LAST POST OF 2025

 We could write some pablum about the end of the year and hopes for the future. But it doesn't really amount to a hill of beans. Most new year's resolutions do not last until February. 

So let's do what we like. It is our blog after all. 

What Rumpole is reading and watching. 

We loved Song Sung Blue. A great cast. Great performances, and a movie that takes a sharp turn when you least expect it. Less so Marty Supreme. A great concept, but everyone's heart throb Timothy Chalamet just doesn't pull it off. Don't miss the first and go to the second if you have nothing better to do. 

We are absolutely loving 1929- Andrew Ross Sorkin's recounting of the 1929 stock market crash. You know a book is great when it's a historical accounting of a well-known event, and you know what happens, and it still reads like a thriller. Don't miss this book. 

And how about Richard Nixon, The Life, by John Farrell? A great biography that covers the same ground with a fresh perspective. There is so much good in Nixon, his desire to serve, becoming the Republican's leading voice on civil rights in the 1950's, when southern democrats controlled the senate and filibustered every attempt at a civil rights bill until Nixon, as Vice President, maneuvered around the filibuster and got Ike's bill through. There's a fresh perspective on the Alger Hiss -Whitaker Chambers confrontation in the HUAC* that enthralled the nation. And a new recounting that congressman Nixon had lost the support of both parties as he was in the middle of his investigation of Hiss, and risking his career, pushed on alone, until he exposed Hiss as a spy. And there is this great exchange during a congressional hearing: 

Nixon: Where did you go to College?

Hiss: John Hopkins and Harvard, and I believe you attended Whittier College. 

Hiss was an urbane, educated member of the eastern elite. He was a protege of Felix Frankfurter at Harvard Law school, and a polished Assistant Secretary Of State during World War II. And he was a Soviet spy, who nearly escaped exposure but for Nixon. 

Anyway, it's a great read. 

Miami Canes v. Ohio State. Tough game to call. Late money has flooded in on Canes, dropping the line from Miami +9.5 to Miami +7.5. The O/U is 40. We think we will stay away from this, but if we had to, it would be Ohio State and under. 

Oh yeah.....Happy New Year and all that. See you in 2026. 

NFL WEEK 17 2025

 Good post Xmas /Holiday morning/day. We head into the final weeks of the NFL with a few important games to be played, and more seriously, plenty of money to be won. 

We start off with our go-to prop bet: Fins RB Archane over 65.5 yards rushing. He's apt to get that on one breakaway carry. 

The best matchup of the day is Eagles at Bills. Not too sure if these teams will be holding back star players, as they both have playoff spots guaranteed. The Bills have more at stake. They can lock in the highest seed as a wildcard team and head to Pittsburgh, where they have already handled the Steelers once. The Bills need to establish a strong winning theme as they enter the playoffs, so we like them today. Take Buffalo minus 3. We are also parlaying the following: Rushing: James Cook over 87.5 yards, Saquon Barkley over 85.5, Josh Allen under 31.5 and Jaylen Hurts under 30.5. 

Teams have windows for championships. And sometimes those windows coincide with another team that has that team's number, and they never get to the big game. Such has been the Bills fate, as they have been unable to get past Mahomes and the Chiefs right at the time Josh Allen has been peaking as a top QB. Now Mahomes is out of the playoffs, and the Bills are poised to beat the newcomers like the Broncos, Jags, and perennial one and done Steelers, who we do think can beat Buffalo in the playoffs despite how well A Rod is playing.  So this is Buffalo's year. They have been warned by Rumpole. They will do with that as they will. 

We like the Steelers on the road at Cleveland with a game they need to win to keep the Ravens, who won last night, out of the playoffs. If the Steelers  win today, their last game against the Ravens becomes meaningless as they will be up two with one today. The line opened as Pittsburgh -3.5 and has risen to -4.5. This could be a close game, coming down to a game winning field goal. So take the Steelers money line or pay the odds (a teaser) to move the line to -2.5. 

