MOUNT RUSHMORE

 We've been wanting to do this for a while. For those of you unfamiliar with the Mount Rushmore challenge, it is picking the four best of something, like steak sandwiches, Dolphin Players, etc. Herewith is our Mount Rushmore of REGJB judges, with the following parameters: 1- no current judge; 2- circuit court judge; 3- Impact on the court system and community versus smartest, best, nicest, etc. 

4. Stanley Goldtsein. First Drug Court Judge of the first drug court in the nation. Brought into the criminal justice system the concentrated and systematic approach to helping a defendant end their drug addiction and break the cycle of arrest and incarceration. A former Miami Motor-cycle cop, and a heck of a nice guy to boot. Judges and defendants in drug courts around the country are all sitting in the shade of his oak tree that he planted decades ago. 

3. Ellen Morphonios. One of the first female circuit judges (Mattie Belle Davis was the first Judge in Miami we believe, but she served in the old Metropolitan Court) and in 1970 became the first female circuit court judge elected to the bench. Prior to becoming a judge she was one of the first female prosecutors hired by State Attorney Richard Gerstein. Groundbreaking, she often was larger than life because of her over whelming personality - did you know she hosted a late-night radio talk show when she was on the bench?. Said "sorry Merc" when she gave Dolphins star running back and member of the legendary 1972 undefeated team the fifteen-year drug trafficking min man (later reversed on appeal). Not our favourite judge, but once she got to know us, she treated us well, and while defendants got slammed for losing, she let most everything in for the defense, turning trials into wild west shootouts. She makes Mount Rushmore based on her legend, her over-sized personality, and her tight control over her courtroom- announce ready for trial during the initial calendar call and everything stopped and a jury was brought down. Were there many judges who were "better" than she was? Sure. But none cast as large a shadow. 

2. Gerald Kogan:  a legendary trial judge who on December 30, 1986 was appointed from his seat in the REGJB to the Florida Supreme Court (and how we know this from memory is a clue to our identity...). Justice Kogan eventually became Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court-local judge makes good. He had as great a legal mind as any judge or lawyer you will ever come across, and he was as humble as pie. 

1. Not a close call. Brillant. Given to quote scripture in a southern homespun way (often said "well bless your soul" in response to an objection, causing confusion amongst the lawyers over whether the objection was sustained or overruled) and the Judge who presided over Ted Bundy and sentenced him (see below). In many ways the Judge against whom all other judges who sit at the intersection of 12th street and 12th avenue are measured. Our number one judge on the REGJB Mount Rushmore is none other than the Honorable Edward Cowart.  

Turn up the volume so you can hear Judge Cowart sentence Bundy to death and then tell him that he wished he had taken a different path in life and would have enjoyed having Bundy appear before him as a lawyer.  

This is a highly subjective list, subject to many "I can't believe you left off..." critiques. Who we struggled not including included the legendary Seymour Gelber, whose work in juvenile court is unparalleled (and thus doesn't make the REGJB Mount Rushmore); Fredericka Smith, one of the first female circuit judges to serve in the REGJB, she was simply brilliant as all lawyers and her colleagues knew; Margarita Esquiroz who was the first Hispanic female circuit court judge, and a great judge -period; and  our blast from the past- Dick Fuller- who was tough before Morphonios ever got her reputation. One of the real old guard judges who served decades and was on the bench as Miami transitioned from a sleepy southern town in the 1960's to the turbulent 1970's.  He ran his courtroom with a traditional flair that is unheard of (and unrecognizable) today. 

Okay, have at it. 

WOMEN'S COURT

 Hawaii, of all places, has instituted a Women's Court- asking this question:

 Can we create a system of justice that looks wholly different from what most of us imagine when it comes to crime and punishment, while still demanding accountability from perpetrators? What if court were a place that afforded someone the opportunity for a complete reset, with entryways to jobs, housing, education? What if instead of punishing people who’ve been broken many times over, we helped to heal them?

The answer, of course (DeSantis drones, click away now- this will be offensive to you) is a resounding yes.  Why?

The avenues that lead women to jail tend to differ from those for men. Criminologists have long understood this. What happens with women is often a layering of trauma and abuse. They might have economic instability or mental health challenges that allow them to be exploited by violent partners. They might exchange sex for food or housing, and then get arrested for any number of infractions: prostitution, trespassing, drugs. The criminal-justice researcher Stephanie Kennedy calls these “crimes of survival.”

