YOUR NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE

UPDATE: Friday 6:45 pm both the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal are confirming what the greatest legal blogger in the universe told you this morning: ACB will replace RBG as President idiot Trump's SCOTUS nominee.  

President Trump will announce his next Supreme Court nominee this weekend and it will not be the just retired Judge Jerri Beth Cohen who was feted by her colleagues in a fun Zoom send off Thursday. Cohen came to the bench in a deep 1992 class that included David Young (1.0) and Caryn Schwartz. The zingers were apparently flying on Thursday and we wish Judge Cohen Au Revoir in a well earned retirement. 

The two leading contenders for the RBG spot on the Supreme Court are Miami and Hialeah's own Barbara Lagoa and Judge Amy Cohen Barrett who boasts a Judge Moreno-like Notre Dame resume  and currently serves on the 7th Circuit. 

The strengths of Judge Lagoa is that she would be a stealth nominee with her years on the 3rd DCA containing opinions on mortgage fraud and juvenile dependency issues. Hardly Roe v Wade worthy. 

Judge Cohen Barrett however boosts a deep conservative back ground as a member of a Catholic religious society; she once co-authored a law review article suggesting Catholic judges should recuse themselves from death penalty cases. The phrase you hear about Judge Cohen-Barrett is that she has been groomed for the Supreme Court since her first year in law school. With seven children she appeals to that working mother made good  storyline that the Republicans will trot out in support of her nomination. 

Judge Lagoa would rep the 305 and 786 nicely. But a little birdy whose work number starts with (202) 456-XXX0 whispered in our ear "It's  ACB  to replace RBG" and we are going with that prediction. 

Dark Horse no one is talking about: Pam Bondi. 

Just remember we told you first. 

WHAT LUCK

Justice Robert Luck is going back to being Judge Luck. From the Florida Supreme Court, he moves from Tallahassee to Atlanta where he will join the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, as Judge Luck. He was confirmed by the Senate Tuesday 64-31. 
Up for confirmation Wednesday is Justice (soon to be Judge) Barbara Lagoa. She is also headed to Atlanta. Perhaps they could split a moving van? 

Forever moving on up...

GOVERNOR DESANTIS TO NAME TWO NEW THIRD DCA JUDGES TODAY AT 2:00 PM

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR TWO NEWEST 3^RD DCA JUDGES .....

ARE:

JUDGE MONICA GORDO
Judge Gordo has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1999. She spent 11 years at the State Attorney's Office before getting elected to the Circuit Court bench in 2010 besting Robert Kuntz.  She was reelected in 2016 without opposition.

FLEUR LOBREE
Three times a charm.  Appointed to the County bench in 2011 by Governor Scott, she lost in her election to Michelle Alvarez Barakat in 2012 (71% to 29%).  Appointed again by Scott to the Circuit Court bench in 2013, she lost in her bid to hold that seat, in 2014, to Mavel Ruiz (54% to 46%).  She has spent most of her career as an appellate attorney at the State Attorney's office in Miami.

Will be announced today at a press conference at 2:00 PM when Governor DeSantis will personally introduce the two newest appointments at the Alan Schwartz Atrium at the Third District Court of Appeal.

Our sources are buzzing. They first alerted us to the fact that, on Tuesday, April 9, 2019, in Tallahassee, Governor Scott’s Legal Counsel interviewed the nine finalists to replace Justices Barbara Lagoa and Robert Luck who were both elevated to the Florida Supreme Court. Those interviewed included:

Hon. Monica Gordo
Christopher Johnson
Hon. Timothy Koenig
Fleur Lobree
Oren Rosenthal
Eduardo Sanchez
Ann St. Peter Griffith
Hon. Daryl Trawick
Hon. Lisa Walsh

Now our sources have confirmed the surprise Press Conference later today.

The two newest jurists will join freshly appointed 3^rd DCA Judges Eric Hendon and Bronwyn Miller who were both appointed by Governor Scott on his way out the door in late December of 2018.

COUNTY COURT

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

On March 27, 2019, Governor DeSantis named Judges Michelle Alvarez Barakat and Tanya Brinkley to the Circuit Court (replacing Judges Hendon & Miller - see above). With those two appointments, that opened up two seats on the County Court.

The 11^th Judicial Circuit JNC will interview 19 attorneys and then send up to 12 names to Governor DeSantis. A total of 27 attorneys applied to the JNC, but eight failed to make the cut. Those scheduled for an interview on Monday, April 29^th include:

　
8:00 a.m. Karl S. Brown
8:10 a.m. Miguel J. Chamorro
8:20 a.m. Ritamaria Gonzalez Cuervo
8:30 a.m. Elsa Maria Fernandez
8:40 a.m. Blanca Torrents Greenwood
8:50 a.m. Peter S. Heller
9:00 a.m. Zachary N. James
9:10 a.m. Scott M. Janowitz
9:20 a.m. Jeffrey M. Kolokoff
9:40 a.m. Gale Lewis
10:30 a.m. Arya Attari Li
10:40 a.m. Steven Lieberman
10:50 a.m. Jonathan Meltz
11:00 a.m. Griska Mena
11:10 a.m. Julie Harris Nelson
11:20 a.m. Christopher Pracitto
11:40 a.m. Kayla Riera-Gomez
11:50 a.m. Melissa Roca Shaw
12:00 p.m. Stephanie Silver


NEWS FROM THE CAPITOL .......

The Florida Legislature has been in session since March 5^th and they are scheduled to adjourn sini die on May 3^rd. Several bills have passed both the House and the Senate and have been sent to Govenor DeSantis’ desk for his signature. This week, DeSantis received Senate Bill 96, which amends, among other things, F.S. 843.19: the injuring, disabling or killing of a police, fire, or SAR canine or police horse. Those crimes would go from a third degree felony to a second degree felony if DeSantis signs the bill into law.
　
CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY/ASSISTANT PUBLIC DEFENDER .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

TIME TO DISCUSS A REAL PROBLEM IN THE JUSTICE BUILDING .......

(BREAKING - 3rd DCA Grants Writ of Cert in State v. Wong, 3D19-169; issue is - 6 or 12 person jury for capital murder trial before Judge Blumstein. See the Comments Section for more on this story).

An article in the January 11^th edition of  THE FLORIDA BAR NEWS addresses a critical problem in our justice system. One in five Assistant State Attorneys and one in five Assistant Public Defenders left their jobs last year.

In Florida, the average starting salary for an ASA or APD is $41,700. By comparison, in neighboring Georgia, the average is $56,286; in North Carolina it’s $53,000; and in California, they start prosecutors and public defenders at a salary of $92,000.

State Attorney Dave Aronberg of the 15^th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach) stated that front line prosecutors and public defenders are leaving government service at such a fast rate that it is becoming an issue of public safety. "Many times, you will have a young prosecutor making $42,000, who is sitting at a table discussing a case with a first-year cop from Boca Raton, who is making $62,000 a year," Aronberg said. "And this is someone with seven years of education and six figures of education debt." The problem is, "once they get to be three- to five-year lawyers, and they’ve had about 50 or more trials, [his ASAs] are very attractive to private law firms who will pay them a lot more."

Buddy Jacobs, from the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, described the situation this way: "There are two kinds of prosecutors in Florida, those leaving . . . and those looking."

Aaronberg suggested that, according to a TaxWatch study, "raising salaries for assistant state attorneys and assistant public defenders would actually save taxpayers money in the long run."

So, what say you, our readers who work in the pits everyday? Is there a problem? What can WE do about it?

IN OTHER NEWS:

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

The 11^th Circuit JNC received a total of 22 applications from those wanting to replace Judges Eric Hendon and Bronwyn Miller who both now sit on the 3^rd DCA. The Commission narrowed the list to 18 that will be interviewed on February 15^th. They include:

9:00 a.m. William I. Altfield
9:10 a.m. Rebecca Valentina Aroca
9:20 a.m. Michelle Alvarez Barakat
9:30 a.m. Jason Bloch
9:40 a.m. Tanya Brinkley
9:50 a.m. Michelle A. Delancy
10:30 a.m. Ivy R. Ginsberg
10:40 a.m. Blanca Torrents Greenwood
10:50 a.m. Peter Heller
11:00 a.m. Scott M. Janowitz
11:10 a.m. Zachary N. James
11:20 a.m. Jeffrey M. Kolokoff
12:00 p.m. Steven Lieberman
12:10 p.m. Joseph J. Mansfield
12:20 p.m. Griska Mena
12:30 p.m. Julie Harris Nelson
12:40 p.m. Kayla A. Riera-Gomez
12:50 p.m. Abbe S. Rifkin

(Those who did not make the cut: Carmen R. Cabarga, Robyn J. Cohen (McCarthy), Tahya Fuenmayor, Gustavo Javier Losa).

SPEAKING OF THE 3^RD DCA .....

You still have time to apply to the 3^rd DCA JNC if you want to become an appellate court judge. There are two open seats on the 3^rd DCA resulting from the elevations of Justice Barbara Lagoa and Justice Robert J. Luck to the Florida Supreme Court.

The deadline to submit your application is Tuesday, February 19, 2019.

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

Gov. DeSantis Announces First of Three Supreme Court Justices .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .......

Governor Ron DeSantis today appointed BARBARA LAGOA to the Florida Supreme Court.  It is his first of three appointments to the open seats on the Court as the result of the retirement of Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince.

The announcement was made at the historic Freedom Tower in downtown Miami this morning.  Newly elected Attorney General Ashley Moody opened the event, followed by Lt. Governor Jeanette Nunez, who introduced the Governor.

Judge Logoa, 51, has been on the 3rd DCA for the past 12 years, authoring 470 opinions. She was appointed to the 3rd DCA by Governor Jeb Bush in 2006 becoming the first Cuban American woman  appointed to that Court. She was the Chief Judge of the 3rd DCA, having assumed that role just nine days ago.  She was born in Miami and grew up in Hialeah, graduated from  FIU (BA, 1989) and then Columbia Law School (JD, 1992).  Her husband, is attorney Paul Huck, Jr, and her father-in-law, Judge Paul Huck, is a Senior Judge on the Southern District of Florida. In 2003 she joined the United States Attorney's Office as an AUSA where she tried numerous criminal jury trials, including drug conspiracies and Hobbs Act violations. She also handled a significant number of appeals.  She spent three years three before becoming an appellant court judge.  Prior to her work as an AUSA she worked at Greenberg Traurig and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, among other firms.

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