WITHER COUNTY COURT ?

 As fans of the show Mad Men, it has occurred to us that all that County Court needs to open is a good slogan, announcing that the Court, its judges, support staff who make it hum, and the eager -wet-behind-the-ears PDS and ASAs, are all back and raring to go. Thus, as any good writer or trial lawyer is wont to do, we have "borrowed" some slogans (or in the vernacular of Mad Men "tags")  to help Judge Faber's "County-Crew" to get crackin. 

County Court- it's not just on five any more. 

County Court- it's not just a job, it's an adventure. 

County Court- the cure for the common court case. 

County Court- a great place to start your career and your day. 

County Court is open! Plea one DUI, get one free. 

Hey Hey..ho ho...County Court is ready to go!

Misdemeanors and more...come see the NEW County Court. 

County Court...it's morning in Miami again. 

County Court...where the rubber meets the road. 

Take a break from felonies and come to the real "People's Court". 

County Court- serving misdemeanors daily starting at 9 am. 

Once upon a morning dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

oh where to park and where to stay

whilst I start my county court day

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten cases law—

While I waited in security lines, nearly napping, 

suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my shoulder near 

I turned and was startled with some fear 

to see a figure dark in black 

robes a flutter, no lawyer hack

saying this and nothing more 

"County Court is ever more"....

WANNA BE A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE? TAKE OUR ADVICE

Ladies and gentlemen take our advice, if you want to be a supreme court justice, pull down your pants and slide on the ice. 

2018 11 27 Notice of Certification (1) by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd


 We can name you several US District Court judges (motto: "You need a continuance?...Wait until I stop laughing before I say 'no'. ") who started wearing robes in county court. We cannot name any on the Florida Supreme Court. Can you? 

18.12.7 Press Release Count... by on Scribd

Because we do not use quotes without attribution, we give you the originator of our wise piece of advice- Dr. Sidney Freedman:

JNC SENDS SIX NAMES TO GOVERNOR SCOTT .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND YOUR NEXT COUNTY COURT JUDGE WILL BE .....

The Eleventh Judicial Circuit's JNC met late into the night on Monday.  Just think about that.  They could have been watching the Fins lose another game, this time to the Giants on Monday Night Football.

With the ascension of Judge Charlie Johnson to the Circuit Court, that opened up a spot on the County Court bench.  There were a total of 23 applicants for the job.  The JNC narrowed the list of applicants to 16 and interviewed each of those attorneys on Monday afternoon.

The following names have been sent to Governor Scott for his consideration:

Ramiro Areces; ***UPDATED***  A reader informs us that we are mistaken.  The Ramiro Areces that made it out of Committee was the son, Ramiro C. Areces, who has been a member of The Florida Bar for just seven years.  His father is an Immigration attorney with 28 years of experience.

Gina Beovides; Legal Aid attorney with nine years of experience; (last nominated in March of 2015 for an open County Court seat)

Alexander Spicola Bokor; Assistant County Attorney since 2008; a ten year member of The Florida Bar he previously worked for Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton; (last nominated in March of 2015 for an open County Court seat)

Karl S.H. Brown; a General Magistrate currently assigned to Family, he was assigned to the Child Support Division before that; (last nominated in March of 2015 for an open County Court seat)

Joseph Mansfield; Assistant State Attorney; (last nominated in March of 2015 for an open County Court seat)

Julie Nelson; currently works for ROIG Lawyers handling insurance defense cases; started as a law clerk for Judge Hoeveler; then began her career as an ASA; twenty year member of The Florida Bar

Two names missing from the final cut included John Wylie who was qualified to be sent to the Governor's desk five months ago for an open Circuit Court seat and Jonathan Meltz who also made it to the Governor's desk nine months ago for an open County Court seat.

But, there are several new members on the JNC and you just never know what they may do next.

Those they did not make the final cut:

Elijah A. Levitt
Griska Mena Rodriguez
Luis Perez-Medina
Paul Aiello
Norman Powell
Peter S. Heller
Gordon C. Murray, Sr.
John W. Wylie (nominated for Circuit Court in July 2015)
Jonathan Meltz (nominated for County Court in March 2015)
David Alschuler

The Governor has 60 days to decide on whom our next County Court Judge will be.

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

GOV. SCOTT PICKS TWO NEW JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND YOUR TWO NEW COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE ......

Late this afternoon, Governor Scott chose two new Miami-Dade County Court Judges.

LAURA ANNE STUZIN, replaces Judge Rudy Ruiz.  She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1994.  She joined the State Attorney's Office that year and spent four years as an ASA here in Miami.  She then spent two years working for Coffey, Diaz, & O'Naghten before joining heavyweight Rumberger, Kirk in 1999.  She has been with that firm for the past 15 years.  She currently practices in the areas of casualty defense, criminal defense, construction defect, professional liability and product liability. 

According to Rumberger Kirk's web site, it states: "With more than nineteen years of experience, Laura’s practice includes representing clients in premises liability matters involving claims of slip and fall, general negligence, inadequate security and malicious prosecution in cases seeking damages for personal injury, wrongful death and damage to personal and real property and criminal defense. Laura also practices in catastrophic casualty defense which involves handling claims related to the operation and safety of commercial trucking equipment. She has represented clients throughout Florida in general casualty defense including automobile accidents, trucking accidents and other casualty claims involving catastrophic loss and wrongful death."

DIANA VIZCAINO, replaces Judge Gladys Perez.  She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2000.  Like Stuzin, she began her career as an ASA in Miami and she spent five years with that office.  She then joined Boyd, Mustelier, Smith and Parker for two years and then the U.S. EEOC for one year.  In 2008, she took a job as an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Miami where she has spent the past seven years.

