SABATICAL

 Our sabbatical has begun. Blog interns will review and post comments. We will use this period of time to rest and reflect on the blog  talk quietly amongst yourselves  from time to time we will have a new post if we are inspired, or events warrant. 

DIFFICULT LEGAL QUESTION

 We confront the difficult legal questions of our times. We do not shy away from the questions that might stump lesser legal minds. Now that being said, we can think of one jurist, a baseball purist, who might well be the authority to weigh in on this problem of property law. 

Facts: Baseball game in Philadelphia (a city that once booed Santa Claus as a December football game, and a stadium that has an on cite jail for unruly fans, so you know what we are dealing with). 

A foul ball is hit and an enterprising fan catches the ball in his hat. The momentum of the ball rips the hat from his hand and another fan behind him has the ball. The original Possessor One of the ball is  wearing a Roy Halliday Baseball Jersey. Possessor Two (the subsequent and final possessor)  of the ball is wearing an Eagles Jersey. 

Querry:  this is a toughie. If Possessor One's hat with the ball is caught by Possessor Two, does Possessor Two have a right to ball, which is inside the hat (the property) of Possessor One? Can Possessor Two hand the hat to Possessor One and keep the ball? Or because the ball is in the hat which belongs to Possessor One, is the ball still the property of Possessor One although the hat and the ball are in the temporary custody and control of Possessor Two? 

Have at it. 

 

SWAG

 Can someone explain this to us? 

SWAG  MERCH 

It's not exactly our E Street Band/Stone Pony T-Shirt from 1977, but.....

DESANTIS APPOINTS FOUR NEW JUDGES .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

UPDATE:

Today, the Daily Business Review (Law.com) ran its story on the appointment of the four new judges. Contained within that DBR story, written by reporter Annie Mayne, she wrote as follows:

DeSantis Appoints 4 Judges to Miami-Dade Benches

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis named two judges to the Miami-Dade Circuit Court and two judges to the Miami-Dade County Court.

July 22, 2026 at 11:38 AM

By Annie Mayne

.... "Benedi and Losa will take seats emptied by former Judges Jason Reding Quiñones and Yara Klukas. Quiñones was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in August 2025 and Klukas took her oath as First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida in September.

The governor’s office has declined to comment on the months-long gap between the time Quiñones and Klukas resigned and when DeSantis convened the 11th Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission to interview applicants to replace them. That more-than-seven-month-long delay was first reported by the Justice Building blog." (The story provided a hyperlink to the Captain Justice story posted on April 7th).

WE HAVE FOUR NEW JUDGES IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY

Today, on the final day of the 60-day constitutional deadline for filling judicial vacancies, Governor DeSantis finally complied with the Florida Constitution and appointed four new judges to the Miami-Dade bench.

CIRCUIT COURT

The Circuit Court welcomes two new judges, replacing retired Judges Jose Rodriguez and Marcia Caballero.

JUDGE ALICIA GARCIA PRIOVOLOS has served on the Miami-Dade County Court for the past three and a half years. She was elected to the bench in 2022, defeating incumbent Judge Scott Janowitz with nearly 60% of the vote. Before taking the bench, she spent sixteen years as an Assistant State Attorney.

JUDGE CHRISTOPHER GREEN was appointed to the County Court by Governor DeSantis in December 2022 and was elected without opposition in 2024. Judge Green began his legal career as an Assistant Public Defender in Miami, where he served for six years. He then spent twenty-three years as an attorney for the City of Miami before joining the judiciary.

COUNTY COURT

The County Court also gains two new judges, filling the vacancies created when Judges Jason Reding Quinones and Yara Klukas resigned in August and September 2025, respectively.

JUDGE GUSTAVO LOSA has been a member of The Florida Bar for twenty-one years. Prior to his appointment, he served as Associate General Counsel for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company.

JUDGE JOHANNA BENEDI has been a member of The Florida Bar for nineteen years. Before her appointment, she practiced with Farmers Insurance, defending Personal Injury Protection (PIP) cases. Captain Justice also believes she previously served as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami.

Our loyal readers will recall that the appointment process for these two County Court vacancies sat dormant for approximately seven months after Judges Quinones and Klukas resigned. It took an email from Captain Justice to the Governor's General Counsel's Office to get things moving.

Remarkably, within an hour of receiving the Captain's email, the Governor's General Counsel contacted the Governor, and—faster than you can say "Get 'Er Done"—letters accepting the resignations of Judges Quinones and Klukas were issued, finally allowing the Judicial Nominating Commission to begin the constitutional appointment process.

Here are the links to our previous Blog posts on this saga: from April 7th, and from April 15th.

A PERSONAL NOTE...

Dear Judges Losa and Benedi:

You may send your thank-you notes to The Captain at Captain4Justice@gmail.com.

You're welcome.

And, in all seriousness, congratulations to all four of our newest judges. We wish each of you a long, successful, and distinguished judicial career.

CAPTAIN OUT …….
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

 

IT'S SPAIN AND BURNHAM

 Spain is our World Cup Champion. 

