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, January 02, 2023

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2023

 Courts are closed Monday January 2, 2023.  But we are working. A Miami legal blogger's work is never done. 

If you are not a long time and careful reader, then you are preparing for a trial that you allowed some apparition in black robes to schedule for you. Sucker. You 1) ruined your holidays by having to prepare for the case; 2) were set up to walk into a buzz-saw of judicial and prosecutorial resolutions to get tough on crime. 

Oh, there's no such thing as a trial tax. No No No. Defendants do not get punished for exercising a constitutional right to have the prosecution prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. Nope- it's just that little theater the judge and prosecutor innocently engage in as the jury is outside....

Judge: "What's the current plea offer?"

ASA: "Two years' probation. But as soon as that jury walks in, the state is going to seek fifteen years"

Judge (to defendant) : "I don't know anything about the case. But do you understand you can settle your case today for probation, but if convicted- and I have no idea what is going to happen- you face fifteen years?"

That little charade tells you all you need to know about the "so called trial tax" If you're set for trial on Tuesday....shame on you. Those people who sit a few feet higher than you would like nothing more than the word to spread that defendants better not risk a trial in their courtroom. It makes that 4pm spa appointment a little easier to make. 

SOME GOOD SECOND AMENDMENT NEWS 

Meet Mr. Rico Marley.  He took these guns into his local Publix in Atlanta. 


Shockingly he was arrested. Why, we cannot fathom. Just a simple American bringing an arsenal into his supermarket, just like the founders foresaw: 

John Adams: We need a second amendment for guns. 

Thomas Jefferson: Why do we need that?

Adams: Because in the future society will be less agrarian and more centralized in cities and I think those Americans of the future will need to have their right to bring their personal protection into markets which I think, in the future will be called something like "big market" or maybe even "supreme markets" or something like that. 

Having spent ten months in a Georgia jail, the case was dismissed when it became clear to prosecutors that Mr. Marley did not commit a crime under Georgia law. He is currently under indictment in federal court for a misdemeanor of reckless endangerment. 

Elections have consequences and laws have meanings. When legislators run on second amendment "gun rights" for all Americans to have their god given right to carry a gun anywhere they choose, then people should not be shocked when guns are carried into  supreme-markets, hospital delivery rooms, movie theaters, and childrens' playgrounds. People are only doing what the law allows. 

And those mass shootings are all fake anyway? Right? Like Global Warming and fair elections. Fake news. 

Happy New Year- and one last word on that. It is January 2. We will give you today. After today- NO MORE HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES. No more emails from Dewey Cheetum and Howe and all of their staff wishing us a Happy New Year and by the way did we know that they are now available to handle all your first party insurance storm disaster claims? Should we have such a case to refer, we will never refer it to any law firm that clogs our email in box with insipid holiday email messages. That is so 1999 digital marketing strategy. Grow up and get a snapchat and twitch account will ya? 

Coming this weekend: Requiem for a Dolphins team. 

2 comments:

RICK FREEDMAN said...


My sincerest condolences go out to Harvey Ruvin's family. He was a public servant for all of his adult life and he was such a gentlemen in all of my communications with him throughout the years. He always responded quickly to any phone calls or emails I sent his way and always tried to provide a solution to the problem. He was always juggling the players in the game between the attorneys, the judges, and the elected Commissioners, it wasn't an easy job to do. But he always did his job in the most professional of ways and we thank him for his commitment to the justice system. May his memory be a blessing.

Rick Freedman

RICK FREEDMAN said...


On a separate note, Bail Bondsman Aaron Aaba passed away last night after an extended illness. Anybody who has worked in the GJB over the past 30 plus years had to have come across Aaron Aaba. He and his team were always there for you (and out clients) 24/7/365 to do whatever it took to get the bond posted, get the Nebbia paperwork together, and get the client released from jail. Aaron was a real character, in a good way. He always made an impression when he drove up in his convertible Bentley. We had some great conversations over the years. I would call him every year on his birthday over the past decade or more as he was less involved with the bonding business. We always shared a good laugh. May he rest in peace.

Rick Freedman