The Sunday night game is Chicago at San Fran. The Bears locked up their division when the Ravens beat the Packers last night. Take San Fran -3.5 and/or the under 52. That number is too high. Fun fact. The 49ers have NOT punted since November 31. 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS 2025

 In England we say HAPPY CHRISTMAS. 

For today, as you're celebrating around loved ones, spend a few minutes debating this important Christmas question: 

What is the best Christmas movie? 

1. It's a Wonderful Life. 

If you want to claim the title you gotta knock off the champ, which this movie is. 

A timeless reminder that an ordinary life can have extraordinary impact. Frank Capra’s classic turns Christmas into a meditation on purpose, community, and the quiet heroism of showing up. A movie that starts with despair (not unlike the feeling we frequently get seeing the REGB judge assigned to a new case), flirts with catastrophe, and ends by reminding you that showing up for other people is the whole ballgame—Christmas or otherwise. If this one doesn’t move you, the problem isn’t the film.

2. Miracle On 34th Street 

A warm, witty defense of belief in a skeptical world.  A federal trial for Santa Claus, complete with evidence, Jencks, witnesses, and a judge who understands that the law occasionally needs a nudge from common sense. (We need more Marcia Cookes on the bench is our Xmas wish for 2025).  Something that would never happen these days which is why liking the movie is an automatic disqualification from membership in the nattering nabobs of negativity known as the federalist society It’s a Christmas movie that believes institutions matter—but only when they abandon balls and strikes for faith, decency, and a little magic.

3. Love Actually

A messy, charming, thoroughly British mosaic of romance, loneliness, and connection, all unfolding in the weeks before Christmas. It insists—sometimes awkwardly, sometimes beautifully—that love really is all around. Nine stories, several questionable life choices, and at least one Xmas Eve visit that could have resulted in a restraining order if it took place in Hialeah.  And yet—it works. A chaotic reminder that love is inconvenient, imperfect, and often embarrassing, which makes it feel honest enough to pass the Christmas test. Mr. Bean in two small scenes quietly makes a play to steal the movie from a large, talented ensemble cast. 

4. Christmas With The Cranks. 

An exaggerated cautionary tale about what happens when you try to opt out of the holidays—and your neighbors take it personally. Loud, broad, occasionally silly, but it lands on a familiar truth: Christmas is less about what you want than what the community expects you to survive together.

5. Die Hard. 

Stop the nonsense. This is a Christmas movie. "Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho" on a sign on a body in a Santa Claus Cap ends the discussion. A high-octane action movie disguised as a Christmas classic. Set during a holiday office party, it proves that reconciliation, sacrifice, and even explosions can belong under the Christmas tree. Yes, it’s a Christmas movie. It takes place at a Christmas party, reconciliation is the emotional engine, and goodwill is literally defended with bare feet and bad intentions. If explosions disqualify it, then so should family dinners.

Trivia Q: name the one actor that appears in two of the movies on the list. Ho Ho Ho. 

NEW BOND SCHEDULE 2026

 You wanna dance you gotta pay the band. 

You wanna borrow, you gotta pay the man. 

Rocky Balboa. 

Without further ado, here is the much anticipated (only if you're a legal nerd) Florida Supreme Court administrative order on Bonds effective January 2026. 

Practice Tip; The State of Florida objected. To any bond, Any time. For any reason. Victim wants max. 

Aosc25 69 Bond by Anonymous PbHV4H

We gave you Carolina over Tampa and Steelers over Lions yesterday. No thanks necessary. We will be opening an Opus One rather than a Trulia on Christmas this year. 

Coming this week. What you have been waiting for all year. Best Christmas Movies and Best Christmas Songs. 

NFL WEEK 16 2025

 Quick post- we are running to catch a flight. 

Thank you Bears winning in OT last night and giving Rumpole's account a nice boost. 

