WHAT WILL OPEN FIRST?

 What will open first- the Straits of Hormuz or the first-floor escalator in the REGJB?  Both have been closed for about the same amount of time. Both are semi-controlled by unpredictable characters who say and do different things from day to day and hour to hour. Ever try and get a City Of Miami engineer to do anything? For example, it takes a several year environmental study to lower the thermostats in courtrooms. The good news is that the requests made during the cold snap of December 2012 have just been approved, and judges on the fourth floor can warm up their courtrooms just in time for summer. (Don't get us started on summer in Miami. Because come July 1 we will NEVER be putting on a jacket and tie in the summer again.)

It may well be that the escalator needs to be plugged in, but there are several permits, inspections processes that need to be followed, and technicians that need to be retained before the people who run the REGJB can pick up a plug and put it into an outlet. Life in 2026- there's an app for that. And perhaps we should make an app that - like the ones that show the lines at TSA security in airports- shows the moment-to-moment operations of the REGJB escalators. Seems completely ridiculous. So did putting cameras into phones. And yet...

Our bet? The Oil 🛢 flows before the people move at 1351 NW 12th Street. 

How about our Captain shaming the governor and Florida into accepting applications for open judicial spots. Who else can do that? It's not like Mr. Markus can move the needle to get appointments in the SDFL. Just sayin being in trial all the time slows the blogging process down. 

This is a great blog we built. Someone needs to step up to run it. April, May, June...👻

Some nitwit files against Judge Gordon Murray? We will have A LOT more to say about that in the coming days and weeks. Stay tuned. 

Did you buy stocks over the last few weeks?  You did if you followed Warren Buffett's timeless advice- Be scared when people are greedy and be greedy when people are scared. And people were scared this last month- and what did the market do Wednesday? 🚀 We may see a sell off this morning as the scaredy cats recoup some of their losses and sell. And we will be buyers, especially of Microsoft, Broadcom, Apple (naturally), and heres a new one we have mentioned but LOVE- ELI LILLY. Jump on the GLP-1 gravy train. They got approval for the pill form of Mounjaro, and their next generation of meds coming out in 2027ish  will make even the laziest judge skinny.  Afraid of tech? Some health care stocks are a nice haven. 

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2026 ... INCUMBENT VULNERABILITY QUOTIENT .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2026 - PART ONE

The Qualifying period is fast approaching, and several new candidates have recently filed paperwork indicating their intent to run for judicial office. Qualifying Week is set for April 20-24, 2026, with the primary election scheduled for August 18.

COUNTY COURT

There are 11 incumbent judges up for election this cycle. Only one currently faces opposition. 

The headline: on April 1, perennial candidate Renier Diaz de la Portilla, filed to run in Group 38 of the County Court, challenging  incumbent Judge Gordon Murray, Sr.

You may recall that the last time we wrote about Diaz de la Portilla, he was challenging another County Court Judge - Fred Seraphin - in the 2022 election cycle. 

THE HISTORY OF CANDIDATE RENIER DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA

It’s a long one, so buckle up:

... 1996: Elected to the Miami-Dade School Board at the age of 25; served two years.

... 2000: Elected in a special election to the Florida House in District 115; served two years. 

... 2002: Lost re-election in the Republican primary to J.C. Planas, 45%-43%.

... 2006-2012: Returned to and served again on the School Board. 

... 2012: Ran in House District 103; lost to Manny Diaz Jr., 55%-39%.

... 2014: Ran for Circuit Court Judge; lost to Veronica Diaz 57%-43%.

... 2020: Ran for Miami-Dade County Commission, District 5; lost to Eileen Higgins, 53%-47%.

... 2022: Challenged incumbent Judge Fred Seraphin; lost 56%-44%.

In addition to these campaigns, Diaz de la Portilla has repeatedly sought appointment to the bench through the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC),  without success:

... 2016 (early): Applied for an open County Court seat.

... 2016 (later): Again applied when two additional County Court seats became available.

... 2019: Applied and interviewed for one of four open County Court seats; the JNC forwarded 23 names to the Governor - his was not one of them. 

... 2020: Applied again for three open seats on the County Court; he was not appointed. 

In 2022, The Captain published several critical pieces regarding Diaz de la Portilla's campaign for his actions in his campaign against Judge Seraphin. The Daily Business Review subsequently reported on those issues quoted from our posts. For those interested, we encourage revisiting:

SHAME ON YOU RENIER DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA, posted on July 28, 2022, which can be found here

RENIER DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA - YOU ARE OUT OF ORDER, posted on August 9, 2022, which can be found here

GET OUT THE HANDCUFFS ??? HAVE THE DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA BROTHERS BROKEN THE LAW ???, posted on August 13, 2022, which can be found here

INCUMBENT VULNERABILITY QUOTIENT 

Back in 2022, we questioned why Diaz de la Portilla chose to challenge Judge Seraphin. Of the 15 Countyy Court Groups up for election, 12 incumbents went unopposed. Seraphin was one of four black judges running on the ballot that year, along with Miesha Darrough, Chiaka Ihekwaba, and Julie Harris Nelson. 

In the 2026 cycle, Murray is the only black judge of the 11 incumbents. We have no evidence that Diaz de la Portilla choices - either in 2022 or now -  were motivated by race.

To analyze competitiveness, we developed a metric: the Incumbent Vulnerability Quotient (IVQ), © 2026. The IVQ considers three factors:

1. Total contributions from donors (excluding candidate loans)

2. Number of individual contributors

3. Amount of money loaned by the candidate 

The higher the score, the more vulnerable the incumbent.

As of March 31, 2026, the most vulnerable incumbents are:

Natalie Moore (26)
Ritamaria Cuervo (25)
Luis Perez Medina (24)

Judge Moore, for example, ranked tenth of the eleven incumbents in both total contributions and number of contributors, and sixth in personal loans to her campaign - resulting in the highest IVQ score of 26. 

At the other end of the spectrum, the least vulnerable incumbents are:

Kevin Hellman (7)
Donald Cannava (9)
Stephanie Silver (11)

Where does incumbent Judge Gordon Murray, Sr. fall?

He ranked fourth - just behind Judge Silver - with an IVQ score of 11. In other words, there are seven incumbent judges statistically more vulnerable than Murray. 

Yet Murray is the one Diaz de la Portilla chose to challenge. 

Why? 

We asked Diaz de la Portilla that very question. If he responds, we will let you know.

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

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE ..... THEN THANK YOUR CAPTAIN JUSTICE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SOMETHING VERY FISHY IS GOING ON HERE…

Let’s start with the backstory.

When a judge resigns in the State of Florida, the process for filling that vacancy is governed by the Florida Constitution, Article V (Judiciary), Section 11 (Vacancies), paragraph )(c):

“The nominations shall be made within thirty days from the occurrence of a vacancy unless the period is extended by the governor for a time not to exceed thirty days. The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified.”

In practice, the process begins when the Governor receives a judge’s resignation letter. The Governor then directs the local Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) to accept applications, conduct interviews, and submit a list of three to six nominees. Once certified, the Governor has sixty days to make the appointment.

