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:
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.
32 comments:
Pinos defense attys advised him to reject the lesser included offense of careless homicide - a second degree misdemeanor. Based on what I’ve seen, a careless homicide would be a win.
All hail Rumpole. Truly. You will be missed.
Thank you. No one has stepped up to take over. I am concerned and weighing certain options. I don't just want it to go dark.
SAO can’t wait for the blog to go dark.
Agreed that diversity and inclusion are important. Equality is important too. But not equity in the DEI context. Starting each generation from square one, and not passing on skills, knowledge and the fruits of one’s labor to one’s children is not good policy.
Kind of like the SAO, no one wants the job
I understand your concern. I don't know anyone who toils at the REGJB who has your scope and skill. I'm surprised no one has offered to take it over; so many of your readers are arrogant and over-confident.
It would be terrible if this space goes dark. You've spent years creating a community, must have been like herding rabid unfixed cats. I have been uplifted and enlightened by your posts. Could you consider posting less frequently, say, once a week, and asking one or two of your colleagues to post in-between?
This blog is too great to go dark. We all love it and spend countless hours per week learning, considering, debating, commenting and thinking about your intellectual posts and the smart comments.
Please don’t go Rumpole. Not to mention that if you leave, we will have to necessarily rely upon Cramer and Mr. Wonderful to sustain our Wall Street winnings. Thanks to you Sir.
"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"
You can't even take these banalities for granted.
Legions of people kill and burn other people's children because they think it gets their own children a bigger piece of the pie.
Legions of people would sacrifice their own children for hubris, hatred, and delusion a million times over, to say nothing of other people's children.
Please don't go Rump. Your posts are so stimulating. One of my daily perks.
The only thing I learned from this post is that you only know black people with the exact same political views as you, the coastal elite ones. I guess living a sheltered life where you don't have any actual black friends means you have to somehow understand them.
Maybe if you treated them like people and found common ground you wouldn't have to solve some great mystery to understand. As someone from more of a blue collar background growing up I just talked with them about sports, chasing girls, joked with them and got in trouble with them as school etc... They are actually not that different.
Never once did I think I have to understand them, but that's because they were actually my friends and I understood them more than you could ever hope to.
I have a ton to say in reply. But I’ll start with two questions. 1. Where in any post do I discuss whether or how I know black people? The posts are about my lack of understanding the holiday not about people. 2- show me one post - just one- where I have discussed the economics of my upbringing Whether I came from a family with money or not. Or even if I was raised by my natural parents Just one and we can go from there. Otherwise I suggest you go to the Disney blogs. The level of writing and discussion there is more your level.
I offered but Rump wants the new admin to be named. I asked to remain anonymous.
This is our place.
If Pino is found guilty - and sentenced to 30 years of state prison - is there any doubt that with his connections to the Cuban community elite that a pardon by Governor DeSantis will be in place just before he leaves office this year?
Anybody disagree?
Rump don’t shut the blog! Don’t give in to the SAO Gestapo.
The gestapo lurks on here
You must be someone very close to Rumpole. No other way you would know whether he had a sheltered life. Or are you assuming that, because he is well-read and articulate, he cannot have come from a working class background. If you aren't close to him, how could you know the history of his relationships with people of color. Or are you assuming that someone of his accomplishments could not have had Black friends and colleagues? Your comment says a lot more about you than it does about him.
A guilty verdict for Pino is only a minor inconvenience. Is Mr. Pino a dear friend of Florida Fish and Wildlife Chief Commissioner Rodney B? Is Rodney B a dear friend of the Governor? Is Mr. Pino a dear friend of Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Albert Maury of Coral Gables? Is Commissioner Maury appointed by the Governor?
Will the Judge immediately take Mr. Pino into custody and send him the state prison upon a guilty verdict?
Who thinks that an immediate pardon is already in the works?
No way an affluent and politically connected defendant, as classy and a social elite, would ever be placed in custody. No way. He is untouchable. Rich and powerful Miami folks have it all figured out.
Hermes or Louis Vuitton would probably post his bond.
Of course he gets a pardon.
conviction for manslaughter would require her to take him into custody immediately starting July 1
Rump the SAO Gestapo lurks on here infringing 1st amendment rights. You must not shut the blog.
PINO CLOSES MONDAY
No one rested on Day Seven.
Everybody rested this weekend.
We hope.
At 10:00 Monday morning, the lawyers close. The current plan is to get the case to the jury by mid-afternoon, order dinner if necessary, and let them work until the courthouse starts turning out the lights.
The State’s argument writes itself:
Forty-something miles per hour. Maybe close to fifty.
Fourteen people aboard.
A narrow channel.
A fixed steel marker.
Broad daylight.
Nine seconds.
And no turn.
The State will say this was not one innocent mistake. It was a course of conduct: speed, location, load, visibility, familiarity with the channel, and the failure to keep a proper lookout. Add it together, says the State, and you get recklessness. Add a little more, and you get culpable negligence.
The defense has a simpler assignment, although not an easy one.
Drag every fact back from criminal to civil.
No numerical speed limit. Calm water. A boat built to run. Other boats—including law-enforcement boats—traveling at comparable speeds. No racing. No donuts. No texting. No evidence of impairment. And nobody says George Pino intended to hit Marker 15.
A terrible mistake?
Yes.
A felony?
That is the entire case.
The defense will argue that Pino failed to see the marker during the final seconds. Ordinary negligence. Human error. A momentary lapse. Not willful or wanton conduct and certainly not the “utter disregard” required for manslaughter.
Then there is the post-crash story.
The State says fabrication.
The defense says confabulation.
The State has the GPS and the absence of the mystery boat and wake described by Pino that night. The defense has the head injury, the inconsistent memories, and a neurologist who says traumatic brain injury can produce amnesia and sincerely held false memories.
The jury gets the bodycam, the written statement, the medical testimony, and the unenviable job of deciding whether Pino was lying or whether his brain was trying to fill in blanks after a violent crash.
And then we get to the law.
Always a good place for things to become less clear.
Manslaughter may be proven through an intentional act causing death or through culpable negligence. Vessel homicide requires reckless operation. The defense wanted the counts treated as legally interlocking—no vessel homicide, no manslaughter. The Court said no. Two counts. Two separate decisions.
No lessers.
No misdemeanor landing pad.
The Court will also tell the jury something important: violating a navigational rule does not, standing alone, establish recklessness or culpable negligence.
That sentence is not decoration.
The State must turn rule violations into criminal conduct. The defense must keep them in the world of carelessness, mistakes, and civil liability.
Pino did not testify. The jury will be instructed not to hold that against him. Experienced lawyers know jurors follow that instruction.
Experienced lawyers also know why the instruction exists.
Predictions?
We do not make predictions.
Except when we do.
A fast verdict means somebody won big. A long deliberation means absolutely nothing—until suddenly it means everything.
Monday night?
Tuesday?
Or a jury note asking the same question the lawyers spent Friday arguing:
What exactly is the difference between reckless, culpably negligent, and intentional?
See you in court.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQBvt_d45wYylDUYJ3d0g81DNmPtBmxKE0_QRjP1LappO58XG2cX-yVjG8&s=10
Here is picture of Pino with Rodney. Just did a quick google image search. How is it not a conflict for him to lead an investigation v. Pino ? Only in Miami.
Guilty. 3 hours. Prison.
Desantis in his 8 years has pardoned two groups, the Groveland Five posthumously and those convicted of violating Covid restrictions. The chances he will use the pardon power on this case seem extremely low. He still (delusionally) thinks he can win national office and won't want an easy attack line for an opponent. The ads on this would write themselves. More likely if guilty the governor's desired outcome is quietly communicated to 3rd DCA judges.
The only reply I have for that gibberish is thank god we have the best justice system in the world, warts and all and everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Great take! I’m betting a hung jury for a number of reasons.
Does anyone know why Pino’s attorneys didn’t choose a bench trial? If his best defense is the standard (i.e. his conduct was merely careless, not criminally reckless) then it would make more sense to present that argument to a judge than a jury.
US Supreme Court restores conviction.
In its 10-page opinion on Monday, the Supreme Court said the Second Circuit, a federal court, exceeded its authority by undoing Mr. Hernandez’s conviction in state court. Federal law imposes strict limits on the power of federal judges to grant relief to prisoners convicted in state courts.
The lower court opinion “appears to reflect serious doubt about the reliability of Hernandez’s confessions,” the majority said, but the relevant statute does not permit federal courts to “disturb a state-court conviction based on such an evaluation of the evidence.”
See here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/22/us/politics/etan-patz-pedro-hernandez.html?campaign_id=60&emc=edit_na_20260622&instance_id=177595&nl=breaking-news®i_id=84899589&segment_id=221907&user_id=4508d47414ba0aceff8290fc694a7859
Regarding your point # 1, IF he is found guilty, will not get anything close to the max.
As to #2...yeah, this is Miami after all. Money talks. I'm sure those wheels are already turning. Por si acaso.
NOT GUILTY on both counts after 2 hour deliberations. The potential behind the scene efforts at obtaining a pardon can stand down.
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