Dolphins starting a new rookie QB. We are sticking with the one bet that has made us more money this year than any other. Achane over in rushing yards. Today it is high- 82.5 (oh for the days a few weeks ago when the line was in the 60's and we crushed it).  Bengals will be trying to stop the run and make the rookie QB throw the rock. And the Steelers stopped Achane last week. We are betting on a bounce-back game at home in the warm weather. The A train can bu$t one for 80 at any time. 

Speaking of Steelers- Rodgers is humming (20 TDs this year so far, or almost half his age) and has a great record against the Lions. PGH is getting 7 on the road. We are taking the points. 

Game of the day is in ....wait....Carolina??!!  Yup. Panthers battle Tampa Bay twice in the next few weeks for the division title. Tampa in free fall. Roll with the home dog Cats +2.5. 

Oh we forgot. Thank you Hurricanes for the strong D yesterday and keeping your matchup with Texas AM under. Big time under. Was never close. 

MEL BLACK HAS PASSED AWAY

 The very sad news reached us this morning that one of the giants of our profession- Mel Black - has passed away. 

You were not a criminal defense attorney in South Florida for the past nearly sixty years (Mel was a lawyer for 58 years!) without crossing paths with Mel Black. And when you did you came away thinking that he was both as good a lawyer as it gets, and a true gentleman. He was from the generation where a lawyer's word was his bond. He was a lawyer's lawyer- the person you went to with a question or problem - and he always had time for you.

When you tried a case with him on your side you had no worries. It was like walking into a schoolyard fight with your big brother who knew karate. Just wait until the other side saw him in action! And he was just great to work with and watch prepare a case. 

Mel was a mentor to young lawyers; admired by all of his colleagues, and a gentleman to all whom crossed his path. The word often used to describe him is mensch. We believe he spent part of his later years on his sailboat sailing the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. He enjoyed life and that was always evident when you spoke with him. 

We have lost yet another giant in our profession. We will not soon see his likes again.  

HO HO HUM

 Our Decembers have been the same for nearly 40 years. Calendar seems clear, then judges start rushing to clear matters that have sat for months on their docket and holiday stuffed plate. And suddenly we are busy. Which is why next December will be different. But we currently find ourselves racing from court to court, State to State, handling matters that should have been addressed in July or August, when the judge was on their Carnival Caribbean Cruise (with the all drinks included add-on, naturally). 

So as we trudged to court in Chicago this morning, which is truly freezing, we paused for a moment in a local coffee shop to throw up a post. And never fear, we have a full holiday  series of posts ready to go and entertain next week. 

So until then. Ho Ho Hum... we were not invited, and we would not attend. But if you want some cookies and hot choc, and happen to be in the REGJB, then wander up to the 5th floor of the REGJB (remember to use the escalators unless they are broken. Nothing bothers us more than to get on an REGJB elevator for 7-9 and have people press 1-6. Grrrrr. 😠).

True story- a good friend and colleague was in Tallahassee for an interview to be appointed a DeSantis Drone. And some 30 something MAGA moron interviewing her/him asked the following legal question- the kind of question that would cause the deepest of legal scholar thinkers to think long and hard about the law- the kind of question that clearly is designed to find the very best and brightest amongst us- 

How do you define a man and a woman?

Idiots. 

And if you have ever wondered how some of the people we practice in front of became judges, therein lies your answer. 

Enjoy the cookies and hot choc.  And tell your fav judge we said HI!

NFL 2025 WEEK 15

 We start our post with some sad notes, remembering that we live in a violent and dangerous world. On Saturday two students were killed and several remained hospitalized, one in critical condition,  in the second shooting incident at Brown University. 

And in Australia, Jewish families who had gathered at a local beach in Sydney to celebrate Hannukah were attacked and multiple people were killed. Australia, which has the highest community of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel, has recently become a hot bed of antisemitism and anti-sematic violent attacks. The thought of families with children gathering to celebrate a joyous event only to be victims of a planned attack is not only sobering and so very sad, but it is a story that has been tragically occurring over and over these past few years- not that it has ever really stopped since the end of WWII. 