Now, here’s where things get unusual.

Sometime prior to August 2025, two Miami-Dade County Court judges resigned from the bench:

... Judge Jason Reding Quinones, who left after being nominated as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and

... Judge Yara Klukas, who resigned to become First Assistant United States Attorney under Reding Quinones.

Reding Quinones was sworn in on August 18, 2025. Klukas followed on September 26, 2025.

Yet—despite those resignations occurring at least eight months ago, and possibly earlier—neither vacancy was filled.

Your Captain Justice began asking questions.

In March, I sent multiple emails to Ryan Newman, General Counsel to Governor DeSantis, and Eliot Pedrosa, Chair of the Eleventh Circuit JNC. I also checked the Governor’s Judicial Appointments website, where resignation letters are typically posted as a matter of public record.

Nothing.

No resignation letters for either judge.

In seven years of tracking Governor DeSantis’ judicial appointments, I have never seen anything like this. Whether this was a clerical oversight or something more remains unclear.

Here is an abbreviated copy of my email to General Counsel Ryan Newman:

Captain Justice <captain4justice@gmail.com>
Wed, Mar 25, 1:38 PM 
to ryan.newman

Mr. Newman:

I would like to bring your attention to something very unusual regarding the judicial nominating process.

I am writing to inquire about an open seat on the County Court in Miami-Dade County. More than six months ago, County Court Judge Jason Reding Quinones resigned from the bench so he could be appointed as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

There is no record of his resignation letter on the Judicial Appointments website. There is no record of the Governor requesting the 11th Circuit JNC to open the interview process. The JNC here in Miami did not conduct any interviews for the open seat. This is true even though the Florida Constitution requires all of this to happen within thirty days of the resignation. (See Article V, Section 11).

I have been following Governor DeSantis' judicial appointments for the entirety of his two terms. I cannot recall the above situation having happened ever before.

Can you please tell me why the "process" was never begun to replace Judge Reding Quinones? And when you expect the "process" to begin?

Thank you.

Captain Justice

Within an hour of me sending my email, the General Counsel’s office for Governor DeSantis sent a letter to the Chair of the JNC for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Eliot Pedrosa:

Office of the Governor
THE CAPITOL
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32399-0001
www.flgov.com
RON DESANTIS 850-717-9418
GOVERNOR

March 25, 2026

Dear Mr. Pedrosa:

On behalf of Governor DeSantis, I am requesting that you convene the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission for the purpose of selecting and submitting to the Governor the names of highly qualified lawyers for appointment to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court (two) and to the Miami-Dade County Court (two). 

These appointments are to fill the vacancies on the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court created by the resignations of Judge Caballero and Judge Rodriguez and to fill the vacancies on the Miami-Dade County Court created by the resignations of Judge Klukas and Judge Quinones. 

.....

The Commission's handling of this matter is most appreciated.

Sincerely,
David Axelman
General Counsel

cc: The Honorable Ariana Fajardo Orshan
Chief Judge

Then, just as suddenly—as if the Red Sea had parted—on March 29, 2026, the JNC issued an announcement.

The Commission is now accepting applications for vacancies “created by the resignations of Judges Yara Klukas and Jason Reding Quinones”. The announcement also includes vacancies resulting from the retirements of Circuit Court Judges Jose Rodriguez and Marcia Caballero. The application deadline is May 1, 2026.

Which raises the obvious question: what happened during the preceding eight months?

You can thank your own Captain Justice for jump-starting the process. To the two eventual appointees, don't forget to thank me on the day of your investiture.

If we get any more information as to why this appointment process was delayed by more than eight months, we will let you know.

A QUICK REMINDER: THE “NAME GAME”

We previously wrote about Jason Reding Quinones in a December 19, 2023 post titled:

“THE NAME GAME: HERE WE GO AGAIN?!”

You can revisit it here:

We invite you to reread the post and the accompanying Comments.

In that post, we examined the troubling practice of candidates changing their names shortly before applying for judicial office:

Attorney Jason A. Reding—now Jason A. Reding Quinones, according to The Florida Bar—changed his name on December 1, 2023.

He had practiced for more than 15 years as “Jason Reding.” Then he applied to the JNC for an open County Court seat. Not coincidentally, December 1, 2023 was also the deadline to apply for multiple open judicial seats in Miami-Dade County.

A NEW LAW ENTERS THE PICTURE

On April 1, 2026, Governor DeSantis signed CS/HB 91 – Candidate Qualification into law.

The statute now provides, in relevant part (F.S. 99.021(4)(c)):

A candidate with no party affiliation must certify that he or she has not legally changed his or her name pursuant to section 68.07 within the 365 days preceding the qualifying period.

Which leads to an interesting hypothetical:

Would the attorney formerly known as Jason Reding have been permitted to run for judicial office under the name “Jason Reding Quinones” under this new law—had he remained on the bench?

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

TLI

CORRECTION: The below referenced post on Mr. Markus's blog was authored by Guest Blogger Lindsey Lazopoulous Friedman and not Mr. Markus, who apparently didn't take any time off from his trial prep. 

UPDATE: BANNON "WINS" AT SUPREME COURT

The Supreme Court (Motto: NOT Trump Judges...well maybe NO LONGER Trump Judges) has agreed to send Stephen Bannon's contempt of Congress case back to the district court (he lost on the initial appeal and served four months) so the government can "exercise prosecutorial discretion" and move to vacate the conviction and dismiss the case. Prosecutorial discretion huh? Meanwhile in Miami Victim Wants Max!

 Around 1PM Monday the crew of the Artemis II spacecraft will become the humans who have traveled farthest from Earth (literally and physically. Hypothetically we've read some judicial rulings that are farther out there), surpassing the record of Apollo 13, who had to alter their flight plan to a free trajectory return because of the damage to their spacecraft after an explosion. 

Whenever we get a prosecutor to curse at us we know we are winning. Do you think the Iranian leadership has the same views after the president's curse laden post this weekend  screaming at them to "open the Fuckin Strait of Hormuz..."  It's not like he ever screamed at Mexico to "pay for the fuckin wall..." which of course they haven't done. 

Mr. Markus took a quick break from his trial      A guest blogger (see above)  posted this weekend  about the ceremonial robbing of    Judge Yeney Hernandez, our newest Federal Magistrate. She is a child of immigrants whose both parents worked to give her a chance of a better life.  It's a uniquely American success story played out, especially in Miami, over and over during these last few decades. Based on our current polices, to paraphrase Clemenza in the Godfather, "Won't see that no more."  

We've got less than 90 days of blogging left. Anybody want to run a popular legal blog? We recently turned down a discrete inquiry from the attorney general of the United States who was planning for a life after the DOJ.  Anybody else want to dip their toe into the literary waters of Miami's state court legal dramas? 

TLI means Trans-Lunar Insertion. It is a term of art for space travel to the moon when the spacecraft executes a burn to leave earth orbit and transit space to be captured by the moon's gravity and enter a lunar orbit.  The term was first used for Apollo 8 in 1969 and marked (another) historic first for humans in space- leaving the confines of the earth for outer space. After it was last uttered in 1972 for Apollo 17, it was said again last week. 

