THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BROWARD = BROWEIRD ....
ANOTHER JUDGE BITES THE DUST .......

You just can’t make this stuff up folks. Broward Judge John Contini resigned on July 6, 2018. Contini became an attorney in 1983 and he joined the Broward State Attorney’s Office where he spent four years. For the next 27 years he ran a criminal defense practice in Broward. He was elected to a six year term and took the bench in January of 2015. Ten months after he took the bench, Contini was already facing his first JQC investigation.

In November of 2015, the JQC filed charges alleging that Contini provided one-sided assistance to defense lawyers by emailing an assistant public defender with tips on writing motions for reduced sentences. They additionally charged that he acted unprofessionally when prosecutors complained about it.

Contini admitted to the allegations and apologized for his actions toward several attorneys, defendants, investigators and victims. In November of 2016, the Florida Supreme Court decided that Contini should receive a public reprimand and they also required him to deliver in person a written apology to the assistant attorney general whose court filing Contini called a "lie from the pit of hell".

Fast forward to 2018, and without warning, Contini resigned two weeks ago. This week, the JQC filed their newest charges against the now former judge. In their 157 page filing, they charge Judge Contini with, among other things:

1. On numerous occasions, you have instructed your JA to create dockets of fictitious cases or hearings on particular days of the week on which you planned to be absent from the courthouse. Your fabrication of these dockets was designed to create the impression that you were present in the Courthouse, when in fact, you were not.

3. On some days when you were absent from the Courthouse during regular business hours, you instructed your JA to email court business to you ... you also instructed her to lie and say you were in trial or unavailable to conduct hearings.

6. You inappropriately require your JA to perform personal tasks for you before, during, and after regular business hours ... including to: pay your personal bills and manage your personal finances; make personal travel arrangements; proofread and edit a manuscript for you; ....

The list goes on for a total of 11 counts. You can read all 157 pages by clicking on the link here:

Take the time to read some of the fascinating emails between the judge and his JA contained in the exhibits.

Best of luck to our colleague David Rothman who is representing the former judge.

FURTHER NORTH OF THE BORDER .....

So, you’re pregnant, and you are scheduled to give birth during the next trial setting. Your previous pregnancy resulted in you delivering a preemie six weeks early. You file a Motion for Continuance of the Trial Date and opposing counsel objects. That hearing played out in the courtroom of civil court Judge Cymonie Rowe, 15^th Judicial Circuit, in Palm Beach County last month.

The contestants: Plaintiff’s attorney Paul Reid of the law firm Shook, Hardy, and Bacon. He apparently represents an injured worker. Defense attorney Christen Luikart of the law firm Murphy Anderson represents defendant Genie Industries.

It was recently in the news that the Florida Supreme Court was considering a proposed rule that, if passed, would require judges to grant motions for continuance for parental leave, barring exceptional circumstances. This hearing may accelerate those plans to decide whether a formal rule is actually needed.

The entire transcript is attached and can be read by going here:

The relevant portion of the arguments for and against the MTC are contained on pages 58-70 of the transcript.

NOTE: After Reid repeatedly objected and argued the same point over and over again, the judge had had enough, and she Granted the Motion.

Have any of our readers experienced a similar situation where opposing counsel was objecting on similar grounds?  Anyone have an experience where a judge they were before was maybe reluctant to grant a continuance on similar grounds?

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

CAMPAIGN 2016 ..... NEW FILING IN CIRCUIT COURT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

UPDATED:

Your next County Court Judge .....

The JNC has met and narrowed the list of applicants for our next County Court Judge.  We posted on November 25th the names of the 23 applicants which you can find here.

The JNC will be interviewing 16 of those applicants on December 14th:

2:00 p.m. Elijah A. Levitt
2:15 p.m. Griska Mena Rodriguez
2:30 p.m. Karl S.H. Brown
2:45 p.m. Luis Perez-Medina
3:15 p.m. Alexander Spicola Bokor
3:30 p.m. Paul Aiello
3:45 p.m. Gina Beovides
4:00 p.m. Joseph J. Mansfield
4:30 p.m. Ramiro C. Areces
4:45 p.m. Norman Powell
5:00 p.m. Julie H. Nelson
5:10 p.m. Peter S. Heller
5:35 p.m. Gordon C. Murray, Sr.
5:45 p.m. John W. Wylie
5:55 p.m. Jonathan Meltz
6:05 p.m. David Alschuler
 

ELECTION CENTRAL 2016 ....... UPDATE

The number of candidates running for Judge will be growing by one sometime this afternoon when attorney Antonio G. Jimenez's papers are filed with the Division of Elections in Tallahassee.  Jimenez will be running, at least for now, in Group 34, an open seat due to the retirement of Judge Gill Freeman.

Mr. Jimenez has been a member of The Florida Bar for nine years.  He served in the U.S. Navy for five years, went to law school at Stetson and then joined the Miami-Dade SAO.  He spent two years there gaining trial experience before going private.  He has been in private practice for the past seven years.  He has two web sites: duimiami.com and jimenezlegal.com.  He is a member of the Florida Traffic Court Rules Committee.

The races are beginning to get very crowded and we still have five months until the filing deadline of May 6, 2016.

There are currently four contested races in Circuit Court:

Group 9: 

Incumbent Jason Bloch v. Marcia Del Rey

Group 34:  (open seat)

Renee Gordon v. Denise Martinez-Scanziani v. Luis Perez-Medina v. Antonio G. Jimenez

Group 52: (open seat; Judge Michael Genden retiring)

Jodie Breece v. Elena Ortega-Tauler v. Raul A. Perez-Ceballos v. Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts

Group 66:

Incumbent Robert Luck v. Yolly Roberson

Also, Group 39 is an open seat due to the retirement of Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat.  Currently David Young is the only candidate that has filed for that open seat.

There is currently one contested race in County Court:

Group 5:

Incumbent Judge Fred Seraphin has not filed yet, but presumably he will do so.  He already has opposition in Milena Abreu.

Group 7:

Incumbent Judge Ed Newman v. Lizzet Martinez

NORTH OF THE BORDER .......

Yet another Broward Judge is in hot water.  This time it is Judge John Patrick Contini, Circuit Court Judge in the Criminal Division.  What did the Honorable Judge do?  Well, it appears he sent a private email, on his personal email account, to an Assistant Public Defender that regularly appeared before him.  Judge Contini had obtained a well written Downward Departure Sentencing Order from a Judge in Palm Beach County.  Contini thought that it would be a great idea for the APD to read it and adopt it to his cases, where appropriate.  The email was circulated around the PD's office and one APD sent the email to an ASA, and well, you can write the rest of the story for yourself.

Suffice it to say that State Attorney Mike Satz moved for Judge Contini to remove himself from a whole bunch of criminal cases; the judge denied the motion; the issue went up to the 4th DCA, and Contini, to add fuel to the fire, decided to spit in the face of the pit ASAs on several occasions subsequent to the issue going to the 4th.  The JQC report called this conduct by Judge Contini, "discourteous, impatient, and undignified conduct."

Here is "one" of the worst parts of the JQC Report:

"During the course of the State's appeal, a stay was placed on hundreds of cases in your Division.  As a result, many of the cases before your division were effectively frozen, and defendants who were incarcerated had to remain behind bars because you were unable to make any rulings or determinations in their case."

Contini is charged with violating no less than 16 different Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

You can read the entire 71 page JQC's Notice of Formal Charges Report here:
 

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gamil.com