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.
Captain4Justice@gmail.com
What do we really think. What we really wanted to say in the Blog Post (but we were advised not to) when we opened with the "A moose is not a beaver" quote, was to compare Axelman's failure to acknowledge the Governor's actions, with the lawsuit filed by Buc-ee's - both are a Joke. (This follows in the footsteps of legendary NC State Coach Jim Valvano, when he approached a ref and asked him if he could get in trouble for what he was thinking. The exact wording went like this: "I asked a ref if he could give me a
ReplyDeletetechnical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. "). Cap Out ..
A moose is not a beaver and a hotdog is not a sandwich. And, in closing, Arise Sir Harry!
DeleteI just got my mail ballot. Who do we vote for?
ReplyDeleteClearly Mavel Ruiz is better than that Trumpster Destiny Alvarez
Clearly Bonita is better than Baez or Baez
I hated dealing with Spencer Eig so, is Yenly Dominguez a good candidate?
Luis Perez-Medina is a good guy but, what about Maribel Diaz?
Gordon or Padron? Who are they?
Annunziato was a trooper. Is he better than McNeil or Segura?
Rebull was badly beaten when he tried to run as an incumbent trying to maintain his circuit court seat. Now he has gone to the 3d as an appellate judge. Although he is slightly better than Watson and Perkins (both are fools on the bench and could not make a dime in private practice) Rebull is no Phillip Hubbart or a Mallary Horton or even " little Alan".
ReplyDeleteLet's admit the obvious that given the politics the best judges for the third DCA have no chance of appointment from this governor...Walsh, De la o and Trawick. Rebull is the best alternate
DeleteUnfortunately for Miami-Dade and Monroe, yet another political hack. Terrible jurist and his prior conduct that resulted in his large margin election loss is telling. Only reason he was back on the bench was because of a political appointment circumventing the overwhelming wishes of the voters of Miami Dade.
ReplyDeleteCaptain is right to call out the Governor and his GC for their joke of a Response. And Rebull should be sending a thank you card to the Captain.
ReplyDeleteWait. Isn’t this the same Tomas Rebull who lost an election as an incumbent. To Denise Martinez Scanziani. And then, two months after he lost the election, the Governor appointed him again right back onto the Circuit Court. Who does Rebull know. The people spoke and then the Governor told the voters F-U. I don’t care what you want.
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand half of these references, but it seems like some people have a lot of hate in their hearts (be careful - heart disease is not in our favor) instead of learning to accept and appreciate growth and move on. Judge Rebull will be a fantastic judge. A judge we need and deserve on the third. No one came close even marginally. Fall into the future, and measure your life in love as opposed to misplaced resentment.
ReplyDeleteIt should have been Judge Michael Hanzman.
ReplyDeleteHe was the number one most brilliant trial judge and legal mind. Have you ever read his 30 page orders?
Well, you knew it was going to be some MAGA diehard. He must have naked pics of desantis.
ReplyDelete