EASTER 2026

 In the quiet of this Easter morning, as we step away from the noise of our daily struggles and the complexities of the world, we are reminded that the deepest promise of this season is the arrival of a peace that transcends understanding. Whether you find solace in the spiritual renewal of the holiday or simply in the steady, hopeful rhythm of the earth waking up for spring, there is a profound beauty in the idea that light can emerge from the darkest of places. 

May this day offer you a moment of genuine stillness, a chance to mend what is broken within, and the grace to extend that same spirit of reconciliation and kindness to everyone you encounter. 

  "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die."

John 11:25-26

REMAIN CALM ALL IS WELL

 Abraham Lincoln anguished over the frightening losses at the battle of Antietam. "What will the nation say?" he moaned when learning of what was to become the deadliest day in American history. 

Franklin Roosevelt sat stunned in the White House as reports came in, at a trickle at first, and then a flood, about the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. Other than the carriers, most of the American fleet was at the bottom of Pearl Harbor. 

The tide of public opinion turned against Lyndon Johnson and the war in Vietnam after the Tet Offensive by the North Vietnamese in 1968. Walter Cronkite, America's most trusted newscaster went on the record during the CBS evening news and opined that the war was not winnable. Johnson later declined to seek re-election. 

What do all these presidents in times of trouble when a war was not going well have in common? 

Well, they all fired their Attorney General the next day, duh. 

NOT 

But that's what happened on Wednesday, the day after the current president gave a yawner of a speech telling the public that all is well and not to panic. He then fired Pam Bondi. 

Read this NY Times amazing article interviewing the shell-shocked Justice Department lawyers on their experiences in the days and weeks after the inauguration when the Justice Department was gutted. It's almost enough to make even a hard-core criminal defense attorney like Rumpole feel sorry for a Fed. Almost. 

The Unraveling Of the Justice Department is here. 

Just remember. Remain calm. All is well. 

COURT POSED TO STRIKE DOWN PROOF BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT!

 A "source" shared this draft opinion poised to be released, possibly TODAY. It's a day we never thought we would see: your favourite appellate court striking down the proof beyond a reasonable doubt requirement in all criminal cases! 

In a 2-1 decision (and you pretty much know who is dissenting...)  that effectively sets fire to every law school criminal procedure textbook, the court has ruled that the "Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" standard is—and I’m quoting here—"an antiquated burden that fails to meet the logistical demands of a modern, high-volume judiciary."

The court’s reasoning is a masterpiece of judicial gymnastics. They’ve introduced a new standard: "Clear and Articulable Suspicion of Guilt" (CASG).
Writing for the majority, the court noted that the "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" standard was "never intended to be a shield for the guilty, but rather a hurdle that has become increasingly impassable in an era of complex forensic evidence and distracted jurors." From now on, if the State can show a "significant likelihood" that the defendant was "involved in the general vicinity of the alleged unpleasantness," the burden shifts to the defense to prove innocence by a "preponderance of the evidence."

The "Golden Thread" of English Common Law hasn't just been cut; it’s been shredded and used for confetti.

We suppose it makes our upcoming retirement on June 30th look less like a departure and more like a daring escape from a sinking ship. Only today could we post something like this. We fool you not!

MARCH MADNESS

 Good morning. It is time to start another week. Here's what we are thinking about. 

The US is in a pickle. No off ramp in Iran, and fighting an enemy who has identified victory as outlasting, outwitting, and surviving the attacks. Where have we seen that before? (Hint: Vietnam). Here's something fun: 

Nate Swanson spent nearly two decades in the U.S. government, including most recently as a State Department representative on the Trump administration’s Iran negotiating team and previously as the National Security Council’s director for Iran in the Biden administration. Days before the U.S. bombed Iran, Swanson published a piece predicting that Iran would do exactly what it has done should the U.S. attack. So he's our government expert, right, providing the President with much needed expert advice? Nope. He was forced out of government because some rightwing influencer nut attacked him and MAGA responded. Here's the Politico article.  This is what happens when you govern by a mob. 

The convicted founder of a Women's Orgasmic group is set to be sentenced in federal court today. 

First floor escalator in the REGJB working yet?  Your judge uses a private elevator, so they won't know of the tribulations of hoi polloi.  

March Madness. And in case you're like Mr. Markus, in the middle of a Venezuelan oil/50 million fraud trial and working all weekend, or a robed reader polishing your candy crush scores, you may have missed this ending to the Duke -Connecticut elite 8 matchup.  From 15 points down at the half, UConn came back to win on a last minute 3 from the logo. Two questions: 1) Duke should not have passed and instead held the ball to draw a foul, right? And 2) Is Braylon Mullin's shot better than Christian Laettner's shot in 1992 propelling #1 Duke over #2 Kentucky into the final four?  What a great debate. 

 

 Here is Laettner's shot :

 

NO SUCH THING AS A TRIAL TAX

 Except here.

We have no difficulty in concluding that the trial court, by adjudicating him a felon, penalized Hodges simply for exercising his right to a jury trial. The court expressly and clearly stated as much when it told Hodges during sentencing that had he tendered a plea, an adjudication of guilt would have been withheld, but since Hodges elected not to plead and was later found guilty at trial by the jury, “he of course is being adjudicated guilty.” In other words, had Hodges not elected to proceed to trial, his punishment or sentence would have been less harsh—namely, he would have received a withhold of adjudication of guilt and would not be an adjudicated felon. 

Opinion_2025-1998 by Anonymous PbHV4H

Now for our robed readers who will never admit to imposing a trial tax, take a deep breath when you read this. And give the trial judge some credit for at least being honest about what he was doing and why. 

ESCALATOR BLUES

 Oh how I wish I didn’t have these escalator blues

Not the additional stairs, but the never-ending news

Happens so often it seems like a ruse

Is this the only building with escalator blues ?

 

I’ve been all over the world using moving stairs

Airports, malls, hotels… ascending without cares

Never in my life has it been such a problem with the upstairs

A continuing need for such inconvenient repairs

 

Now I know I may sound like a naïve complainer

But sufficiency in the big city, shouldn't it be a no–brainer?

With all the science, I would think for OTIS it is easy to be a maintainer?

Rather than at tough times being such an unnecessary drainer

 

Of how I wish I could kick these escalator blues

But for the last 10 years, it’s the same old news

While it’s not a big deal to climb, that’s not my excuse

It’s the inability to fix giving me those escalator blues  

 

Is this problem limited to just this spot?

Or are there other buildings where this happens a lot?

The complaint has nothing to do with the activity... for it is not

It’s just that fixing should be like an easy chip shot

 

Oh, how I wish I could lose my escalator blues

Since I’m not into exercising in stiff dress shoes

The wait for a first floor elevator brings about a bemuse

Of all things to be concerned about, I detest these escalator blues

 

Many persons go the RGB with much fear and despair

The last thing needed are issues with stairs

My beef is not limited to just here

For elevators in the Broward parking garage have been broken for a year

 

Oh, how I wish to shake these escalator blues

Got better things to do like prep and schmooze

I know my rhymes don’t best provide all the cues

But shouldn’t these moving steps be best to actually use?  

