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

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

FOUR NEW JUDGES COMING TO A COURTROOM NEAR YOU …

It’s been a busy time for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit’s Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC).

There are currently four judicial vacancies in Miami-Dade County—one on the Circuit Court and three on the County Court.

CIRCUIT COURT

The Circuit Court vacancy was created by the elevation of Judge Thomas Rebull to the Third District Court of Appeal.

Governor DeSantis will select his replacement from the following six nominees:

Hon. Rita Cuervo

Hon. Jennifer Trautman Levin

Hon. Stephanie Silver

Hon. Miesha Darrough

Hon. Natalie Moore

Hon. Eleane Sosa-Bruzon

For those of you who emailed Captain Justice asking who didn't make the final cut, that list includes:

Hon. Michelle Urbistondo

Hon. Luis Perez-Medina (although he did make the County Court list of nominees)

Hon. Chiaka Ihekwaba

Several attorneys who are not currently on the bench also applied but did not make the final list.

Interesting tidbit: All six nominees are women.

The JNC considered a total of six male applicants. None made the final list submitted to the Governor.

COUNTY COURT

There are three County Court vacancies, created by the elevations of Judges Cristina Correa, Elizabeth Espinosa Marin, and Jorge Perez Santiago to the Circuit Court.

The Governor will choose their three replacements from the following 18 nominees:

Shawn Abuhoff — ASA

Natalia Costea — General Counsel’s Office, Eleventh Judicial Circuit; former AAG

Aaron Feuer — Private civil practice; former ASA

Eddie Holiday — Private insurance defense practice; former ASA

Melissa Jordan — Private insurance defense practice; former ADA

Anthony Maneiro — City of Miami Beach Prosecutor; former ASA

Juan Perez — Too many lawyers by that name for Captain Justice to figure out which one

Jeffrey Pierce — AUSA

Alexander Shear — APD

Alexander Annunziato — Private insurance defense practice; former APD

Christian Dunham — AFPD

Kimberly Hillery — Department of Homeland Security

Scott Janowitz — General Magistrate; former ASA

Yvette Lavelle — Private civil defense practice

Cristobal Padron — Private family law practice

Hon. Luis Perez-Medina — Current County Court Judge; former ASA*

Patricia Salman — CABA Pro Bono Legal Services; former AAG

Annette Strauch — Captain Justice could not locate anyone by this name in The Florida Bar directory

Interesting tidbit: Of the 18 nominees, 13 have current or prior experience as a state prosecutor or Assistant Attorney General, while only three have experience as state criminal defense attorneys.

And then there is the interesting case of Judge Luis Perez-Medina.

* JUDGE LUIS PEREZ-MEDINA

Judge Perez-Medina currently sits on the County Court bench. Before becoming a judge, he spent 13 years as an Assistant State Attorney. Governor Rick Scott appointed him to the County Court in 2018, and he ran unopposed in 2020.

In 2026, however, Perez-Medina faced challenger Maribel Diaz in his reelection campaign.

He lost by just 565 votes:

Maribel Diaz — 110,589

Luis Perez-Medina — 110,024

Now, just weeks after losing his reelection bid, Judge Perez-Medina finds himself among the 18 nominees for one of the three newly vacant County Court seats.

If Governor DeSantis appoints him to one of those vacancies, Perez-Medina would presumably resign from the County Court seat he currently occupies through January 5, 2027, and accept a new appointment to the very same court.

Only in judicial politics.

The Governor has 60 days under the Florida Constitution to make these appointments. Based upon the date the nominations were submitted, that would make the deadline October 27, 2026.

And, as our loyal readers know, the words “constitutionally required” have occasionally proven to be more of a suggestion than a deadline in Tallahassee.

We’ll be watching.

CAPTAIN OUT …
Captain4Justice@gmail.com 

REBULL APPOINTED TO 3RD

 Judge Rebull was appointed to the 3rd District Court of Appeals by the Governor on Friday. 

REBULL REPRIEVE

 The legal blogosphere has had their say on the Rebull transcript and we have refrained from opining. Now it is our turn. 

Everyone has a bad day. We have had the best judges make grievous mistakes, and we have seen bad judges rise to the occasion and do something great. No one judge or lawyer or person should be fully "judged" on one act. For those judges who sentence defendants, take that last sentence as a hint. No one should be solely judged on a bad moment or day. 

Disclosure: we had a case that resolved very favorably before Judge Rebull. Our experience with him is limited, but we were asked to assist on a very serious matter. We had heard the rumors and the chatter- he was tough on defendants. Our experience was that he was fair in the case we handled. 

The cold transcript is bad for the Judge. Not his finest hour. His treatment of the daughter of the litigant is awful. Having told her to assist, it is as if he trapped her when he asked if she was an attorney. One reads that portion of the transcript and wonders "what was he thinking?"

But much like the Miami Herald's lukewarm endorsement of our State Attorney, we are not willing to write off Judge Rebull. First and foremost he should personally apologize to the woman and her father. 

He will hopefully learn from this episode and become a better Judge. We hope he cares about his profession and the people who appear before him to the extent that he will rededicate himself to be more patient and more compassionate and more empathetic. 

We are going to vote for Judge Rebull. Perhaps it is evidence of our going soft in our older age. The rampaging Rumpole circa 2012 would have never tolerated such behavior, and we certainly admit we would have no patience for this if it had occurred north of the border (Broward). Indeed, the very worst we can say about this incident is that it was "very Broward like". 

But unlike many of our robed readers, we have patience and compassion and we endeavor to see the best and not the worst in people. And having seen Judge Rebull at his best, we are not wont to accept him at his worst. 

REBULL TRANSCRIPT AND MOTION

 It's become Miami's Muller Report. The transcript of the trial which caused the complaint against the Judge. And because we are who we are, we also have the motion for new trial. 

We report. You decide. 

Coming soon: Trump says Spanish Flu ended WWII. (We are not making this up). 

Next up: Trump says Apollo 11 Astronauts stayed at Trump Tower after landing on the moon. 

05.28.2019 Petithomme R vs M Final by HR on Scribd

Motion for New Trial by HR on Scribd

REBULL RIPOSTE

 The comments sections are abuzz with the back and forth over Judge Rebull who is up for election. 

This letter was sent to Judge Soto. A copy was sent to us. We invite both sides to send us their thoughts which we promise to post on the blog without editorial.

August 9, 2019 Letter to Judge Soto 8.9.2019 by HR on Scribd