Take a moment and reflect that as John Kennedy said, "We all inhabit the same planet, breathe the same air, and we are all mortal."  When will learn to let all our brothers and sisters live in peace? 

Okay, here we go. 

A family member who is an NBA fanatic called us last night- we just had to take Jaylen Brunson of the Knicks to score more than 25 points ( he ended with 40) and then roll that money (a bet called If...then) on  a parlay: the Spurs money line over OKC and  De'Aaron Fox over 2.5 three pointers (he got three of them).  So as we used to say over the phone to our dear departed friend and bookie 52nd Street Irwin :  "If Two dimes on Brunson over 25 then Spurs money line plus Fox over two and a half threes."  There was something romantic about making a surreptitious phone call and using lingo that the average person could not decode. It was much more exciting that tapping a stupid app. 

Ah, to go back to the days when we were a hustling law student roaming the halls of the local courthouse, ostensibly interning for a local criminal defense attorney legend, but in reality taking bets from judges, lawyers, and clerks for Irwin and getting 15% of the profits.  We carried rolls of quarters, medical wipes for the payphones, and a beeper, and competed with the local small-time drug dealers for the payphones:

 "Hey you want some weed or blow?"

"Nah. But we can get you the Jets plus five over the Dolphins tonight if you want. The rest of the books have it at plus four and a half." 

Judge us if you wish, but it not only paid for law school (it was A LOT cheaper back then), it also allowed us to pick up checks at the Palm and these new places that served something called sushi, for our struggling comrades in law school. 

Enough reminiscing. Here we go. There are some very interesting games today. 

Bengals at home over the fading Ravens and getting 2.5? Oh yeah, we like Cincy today. 

Browns at Bears in brutally Chicago cold weather. The under 38.5 looks so tempting, so we will go light on the over. And just a bit on Bears -7.5. This could be a last second FG win, or a 38-10 thumping. 

Here's the marquee matchup: Bills (-1.5) at the Cheaters. Buffalo has not had the season it wanted, but we see them as getting things together and getting hot at the right time. Take Buffalo over NE.  (But let's hope for NE running back Henderson to have a big day for one of Rumpole's FF team). 

A $25 parlay Bengals and Bills money line pays $105 on the Hardrock app- so we are placing this bet, but with more digits at risk.  

And finally THE game everyone will be watching. 74 (actually 44) year old Phillip Rivers starting for the Colts against perhaps the best defense in the NFL: Seattle. Apparently Dan Marino had a scheduling conflict, was not available, and Broadway Joe Namath wanted too much money. Seattle is going to win. BUT Rivers passing for over 155 yards? Yeah, sign us up to root for the old guy every time. 

We are enjoying our third Survivor championship and are sad to report that in our big Vegas contest, we had to pick two teams last week in an effort to narrow the field. One of our picks was Tampa Bay- the team that knocked out Dan Tibbet in our league, and 35% of the remaining players in our Vegas contest- and Rumpole is sadly out just on the bad side of the bubble and we are not cashing anything. Better luck next year. 

LAST GOOD WEEK OF THE YEAR TO TRY A CASE

 The last good week of the year to try a case is next week. Everyone, including jurors, are in a holiday mood.  Answer ready for trial. 

The prior post answer to the quiz (RCA 1929 report) also yielded the nugget that Rumpole is reading Andrew Ross Sorkin's bestseller 1929 on the 1929 crash. The book reads like a mystery thriller. And this is the perfect subject for our Financial Thursday ( (c) Rumpole & REGJB Blog 2025) blog post. 

Want to make money? Be a contrarian. Go left when everyone goes right and remember Warren Buffet's great lines about his philosophy: When people are greedy, be fearful. When people are fearful, be greedy.