Before we had a bench full of Federalist drones (who don't understand the philosophy, but love anything for an appointment) we had judges like Stanley Goldstein (a former Miami motorcycle cop) and Jeffrey Roskinek (a former Gables high school teacher) who believed more in the person before them than the strict application of every law to every person every time the same way. In other words, they were judges who used discretion to make the lives of the people before them better, rather than calling balls and strikes.  Not surprisingly Stan Goldtsein was the founding Judge for Miami's first in the nation drug court, and Judge Rosinek succeeded him and took it to new and greater heights.  Both men proved that when judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys work for the good of the defendant, great things happen. Rehabilitating a person saves them and saves the taxpayers enormous sums of money in moving someone out of the revolving door of prisons. 

In other words, locking someone up doesn't do a damn bit of good for the vast majority of people in the criminal justice system for non-violent crimes (or BS "violent" crimes like agg assault with a squeegee- yes that was a real case in Miami) when the reason they keep getting arrested has an identifiable genesis - like drug addiction or being in an abusive relationship, or enduring an abusive childhood. 

Of course in Miami the State Attorney's Office (victim wants max) and the Judges all vying for the next appointment to the 3rd DCA or Supreme Court all believe that guidelines are guidelines and judges don't make policy ("great argument counselor, please make it to the legislature, motion denied"). They  are fully invested in the punishment not rehabilitation paradigm of criminal justice. How's that working out for you? How do you feel sentencing a twenty-year-old to decades in prison for a drug crime? Are you doing the lord's work trying to become the next judge or prosecutor with the nickname of maximum...?

The program in Hawaii, reported on by the failing NY Times here, works. As does veterans court, drug court, mental illness court, and so on. Because what we know- from the statistics- is that for 98% of cases in the criminal justice system, the defendant and the community benefit when all parties in the system work together to provide the client support rather than blindly punish her if she pleads or goes to trial and loses (not that there's such a thing as a trial tax! Oh no no no. No one gets punished for losing a trial. 6th Amendment and all that doncha know.) 

Is there a bitter edge to this post? Ya Think? What gave it away? 

It's our knowledge that almost (with a few exceptions) no judge or prosecutor in this community would ever risk their career for doing the right thing for someone.

Less than 50 days and counting and some days it cannot end soon enough. 

 

COURTS CLOSED FRIDAY

 Did you know courts in Miami-Dade are closed tomorrow- Friday? We did not. It's National Pineapple on Pizza Day, or some such other nonsense. 

Did you know it's day three on Friday of the jury deliberations in the Haitian President Assassination case? Longtime and careful readers know how we feel about Friday verdicts. Avoid at all costs! 

A crime against Pizza 

Okay, while we still have time, lets finish up some important blog business. Pineapple on Pizza? We say it's a crime. You? 

Your pizza toppings? Our go-to are onions and mushrooms. We are not averse to having ranch on the side, and we are a big fan of putting our salad on our pizza. There are some new slice and pie places in Miami. What should we check out before we check-out of Miami? 

Enjoy your weekend. 

WINTHROP ROCKERFELLER

 

Winthrop Rocekfeller, brother of NY Governor and 41st Vice President of the United States Nelson Rocekfeller, was the governor of Arkansas from 1967-1971. He was a progressive Democrat. Some of his accomplishments include the integration of Arkansas schools that had been such a political bombshell only a few years before when President Eisenhower had to send in US Airborne troops to enforce federal integration requirements.  (Ike loved the Airborne. When he was Supreme Allied Commander in WWII it was the Airborne he called in to save the day at the Battle of the Bulge).  He established the Council on Human Relations despite opposition from the legislature. Draft boards in the state boasted the highest level of racial integration of any U.S. state by the time that Rockefeller left office. He was also the only governor from a Southern state to hold a public memorial for Dr. Martin King. 

On December 29, 1970, having lost his reelection bid, and with two days left in his term, he drove to the Arkansas prison holding death row inmates, and interviewed each one of them. He reviewed all of their files, and the case facts, and the next day he commuted all of their death sentences, the largest single act of commutation of death sentences until 2003 when then outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 inmates on death row. 

