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.

Monday, April 25, 2022

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2022 - QUALIFYING WEEK HAS BEGUN - CIRCUIT COURT RACES

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

QUALIFYING WEEK - UN-MASKED EDITION (Masked, for Rumpole) .....

It comes around every two years and your trusted El Capitan is here to bring you all the news. Qualifying week runs from Monday, April 25 - Friday, April 29 at NOON. Today we bring you the latest in the Circuit Court races.

CIRCUIT COURT:

Elections for Judge in Miami-Dade County take place on August 23, 2022.  Currently there are a total of 23 Groups up for election in Circuit Court.

In Circuit Court, all 23 Incumbents have already filed in their respective Groups. Three Incumbent Judges face opposition. They include Judge Lody Jean, Judge Robert Watson, and Judge Mark Blumstein.

Here is your current line-up for the judicial races. (I) stands for Incumbent


CIRCUIT COURT

Group 3

Lody Jean (I)

Judge Jean has paid her Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
According to her Financial Documents, she has a Net Worth of $578,512
She is paid $164,909 as a Circuit Court Judge
She has raised $110,734 from a total of 278 contributors. 
She has loaned her campaign a total of $50,000
Judge Jean is a former ASA. She was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is her first election.

Teressa Maria Cervera

Attorney Cervera has paid her Qualifying Fee.
She filed to run on April 14 and there are zero Financial Documents in her file.
She has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 11 years but I could not find out anything about her law practice when checking online

Group  4        Christina Marie DiRaimondo (I)

Group  6        Laura Shearon Cruz (I)

Group  9        Marcia del Rey (I)

Group  10 Scott M Bernstein (I)

Group  12 Bertila Ana Soto (I)

Group  16 Tom "Tomas" Rebull (I)

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)

Judge Watson has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
He has not yet filed any of his Financial Documents
He has raised $109,678 from a total of 266 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $50,000
Judge Watson has worn many hats. Steel Hector, Holland & Knight, AUSA (for 5 years), Kobre & Kim. He was appointed to the County Court bench in January of 2019 by Gov Rick Scott as one of Scott's last appointments. He was then elevated to the Circuit Court in December of 2019 by Gov. DeSantis. This will be his first election campaign.

Brenda Gitchev Guerrero

Attorney Guerrero has not yet paid her Qualifying Fee.
She filed to run on January 24 and there are zero Financial Documents in her file.
She has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 16 years.
She runs a private practice specializing in Family law. She is a former ASA where she worked in the Child Support Division.

Group  26 William I. Altfield (I)

Group  28 Jennifer D. Bailey (I)

Group  32 Barbara Areces (I)

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)

Judge Blumstein has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
He has not yet filed any of his Financial Documents
He has raised $160,263 from a total of 301 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $60,000
Judge Blumstein ran for the Circuit Court bench in 2016 in a four way contest. In the primary he came in first ahead of attorney Luis Perez-Medina. In the general election he defeated Perez-Medina 51% to 49%. This will be his second election campaign.

Ariel Rodriguez

Attorney Rodriguez has paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,620.36
According to his Financial Documents, he has a Net Worth of $1,606,772
He is paid $156,854 by the U.S.D.O.J.
He has been a Member of The Florida Bar for 23 years.
He is employed by DOJ, Office of the US Trustee as a trial attorney in Bankruptcy court.
He has raised $38,542 from a total of 134 contributors. 
He has loaned his campaign a total of $4,833

Group  39 David H Young (I)

Group  40 William Thomas (I)

Group  41 Milton "Milt" Hirsch (I)

Group  45 Samantha Ruiz Cohen (I)

Group  46 Ramiro C. Areces (I)

Group  52 Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I)

Group  59 Nushin G. Sayfie (I)

Group  62 Gina Beovides (I)

Group  63 Marlene A. Fernandez-Karavetsos (I)

Group  64 Zachary N. James (I)

Group  74 George "Jorge" A. Sarduy (I)


Tomorrow - County Court .....


CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com


20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bye bye Incumbents …

Anonymous said...

As far as Teressa Maria Cervera I could find almost nothing. The Florida Bar website has her office address as 6800 Bird Rd # 444 Miami, FL 33155-3708 which is a UPS store. The Florida Bar has no website for her. I did find one client review at Lawyers.com where apparently this judicial candidate was one of the attorneys in a case which reads;

" Construction Law
By Anonymous for Attorney | Hired Attorney
November 05, 2020
I obtained this attorney through my legal insurance, ARAG. ARAG provided me with documentation that all of the attorney's fees were covered. This attorney was informed that I was capped at my damages totaling $2,000. This attorney failed to place me on notice that she was given conflicting information until she billed the insurance for $2,000. Then, she withdrew from the case and left me hanging. This attorney failed to properly communicate the discrepancy so that I would have known, before she charged all those fees, that I was not going to be covered to see the litigation through. She failed to properly communicate information that undeniably made a difference, so much so that she told the judge that she should be allowed to withdraw because working for free would be a hardship for her family. In the same way, Attorney Tylman, failed to think that leaving me hanging in the middle of litigation would be a hardship for me. Attorney Tylman failed to disclose material info. Read less"

Here we go again. There has to be a higher bar set than merely practicing law for a few years and being in good standing with the Florida Bar to qualify to run for judicial office.

Anonymous said...

Tom Rebull has not learned any lessons from his defeat last time. If the people of this county really want a judge who never gives a damn break to anyone, go ahead and let him stay on the bench. Please someone run against him.

Anonymous said...

Though gender is irrelevant to qualifications, Ariel Rodriguez is male.

Anonymous said...

Its time to get rid of Bernstein and Young. They have grazed on the public troughs long enough. Lets see if they can make it in private practice. I think not. Both are arrogant and have high opinions of themselves which not shared by the lawyers who practice before these clowns.

Anonymous said...

749 please get real. You're living in pretend world. No one votes for judge based on anything that happens in the courtroom. Voters don't care how he sentences or rules on motions.

Anonymous said...

Blumstein needs to go. He was elected based on the sailor suit billboards he was not allowed to use, but anyone who has been before him (REG and mdcc) knows that he is not fit to don the robe.

Anonymous said...

Once again, it's all about your last name. It's a shame that Judge Jean got an opponent. She is a really good judge.

Anonymous said...

Arielle is the female spelling.
Ariel is the male spelling.

CAPTAIN JUSTICE said...


THE CAPTAIN REPORTS (AND APOLOGIZES):

Thank you 10:04 AM. That is what is called "copy and paste". I use it a lot for these stories and I had been pasting from Lody Jean and amending as necessary. I had actually looked up Ariel Rodriguz and saw his photograph so I knew he was a "male".

I did correct it and again want to apologize to Candidate Rodriguez.

Cap Out .....

Ariel Rodriguez said...

No apologies needed. It happens. Thanks for the correction.

Anonymous said...

Renier Diaz de la Portilla has filed against Judge Seraphin (County Group 5)

Anonymous said...

Watson good as gone no matter how many events he goes to.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Diaz de la Portilla for running against one of the worst judges on the bench.

Finally!!!!!

Donation incoming.

Anonymous said...

Jean is a micro-managing pain in the ass

Anonymous said...

The sailor suit move seemed
pathetic but girls love a man in uniform.

Anonymous said...

Judge Jean is an excellent jurist. She had the temperament and respect for the law all litigants want from a judge. Not sure who her opponent is but Judge Jean will be supported by many attorneys. She always tried to get it right, regardless of the case, and she usually does get it right. It’s a shame she got an opponent.

Anonymous said...

According to Florida Bar records , Judge Jean’s opponent practiced under one name from 9/23/2010 until 2/3/2022 and then changed it approximately 10 weeks before filling.

Anonymous said...

7:35, what was her name before?

Anonymous said...

Will Young run unopposed?!?!?!?!?!?!