 

 

 

 

 

12 YEAR OLD RELEASED ON BOND

 Judge Richard Hersch, (soon to be retiring?) found no proof evident, no presumption great, and released one of two 12 year old suspects in a capital sexual battery. JM D'Escoubet and Kellie Petterson of RC3 secured his release after a lengthy Arthur Hearing next week. Well done!

Query: Should any 12-year-old ever be held in an adult jail without bond in any case? 

Such prosecutions cannot help but remind us of young George Stinney, 14 years old, and executed shortly after his arrest for a crime on a white woman. He was so small he couldn't fit and be held in the electric chair. How our legal system treats juveniles is just shameful. 

And what about the Arthur hearing standard. NPE NPG is a mouthful of obscure legal terms. We know the standard is higher than proof beyond a reasonable doubt, but beyond that its a jumbled mish-mash mystery. 

Hows abouts we all get together and re-phrase the standard so everyone is on the same page and everyone can understand it? 

Something like: Proof beyond a reasonable doubt to justify a hold with no bond?  Or 

The highest proof possible in a criminal prosecution? 

Or 

Proof beyond nearly any doubt of guilt sufficient to hold a defendant without bond?

 

CERRADO

 

The scene at El Chapo Cafe This Week 😞

12th st/ave REGJB Blog irregulars sent many iterations of the picture we have posted. Is this the end of El Chapo Cafe? (Dozens of DeSantis drones are asking ChatGPT about our irregulars reference.  ChatGPT: The famously cranky and misanthropic blogger was most likely making reference to the Sherlock Holmes series where Holmes frequently employs Baker Street ruffians- street boys who have their pulse on the neighborhood and can run unseemly tasks for Holmes, follow suspects by blending in, and reporting on the goings on in London. They were called Baker Street Irregulars.") 

Anyway where were we? Oh yeah. The First-floor cafe appears to be closed, a victim of changing courthouse norms where more people are appearing by zoom (despite the efforts of a few dyspeptic county court judges who will not be ignored!). We always liked the 7th floor snack bar better. Less chance of being disturbed by hoi poli, and their grits, Cafecito,  and Cuban toast is a decent earlyu morning repast. 

Gone are the mornings where a dozen or more judges and lawyers met for breakfast and Cafecito  on the first floor as hale-fellows-well-met. War stories were exchanged, and deals on cases were made, and being a young lawyer invited over was akin to Carson inviting a young comedian to the couch after his/her set. (Those same drones are asking AI about who Rumpole is referring to and why being invited over to Carson's couch could make a comedian's career take off.) 

Speaking of Cerrado, the days of this blog breaking news and being the cutting edge of reporting not only on the REGJB, but the Miami Legal community (sorry DOM) are fast dwindling down to a precious few. June 30 is our target date and so far we have not found a suitable replacement (no surprise there). We are considering continuing blogging on subjects more interesting to us. Finance. History. Epistemology. Politics. Sports and sports wagering. We would rely on an expanding group of 12st/12 ave irregulars to keep is in the loop about the comings and goings at the REGJB. Robed Readers will always be a source of easy amusement. But when we are gone we are gone and you can expect essays on the changing of the seasons, the barn owl we have befriended, and the characters we intend to meet in our local pub who we can talk with since they will be speaking a language we understand, unlike our forays into drinking establishments after another difficult day in Hialeah branch court where the best we can muster is a passable mas cerveza por favor. 

So for everything there is a season, and as we enter spring for most, it is the winter of our (dis)content. 

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR NEXT 2 CIRCUIT COURT & COUNTY COURT JUDGES:

The next additions to the Eleventh Judicial Circuit bench will come from the lists below.

Last week, the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) interviewed applicants for two newly created Circuit Court seats and two newly created County Court seats.

Following those interviews, the JNC submitted 12 nominees for each court to Governor Ron DeSantis. The Governor now has 60 days to select the four judges.

CIRCUIT COURT NOMINEES:

Notably, 10 of the 12 nominees are currently serving as County Court judges. The two nominees who are not sitting judges are marked with an asterisk.

Rita Cuervo 
Miesha Darrough
Christian Dunham* 
Elisabeth Espinosa
Alicia Garcia Priovolos 
Christopher Green
Chiaka Ihekwaba 
Andrew McGinley*
Jorge Perez Santiago 
Stephanie Silver
Eleane Sosa-Bruzon 
Michelle Urbistondo

COUNTY COURT NOMINEES:

Shawn Abuhoff (Assistant State Attorney)
Destiny Goede Alvarez** (private practice)
Yaneth Baez (Assistant State Attorney)
Natalia Costea (Office of Gen Counsel 11th Jud. Circ., former AAG)
Christian Dunham* 
Kimberly Hillery (Department of Homeland Security)
Yvette Lavelle (private practice)
Andrew McGinley*
Michelle Roth (private practice, former ASA)
Jeffrey Pierce (Assistant United States Attorney)
Patricia Salman (CABA Pro Bono Legal Services)
Alexander Shear (Assistant Public Defender)

*DUAL NOMINATIONS

Two nominees managed to get themselves nominated for both Circuit Court and County Court — no small feat.

Christian Dunham currently serves as an Assistant Federal Public Defender. He began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in state court, where he spent six years. Dunham has been a member of the Bar for 27 years, handling both state and federal criminal defense matters.

Andrew McGinley has been a member of The Florida Bar for seven years and currently serves as General Counsel for the Florida Department of Children and Families. Prior to relocating to Florida, he began his legal career in Missouri nine years ago, practicing family law before serving as an Assistant Attorney General in Illinois and later holding several additional legal positions.

BACKGROUND ON Destiny Goede Alvarez:

We previously reported on Destiny Goede Alvarez, who has been a member of The Florida Bar for just over five years, the minimum required to qualify for judicial appointment.

Alvarez earned two degrees from the University of Florida, where she served as President of Florida Blue Key and was later inducted into its Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Federalist Society.

Her professional experience includes:

Serving as a judicial intern for U.S. Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone

Working for one year in the DeSantis Administration at the Florida Department of Transportation

Practicing for two years as an associate at GrayRobinson

Currently serving as a partner at Goede, DeBoest & Cross (the Goede is John Goede)

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:

Governor DeSantis now has 60 days to select two Circuit Court judges and two County Court judges from the nominees submitted by the JNC.

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

POTPOURRI

 Good Monday Morning! There's a lot going on in the world. Let's catch up!

In the REGIB the prosecutors are still notifying the Court that ....steady now..."The victim wants max." ***Yawn***

The market looks to open strong. But in this environment all that means is an afternoon sell-off. If you swing trade (something we do not recommend for anyone other than very experienced investors) you should be selling in the morning and buying in the afternoon. 