They stalked the field like a tiger in the reeds, quietly dominating opponents with a suffocating defense and an unrelenting offense. Both attributes were on display Sunday in that most American of settings- the Meadowlands of New Jersey, a place where Giants and Jets play, and the Boss sings. 

By the end of the second half Spain had nineteen shots, Argentina two, and the great Messi had but one real run at the goal, as the Mighty Casey/Messi struck out. 

The real star of the day was the Argentinian Goalkeeper Dibu Martinez who set a WC record for saves and kept his team in the match. There was this feeling that maybe, just maybe, Argentina - the team that had twice come back from two down to win their matches- the last being a win over our beloved England in the semi-finals- could pull it out one more time. A dashing strike from Messi, or a win during the final penalty kick stage when their goalkeeper would help them pull it out. But it was not to be. Spain kept the pressure on offense, scored during the end of the second half of extra time on a marvelous assist by Nico Williams who knocked a header backwards into the open box where a streaking Ferran Torrres, who had come off the bench, slammed it home for his first WC goal and Spain's second World Cup championship. 

Meanwhile this Monday morning a centuries old tradition continued in the world's greatest democracy as Prime Minister Starmer met with the King and resigned. Then Andy Burnham was invited to the Palace for the "kissing hands ceremony" where King Charles invited Burnham to form a government. The name of the ceremony dates from when the PM kissed the hand of the Sovereign. These days a firm handshake suffices. 

Burnham is the new PM and will address his nation outside of 10 Downing Street later Monday. 

Meanwhile in the US, the president was roundly booed as he took the field in New Jersey to help present the World Cup trophy. Then he flew back to DC in an Airforce One plane that has no anti-missile defense systems, something the older AF One's have. In response to that story last week the current administration did what it always does- immediately subpoenaed the NY Times reporters who broke the story. 

We don't have a kissing hands ceremony. We do physically attack Congress when the nut-case followers of one candidate decide not to accept the results of a presidential election. We don't have leaders who resign peacefully and are immediately replaced. We do believe (some of us, anyway) that dead dictators in Venezuela hacked our voting machines. 

But to end on a positive note, the world got a great view of the basic American goodness and hospitality during the six weeks of the WC. Visitors were welcomed with open arms. The Scots drank Boston dry; the Norwegians rowed up and down escalators, and on Ocean Drive and in stadiums. And foreigners marveled over those very American traditions like Ranch Dressing on nearly everything, and shopping at Costco. 

Enjoy the week. We will have details of our upcoming summer sabbatical by the end of the week.  

BEST STORY OF THE WEEK

Bad Blog Pun Alert!!! Proceed with caution!!!!! 

We've been trying to squeeze this story on to the blog all week. LOL 

Truth is stranger than fiction. 

This is the Truth: 

And this is fiction. 

Enjoy your weekend. 

NGI

 Many blog readers wondered where the Blog was when one of our very own REGJB judges was attacked for rending a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict in a bench trial regarding a tragic set of facts. Florida's AG and then Governor called for his impeachment- a turn of events that is nothing less than a full frontal attack on the independence of the judiciary. And of course the Judge in question is one of our very best. 

We support the Judge and withheld initial comment because we believed the best course of action was to not give any legs to an obviously cheap-shot political story.  There was a method to our madness. This was not our first rodeo. (add additional fitting euphonisms here)

Now we offer for your review the final order- the work product of a highly competent and dedicated jurist. 

Finding of NGI and Conditional Release Conditions - Conformed by Anonymous PbHV4H

BOP'ED

 This was big. 

A SDFL judge giving a downward variance to a health clinic owner convicted of fraud? This was bigger. 

A DeSantis drone granting a motion to suppress? This was bigger. 

Mexico actually paying for the wall? This was bigger. 

Are you ready? 

Spain BEAT France in the World Cup semi finals. 

This is huge, 

This is the 69 Miracle Mets underdog stuff. 

Rocky Balboa going the distance against Apollo Creed kind of thing. 

Mbappe? He got BOP'ed. Won't see him no more. 

And now Wednesday our lads go against Argentina with a clear path to the coveted world cup. 

It's like it's 1966 all over again. 

SUMMER DOLDRUMS

woooooweeeeee UPDATE

Judge Willians just slammed the president, the DOJ, referred the lawyers involved in the stinking mess over the settlement of the president's lawsuit against the IRS to the Florida Bar, referred the acting attorney General to the New York State Bar (Motto- "Florida doesn't want our lawyers, so we don't want theirs") and skewered everyone associated with the case for trying to get the Court's imprimatur on a backroom deal. 

You know the order is a barnburner when everyone's favourite federal blogger Mr. Markus starts his post about the order with a very uncharacteristic "woooooweeeeee" - and that's an actual quote from his post here, which has a link to the order, because we counted the o's and e's. 

'

Here we are mid-July. The temperature is stifling. A commentator on the England /Norway match, played at the South Florida Hard Rock stadium called the heat and humidity during the match "soul sucking." 

And yet, in perhaps one of the oldest anachronistic traditions, male lawyers must wear a jacket in court. Doesn't that seem bizarre? It's over 90 degrees but one half of the population who are lawyers must wear a coat/jacket. 

And people wonder why we are quitting law. 