We are NOT in 1929 with the AI stocks. We are looking at this time with Nvidia, AVGO (Broadcom), Marvel, Taiwan Semi Conductor, and AMD, similar to the time of Microsoft and Apple circa 1995. We are on the cusp of a revolution that will change everything from how you practice law, to how McDonalds gets you your Big Mac, fries, and coke, and everything in between.  Heart surgery; creation of movies; travel; house cleaning; investing; restaurant reservations; medical decisions; schooling- you name it- AI will change it. 

Without anyone knowing, we have sprinkled our posts these last few months with those created entirely by AI. Chat GBT is given this blog address and then asked to create a post on farming in our voice, and it does such a good job, even we were fooled. 

So here is the thing. Find your AI stock. A chip stock, a software stock for AI, a switch stock like Arista Networks, an energy company or a construction company that is constructing the buildings housing the AI centers. Slowly accumulate a nice position and then email us in 2030 thanking us for helping you make your first ten million.  Buying Apple or Amazon in 1999 would not have made you tens of millions in 2002, but it would have done so by now, and even earlier- like 2015. So pick your horse and get on and ride. 

FYI Here's your AI generated post on farming in our voice: 

Ah, farming, dear reader — that ancient profession far more honest than anything occurring on the ninth floor of the Justice Building. While we lawyers till our briefs and sow our motions in the stony soil of judicial temperament, the humble farmer rises with the sun, not to face a docket of squabbling counsel, but to coax life itself from the earth. No discovery disputes, no surprise witnesses, no ASA claiming “Your Honor, the victim wants the max.” Only weather, soil, sweat, and the eternal hope that this year’s crop will fare better than last term’s trial schedule. And between you and me, if judges possessed half the patience of a man waiting for his corn to grow, we’d all get out of hearings in time for a Cafecito. 

A SHORT BLOG MEDIA QUIZ

AND THE ANSWER IS: RADIO! RCA's annual report 1929. 

And you can find that and read a truly thrilling historical account of the 1929 crash that reads like a novel in Andrew Ross Sorkin's bestseller 1929. If you want to read what Rumpole reads, grab this book for your holiday reading, and you can thank us on January 1.

 Which company's annual report stated the following? 

" Radio/Television/Facebook/Instagram/Tik Tok/ (pick one) has helped create a vast new audience of a magnitude which was never dreamed off...this audience, invisible but attentive, differs not only in size but in kind from any audience the world has ever known, a linking up of millions of homes and people."

A. RCA's annual report in 1929;

B. Colombia Broadcast Systems' (CBS) annual report 1950.

C. Facebook's annual report 2013;

D. Meta's (owns Instagram) annual report 2014;

E. ByteDance's (Chinese Company that owns Tik Tok) annual report 2022;

IMAGINE

 Imagine if this "unspeakable tragedy" had not occurred forty-five years ago this Monday night- as announced by Howard Cosell on Monday Night Football as a college freshman Rumpole watched in shock and sadness.  

NFL WEEK 14 2025

UPDATE:  👑 We have a winner in the 2025 award winning, famous REGJB Survivor Pool, and for the third (?) time, it is your humble blogger 👑 Rumpole. And we are a bit sad. Dan Tibbet played a very strategic game. He went 14 games deep into a difficult season, and he would have been a worthy champion. But maybe in what is shaping up to be Rumpole's swan song season in football/blog related activities, this was bound to happen. It was a good win against a deep field of experienced players. We hope the new blog operators continue what is now a twenty-plus year blog and REGJB tradition.  👑 We shut down our iconic email FBpool12@gmail.com for maybe the last time, and say maybe we will see you next year, and maybe we won't. Adventure beyond the confines of Miami and the REGJB awaits! 👑 

We are feeling very good this football Sunday. Early in 2024 someone whispered "Indiana" in our ear, and we have been riding the Hoosiers football team like our investment in Nvidia circa 2015. Last night we had the Hoosiers with the money line over Ohio State. While we still think the Buckeyes are the best college football tram in the nation, we cashed on the Hoosiers and ordered the king crab legs in a late-night repast. 