The President asked for assistance from the allies to send naval ships to the Gulf to escort oil tankers through the straits of Hormuz. That was met with a big ***yawn***. Germany, and give them credit for being the most honest, said "Nein! It's your war. We didn't start it. You did." Britian demurred, but did agree to send some aircraft for aerial mine-sweeping. Speaking of which, our sources tell us that USS Tulsa and Santa Barbara, which are Independence Class Littoral Combat Ships that have been reconfigured for mine sweeping left the Gulf and reappeared in the Pacific at the port of Penang. What is that all about? 

Did you know? That there is a fascinating trial taking place in our own Federal Court involving people in Miami orchestrating the assassination of Joveniel Moise in July, 2021. It is worth stopping in to watch; Judge Becerra presiding. Imagine that.  A leader of a country is assassinated in cold blood and of all the gin joints and cities in all the world, it is Miamians who are alleged to be involved. Pretty soon people will be saying Miami had a role in the Bay of Pigs and the Kennedy assassination. Oh, wait....

Actually there are two fascinating trials taking place at the ol Wilkie Ferguson federal courthouse. Miami's own David O Markus is starting a trial today representing a political consultant, who along with a former MAGA congressman, are accused of not registering as foreign agents in representing a Venezuelan oil company for a simple 50 mill consulting contract for like 5 or 6 months of work. Nice gig if you can get it. Mr. Markus, and co-counsel- the legendary Ed Shohat, have none other than your Secretary of State lil Marco Rubio on the witness list. Marco and Mr. Shohat's client- David Rivera- go waaaayyyy back. Very interesting trial, especially since our current government recently removed the President of Venezuela by force, something that the consultants may have been advising on. And how will a Miami jury view two local Hispanic defendants who were working against a communist government? There's a lot to unpack here, and if anyone can do it, it's Mssrs. Markus and Shohat. 

Last Cold Front of the year is heading our way as a new storm batters the midplains and northeast. Temps will drop tonight. Brrr.

And finally, last week we ventured over 395 to Miami Beach and enjoyed a repast at Joes Stone Crabs. What is your go to order at Joes? 

We start with the grilled tomatoes and the coleslaw. No one has coleslaw like Joes. Then we add the potatoes lyonnaise which is the only potatoes dish to get there; and make sure you get an order to go because they go so well with eggs the next morning.  For our out-of-town guests we order the Selects for the stone crabs. The Jumbos are too big and tough (and expensive) and everything else is too small. The Selects are sweet and the right size. But here is the big Joes secret that only local long-time patrons know. There is one dish that blows away all the others, and maybe the best incarnation of this dish in all of Miami. And to top it off, it is ridiculously cheap. Ready? 

The fried chicken for $8.95! You get a half a bird for that price. Really.  No one makes better fried chicken than Joes. It's crispy and juicy and the coating is perfection. And a half a bird for $8.95? Get outta here! That's crazy inexpensive for the best dish on the menu. 

We know we didn't do our weekend post on the Five Days in May series. Sometimes clients get arrested on the weekends. The post is coming. 

CHECKING IN

 Let's do a roundup of the news and check in on some old issues. 

The three Alexander brothers went down in the SDNY- a total loss for the defense and total win for the government. Guilty 😢 on all counts. There was a solid Miami contingent involved in the defense. The old "she wanted it and now is greedy and lying" defense did not work. That kinda went out in the late 70's/early 80's. They are all sadly facing life in prison. And while we are on the subject, without in anyway demeaning what the victims suffered, let's consider what a twenty-year sentence would look like. They would be released in the mid 2040's in their 50's. Do you think that would be sufficient punishment with ten years of supervised release? This is not about diminishing a victim's pain. This is about challenging the philosophy of defaulting to life ending sentences for crimes other than murder.  We just don't buy into the lockem up and throw away the key philosophy. We have seen many people mature and change in prison. Life should always have hope. A respectful chat is requested. 

Sharia Law: Remember when this was all the rage, and conservative politicians were ranting against liberal judges desires to apply Sharia law and introducing all sorts of legislation to outlaw the application of such law? We would like our readers to update us. Have you recently had a judge make any reference to Sharia law? Have you ever had a judge made a reference to Shaira law? 

The Border Wall: If anyone can direct us to the appropriate website or US Treasury link where we can make an accurate calculation of how much Mexico has paid for the wall, we would appreciate it. We are working on a project to show how many political promises the current president has made that have been kept showing the amazing benefits to our country. Sadly, at the moment, the data is a bit sparse. But hope springs eternal in Rumpole, ever the optimist. 

The Markets: The markets are mixed at the opening Tuesday. On Monday we saw the market whipsaw from negative to positive territory at the end of the trading day when oil prices fell in response to the president's comments that the war was close to ending. What we don't like is seeing equities yo-yo on cryptic comments which affect oil prices. For the most part a price of a stock that moves on this news is not related to how the company is doing (energy stocks excepted). So what we do in a situation like this is just sit tight and buy some of our favourtie stocks at favourable prices- like anytime Nvidia falls below 180, or Costco below 990. And keep your eye on Amazon. It has recently been beaten down, but it has 30% growth and is currently selling way below recent prices. 

5 DAYS IN MAY PROLOGUE PART 2

 Before we can begin our in depth discussion and analysis of Five Days in May 1940, beginning with May 24, 1940, we must examine one remarkable day in May 1940, perhaps the most significant day in European history of the 20th century. 

May 10, 1940. 

Two remarkable things occurred on May 10, 1940. First, Winston Spencer Churchill was asked to form a government by King George VI. Second, as Churchill was assuming power in England, Hitler ordered German armies to begin the invasion of Belgium and France. Two men, who had circled each other warily for several years now entered direct conflict. 

But this was not something that had been foreseen a mere two years before. In 1938 Churchill, who repeatedly and mostly by himself spoke out against Chamberlin's agreement with Hittler during their meeting in Munich, was shunned, ridiculed, and not trusted for his actions as First Lord of the Admiralty, which many considered rash, in what is known as the Dardanelles Campaign, which in fact was a brilliant move and came within a breadth of succeeding in 1915-16 before becoming a humiliating British loss. As Churchill continually and loudly railed against Hitler and the German threat, he was isolated by both his own party and the opposition. No one in England had the stomach for another war with Germany. 

Both Hitler and Churchill shared several habits/traits. Both preferred to work late and sleep late. Both believed and personally prospered in the power of the spoken word. Both of them were semi-talented painters.  Hitler was a vegetarian and did not drink or smoke and started most days in a simple military uniform.  Churchill ate three hearty meals a day, spent most of the morning in silk pajamas, a multi-colored dressing grown, and slippers. He smoked several cigars a day and drank many bottles of champagne along with many (weak) scotch and sodas. For the next 80 days these two men would engage in a titanic struggle of wills with nothing less than the fate of the world at stake. 

In the early morning hours of May 10, 1940, Hitler traveled by train to an outpost at small German town near the Belgium border. Hitler and his entourage would remain there for 23 days while Western Europe fell. "Gentleman, the offensive against the Western powers has begun" Hitler told his staff in the early morning hours. In less than 40 days he would be the master of Europe. He and his staff had come up with a unique plan- Sichelschnitt"- sickle cut. Germany would invade Belgium and lure the French and English armies north. Then German Panzers would strike moving from the west to the east- a sickle encircling movement, pushing the French and the British to the coast.  By the time he went to bed on May 10 word had reached Hitler that Churchill had been named Prime Minister. His immediate reaction was neither witnessed nor recorded. 

Across the Channell as the German invasion roared through Europe, the phone rang in Churchill's bedroom at the Admiralty House in the early morning hours with the news that the Germans were invading Belgium and Holland and bombing airfields in France. Churchill quickly arose and dressed for the day that would change his life and history.

 By May 10 Parliament had had enough of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin. A large contingent of members of Chamberlin's own Conservative party had abandoned him and the minority Liberal Party refused to back Chamberlin. That he had lost Parliament was apparent to him at least a few days before, and he began to plan for his successor. The first choice of King Goerge VI and Chamberlin was Lord Halifax. But Halifax repeatedly declined the invitation. First, as a member of the House of Lords, Halifax could not appear in Parliament, hampering his ability to lead, especially in a time of war. Second, Halifax saw himself as the power behind the throne. Churchill would become Prime Minister, but Halifax would engineer the peace with Germany.  Or so Halifax had thought. 

There was a hitch on May 10. Chamberlin had indicated the day before that he would resign, meeting privately with Churchill and Halifax. Churchill believed this was his moment. But when Hitler struck, Chamberlin changed his mind and told his war cabinet that he felt he should stay until the German threat was resolved. Churchill, as First Lord of the Admiralty was in Chamberlin's war cabinet. He remained silent as Chamberlin sought support to remain in power. But it was not to be; his party would not support him, and the Liberals were demanding a national government with Churchill at the head. 

With nowhere else to turn, The Conservative party reluctantly formed behind Churchill, and he was invited to the Palace to meet the King, where he was asked to form a government. 

 And so on May 10, 1940, as Hitler struck boldly and quickly across Europe. a British Bulldog assumed power across the channel and began to steel his country for a long and bitter struggle. "Nations who went down fighting rose again, but those that surrendered tamely were gone forever" Churchill began to repeatedly say. In the coming fourteen days Churchill would struggle to remain in power, fending off Halifax's maneuvering and machinations behind the scenes to first force Churchill to negotiate a peace with Hitler, and then to have Churchill removed when he refused to seek peace. 

And who was the politician that would step up and support Churchill during his darkest hours, realizing that Churchill had been right about Hitler all along and that the only way to deal with him was to fight him and defeat him and that there could be no negotiations for peace? 

None other than Neville Chamberlin. Chamberlin had brought Churchill into his war cabinet. Churchill, while criticizing Chamberlin's actions at Munich, was personally very kind to Chamberlin. When he became PM, Churchill allowed Chamberlin to remain at 10 Downing Street for several weeks. He brought Chamberlin into his war cabinet as Chamberlin had done with him and sought out his advice often. And as Halifax tried to wrest the government away from Churchill, Chamberlin remained non-committal before whole heartedly backing Churchill and giving him the political security to focus all of his attention on Germany and saving the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) from annihilation as it was surrounded on three sides in France and being beaten into the sea. 

Understanding that on May 10, 1940 Churchill finally assumed power on the day Hitler launched his successful invasion of Europe- a day unlike any other in European history- we can now begin our in-depth examination of the five days in May that saved Western Civilization from Nazism and Hitler. 

FRIDAY MARCH 6 THOUGHTS

 Head over to DOM's blog and read about yet another Miami legal legend -Frank Rubino- passing   away. When we talk about the Miami defense bar being fearless and the most trial active in the nation, Frank was one of the reasons why. He led the way for many of us and he will be greatly missed. Frank was lead counsel in the government's case against Noriega. We know the new generation of DeSantis Drones and Starbucks swilling ASAs under 30 are saying "who's that?"  And that's ok, but if you plan on making Miami law a career, at some point you should become familiar with the major cases of the past decades that helped shaped this town. Norigea; Lozano; Overtown Riots; The Great Corruptor; Joyce Cohen; Country Walk.  Read up and learn. 

Financials: The VIX. known as a the fear index, is the highest it has been in two years over 27. For context, it was in the mid-teens before the war started. And stocks opened down sharply for reasons other than financial. So for example, when Costco reported yesterday after the bell and had a dynamite quarter with beats across the board, and opens down 20 points, we are a buyer. In other words, when non-financial matters affect the market negatively, we buy quality companies. It's not as a successful investment strategy like betting on home-dogs in the NFL, but it's up there.  Our strategy today is to let the fear based sellers clear out. Around 2PM we will start buying bargains. 

Felony Murder. We can, should, and someday before we leave- will, write extensively on the felony murder rule- perhaps the worst part of criminal law that is responsible for the most injustices in the system. For now, the NY Times covers Alabama's scheduled execution of Sonny Burton- an elderly 75 year old inmate who didn't kill anyone. The murderer who pulled the trigger when Burton was long gone got life in prison. So naturally Alabama wants to put a mask on Burton and give him nitrogen until he suffocates. They won't need to strap this old man who uses a wheelchair to get around to the table. He's pretty helpless and immobile.

Go BAMA! Show the world that North Korea and China and Russia aren't the only places where they execute people who do not deserve it and without due process.  

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE

 THURSDAY FINANCIAL UPDATE: 

This is what we wrote on Monday morning:  

AVGO (Broadcom, which reports this week) below 350 (it's around 320 now. Because it reports this week, this will be our first buy, either late today or tomorrow),

Well Dear Readers, AVGO reported Wednesday night and blew the doors off its quarter and forecasted 100 billion (with a B) in income from AI in 2027. AVGO is up over 20 dollars in pre-market trading. This is a long term (18 month plus) play that is going to double in price. AVGO also reported a 10 billion (with a B) share buyback. Economics 101- less supply, same demand, prices rise. FYI.

The more they remain the same. 

UPDATE: Speaking of changes, ACE Bar attorney Brian Tannebaum has issued this update:

On December 5, 2025 the Florida Bar Rule allowing for an interim suspension upon arrest for a felony went into effect. On that same date, the bar filed dozens of petitions.

 The first order was issued and it’s some good news. The Supreme Court declined to enter an interim suspension against a lawyer in PTI. It was denied without prejudice for the bar to refile if the lawyer fails to complete PTI.

 ...

As this is a new Rule, and was opposed by the Board of Governors and many bar counsels don’t like it either, there is a possibility that this type of ruling provides guidance for the bar and defendant-lawyers in PTI can avoid these petitions.

And finally this:  The market is rallying today after an up and down day Tuesday. Caution. Danger Will Robinson. This is a possible dead cat bounce. We like AVGO ahead of earnings. And will nibble at some others. But move slowly. This war business has a ling way to go until it is settled and there will be more ups and downs. 

MONDAY MARCH 2 2026 THOUGHTS

 Good Monday morning. We start a new week in the REGJB, with trials set, and the State announcing "victim wants max." 