Speaking of which, the blog will be going on a sabbatical starting the end of July through mid-August. Interns will clear the comments, and some posts may go up. 

During out rest we will consider the future.

The recent success of The Captain getting the governor to make long overdue judicial appointments tells us we fill a role of some sort. And to the extent the current judicial administration and SAO administration despises us, we know we are doing some things right. 

Let's put it this way- we will decide something long before the current federal administration secures the Straits of Hormuz (if it ever can, which is now more and more doubtful). 

The sudden and unexpected death of Senator Lindsey Graham is a very big loss to the country.  He was the last of the Three Amigos- Senators Graham, John McCain, and Joe Lieberman. Across political and ideological differences the three men were perhaps the last of a group of leaders who believed our common ideals as Americans were more important and brought us together more than our political differences. 

Now? Ha. 

Apple running nicely Monday morning. As Jim Cramer famously said more than a decade ago, "Own Apple, don't trade it."  Applied Materials is not running well today, although Goldman Sachs doubled down on the company, reaffirming its price valuation as 650 a share- although Monday it opened down well under 600. Our view? Buy more and thank us in December (actually well before). 

 

 

ENGLAND ADVANCES!

 The lads came through in Miami, with your humble blogger present and cheering them on. 2-1 over a very game Norway team. 

WE HAVE A NEW JUDGE ON THE 3RD DCA .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

"A MOOSE IS NOT A BEAVER"*

CONGRATULATIONS TO NEWLY APPOINTED THIRD DCA JUDGE THOMAS REBULL .....

Governor DeSantis has finally appointed Judge Thomas Rebull to replace retired Third District Court of Appeal Judge Kevin Emas.

Congratulations to Judge Rebull.

It only took 115 days, countless unanswered emails and telephone calls, and a Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed in the Florida Supreme Court by the ACLU of Florida before the Governor complied with the constitutional duty he swore to uphold.

Judge Kevin Emas retired on March 31, 2026. Earlier, on March 17, the Third DCA Judicial Nominating Commission had certified six nominees to Governor DeSantis.

Article V, Section 11(c) of the Florida Constitution could not be clearer:

"The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor."

Sixty days came and went.

No appointment.

Your humble CAPTAIN JUSTICE then began asking a very simple question:

Why?

Blog posts were written. (They can be read here and here.)

Emails were sent.

Telephone calls were made.

Voice messages were left.

General Counsel David Axelman and Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson—who oversees judicial appointments—never responded.

Not once.

With no explanation forthcoming, Captain Justice contacted the ACLU of Florida and asked that it consider filing a Petition for Writ of Mandamus to require compliance with the Florida Constitution.

The ACLU agreed.

Judge Kevin Emas agreed to serve as the petitioner.

The lawsuit was filed on June 30, 2026.

The Florida Supreme Court promptly ordered Governor DeSantis to respond within ten days, setting a deadline of Friday, July 10, at 5:00 p.m.

The handwriting was on the wall.

Earlier today, Governor DeSantis finally appointed Judge Thomas Rebull to the Third District Court of Appeal.

Then, at approximately 4:30 p.m.—just before the Supreme Court's deadline—General Counsel David Axelman and Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson filed the Governor's response.

Did they acknowledge that the constitutional deadline had been missed?

Did they apologize?

Did they explain why the Governor ignored the Constitution for nearly two months beyond the deadline?

No.

Instead, they asked the Supreme Court to dismiss Judge Emas' petition as moot because the Governor had "already" made the appointment.

Problem solved.

Nothing to see here.

Move along.

What an extraordinary way to defend a missed constitutional deadline.

Congratulations again to Judge Thomas Rebull. By all accounts, he will make an outstanding appellate judge.

We also understand that Judge Rebull is presently drafting a letter to Captain Justice. We imagine it goes something like this:

Dear Captain Justice:

Thank you for your tireless service to Florida's legal community. Nobody keeps a closer eye on judicial appointments and judicial elections than Captain Justice. We especially appreciate your continuing coverage of "The Name Game."

Thank you for refusing to let this constitutional deadline disappear into the Tallahassee bureaucracy. Had you not continued asking uncomfortable questions, writing blog posts, sending emails, making telephone calls, and ultimately involving the ACLU, I might still be waiting.

As a newly appointed judge, I promise to do something my appointing authority failed to do for 115 days: faithfully follow the Constitution that I have sworn to uphold.

Sincerely,

Thomas Rebull

(Editor's Note: The preceding letter may contain slight embellishments.)

Now we turn our attention to the Governor's next four judicial appointments: two Circuit Court vacancies (Judges Marcia Caballero and Jose Rodriguez) and two County Court vacancies (Judges Yara Klukas and Jason Reding Quinones).

The constitutional deadline is July 19.

We'll see whether the Constitution matters this time.

*"A moose is not a beaver" may be the greatest opening line ever written in a Motion to Dismiss.

The quote comes from litigation filed by Buc-ee's against the owners of the Mickey Mart chain of convenience stores in Ohio. Buc-ee's claims trademark infringement because Mickey Mart's logo features... a moose. (Buc-ee is a Beaver).

Counsel for Mickey Mart responded with the immortal observation:

"A moose is not a beaver."

