THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES (on both the United States Supreme Court and on the Florida Supreme Court) .....
DESANTIS GETS ANOTHER .......
Justice Alan Lawson announced his retirement from the Florida Supreme Court on Friday. This gives Gov. DeSantis yet another appointment to our highest court. Lawson has served on the high court since his appointment by Gov. Rick Scott in 2016. He previously served 11 years on the 5th DCA and four years as a circuit court judge in the 9th Circuit. His retirement is effective August 31.
Since taking office in January of 2019, DeSantis has made six appointments to the Florida Supreme Court. Two, Judge Robert Luck and Judge Barbara Lagoa have since moved on to the federal bench. Three other justices are currently serving on Florida’s highest court including: Justices Carlos Muniz, John Couriel, and Jamie Grosshans.
The current makeup of the court does not include a black justice. You may recall that Gov. DeSantis attempted to solve that issue by placing Judge Renatha Francis on the Court in 2020 (his sixth appointment). Only problem with that appointment was that Francis was not qualified as she had only been a member of the Bar for nine years. The Florida Supreme Court told DeSantis he needed to pick someone else. (He picked Grosshans).
So, will DeSantis pull a Joe Biden and announce that his next appointment will be black. While we doubt that, we are willing to wager you a bet that his first qualification for all of the candidates will be that they must be a member of The Federalist Society.
COUNTY COURT .....
We were not able to include the information for candidate Renier Diaz de la Portilla on last week’s County Court races post as he did not file his financial paperwork until Friday.
Here is that information:
Attorney Diaz de la Portilla paid his Qualifying Fee in the amount of $6,255.08.
Attorney Diaz de la Portilla has a Net Worth of NEGATIVE $91,667.
Attorney Diaz de la Portilla stated that his salary is $100,000 annually from his law firm.
Maybe candidate Jason Bloch (who has a Net Worth of more than $72 million dollars) can loan Renier a few bucks.
REALLY NORTH OF THE BORDER .....
But related to Miami-Dade County .....
You rarely see Incumbents challenged in judicial races in Palm Beach County
Judge John Kastrenakes, longtime Circuit Court Judge, and former ASA in Miami-Dade County for 13 years (as well as former AUSA for 14 years), got not one but two challengers: Caryn Siperstein and Alcolya St. Juste. Kastrenakes was appointed to the bench is 2009 by Gov. Charlie Crist. He was unopposed in both 2010 and 2016. This is his first contested election.
You may recall that Judge K made the news back in 2019:
Judge Kastrenakes held a man in contempt of court, giving him a 10-day jail sentence and a year on probation after he slept in and missed his jury duty. Following his jail time, Deandre Somerville appeared at a hearing on October 4, 2019, during which Judge Kastrenakes reduced his probation sentence to three months and his community service hours from 150 to 30 after Somerville's lawyer appealed. The judge also removed the contempt from Somerville's record following the hearing.
“I firmly believe that Deandre Somerville is the type of person who can achieve anything he wants in this world. I know he now understands and respects our system of justice and the critical role jurors play in that system. In conclusion, I do not want even a finding of contempt to be gleaned from a perusal of his background or record,” wrote Kastrenakes.
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
What well know cases did Judge John Kastrenakes prosecute when he was an ASA or AUSA?
ReplyDeleteI know it was you Fredo de la Tortilla
ReplyDeleteI know that answer. JC. Alan Ross for the defense. Kevin DiGregory tried it with John.
ReplyDeleteYou need to be a bit more circumspect when hurling allegations of lawyers being unethical before I will post something. The case you refer to has been reviewed many times. No judicial findings of what you allege.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who had appeared in front of Kastrenakes knows he needs a challenger to get him off of the bench. My favorite story is when a certain ASA in Miami (who is still at the office) subpoenaed the Judge as a witness to testify in Miami, and if I remember correctly Kastrenakes blew a gasket.
ReplyDeleteThe case was State v
ReplyDeleteJoyce Cohen
Been up on appeal many times, always affirmed. Kastrenakes did a brilliant job on it. Remember asking the jury to wait 5 minutes? Yes, indeed, it was a long time. Hope he wins another term.
If Renier Diaz de la Portilla loses, he will run into another race next year, be it city or county commissioner, mayor, state senator or representative, school board member or whatever race is open. That's how him and his brother Alex usually do. He might even jump out of this judicial race if he sees a better political opportunity.
ReplyDeleteStanding by for judicial candidate Tylman Tua Sanchez Schwartz Habib Oreilly Shaniqua Smith Chang On the potential Supreme Court decision over turning Roe v Wade.
ReplyDeleteHint. The decision is no about the ways to cross the Potomac river in DC.
Candidate Teressa Maria Tylman is the only candidate who did not show up to today's forum. How weak and feeble. Just the kind of Circuit Court judge we need more of in Miami-Dade. Teressa Maria Tylman is in the judicial candidate witness protection program.
ReplyDeleteWhat is candidate Teressa Maria Tylman, who recently began using the name Teressa Maria Cervera, afraid of ? Why does an unknown and unqualified judicial candidate fail to show up for the first judicial forum ? It's disrespectful to the many organizations that put it together, disrespectful to our legal community and to all the voters. What specific reason did she give for not showing up ? She and her husband will not get away with their poorly planned charade. She and her husband, Adam Cervera, a partner at Becker & Poliakoff are going to pay dearly for her phantom candidacy.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the forum, I decided to vote for these candidates:
ReplyDeleteCircuit Court
Group 03: Lody Jean
Group 20: Brenda Gitchev Guerrero
Group 34: Mark Blumstein
Group 52: Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts
County Court
Group 05: Fred Seraphin
Group 19: Jeffrey M. Kolokoff
Group 42: Scott Janowitz
You should watch blumstein in court. He is one of the worst judges on the bench.
DeleteI don't vote for any form of Diaz de la Portilla. Period, end of story.
ReplyDeleteI missed the judicial forum and would like to watch it. Was it recorded? If so, where can I find it?
ReplyDeleteFrom Teressa Maria Tylson's 'White, Non-Hispanic" voter profile;
ReplyDelete"Overview of Teressa Maria Tylman
Lives in: Miami, Florida
Phone: (305) 401-5688
Age: 37
Gender: Female
Race: White, Non Hispanic"
Too bad no one filed against Elisabeth Espinosa. She's a wingnut in DV. Has aspirations of going to circuit.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Espinosa, the staff can't stand her. She's on her 2nd JA and her 4th bailiff in 3 years. Other staff hate her too.
ReplyDelete