Two days, nineteen hours, six minutes and thirty-one seconds, by our clock. A mere bag-of-shells shutdown-wise John Boehner and the Republicans of the last decade shut down the government for two days in their sleep. They had real shutdowns. A few weeks of shutting it down. This was a big yawn...like a hurricane that misses us by a country mile.
Meanwhile, as our new Judges settle into the REGJB, and our president dodges porn-star tryst-tales, how's your New Years Resolutions going?
Are you robed readers still denying continuances and issuing max sentences in the hopes that the word will spread that you are the "New Morphonious" (for those of you born after 1990, Google it) and defendants will plead guilty out of fear. Because that's the mark of a good, tough judge, right? Scaring defendants into pleas.
Yeah.
Meanwhile, our Super-Bowl is set. The Cheaters again, against the Eagles. Guess who we are rooting for? And stay tuned for our, lock-solid, guaranteed pick of the coin flip. We've never missed yet.
From Occupied, and fully funded (for now), America, Fight The Power of President Stephen Miller.
When you see something that is not right, not fair, find a way to get in the way and cause trouble. Congressman John Lewis
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.
13 comments:
As I said in commenting on your previous threat: “Why must illegal immigrants take precedence over our country.” (Sunday @ 9:51)
A telling comment, as are some of the others. The comments signal the ingrained bias, prejudice and resentment harbored by many in our Country. Although it is said that ignorance is the root of prejudice, in my opinion it is more than ignorance. It is hatred, plain and simple. For some it is resentment; resentment of the accomplishment of individuals whose skin color, hair, or culture differs; resentment of the economic and political cloud of the “inferior” class; resentment of the achievements attained by the "inferior" class who the bigots see as unworthy. Every attainment by the "inferior" class cuts the being of the bigots like a surgeons scalpel. As a Cuban American whose father fled Cuba to the US in 59 and lived under an “immigration parol,” ironically while working for our Government, I know all to well what it is like to have “immigration” check up on you and your family. I know what it is like to fear the police officer who refers to you in derogatory terms, often with emphasis on “speak English!” I remember what it was like growing up in the 60's being referred to in pejorative terms. Terms and phrases I will never forget. I recall the days when there were few Hispanic Judges.(Thank God for Margarita Esquiroz and Mario Goderich). I recall Judges like Jack Turner, C.P. Lance, and McKenzie, who usually reeked of alcohol. I appreciate Donald Trump for his “revolution” which has encouraged or embolden those who have hypocritically concealed their bigotry, racism, prejudice and disdain for Hispanics to show their true colors. Sadly, some of those are serving our community even as Judges. Seeing Judges who have courted Hispanic votes when seeking election or re-election and then observing their sub silentio bias, prejudice and discrimination when they attain election is disappointing, but not as disappointing as watching some of “our own” who are complacent, remain silent and sit idle, and cow tow to the "superior" class just to be “accepted.” I recall wise words shared with me in my youth - “being invited into their home or invited to dinner does not mean they accept you, it just means they can use you; wait until you announce you are marrying into the family before you let down your guard.” With our attainments and success, I though it was safe to "come out;" to let down my guard, but the Donald Trump revolution and recent experiences have taught me it is still not safe, prejudice and bias are alive and embolden in our legal community. It is very telling when a Judge can express her disdain by saying we should send the Cubans back, stay on the Bench and be admired by her colleagues. If she harbors such disdain for Cubans, I have to wonder how she feels about African-Americans. I suspect she is simply more discreet about her bias. As a dear African-American friend once said while serving on a committee with me, we know what it is like to be targeted, harassed, maligned, and discriminated for being who we are. My suggestion to both Hispanics and African-Americans, we cannot allow anyone, regardless of credentials or associations, to show the slightest hint of bias or prejudice, no matter the context or degree, that Judge or public official must be removed from office, and we have some Judges coming up in 2020 that deserve to be removed from the Bench. In my opinion, this goes for some of our own who have not displayed the courage to remove some of these judges from division where they can ply their bias and prejudice with impunity. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." To that I would add that justice, fairness and impartiality cannot be compromised by silence or inaction. If you do not have the courage to challenge those whose bias and prejudice is evident or known, you do not disserve our continued support for you are part of the problem.
AMEN 9:13!!