Sometimes, lawyers really do write the best comedy.

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

REBULL APPOINTED TO 3RD

 Judge Rebull was appointed to the 3rd District Court of Appeals by the Governor on Friday. 

ZOOMING IN MIAMI

 This is an only in Miami story. 

Miami Courts had zoom. 

Then we did not. 

Now we do, but......

In the infinite wisdom of the leaders of our court system, we have zoom only as long as the Court does not tell anyone the zoom addresses of any judge. 

Yes, you read that right. They REMOVED the Zoom information/ directory from the Miami-Dade Court website. 

So you can in theory Zoom. But the Court system will not tell you the Zoom address you need. 

So then we thought we'd just post the directory here. But then we thought far be it from us to be a thorn in the side of the Court administration. You know us: "Go along and get along" That's our motto. No muckrakers we. 

So should we post the stupid directory or not? 

Meanwhile there is a race to greet and welcome visitors at the REGJB. 

The Clerk says Hello: 

Not to be outdone, our chief judge (and anti-zoom zealot? We mean, do they remove the zoom directory from the website without her okey dokey? Just wonderin...) wants to welcome the rogues gallery of REGJB visitors as well: 

So come visit the lobby of the REGJB! There is so much to do. Pose for selfies besides the bust of Richard Gerstein, look at the CJ poster, and then the Clerk's poster- with that finger pointing! That was made for a social media selfie if we ever saw one. And then stroll down the hall, past the elevators and pop into El Chapo cafe for a colada. Oh wait, never mind. It's cerrado. 

Fun fact: When we took the first pic of the CJ poster, we noticed a distinctively Rumpolian silhouette in the reflection. We have come so far in protecting our identity and were almost undone by a mocking post of the court administration, which if you think about it would have been poetic justice. But alas, to the chagrin of the powers that be, we live to Blog another day. 

GO USA SOCCER! We got a healthy ESP/USA parlay working as we write this.  And congrats to our lads who won on the Mexican pitch. Can a Rumpole seat at the Norway/England match this weekend in Miami be in the works? Well, first we need to win our parlay to afford the price of the ducats. And then we need to locate a prime pair. Email us if you have some you want to sell at a decent price. 

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY

 Happy Fourth of July.  

America has had some ups and downs along the way to 250 Independence Days. And the lesson is that we always bounce back. 

We were going to write a snarky, Rumpolian critique of the Declaration of Independence. But then we decided to shelve that brilliant piece of commentary for the moment and reveal something more compelling on the Fourth:  OUR WORLD-FAMOUS CHILI RECIPE. 

Yes, after decades of blogging and fending off bribes of all sorts, we decided to share with you blog readers the chili recipe guaranteed to make your guests ask for second and third chili-dogs. 

The first part is the secret. Shhhsh. 

Lightly oil a cast-iron skillet and once hot pout in one cup of all-purpose flour. Reduce heat until the flour turns brown and there's a nutty flavor to it. Pour into a bowl and set aside. 

Use one to two pounds of chop meat (or more depending on the size of your crowd.) (Today, with bounce-back wagers on England, USA, and Portugal, we are using wagyu beef.)  

Sweat some chopped onions and shallots and add the beef and brown. Add a few tablespoons of tomato paste until the beef has a red hue.  There should be a decent amount of fatty juice- pour into a bowl and reserve. Once the beef is almost done begin adding scoops of the browned flour. The mixture will immediately thicken. Begin adding back the beef juices and continue to add the flour. Once the beef juices are fully incorporated, add a quarter cup of chicken broth. Continue adding flour and chicken broth on a low heat until the chili forms a smooth pudding-like appearance. (Pictures to follow shortly) 

This is a classic Texas Chili- no beans. But feel free to add beans; cooking should be about creativity and what makes you happy, the best rules to follow are ....none. Enjoy! 

Season as you wish. We use ancho-chili powder, tomatillo sauce from a jar (fresh tomatillos are also delicious and we use them when we remember to buy them) and various canned chili peppers, pouring in the juice with the chilis. Want to be radical? Add a half a can of beer, or more! 

Cover on lowest heat and let sit a few hours. Turn heat all the way off after about 45 minutes. 

Cook your dogs and burgers and generously ladle on the chili, along with cheddar cheese, raw onions, and enjoy with a cold beer. Lately (since January 1 actually) we have been enjoying the Athletic brand of non-alcoholic beers. 

In our gym the other day we sparked a heated debate over the use of ketchup on hot dogs. Rumpole does a line of ketchup, a line of mustard, and a thin sliced pickle on a seeded bun. 

Happy Fourth of July.  

CRANCH AND MORE

WORLD CUP UPDATE: Just when all seemed lost, cometh the moment, cometh the man -England's brilliant striker Harry Kane at the 74-minute mark tied the match ⚽with          CR Congo, and an entire (small island) nation exhaled. 1-1.  

AND Harry Kane did it again! Scoring the go-ahead goal ⚽and the lads advance and will travel to Mexico to play the home-town hombres this weekend. NB: Harry Kane has now scored more world cup goals ⚽ than the legendary GOAT Pele! ⚽

Rest assured we are watching every moment. These Congoians (???) play some tough D- like the 86 Bears or 75 Steelers. 

