReplyDelete