TIME TO REMEMBER

 There are certain people who spent their life in our little corner of the legal world, and we do well to remember them when they are gone. 

Thus, we remember on 10/28/2024 the passing of REGJB legendary Judge Gerald Klein, who passed away on this date in 2012. 

For you young judges, prosecutors, PDs, and REGJB staff members, you would do well to ask a colleague about "Fast Gerry."

Here's our original post. 

Here's a report on his passing. 

GERRY KLEIN

 On October 28, 2012 at the age of 90, Judge Gerry Klein- affectionately known as "Fast Gerry" for how he moved his calendars, passed away. 

Our memories of Judge Klein are that he was from another era- from a time when Miami was pronounced "Mi-am-ah". He was a judge before the cocaine, cocaine money, and cocaine wars fundamentally changed Miami forever. 

He was the type of Judge that was unabashedly a member of the old-boys network. Not in the bad connotation of the word, but in the good connotation of the word.  He was the type of judge that would greet a former judge who walked into his court as "Judge", even if they were representing a litigant. 

He could be a bit gruff, especially as he got older. He had his own way of doing things. He spoke quickly and softly during calendar, and yes, this will come out, he liked nothing more than finishing his calendar and getting out on the golf course before lunch. 

As we said, he belonged to a different time and era. He was as much a part of the REGJB as any judge who ever served there- and we think he may have served as a judge for 50 years. Certainly more than 40 years. He was sui generis; a character whose like we will never see again, and we think of him fondly as we walk by his old courtroom on the fifth floor from time to time. 

Here is our blog post when he passed away. 

A FAST GERRY KLEIN STORY

A retired member of the judiciary was recently robbed at gun point. Thankfully he was not hurt. David Ovalle has all the details on his twitter. But it reminds us of the time that Gerry Klein was robbed on the Miami Beach Golf Course around 11:30 or so in the morning during the week. 
The Herald dutifully reported the story, and then the Herald being the Herald, called Judge Klein back a few days later (probably soon after retracting the Dewey Beats Truman Headline) and asked him what a sitting county court judge was doing on the golf course during a weekday? 

Klein responded to the effect that he was waiting for someone to ask that question and that "every now and then" he finished court early and on those rare occasions that he wasn't labouring late into the evening on a difficult point of law, he would try and squeeze in a quick round of golf. 

Those of us who knew him had a good laugh at that one. Rare was the day that Fast Gerry Klein hadn't finished his calendar and was out on the links before lunch. 

It was a different time folks. A simpler time. 

We also recall several circuit judges who would routinely cover two Friday calendars one week- theirs and a friend's, only to have the favour returned the following week. So every other week the judges had a nice three day weekend.  That all went along swimmingly until one of the judges began to take advantage of his friend by setting bond hearings on Fridays, taking a bribe to lower the bond, and then telling his pal that the case was on the calendar and he had already heard it and decided to lower the bond. Nothing better than taking a bribe for something your friend unknowingly does for you. That scheme, which pre-dated court-broom, went on for some time until some one dropped a dime to the FDLE. 

Anyway, those were the days. 

See you in court. 

RESIGNATION OF JUDGE KLEIN

The Daily Business Review published an article today on the sudden resignation of Judge Gerald Klein. The gist of the article is that Klein submitted his resignation, after serving 48 years on the bench, after the Dade State Attorneys Office filed a complaint with Judge Farina regarding Judge Klein’s comments to a female assistant state attorney.

Here is the link to the DBR Article:
JUDGE KLEIN

We came of age practicing law when female lawyers were still sometimes ridiculed, propositioned, or otherwise not taken seriously. There is never any excuse for treating another professional in a demeaning manner. If that did occur here- and we should note that what has occurred is just a complaint and a resignation- no finding of guilt- then Judge Klein was right to resign.

Judge Klein served this community for 48 years. He has a right to be remembered as a hard working, honest, and decent jurist and man. We are terribly sorry that he ends his distinguished career in this manner. However, even if true, one blight should not otherwise erase decades of outstanding service.

For decades Gerry Klein has not only been a fixture in the courtrooms of Miami, but also on the golf courses of Miami Beach, and we are certain that anyone so inclined can will be able to find him most mornings teeing off. Keeping with the golfing references, we can't help wishing that even if the accusations were true, that after 48 years of service, this man was entitled to one, well earned, mulligan.

Forgive us for being rank sentimentalists, but in many ways this is the end of an era.
We will miss Judge Klein; we wish him godspeed and we hope that he enjoys his well earned retirement.

See You In Court, waiting in what promises to be very long lines at bond hearings.