Happy July 1! We are still around (for now). More on this in the coming days. 

July First is, as everybody knows, Bobby Bonilla day! The NY Mets signed Bonilla to a five-million-dollar contract in 1999 and Bonilla agreed to defer his money until starting in 2011 at which point the Mets have for every year paid Bobby B 1.93 million dollars. The deferment payments continue until 2035.  Not a bad deal.

Here's our take on the 14 Amendment Birthright Citizenship decision. 

First, a ton of history. CJ John Roberts starts with a lengthy exposition on England, the colonies, and who was a citizen and how they became one. Both the majority and dissenting opinions quote a lot from decisions in the Cranch legal reporter, as well as every justice who wrote an opinion quoted Fredrick Douglass, both his books and speeches to support their own reasoning. Recall that the 14th Amendment was enacted to confirm citizenship to Black Americans who had been slaves. Douglass's words about the amendment confirming not conferring citizenship on former slaves are very persuasive. 

Which is why we think the dissents of Justice Thomas and Alito carry the day. Their reasoning that the 14 Amendment provided citizenship to a group of people born in the United States who were domiciled in this country and owed no allegiance to foreign powers simply makes more sense in both the historical and current context.  

When you read all the opinions, much is made of what does and does not constitute the establishment of a domicile- the kind of late-night arguments we envision occurring in the comfy wood-paneled law offices of legal sharpies who work on top of a garage.  So read the opinions for everything you wanted to know about the law of establishing a domicile, and more. 

Now the more reactive and less learned of our readers will react with outrage of our support for the dissents. "How could you say (fill in the blank) is not a citizen?"  They were born here and blah blah blah." 

The more educated readers will understand that our opinion is not an expression of anti-immigration sentiment. We are firmly of the belief that we are a country of immigrants (other than Native Americans) and that we are stronger because of it. 

But on the legal question of whether the 14th Amendment confers citizenship on someone who simply happens to be born here- like in the case of birth tourism- Thomas and Alito got it right (as much as it pains us to say it). Roberts got it wrong, and Kavanaugh punted with his narrow concurrence on a 1940's statute being the reason the executive order was wrong and the reason to uphold the New Hampshire District Court's decision. 

The Supreme Court Term is over, and like them, we are planning our summer sojourns to far flung areas of the planet. Whether we return for the first Monday in October is an entirely different discussion. 

BREAKING NEWS ... JUDGE EMAS (via the ACLU of Florida) sues Governor DeSantis .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

"Apparently, in Tallahassee, constitutional deadlines are treated more like New Year's resolutions than legal obligations."

JUDGE KEVIN EMAS (by the ACLU of Florida) SUES GOVERNOR DESANTIS .....

On March 31, 2026, Judge Kevin Emas retired from the Third District Court of Appeal.

Following the announcement of his retirement back in December, Governor DeSantis requested that the Third DCA Judicial Nominating Commission begin the process of identifying his replacement.

The JNC did exactly what the Florida Constitution required it to do. It accepted applications, conducted interviews, deliberated, and on March 17, 2026, Chairman Paul Huck, Jr. transmitted the certified list of nominees to the Governor.

And with that transmission, the constitutional clock began to run.

Article V, Section 11(c) of the Florida Constitution is not complicated. It is not ambiguous. It does not contain exceptions, loopholes, or escape hatches.

It provides:

"The governor shall make the appointment within sixty days after the nominations have been certified to the governor."

"Shall" is not advisory language.

"Within sixty days" is not a suggestion.

Day 60 came and went on May 16, 2026.

The Governor did not make an appointment.

On May 20, 2026, your own CAPTAIN JUSTICE sent an email to Governor DeSantis' General Counsel, David Axelman, whose office oversees the judicial appointment process. Assistant General Counsel Taylor Gustafson, the Director of Judicial Appointments, was copied on the correspondence.

There was no response.

On May 26, 2026, Captain Justice followed up.

Still no response.

Telephone calls were placed.

Voice messages were left.

Still no response.

Throughout the month of June, additional emails and messages were sent to Mr. Axelman and Ms. Gustafson asking two simple questions:

Why has the Governor failed to appoint a replacement for Judge Emas?

And when can the citizens of Florida expect the appointment to be made?

The answer to both questions, apparently, was silence.

On May 29, 2026, Captain Justice contacted the ACLU of Florida. In prior instances involving missed constitutional deadlines for judicial appointments, the ACLU has sought relief from the Florida Supreme Court to compel compliance with the Constitution.

Nicholas Warren, an attorney with the ACLU of Florida, advised that the organization would consider pursuing such relief in this matter.

Today, June 30, 2026, the ACLU of Florida did exactly that.

The following Petition for Writ of Mandamus was filed in the Supreme Court of Florida:

KEVIN EMAS, Petitioner,

v.

RON DESANTIS, as Governor of Florida, Respondent.

The petition was filed by Nicholas Warren on behalf of Judge Emas.

A copy of the petition can be found here.