Survivor Pool: Ace Appellate Lawyer Dan Tibbett refuses to lose, as does Rumpole, so on we go into week 14. DT picks the Bucs at home, and Rumpole picks the Broncos to bounce back in Las Vegas. 

Today we like the Seahawks - 6.5 at the reeling Atlanta Falcons. 

We also like the J E T S Jets Jets Jets at home over your Miami Dolphins. We were at the Fins last week and watched them do just about everything they could to throw away the game to the Saints (and they costs us money, blowing a 4th Q 9 point lead, only to pull out a 4 point win when we were laying 5). The Jets are having a bit of resurgence, so we will take them, at a cold Meadowlands in New Jersey +2.5 over Miami. 

We are also going to do a $20 parlay Seattle & Jets. 

For our longshot today, Bengals +225 money line at Buffalo. Cincy is not out of the playoff race yet, and Joe Burrough is back with his two all pro wide receivers. Buffalo...? We cannot explain why they are up and down this year, when they should have run away with the AFC. But they are. So we are going with Who Dey? today.

The weather in Buffalo (snow ❄) and Jax (rain ⛆) has us taking Under 54.5 Bills/Bengals and under 45.5 Indy/Jax. 

For Monday night we are watching the Eagles /Chargers line. Philly is -2.5 on the road. We think the smart money will go on Philly, so if the line moves, we will start taking the Eagles. 

Who's traveling for the holidays? 

THE CARRY TRADE

 Our readers asked for more financial/investment content. You ask/we deliver.* 

To explain a Carry Trade, we need to define terms. 1) Selling short. A stock or bond goes up or down. An experienced investor who thinks the stock/bond is going to go down can sell it without owning it. Really. It's called selling short. If you think XYZ that has a price of 100 is going down, you sell it at 100 and get the hundred bucks. That's a good part. Let's say you're right and the stock falls to 90. You buy it at 90 and the ten dollars is your profit. Sold at 100 & bought at 90. The downside is let's say you're wrong and the stock goes to 110, then you have lost 10 dollars. The risk in this trade is that your potential loss is unlimited as the stock can just keep going up. Selling short is for experienced traders only. We do it very rarely. Global Crossing way back in the 90's. Snap about ten years ago. 

Okay, still with us? 

There's a group of traders controlling a large amount of money- as much as 100 billion dollars. For almost all of 2010-2025, the Bank Of Japan (BOJ- Japan's equivalent of our fed) kept Japan's interest rate very low- around 1%. During that time the rate of a standard US Treasury Bond was between 4-6%. 

SO, the traders SOLD the Japanese bond at 1% and got the cash. They BOUGHT the US Treasury at say 4% and the difference in the price (called arbitrage) was profit. For example. Sell a thousand-dollar Japanese bond at 1% and pay ten dollars a year in 1% interest. Buy a US Treasury bond for the thousand dollars you got from the Japanese bond at 4% and collect 4% interest/ forty dollars a year. A thirty dollar a year profit!  Now do that for 50 billion dollars and you are making some Rumpole type money.  This is called The Carry Trade. 

BUT what happens when the BOJ decides to raise rates? As Scooby Doo would say "ruup ro!"  The sharp traders bopping along making their 3% arbitrage profit while sipping margaritas in Cabo and looking for their next Lambo have a problem. They need to raise cash to unwind the trade. They have to buy back those billions in Japanese bonds they have sold short. So they SELL their US stocks where they have put their profits (it's complicated why they can't sell their US bonds- they can, but the price will be falling, and they don't want to take another loss) so what happens when a few large firms start dumping billions of US equities? The stock market falls. No Santa Claus rally. 😢

This last happened in January of this year, causing the stock market to rapidly fall for no discernable reason after the Yen strengthened in December 2024.  And it may happen again as Japan's new prime minister (their first female PM) takes bold steps to energize the Japanese economy. 