However international events are intruding on everyone's thoughts. So let's dive in. 

Oil. There is plenty of oil in the world that has been delivered or is being delivered and is out of the Mid East. Oil companies however use any excuse to raise prices. Today we will see prices rise to the mid 70's a barrel, and we could see 100 a barrel in the future. But most of that will be a non-supply/demand response, with news driving the price. 

Iran. Iran has suffered under a religious theocracy for nearly fifty years. Women are beaten, degraded, and imprisoned for not following rules designed to make them second class citizens;  intellectuals are  scorned and prosecuted (and this doesn't just occur in Muslim religious theocracies, as the battle in Texas and Alabama to force the display of biblical quotes in public places continues unabated), and minorities like the LGBTQ community are persecuted and murdered. In recent months the Ayatollahs have ordered the wholesale murder of people protesting their regimes. The Iranian people, who have a long history of a brilliant and vibrant culture have suffered too long. The religious/criminal leaders need to go. While they led chants of death to America and death to Israel, they are facing their own elimination, and rightfully so. 

Financial Markets. We went to 60% cash last week, buying short ETFs QID and SQQQ which are up nicely this morning. But the horse is out of the barn on those, so do not buy them today. As you consider your portfolio remember Warren Buffet's first rule of investing- when people panic, be greedy, and when people are greedy, panic.  

If you have assets to deploy, here are our thoughts. Historically, markets have fallen about 1.1% on the first trading day of an international event similar to this one, and 4.4% over the two weeks following the event, and risen well over 10% in the two months following the end of the incident. We can expect those trends to continue. So today is not the day to buy, nor panic sell. There are issues unique to this event, as each event has unique possibilities. Here, the closing of the Straits of Hormuz for a longer period of time could inflict short term damage to world economies.  China is the wildcard here as they purchase about 80% of Iranian energy products that Iran exports. China's response is at this time not discernable. It would be extremely unlikely for China to provide military support to Iran. Rather, we expect them to watch the situation closely and quickly re-establish ties with whomever ends up leading Iran in the coming months. 

Any short-term Iranian military success will also cause a sharp drop in US equities. By that we mean the damage or sinking of a US naval vessel, or a more successful missile strike against US forces in the region than we have seen up to now.  More likely is that Iran will continue to target soft civilian targets of their neighbors, like they have recently done in attacking Dubai's airport (our all-time favourite airport). 

Many stocks will be attractive in the coming days, including the ETFs XLK, VOO and VOOG. 

We, of course love NVDA below 180, META below 650, APPL below 270, AVGO (Broadcom, which reports this week) below 350 (it's around 320 now. Because it reports this week, this will be our first buy, either late today or tomorrow), and TESLA below 400. 

TESLA is the most intriguing company. If you have been listening to Elon carefully, as we have, TESLA is transitioning from a car company to a robotics company where the market to sell or lease a personal robot is literally in the billions.  If you're a 30ish ASA/PD/Young lawyer, we would advise to start picking up a few shares every month, as well as buying an ETF with a large exposure to TESLA. If you're older, there is still a near-term horizon which could pay off nicely, as many analysts view 2028-2030 as the time frame when robotic sales will begin to show up in the company's financial reports. TESLA at 400 could be akin to NVDA at 50, or AMZN at 20. 

While it takes a significant amount of time, attention, and financial sophistication (like the ability to quicky read and comprehend a company's annual report or the 10K) to safely pick individual stocks (eliminating most of our robed readers) picking a good ETF with a great track record is a safer and easier way to make a smart investment. XLK, a tech ETF, has been our best performing ETF since 2020. Always keep an eye on the expense ratio. A price below .5 is a must. A good ratio is < .25% for a stock ETF and < .10% for a bond ETF.

Final thoughts. Regime change is hard. See, Iraq, 2000-2015. But sometimes it is needed. See Germany and Japan, 1930-1945. The leaders of Iran need to go. The Iranian people have waited too long for the world to step up to the plight. 

5 DAYS IN MAY- PROLOGUE

 May 24-28, 1940, London, were arguably the five most important days for Western Civilization. The decisions made by England's new Prime Minister- Winston Spencer Churchill -saved democracy and freedom from Nazi oppression. It is our intention to examine those days, at times hour by hour, drawing on a detailed history from multiple sources that we have spent a good deal of our life reading and studying. England from 1930-1945 is our passion, and the hours we have spent learning about the lives of those who lived in those times, and the decisions they made, has been our joy. So now that football is over, you can expect these posts on the weekends to come. Let's dive in. 

May 24, 1940. Winston Churchill has been Prime Minister for exactly fourteen days. On this Friday things never looked bleaker for England. The decisions Churchill and his war cabinet would make would not win World War II, but they would prevent Hitler from winning the war, as Germany was never closer to winning the war than on Friday, May 24. 

There are three prime characters we must study, and a fourth outside their orbit. You can think of this as a triangle of men, with one other hoovering outside the three interconnecting lines. Those men were Churchill, former Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, and Lord Edward Fredrick Lindley Wood Halifax, often referred to as the "Reverend Holy Fox" by Churchill behind Halifax's back. 

What we first must understand is that Halifax was the King's choice to replace Chamberlain when he resigned. But Halifax was not a member of Parliament. He was a member of the House of Lords, and as such, he could not appear in Parliament and lead Parliament as a Prime Minister.  When asked, Halifax deferred to Churchill being chosen, believing that he could be the power behind the throne. He was wrong. Churchill was always a step ahead of him. Or, as we will see, almost always. 

The fourth member of this triangle plus one was...surprisingly, Benito Mussolini. It was not, as you might expect, Hitler, although his actions, and inactions were crucial to Churchill's and England's success. 

The stage in Europe was bleak. France was nearly defeated. The Germans were marching on Paris. The British Expeditionary Force, over three hundred thousand men, were trapped and retreating to the French coast. England was facing the near total loss of her army. And there was more. 

King Leopold III, the monarch of Belgium, was about to surrender his army and country to the Germans. When France and Belgium fell, England would truly be standing alone. Europe would be lost under the grip of the "odious Nazi' regime", and without her army, only the RAF and the navy would be left to protect England from invasion. The United States was eighteen months away from entering the war. President Roosevelt did not trust Churchill, and was hesitant to extend himself, especially while facing re-election for an unprecedented third term. Churchill and Roosevelt would not form their close friendship and trust for more than two years hence, and in the interim, Roosevelt plotted to take England's navy and many of her overseas bases because he and his advisors did not think England would survive. 

Halifax moved steadily and stealthily, with the support of the King and a large contingent of the Conservative party, for a peace agreement with Hitler to be brokered by Mussolini, who had not yet brought Italy into the war. Some members of the Conservative Party (of whom Churchill was also a member) did not agree with seeking peace, nor did most of the Liberal Party, whose strong support was the only reason why Churchill was chosen as Prime Minister- making him a shaky, compromise PM. 

For reasons we will discuss later, regarding some disastrous decisions Churchill made in the First World War, Churchill was not trusted. He was thought to be impetuous, stubborn to a fault; an unstable alcoholic who was not fit to lead England at this dark hour. 