According to the Miami City Attorney's web site, it states that Vizcaino : "is currently the Division Chief of the Labor & Employment Division. Ms. Vizcaino represents the City in employment litigation matters, arbitrations, collective bargaining and formerly the Civil Service Board. Ms. Vizcaino is also the Recruitment and Internship Coordinator responsible for all new hires, internships, and consultant engagements."     

TO DIRECT FILE OR NOT TO DIRECT FILE - THAT IS THE QUESTION .....

On March 3rd, we posted on the opening of the Spring Session of the Florida Legislature.  Two of the bills we focused our attention on included HB 195 and SB 444, both bills relating to the Prosecution of Juveniles.  Today, Miami-Dade Public Defender Carlos Martinez penned an excellent Op-Ed in the Miami Herald titled: Public Defender: Don’t put kids in adult prisons.  It is a must read and let's hope the legislators up in Tally read it too.

ANOTHER WEEKEND IN PARADISE .....

Another great weekend is in store for South Florida and on Saturday you can take in the first ever E-Grand Prix.  What is an "E" Grand Prix you ask?  That would be the world's first fully electric racing series; the Formula E Grand Prix is on its fifth round of competition and will make its Miami debut Saturday on Biscayne Blvd.

And on Sunday March 15th, it's the world famous, or infamous, 38th Annual Calle Ocho Festival.
   
CAPTAIN OUT .....
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

CHIEF JUDGE SOTO RE-ELECTED, AND MORE

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

LA JEFA JUEZ SOTO .........

Congratulations go out to Judge Bertila Soto as she was elected, unopposed, to a second term as Chief Judge by the Eleventh Judicial Circuit's 123 County and Circuit Court Judges. 

Judge Soto has come a long way from her days as a young ASA when she joined that office in 1989.  She was elected to the County Court bench in 1997 and later appointed to an open seat on the Circuit Court in 2002 by Governor Bush.  She was first elected to the position of Chief Judge in 2013.

YOUR NEXT TWO COUNTY COURT JUDGES .......

Have not yet been chosen.  You still have time to contact Governor Scott's office and weigh in on who should, or should not, be chosen to replace Judge Gladys Perez and Judge Rudy Ruiz for the two open County Court seats.

The Governor has the following names before him:

To replace Perez:

Laura Ann Stuzin
Diana Vizcaino
Gina Beovides
Jonathan Meltz
Karl St Hope Brown
Elijah A. Levitt

To replace Ruiz:

Laura Ann Stuzin
Diana Vizcaino
Gina Beovides
Joseph Mansfield
John William Wylie IV
Alexander Spicola Bokor

The Governor has until April 3rd to make his selections.  If you would like to weigh in on any of the finalists, you can contact Governor Scott's Office of General Counsel at 850-717-9310.

NORTH OF THE BORDER ...........

The JNC got busy with naming a replacement for Judge Giselle Pollack, who recently resigned from the County Court bench.  Today they sent six names to Governor Scott, including:

Nickolaus Hunter Davis
Donald Gelin
Michele McCaul Ricca
Nina Weatherly Di Pietro
Ernest Kollra
Richard A. Sachs

What some may describe as a controversial decision by the JNC, in Broward County (said it ain't so), is the inclusion of Nina Weatherly Di Pietro, on the short list.  It appears that Ms. Di Pietro has the distinction of having been fired from the Broward County Public Defender's Office by Howard Finklestein.  Anyone who has ever served as an APD knows how truly difficult it is to get fired from that job.  The Sun Sentinel covers all of the controversy here and here.

LOVING SOUTH FLORIDA ............

It's March and that means sunny and breezy days living in our tropical paradise with outings to watch international golf at Doral, international tennis on Key Biscayne, and international auto racing on the streets of Biscayne Blvd.  And, of course, every criminal defense lawyer's dream weekend, ULTRA.  Lots of new misdemeanor and third degree possession cases soon to fill your office stockings.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

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

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A COUNTY COURT JUDGE

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

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

As a result of the resignation of Judge Gladys Perez, there is a vacancy on the County Court.  The following 26 attorneys have applied to the 11th Circuit's Judicial Nominating Commission for consideration:

Julio M. Gomez
 *Laura Ann Stuzin
Adriana Collado-Hudak
Elijah A. Levitt
Thomas Aquinas Cobitz
Erik M. Vieira
Bruce S. Reich
Gina Beovides
Christopher A. Green
Carlos L. Fernandez
Ansley B. Peacock
Steven Lieberman
*Diana Vizcaino
Scott M. Janowitz
Gordon Charles Murray
David Alschuler
Karl S.H. Brown
Griska Mena Rodriguez
Luis Perez Medina
Sandra J. Millor
Jonathan Meltz
Peter S. Heller
Julie Harris Terry
Isadora Velazquez-Rivas
Lody Jean
Leonard Leigh Elias

The JNC will now review their applications and decide how many of the 26 to interview in person.

*Ms. Stuzin and Ms. Vizcaino were both recently nominated by the 11th JNC to the two open Circuit Court seats (Gayles & Bloom); those seats were eventually filled by Jason Bloch & Rodolfo "Rudy" Ruiz.

If you would like to provide your input to any of the JNC members about any of these attorneys, you can find the JNC members' names and contact information here.

I LOVE MY LAW LICENSE .................

And in case you missed yesterday's post by Rumpole, read it again. "Protect Yourself".  And if you need further support for this mantra, just take a look at the latest Florida Supreme Court's disciplinary opinions published on December 31, 2014.  The Court disciplined no less than 22 attorneys in their latest Orders of Discipline and at least eight of those lawyers suffered the harshest of penalties; disbarment or revocation of their license.  You can read all about it here.

Happy New Year to all our loyal blog readers.  Looking forward to another great year of blogging in 2015.

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