What to do? Not much. What you need to understand is that there is an external force (unwinding the Japanese Carry Trade) causing stocks to fall. Nothing is wrong with the companies whose stock is being sold by the traders who need to close out their positions in Japan. An external and unrelated issue is causing their price to fall. But people who have their money in those stocks get scared and they start selling as well, and the price falls even more. It usually takes about a week for everything to stabilize. 

So what to do(2)? Remember the wise words of the best investor our generation -Warren Buffet. When people are greedy, be fearful. When people are fearful, be greedy. 

Will all of this happen? Maybe. Watch what the BOJ does on interest rates in December. And then watch the market, and if possible, channel your inner Warren Buffet and be greedy.

We may call these our "Financial Thursdays" because "Financial Fridays" is just too obvious. 

*Except when we don't feel like it. 

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

 President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 in the President's Office. 

President Truman signed Executive Order 9981 on July 26, 1948, which integrated the US Armed Forces. 

President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock Arkansas to enforce Brown v. Board of Education and integrate Central High School over Governor Faubus's refusal to comply with Brown. 

President Kennedy proposed a Civil Rights Bill which President Johnson signed into law as the 1964 Civil Rights Act. 

Martin Luther King dreamed of a world where his children were judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. 

President Reagan said "Our nation is a nation of immigrants. More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands."

On December 2, 2025, the current president of the United States, during a Cabinet Meeting, called US Representative Ilhan Omar "Garbage" (she is of Somali descent) and then said about the Somali population: "They contribute nothing. I don't want them in our country. Their country is no good for a reason, and I don't want them in our country." 

So much for judging a person as an individual instead of as a class of people. 

Somalis are garbage. 

Irish are drunks. 

Italians are thieves. 

Jews are money hungry. 

Asians are sneaky.

Civil lawyers are pernicious, and people from Hialeah are weird. (Ok, some depictions are truer than not). 

We have a president who is spouting racist tropes as his way of leading by example. America 2025. 

FIRST MONDAY IN DECEMBER AND APPELLATE LAW

 Nothing unusual about the first Monday in December, other than it starts a month of holidays, holiday parties, and a general feeling that work can wait. Which means, for Rumpole, this is the perfect time to try that pesky case that has hung around all year. So take our advice, announce ready, and pick six (or twelve in fed court).

Speaking of federal court, those pesky judges of the Third Circuit ruled today that Alina Habba, the putative US Attorney for New Jersey (Motto: "Yes Mr. President, Of Course Mr. President, Anything You Say Mr. President") was in fact not lawfully appointed and is NOT the US Attorney for New Jersey. The opinion is here.

Habba was appointed an interim US Attorney. Then the term expired. Then the Judges of New Jersey appointed a well-respected and experienced prosecutor in the Office. Then Bondi fired the attorney the Judges appointed. Then Bondi appointed Habba first assistant, making her the de facto (Latin for what Trump wants) US Attorney and also appointed her a Special Attorney For New Jersey. We always knew Habba was special, and this confirmed it. Yuk Yuk Yuk. 

 Then the Judges of New Jersey challenged Bondi to Rock-Paper-Scissors to settle the dispute. Then the score being 2-2, Bondi chose Rock while the Judges went with paper. Then Bondi said Rock can be thrown through paper and "I win. Habba stays." Then there was an appeal in which the 3rd Circuit held that Bondi's actions were designed to thwart the law Congress enacted. The Court further held that "as long as anyone can remember, paper covers rock, and the Judges won fairly and squarely. Habba is out." 

As Bruce sings about New Jersey, "In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream. At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines. Sprung from cages on highway 9, chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steeping out over the line." 