So we begin our study of these five days with Churchill being undermined by his own war cabinet, with shaky support at best from Parliament, facing the loss of France, Belgium, and England's army. 

As we will see, Hitler was never closer to winning World War II than on Friday May 24, 1940. What Churchill and England did and did not do, and what Hitler did not do, shaped future events and sealed Germany's fate in a way that could not been seen nor understood during that fateful weekend. Had England fallen, the world would have been a much different place for the rest of the 20th century. And facing the loss of her army, England was about to fall. 

But one man would not let that happen, and we will be examining in the days and weeks ahead on this blog his responses to the rapidly unfolding events during those five days in May, 1940, that would test him like no other leader has ever been tested. 

The man was about to meet the moment.  

SHAWN ABUHOFF & 31 OTHERS APPLY TO JNC .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM FOR OUR ADDENDUM REGARDING THE 3RD DCA.

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A CIRCUIT/COUNTY COURT JUDGE .....

The Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida is entering a busy stretch following the expansion of the bench in Miami-Dade County.

In 2025, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 2508 into law, creating four additional County Court seats and three additional Circuit Court seats. Last year, the Governor filled two of the County Court seats and one Circuit Court seat. The JNC is now tasked with interviewing applicants for the remaining two County Court and two Circuit Court vacancies.

THE APPLICANT POOL .....

The JNC received 32 applications, divided as follows:

10 applicants for County Court only

11 applicants for both County and Circuit Court

11 applicants for Circuit Court only

The Commission will conduct interviews on March 13 and may nominate up to 12 candidates for County Court and 12 for Circuit Court.

A NOTABLE APPLICANT: ASA Shawn Abuhoff .....

One name that immediately stands out is Assistant State Attorney Shawn Abuhoff (and not because he is listed first). Abuhoff has applied for a seat on the County Court.

Many in the legal community will recall the high-profile disputes in 2024 and 2025 between the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and members of the criminal defense bar. Abuhoff was at the center of one such controversy in the case of State v. Pratt.

In that case, the defendant was charged with second-degree murder and represented by Assistant Public Defenders Natalie Ender and Lauren Dawson. During the proceedings, the Public Defender’s Office filed a motion seeking Abuhoff’s removal, alleging that he attempted to intimidate a key witness. Specifically, Ender claimed that Abuhoff and a police officer appeared near the home of witness Bridet Lampley and banged on the window of a car in which she was seated.

The presiding judge, Judge Wolfson, denied the motion.

Shortly thereafter, Abuhoff filed a motion seeking to disqualify Ender and Dawson, Abuhoff wrote in his complaint as to Ender and Dawson that “Their actions of tampering with a witness have made them witnesses themselves and created conflicts that this court can not ignore,” His office also publicly announced that both attorneys were under criminal investigation and that it was “in the process” of determining whether charges would be filed.*

Judge Wolfson denied that motion as well.

*No charges were ever filed against either Ender or Dawson.

FACDL-MIAMI ENTERS THE FRAY .....

The dispute drew the attention of the local chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL-Miami), which alleged a broader pattern of prosecutorial misconduct.

FACDL cited several incidents, including the removal of ASA Michael Von Zamft from the case of State v. Corey Smith by Judge Wolfson. The organization also publicly commented on actions taken by the State Attorney’s Office in the murder prosecution of OnlyFans model Courtney Clenney and the related charges against her parents.

Regarding the Ender and Dawson matter, FACDL’s Board of Directors issued a statement asserting that the State Attorney’s Office “continues to engage in a pattern of unethical misconduct” in cases where defense attorneys have “done nothing more than uphold their constitutional obligation and duty to defend their client.” The Board further criticized what it described as the unjustified public accusation of criminal conduct against defense counsel and their investigator.

The Miami Herald covered it in July of 2024 in two stories you can read here and here.

Here is a list of the 32 applicants:

COUNTY COURT ONLY

Shawn Abuhoff 
Yaneth Baez  
Johanna Benedi  
Madelin D’Arce** 
Kimberly Hillery 
Yvette Lavelle  
Gustavo Losa 
Marlin Muller  
Jeffrey Pierce  
Patricia Salman 

COUNTY & CIRCUIT COURT

Natalia Costea 
Yenly Dominguez  
Christian Dunham 
Aaron Feuer 
Scott Janowitz  
Jose Martinez 
Andrew McGinley 
Michelle Roth 
Monica Segura  
Alexander Shear 
Annette Strauch 

CIRCUIT COURT ONLY

(All are County Court Judges except for Mrs. Alvarez)

Destiny Goede Alvarez**
Rita Cuervo 
Miesha Darrough  
Elisabeth Espinosa  
Christopher Green  
Chiaka Ihekwaba  
Alicia Garcia Priovolos  
Jorge Perez Santiago 
Stephanie Silver 
Eleane Sosa-Bruzon 
Michelle Urbistondo  

**Destiny Goede Alvarez has been a member of The Florida Bar for five years (the minimum necessary to qualify to be a judge). She has two degrees from the University of Florida, she was President of Florida Blue Key, and she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Federalist Society.

She was an Intern for Federal Magistrate Judge Amanda Arnold Sansone; spent a year working in the DeSantis Administration for the Department of Transportation; was an Associate at Gray Robinson for two years (is there any law firm more connected to the DeSantis Administration?!); and she is currently is a Partner at Goede, DeBoest, & Cross (the Goede is John Goede - her father we surmise)

Another interesting note: Attorney Madelin D’Arce, who applied for County Court, is also a Partner at Goede, DeBoest, & Cross. 

THIRD DCA JNC

The 3rd DCA JNC has announced that they will be conducting interviews of seven applicants to replace Judge Kevin Emas, who is retiring from the bench on March 31. The applicants are:

Jeffrey DeSousa

Judge Javier Enriquez

Judge Spencer Multack***

Judge Joseph Perkins

Judge Thomas Rebull

Thomas Ward

Judge Robert Watson

Interviews will take place on March 17, and the JNC will nominate up to six of the seven applicants to the Governor's office.

***Judge Multack could have an uphill battle to get the call from Gov. DeSantis. Multack sits in Family Court and, until last week, sat over a paternity case between Arlene Delgado and Jason Miller. The case has already gone through nine judges, and, at one point in the litigation, Delgado moved to recuse Multack from the case, arguing that he was biased for Miller. But recently, Miller decided he didn't like Multack either. 

Miller, according to a post from Above The Law, was all set to be the White House communications director for the first Trump administration when news circulated that he’d had an affair with fellow campaign staffer, Arlene “AJ” Delgado. Delgado has a 7-year-old son that she contends belongs to Miller. 

Last week, Miller went onto X (formerly Twitter) and tweeted (is that still a word), 

"I am actively opposing Florida Judge Spencer Multack's application to get a promotion to Florida's Third District Court of Appeal, and I will be activating EVERYONE I know and EVERY resource I have to stop his bid". 

Multack recused himself four hours later. You can read the story from Above The Law here. Florida Bulldog covered it here.

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