FACDL AWARDS BANQUET TONIGHT

FACDL BANQUET POST GAME 

We have never attended an FACDL Banquet and maybe that has been a mistake because the event we just watched was wonderful. There was a technical glitch at the beginning and at the end , but  in between there were inspiring speeches, funny videos, and hard working lawyers and yes..judges...who were honored Saturday Night. 

A few random thoughts:

We do not know Mr. Adam Saper from the PDs office, who won the young lawyers award, but he gave a great speech, acknowledging the shade of the tree leaves we all rest under- acorns  planted by giants like Rodney Thaxton and Gregg Wenzel. Well done Mr. Saper. 

Nothing better than Judge De La O's video of FACDL President Matt Meyer delivering the Kogie to the home of the Judge. As he accepts the award, his wife and his son are in the back ground holding up a sign that says "SAVE US".  Too funny. 

Both Chris DeCoste and Tara Kawass are cancer survivors and Ms. Kawass battled cancer as she and DeCoste battled the State in a notorious murder case in Tallahassee. The State joined their client with a co-defendant who they sought death on. So our two heroes obtained a hung jury verdict with the same death qualified jurors who convicted the co-defendant. An almost unheard of outcome. Amazing. Even we are impressed. 

And then there was the life time achievement award to past FACDL president Lenny Sands. We don't have enough space to tell you all the great things about Lenny Sands, so we will leave it at this- you will NEVER in your career meet another lawyer who is both a gentleman and as fine an advocate for his client as the good lord ever made. There is no other lawyer who we can think of who is more deserving of a life-time achievement award as Lenny Sands. 

We have asked the big-wigs at FACDL (who rightly view us with a wary eye) to send us the videos. If we get them we will post them. A lot of hard work went into them. The production value was good. The subjects all had fun with it and it made the 90 minutes fly by (so did our wine). 

All in all, we must eat some crow and say this award banquet -albeit via Zoom- was a well done and indeed special event. We are impressed and that says a lot considering how misanthropic we are and remain. 

The Kogie: Judge De La O

Founders Award: Leonard Sands (great choice BTW).

Rodney Thaxton Against All Odds Award: Tara Kawass and Chris Decoste

Gregg Wenzel Young Lawyers Award: Adam Saper 

Best Local Blogger Award: Rumpole

In other news: 

The US blew past 70,000 new infections a day and exceeded 80,000  (82,154 for a new record) on Friday and we are on our way to 100,000. The second wave is here and things are getting worse and no better time for your local state court judge to say "Hey, how about trying this case?"

Ohio has a record number of its citizens in hospitals, and the Wisconsin Supreme Court just blocked the Governor's emergency order restricting the number of people who can gather indoors because that is what idiot judges do. 2,500 people were newly hospitalized overnight in Illinois, and North Dakota has the highest rate rate of infections per capita. 

All in all the news is just what President Trump, who is now repeatedly announcing "we are turning a corner" wants to hear. 

The problem is that the turn is at the corners of "Hell" and "Collapse".

Your Dolphins are on a bye this week and next weekend their new QB Tua becomes the starter. 

Game Four of an entertaining World Series starts tonight after the FACDL Banquet (Fox planned the start to not conflict with the banquet of course). If you were watching Friday night you saw a perfect "safety squeeze" pulled off. Runners at the corners. Less than two outs. Batter bunts. The runner from third scored and the runner from first advanced. Small fundamental baseball at its best in the fall classic.