"The Trump Administration stepped out over the line.  Affirmed. See Born To Run, Bruce Springsteen, August 25, 1975. "

Fun facts: All three members of the panel of the 3rd Circuit have their first name as an initial, which will give rise to conspiracy theorists. The opinion was written by Judge D. Michael Fisher, and was joined by Judges D. Brooks Smith and L. Felipe Restrepo. What do you make of that? VERY VERY suspicious. And has ICE checked on Judge Felipe's immigration status? Just asking. 

Also, we kid you not, one of the Appellees goes by the Nom- de New Jersey as ....wait for it....

"Flipping NJ".

Gotta love appellate law. 

NFL WEEK 13 2025 THANKSGIVING SUNDAY POETRY EDITION

Rumpole Dolphis Adventure Update:

 A client called us on Saturday and invited us to the game this Sunday. Here is our review. 

We should have stayed home. First, our driver is off this weekend, so we ventured into an Uber to Hard Rock Stadium. Apparently the official Uber drop-off point is in Homestead, or at least it felt like it- after we walked for what seemed like forever, only to find our seats with Hoi Polloi around the twenty-yard line. How do you people fly commercial? The food options looked like they were created and executed by cooks fired by Taco Bell. Granted there were plenty of cold beer options, but then, there wasn't enough beer in the stadium to make any of the food options palatable. Even our clients at FDC would have declined the food. 

The seats felt like they were designed for Ms. Fishbone's first grade class.  Well, maybe not as roomy as the first graders have. And the patrons reminded us of the REGJB jury pool on Thursdays when most of the jurors who have a GED have already been selected and what is left is well, like Dolphin fans during a meaningless game. 

And then the final insult was the wandering in the wilderness, like a modern-day diaspora, searching for a place, like Moses looking for an oasis in the Sinai, where an Uber could get to us. 

In the final analysis the criminal justice system could make use of the conditions at Hard Rock: "Judge, the State's offer is six months' probation, special condition they attend a Dolphins game via Uber and must order twenty dollars of food." 

Defense Attorney: How about probation, special condition ten weekends of jail as our counter offer?

This may be the best football weekend of the year. Four great Turkey Day games, followed by great college football rivalry games on Friday and Saturday, and now we have our Sunday lineup. 

We lost our Ohio State/over parlay on Saturday, but got even and then some with the Under in the Alabama/Auburn Iron Bowl, which we sweated out until the final play. Overall, we had a very profitable$ Thanksgiving Holiday. 

In our world-famous Survivor Pool, Rumpole has the Patriots, and Dan Tibbet has the Chargers. The battle goes on. 

Our best bet is Indy at home -3 over the Texans. Load up on the sweet line and pay for that Rolex or Channel Bag for Xmas. Now don't go crazy here. The Texans have the best D in the league this year. But we think the Colts have more to lose today, and have the motivation to win by a TD. 

You know what else we like? YOUR Miami Dolphins, at home, -5 over a beat-up New Orleans team without their star RB Kamara. Miami is coming off a bye, and the team is tanned and well rested and ready to try and save their beleaguered coach's job. Very quietly Fins RD Achane is putting together an All-Pro year. He is a spectacular offensive weapon (that we just happen to have in our FF league, eschewing the overrated WR Justin Jefferson of the Vikes that an unnamed Judge drafted which is why his team is a basement dweller.) 

Just for fun: Jets +3 at home over the Falcons, Denver -6 (riding a 9 game winning streak) over the DC Commies, and maybe the Giants +7 just to keep is close in New England. 

How many of you fought for parking on Friday and went to a mall? You know what we did? We read poetry.  Try this. 

Dover Beach, by Matthew Arnold. Those last lines we highlighted. We've just been saying that to ourselves over and over all weekend. 

The sea is calm tonight.

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand,

Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night-air!

Only, from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,

Listen! you hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back, and fling,

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Ægean, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery; we

Find also in the sound a thought,

Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.