The ACLU of Florida issued a Press Release accompanying the Petition. From their Press Release:

“A deadline is a deadline,” said Nicholas Warren, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Florida. “Governor DeSantis doesn’t just get to ignore our Constitution if he feels like it. His repeated refusal to follow such a simple law is both troubling and illegal.”

A copy of the Press Release issued by the ACLU of Florida can be found here.

Meanwhile, six highly qualified nominees continue waiting for action from the Governor's Office:

Jeffrey DeSousa
Judge Javier Enriquez
Judge Spencer Multack
Judge Joseph Perkins
Judge Thomas Rebull
Judge Robert Watson

One of these six individuals will almost certainly be named to the Third DCA in the near future.

The question is why Florida had to get here first.

It should not require intervention by CAPTAIN JUSTICE, the ACLU, and litigation in the Supreme Court of Florida to compel compliance with one of the clearest provisions in the Florida Constitution.

Governor DeSantis, General Counsel David Axelman, and Director of Judicial Appointments Taylor Gustafson have each taken an oath to support, protect, and defend that Constitution.

Citizens are expected to follow the law.

Lawyers are expected to follow the law.

Judges are expected to follow the law.

Surely the same standard applies to those charged with enforcing it.

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

THE END IS NEAR AND FOR SOME HERE

The end is near for the current Supreme Court term   (what did you think we were referring to ?) and the final decisions will be released at ten AM. Then as is custom, all the justices will leave the Court under heavy security and splash and frolic in the now green Lincoln memorial reflecting pool, showing the public the congeniality of the court despite the deep splits in the decisions. Social media and prediction markets are abuzz wondering and betting if Sotomayor will dunk Alito into the pool's beautiful green waters?  Then they will scatter for the summer recess. 

The end is here for Germany, the Netherlands, and most heartbreakingly the Japanese soccer team on the world cup pitch.  If you're keeping score of Rumpole's world cup bets, yesterday we were a solid 0 for 3, losing all our bets, and canceling our order of wagyu beef patties for the Fourth of July burger we have planned.  Back to Publix's good ol' 80-20 mix of ground beef for us unless we can rebound with a big USA bet on Wednesday.  Thank goodness for Applied Materials rocket-like run lately. At least we can now pay the mortgage on our vacation home. 

With the 14th Amendment viability up for grabs, we will do our best to update the blog, pending the efficiency of some of Miami's best criminal court judges this morning. 

Where's the best watch parties for the USA match Wednesday? 

And are we playing Bosnia AND Herzegovina   or Bosnia/Herzegovina? 

So is it 2 against 1 or 1v 1? 

MOONLIGHT GRAHAM

UPDATES: 

SECOND UPDATE: Fed board member Cook wins, President loses. The Supreme Court has ruled (5-4) that the President cannot fire Cook just because she's black, female (two big strikes in this administration) and he didn't appoint her. Justice Alito's one word dissent COWARDS will become legend. * Justice Kavanaugh (just have a beer and chill dude) was the swing vote, joining CJ Roberts, who wrote the opinion, and the three normal justices -Sotomayor, Kagan, and Brown Jackson. Note that the majority agreed that if the administration ordered some hapless AUSA to indict Cook on trumped up (pun intended) mortgage fraud charges, the status of Cook could be re-addressed. 

Apropos of nothing, but wouldn't it be so cool if we had a supreme court justice named Jackson Brown?  Then we could really opine that the Court is running on empty. 

FIRST UPDATE: This will be a busy week for nerdy Supreme Court watchers (like federal bloggers who work on top of a garage for example) as several important decisions remain to be announced before the Court flees hot, muggy DC. Today the Court declined to hear the appeal by the person accused of sexually abusing the writer jean Carrol. The five-million-dollar judgement stands against her convicted abuser (blog policy usually stops us from identifying people involved in sexual assault cases. In this instances, Ms. Carrol has often, repeatedly, and publicly identified her MAGA assailant). Wonder if the White House will cover the spectacle of the check being cut and mailed? 

In other pending cases the Court will decide if the President can fire a member of the Fed for reasons he made up; if the President can order the deportation of people born in the United States to foreign parents just because and that the fourteenth amendment is mostly BS anyway and everyone knows it;    and, finally,  if the President is in fact bound by the law or Constitution in anything he does. In that last case, the oral argument exclamation from Justice Alito still has legs on social media: "He's a republican president for gosh sakes. it's not like he's Obama. He can do what he wants...jeeze, enough already with the lawsuits."  *

Todays Post: 

No one better to explain Moonlight Graham than the author of the Constitutional Calendar. 

As originally drafted, Art. II provided that the presidential candidate who got the most electoral-college votes would become president, and the candidate who got the second-most votes would become vice-president.  That didn’t work.  The Twelfth Amendment changed the system to more or less what we have now: a presidential candidate chooses his vice-presidential candidate, typically based on some perceived electoral advantage that the vice-presidential candidate offers.  

In the 1932 election Franklin Roosevelt felt obliged to choose as his running mate John Nance Garner, a congressman from Texas and Speaker of the House.  To the very limited extent that Garner is remembered today, it is for his comment that the vice-presidency wasn’t “worth a bucket of warm piss.”  (The newspapers that reprinted that remark engaged in a little Comstockery, rendering it as “warm spit.”  Apparently “warm spit” was more appropriate for printing in mass-circulation newspapers.)