Politicians were different back then. Some cared and did the right thing. 

FOUR NEW JUDGES IN MIAMI-DADE ... & FIVE MORE STILL TO BE NAMED

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR FOUR NEWEST MIAMI-DADE COURT JUDGES ARE:

CIRCUIT COURT

Judge Elizabeth Espinosa. A former ASA, she was appointed by DeSantis to the County Court in December 2019. She won election in 2022.

Judge Jorge Perez Santiago. He was appointed by DeSantis to the County Court in May 2023. He won election in 2024.

COUNTY COURT

Michelle Roth. A former ASA, she was in private practice. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1995.

Andrew McGinley. A former AAG, he was serving as the General Counsel for the Department of Children & Families. He has been a member of The Florida Bar since December 2018.

All four were appointed to newly created judicial seats under SB 2508.

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

There are four more open seats, including two on the Circuit Court by virtue of the retirements of Judge Jose Rodriguez and Judge Marcia Caballero, and two more open seats on the County Court. 

And yes—those County Court openings come with a backstory.

As previously reported, Judges Jason Reding Quinones and Yara Klukas resigned last summer to assume leadership roles with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami. Under the Florida Constitution, that should have triggered the appointment process within 30 days.

It didn’t.

Eight months later—after a few well-placed nudges from Captain Justice to General Counsel David Axelman—the Governor’s Office finally accepted the resignations and directed the JNC to begin the process.

Better late than never… but eight months late is still eight months late.

To read our two previous posts about the fiasco, go here and here.

THE APPLICANT POOL:

CIRCUIT (10)

Judge Miesha Darraugh
Judge Eleana Sosa-Bruzon
Judge Rita Cuervo
Judge Chiaka Ihekwaba
Judge Alicia Garcia Priovolos
Judge Stephanie Silver
Judge Michelle Urbistondo
Judge Christopher Green
Judge Jennifer Trautman Levin
Judge Natalie Moore

CIRCUIT & COUNTY (7)

Annette Strauch
Natalia Costea
Christian Dunham
Alexander Shear
Aaron Feuer
Scott Janowitz
Jose Martinez

COUNTY (9)

Patricia Salman
Kimberly Hillery
Gustavo Losa
Johanna Benedi
Ivette Lavelle
Madeline D’Arce
Jeffrey Pierce
Shawn Abuhoff
Lillian Gonzalez

HAVE A VIEW? SAY IT.

If you have thoughts about any of the applicants, direct them to JNC Chair Eliot Pedrosa at epedrosa@jonesday.com.

Interviews are scheduled for May 19, 2026, after which the JNC will submit three to six nominees per vacancy to the Governor.

THIRD DCA 

Governor DeSantis is expected to name Judge Kevin Emas' replacement sometime in the next week.

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

MAY THE FOURTH

 

May 4- June 30. - 57 days remaining until we stop blogging. We are not kidding about this. 

Where is the next REGJB Jedi Knight...Tatooine?

OUR STREAK CONTINUES

 It's not Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak, but still... our streak of NOT attending the Miami FACDL's banquet continues tonight. We are at about 44 or 45 and we do not believe we will ever end this streak until we just fade away. 

But Saturday is the big night where judges running for re-election show up and mingle with criminal defense attorneys and everyone pats each other on the back. Rubber chicken is served (along with the more important open bar- bring fives to tip those bartenders!), and a (supposedly) good time is had by all. 

Our favourite part is the speculation on the awards. It's not as intense as picking the Dolphins sixth round pick in the 2028 draft, but it is still fun during those boring moments when co-counsel is trying to cross the crime scene detective and explain why their client's bloody fingerprint was found on the knife. 

Our favourites....

Nicest Judge; Meanest Prosecutor; Most Helpful Clerk; Most Clueless Lead Detective; Largest Fee For a No-Action; Best New App For Games During Trial; Most Embarrassing Voir Dire Response (never to surpass "I'm pretty sure I can pay attention to the testimony so long as you zip up your fly during trial"); Most Typos in a Judicial Order;  

and the highlight of the night...the awarding of the prestigious

Alex Michaels Award For Congeniality. 

For those of you going, have fun!