I agree there is a new vigor of overt prejudice and bias in our Country and our legal community. In spite of the number of Black and Hispanic lawyers the Florida Bar lacks representation of minorities. Just look at the virtual absence of minorities in the Miami Office of the Bar and on grievance committees. The Bench lacks a fair number of Black Judges. Why? Because large law firms are mostly governed by white Anglo lawyers and these large firms influence who governs the Bar. Therein lyes the fallacy of equality and fairness in the legal community. Sit in some divisions of our court system and observe the bias favoring Anglos and large firm lawyers. One need go no further than some divisions in our own RGJB to see this bias on a smaller scale than the civil divisions. There are many jurists who only venture into Liberty City, Cutler Ridge, Hialeah or Little Havana at election time. This has to change. If you do not visit these neighborhoods when you are not seeking votes, then do not come when at election time. Neither the color of our skin nor our accent should influence the fairness of any proceeding, but it often does. Minorities oftentimes lose close calls; oftentimes because minority Lawyers are perceived as less credible, less astute or outright less intelligent than their Anglo counter-parts; other times because their client is a minority who for no legitimate reason is deemed less credible than the adverse party. Minorities go into our legal and judicial system with the scale tipped against them, albeit not overtly. The Jackie Robinson syndrome is alive and well in our legal and judicial system. This has to change!
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
NORTH OF THE BORDER .....
As reported this week by the DBR, 30 of Broward County's 90 judges are relatively new to the bench. Seventeen circuit judges and 13 in County Court have less than three years' experience. And beginning in 2019, at least nine new judges will be filling open seats.
And you thought it couldn't get any worse? Or maybe it's for the better.
Cap Out .....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
Its Lantz, not Lance. And speaking of Judges incompetent and reeking of alcohol, dont forget the always rude to everyone, including her bailiff, jurors and counsel of the Late great Rosemary Usher Jones. IF you entered the House of Usher who knows what awaits one. Lady Ellen was one of a kind. Very nice and pleasant off the bench. Everyone got probation for a first offense but if violated it was adios for the max.She loved the color purple. In fact her chambers were all purple. And in her youth she was a beauty queen with great legs.
Something needs to be done about Judge Blumestein. Sounding calendars last until 2 pm most days. It’s sooooooo slow. Please help!!
Why can't the solution for DACA be as simple as requiring the immigrant children to complete military or other government service for a few years and then offer them citizenship. That way they provide a benefit for the greater good. If you were brought here but were not involved in the decision to come here, have made your life here, have no relationship with your country of origin, then why not become obligated to earn citizenship through civil or military service. It's a limited group of persons that are documented.
Rumpole - You addressed the JA/electronic filing issue beautifully and got people talking. I kid you not, since that post, I have not had a problem accessing JAs nor getting matters placed on calendar. Not sure if it's coincidence, but part of me thinks that this Blog may have had an impact.
I ask you now to address - publicly - another issue. ASAs not returning defense attorney calls and emails. This has been going on long enough. It is not only unprofessional and rude, it holds up the process of resolving our cases. A 5 minute phone call or brief email could be all that is needed to sort out a discovery issue or solidify a plea. While Miami-Dade is better than most (forget Broward), it is still a big problem. I remember being an ASA and how swamped I was with calendar prep, sounding, and long days in Court. Nothing worse than walking back to the Graham Building at 8 pm after a verdict to find 10 messages on your voicemail or 15 unread emails. I know it's adding more work to the pile but communication is so important in our line of work. What can we do to get ASAs to be more responsive?
More bad news for DJ Esquire in today’s Herald. When will the Bar take its shot at him as well?
Too smart
Blumstein, Zilber, and Rodriguez-Fonts are laughably bad at their job. Truly just stupid. How do people like this become judges? They are completely clueless. Make them go!!!
Rump - here is further proof of the resurgency in overt racism and prejudice in our community. "Shocking moment a UPS clerk kicks a woman out of a store for only speaking Spanish while seeking a refund" Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5322049/Miami-UPS-clerk-kicks-woman-speaking-Spanish.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/kendall/article197014529.html
Believing incidents such as these are isolated is a mistake. A bigger mistake is to think such bias and prejudice is not harbored by many in the legal community, including many on the bench. The resentment of many who serve on the bench surfaces at election time. Many openly express disdain about the prospect of facing a Latino opponent or having to court the Hispanic voters, watching some of these judges visiting places like senior centers ("comedores") at election time is revealing; an academy award winning performance for many. Many have never visited, and will never again visit any of these places. Oh the hypocrisy. Once elected or re-elected, feeling safe for six years, they all revert to their true nature, ala Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Totally racist! She's been here 25 years and she prefers Spanish! We all should honor diversity and not want anyone to learn English. For those stupid gringos who don't learn English to accommodate others, good riddance and glad this guy got fired! Yay!
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