In anticipation of the 1936 election, F.D.R. was toying with the idea of switching running mates.  Without telling much of anybody, he telephoned Frank Porter Graham, president of the University of North Carolina, and offered the vice-presidential candidacy to him.  Graham was flabbergasted and of course flattered, but he turned the president down.  He just didn’t think he was qualified for the job.  In the end, Roosevelt endured another term with Garner.

But Frank Porter Graham didn’t stay out of political life forever.  In 1949 the governor of North Carolina appointed him to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate as a consequence of the death of one of North Carolina’s senators.  Graham did so, but wasn’t re-elected; his views on civil rights were considered too liberal for the times.  

An educator, briefly a senator, an early champion of civil rights – undoubtedly Frank Porter Graham contributed something that America could be proud to remember.  But his contribution was as nothing compared to that of his older brother Archibald.

Archie went to medical school, making a few dollars and having some fun along the way by playing baseball.  Whether he was a medical student who moonlighted as a ballplayer or a baseball player who moonlighted as a medical student, he was stuck with the nickname “Moonlight” Graham.  He bounced around the minor leagues for . . . oh, six or eight years or so.

But in June of 1905 he was called up to the New York Giants.  And on Thursday, June 29, he played two innings in right field.  He handled no chances, and the game ended before he came to bat.  One game, no plate appearances, no hits.  A baseball career easily forgotten.

And so it was – until the movie Field of Dreams reproduced Moonlight Graham’s story with surprising accuracy.  (There are some discrepancies, but they don’t spoil the narrative.)  He finished his medical degree and ended up spending his life as a small-town doctor in Chisholm, Minnesota.  He gave of himself to care for his patients, and they loved him.  And he had no regrets.  No, he really didn’t.

Don’t believe me?  Then watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCNp_jl5m6c

Happy Moonlight Graham Day, June 29.

* Some of our reporting on the Supreme Court is parody and satire and we leave it to the careful and discerning reader to figure it our. 

CAPE VERDE

 We are all in on Cape Verde's soccer team in the World Cup. Think 69 Miracle Mets. 

Cape Verde's population? About 500,000. GO CV's ! (What's the appropriate cheer here? ) 

Colombia plays Saturday at the Hard Rock Stadium where ticket prices are exceeding those for Knicks tix at MSG during the finals. 

Our second fav team- Scotland, is still not out (we are told). We cannot name you a player on the team. But their fans drank Boston bars dry, and they march around in kilts with bagpipes and that's enough for us. 

Au Revior to our Haitian brothers and sisters.  The County that has this: 

has sent you home to a nightmare. We should all be deeply ashamed. 

Are you going to a World Cup game? 

And how about Japan's team who left their locker room after a match looking like this: 

And their fans bring garbage bags to the matches and clean up afterwards 

Pretty much what Miami fans do after a Dolphins game, NOT. 

 Enjoy your pre-holiday weekend weekend. 

FYI we are well aware of the stupid, insipid impeachment crapola. We have our reasons for sitting on this for now. Bear with us por favor.  

PINO ACQUITTED

 In a closely watched (not by us), hard fought, opinion generating case, Jorge Pino was acquitted after a two hour deliberation on Monday of the boating manslaughter he was charged with. 

Not every accident is a crime, even when tragic, as this one was, where a beautiful, bright, and promising young woman lost her life. 

But the tragic episode was an accident, not a crime, and that is what a jury found. 

One word of caution- we will NOT post nasty, character attacks on anyone. So if you want to waste your time writing such missives, have at it. No one will read it. 

Thoughtful comments will be posted. 

HR

JUNETEENTH 2026

 Pino closings Monday. Maybe we will watch. Maybe not. 

Our 2021 Juneteenth post admitted our ignorance. We knew little or nothing about the day and its meaning.  We become stronger when we own our failings. 

We did not know and do not know what it means to be the descendants of slaves.  What it means to be immediately judged when you walk into a room because of the color of your skin instead of the content of your character. 

But we learned about what people who would become our brothers and sisters others felt and experienced. 

And you know what we decided? That diversity, equity, and inclusion is a good idea, not a bad one. That when President Lincoln formed a cabinet of a "team of rivals" he was endorsing the idea that accepting and respecting our differences makes us stronger.  Listening to others and honoring their lives is a good thing, not a bad thing. 

That when President John Kennedy said during his commencement address to the American University in Washington DC in 1963 that "Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we all are mortal" he was eloquently explaining that our humanness envelopes our petty differences. 

There are many holidays we do not partake in. Christmas. Ramadan. St. Crispins Day. The list goes on and on. But we respect those who do celebrate those days. We have been to midnight mass, invited by friends. We have broken bread on El ad-Fitr with our Muslim brothers and sisters, and of course we read Henry V on October 25 for the poetic summary of the closeness of those sharing an ideal worth dying for. 

So to our brothers and sisters who celebrate June 19 with friends and family and gather to remember, and to enjoy traditional dishes, we thank you for including us in your celebrations and allowing our journey from ignorance to understanding to continue. 