NEW BOND HEARING/ARTHUR HEARING PROCEDURES

JUDGE BLAKE DOES NOT ANSWER OUR EMAILS

HOWEVER HE DOES EMAIL THE FACDL


HERE IS WHAT HE HAD TO SAY

1) Circuit Judges will do their own Arthur Hearings.
Cancel that 3:00 PM tee time guys.

2) Two new Judges will handle bond hearings Monday through Thursday, with a special guest retired Judge for Fridays.
Who said consistency in setting bond amounts was a good idea anyway?

3) NO MENTION OF GERRY KLEIN.
DADE JUDGES SILENT ON OUSTER OF JUDGE KLEIN DAY SIX.
Fair warning here dear robed readers, we have several reporters who have been speaking with us about this story. Your silence is deafening.

Finally: What about the "dade rule" that because police make so many bogus arrests for non-bondable offenses, that you cannot get an Arthur Hearing before the arraignment? Will that now change?

Scenario: Man and wife are getting divorced. Wife locks husband out of home. Husband climbs through window, gets belongings, including his prized Buck Knife, and as he is walking out the door he is arrested for......? You guessed it- Armed Burglary. Husband can't get bond until 21 days later.

Is this going to change? Are the courts going to be more responsive to the police's blatant manipulation of the system? Or like the Gerry Klein mystery, are our Judges just going to sit there saying "see no evil"??





This really isn't our criminal judiciary, is it?

Here is Judge Blake's perky email:

Hi Everyone,
It now appears that a solution has been found for the weekday bond hearings. Senior Judge Tom Peterson and Judge Fred Seraphin will be handling bond hearings Monday-Thursday. Our Chief has been able to arrange that senior judges will cover the bond hearings on Fridays. This new procedure is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 25th. Because Judge Seraphin will now be doing bond hearings and county court back up, it will be necessary for each division to handle its own Arthur Hearings. I will be asking Fred to send out an email to us to let us know things we should be looking for and see if legal can assist us with any questions we may have. At this time, it appears that some Arthur Hearings currently set during the week of June 25th may be reset in your division. I am sending this email to the judges and JA’s so everyone is aware of the changes. As always thanks for your cooperation and call me with any questions. Stan


Rumpole says, we can only wish some of our clients were as silent as the Dade Judicial Administration on the Judge Klein issue. Well, they do get to see the stupidity of speaking to the police, so we really can't blame them for lawyering up.

WHO TOOK OUT GERRY KLEIN???

With the end of the Sopranos much on everyone’s mind (and some entertaining Soprano’s type dialogue in the comments section) we are pondering what exactly happened to Judge Gerry Klein. ???

The longest serving Judge in the State of Florida , Judge Klein was unceremoniously removed from his bond hearing duty that he presided over four days a week. “Fast Gerry” as he was known by more than a few generations of attorneys, moved the bond hearing calendar quickly and efficiently. He knew which cases merited scrutiny, and which cases could be disposed of quickly. Judge Klein had the type of experience that should not just be cavalierly discarded.

We sent an email to certain Judges who have admitted to reading the blog from time to time, but they have been too busy to respond. (The rain is playing havoc with many of our robed readers tee times.)

Now word reaches us from several sources that our State Attorney, taking a break from vacation, may have a hand in this dirty deal. Unnamed sources have said the State Attorneys Office felt prevented from obtaining habitual misdemeanor sentences because many people with prior records had pled guilty at jail arraignments.

We know it’s hard to believe, so lets write it again: rumor is the State Attorneys Office intends to seek misdemeanor habitual offender sanctions.

Have they lost their mind? Don’t they have anything better to do?

This speaks to an uncomfortable scenario: A bunch of “chiefs” are sitting around in their office (heaven forbid they should be in court trying a case) trying to justify their existence and corresponding salary. Suddenly one of them who has been paging through a Florida Statute Book that previously served as a base for an office plant, stumbles upon the idea that the Miami Dade State Attorneys Office does not have a habitual misdemeanor offender chief. Can you spell –o-p-p-o-r-t-u-n-i-t-y to score some supervisor points? And their grand plan all starts with replacing a Judge who was a Judge before many of their parents were born.

Let us be the first to say, in legal terms, this stinks.

And to the devious whippersnapper who took out Judge Klein, lets us only remind you of Karma. Someday you will be older, and entitled to the respect that your years of service have earned you. And some snot nosed upstart will take your job away, and then you will know what it feels like.

Until then, we’ll have to get our own revenge by taking your dopey habitual petty theft cases to trial. You guys have enough trouble winning DUI cases with breath. Now you have to go seeking 364 on disorderly conduct cases?

See You In Court.

PS: Where is the FACDL in all this?