And (being Rumpole) we could not resist in leaving you with these words spoken before the Battle of Agincourt: 

Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day: then shall our names.
Familiar in his mouth as household words
Harry the king, Bedford and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloucester,
Be in their flowing cups freshly remember’d.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day. 

DAY SEVEN PINO TRIAL

 On Day Seven of the Pino trial no one rested (biblical pun...think about it). The State rested on day six and the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal. 

The trial began today with Judge Tinkler-Mendez "respectfully" denying the motions for judgment of acquittal. 

Why the adjective "respectfully?"   We all make motions all the time. Some better than others. Some a closer call than others. Respectfully means nothing. A careful consideration (which we are not implying did not occur here) is what we are after. 

Anyway, the trial moves on. The defense is calling an investigator as their first witness. We are writing a brief and went to find a fav game show and stumbled upon the broadcast of the trial, so we will watch it for a bit. 

Current testimony appears to be something about how time and tide wait for no man. 

Coming Next: What happens at the intersection of the NY Times Florida correspondent and the REGJB? An article about .....(three guesses....hint- he authors a constitutional calendar and enjoys a legal  quip in iambic pentameter)

MOMENTS

There are moments that transcend time; they unfold and then live forever in the collective memory in the people of the place. 

May 8, 1970 was such a day, when Willis Reed, the center and heart of the first Knicks team to win a championship limped on to the court in game seven at Madison Square Garden and scored the first four points. From our black and white TV, picking up the game on the rabbit ears antenna, we could hear the Garden explode, creating echoes that we can still hear if we listen closely when we catch a Knicks game in NYC. 

This week was another moment that transcended time. From OG Anunoby soaring above everyone in the final seconds to tip in the game 4 winner, to The Captain Jalen Brunson lighting up every fourth quarter, taking over the game, and bringing the first basketball championship to NYC in 53 years, a moment his father- a former Knicks player and now coach whispered to him about doing as his son signed with the Knicks.  

Every borough, if not almost every street corner erupted in the kind of delirious and resplendent joy that only a fan can understand. 

 

They watched from Central Park, inside the Garden, from streets blocked off in Harlem and Bushwick and The Village, and around bodegas. Quintessential New Yorkers celebrating a unique moment in time.  

 And then there is this. 

The Knicks second championship banner hanging in the Garden celebrates the 1973 championship team led by Earl The Pearl Monroe, whose nickname barely captures the poetic way he led his team as a magical point guard- magical before there was a player named Magic. 

There are three banners (and soon to be fourth) hanging in the Garden. The 1970 Championship Banner; the 1973 Championship Banner and a third banner next to the 1973 Banner honoring their great Coach Red Holzman, who coached the team to their first two championships. The Holzman banner celebrates his 613 wins. 

The Knicks won their third championship on June 13, or as it is written 6/13. 

Thank you Coach Holzman. Still showing his team the way. 

KNICKS IN FIVE

MONDAY JUNE 8 NEWS AND NOTES

 We have some good news. See below. 

The Pino trial began today, and we heard it was broadcast live on television. We did not watch it, but overheard someone say that the defendant was sobbing so badly at one point during his counsel Scott  Howard Srebnick's  (tomato- tomahto?) opening that Judge Tinkler-Mendez stopped the trial.  Never a good sign. 

Once we had a jury come back in less than thirty minutes and our client started taking off his belt and watch and handing it to his wife. We walked over and snarled "put your f'ing belt back on. You ain't going nowhere." And he all he did was go home that night. It's a hard enough job. Client's need to have a little faith in their counsel. 

Laura Adams leads the prosecution and she's as good as it gets. 

GUESS WHO IS BACK? 

He's like a bad penny that keeps turning up. 

Everyone's favourite Miami crime reporter extraordinaire- David Ovalle- is back as the failing NY Times Florida Correspondent. 

Florida needs a reporter devoted full time to a national newspaper. We lead the country in weirdness. It's not like the NY Times has a New Mexico reporter, or a South Dakota reporter. 

Here is part of the Times news release announcing David's position: 

For years, many of the wildest and most memorable stories coming out of Florida bore the same byline: David Ovalle. 

Covering crime and criminal justice for The Miami Herald, David wrote about a murder rooted in Miami’s niche world of pigeon racing. A businessman who used $2.1 million in pandemic loans to buy “the peak Miami status symbols,” including a Lamborghini. The brazen theft from a warehouse of thousands of pairs of the body-shaping undergarments known as fajas – think Spanx, but Spanish.

In his more recent job at The Washington Post, David spent three years covering addiction, illegal drugs and public health policy. Steve Smith, his editor for most of that time and now a deputy on Metro, says: “David reports with intensity and empathy. He writes with precision and elan. He can spot a great story — and a charlatan — a mile away. And his talents as a writer and a reporter are eclipsed only by his decency and caring as a colleague.”... He owned the crime and courts beat thanks to deep sources that he built in police departments and courthouses. He wrote about police shootings and alleged misconduct; the Parkland school massacre, and complex legal cases involving the Stand Your Ground defense and the death penalty.

We’re pleased he’s joining the National desk as Florida correspondent.

Just who were they speaking of about Ovalle's "deep sources"? We'll never tell.