JNC SENDS NAMES TO GOV. DESANTIS FOR SEVEN CIRCUIT & COUNTY OPENINGS

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

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

The JNC for the 11^th Judicial Circuit has been very busy. There are currently three open seats on the Circuit Court due to the resignation of Judges John Thornton and Diane Ward, and the appointment of Judge Renatha Francis to the 15^th Circuit Court (Palm Beach County).

There are currently four open seats on the County Court due to the elevation to the Circuit Court bench of Judges Altfield, Beovides, and Shearson Cruz, and the resignation of Judge Slom.

The JNC interviewed a total of 38 candidates for the openings. They considered 12 candidates for both Circuit and County; 8 candidates for Circuit Court only; and 18 candidates for County Court only.

Today, the JNC has nominated 15 names for the three open Circuit Court seats and they nominated 23 names for the four opening Son the County Court. Eight of those named were nominated for both Circuit and County.

The list below shows the time of the interview, followed by the name, followed by what the JNC was interviewing the candidate for (in small letters), followed by what, if anything, the candidate was nominated for (in caps).

8:30 a.m. Ramiro Christen Areces, circuit CIRCUIT

8:35 a.m. Jason Bloch, circuit CIRCUIT

8:40 a.m. Karl Brown, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

8:45 a.m. Rachel Canfield, county

8:55 a.m. Raul Antonio Cuervo, circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

9 a.m. Jeffrey Cynamon, county

9:10 a.m. Madelin D’Arce, county/circuit COUNTY

9:20 a.m. Miesha S Darrough, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

9:25 a.m. Renier Diaz de la Portilla, county

9:35 a.m. Christina DiRaimondo, circuit CIRCUIT

9:40 a.m. Elisabeth Espinosa, county COUNTY

9:50 a.m. Elsa Fernandez, county

10 a.m. Michael H. Galex, county/circuit COUNTY

10:10 a.m. Carlos H. Gamez, county COUNTY

10:20 a.m. Rita Gonzalez Cuervo, county

10:25 a.m. Christopher Green, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

11:05 a.m. Blanca Greenwood, county COUNTY

11:10 a.m. Marcia Hansen, county COUNTY

11:20 a.m. Ayana Harris, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

11:25 a.m. Julie Harris Nelson, county/circuit COUNTY

11:30 a.m. Peter Heller, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

11:35 a.m. Kevin Hellman, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

11:45 a.m. Zachary N. James, circuit CIRCUIT

11:50 a.m. Scott M. Janowitz, county/circuit CIRCUIT COUNTY

11:55 a.m. Amy Josefsberg Ederi, county

1:05 p.m. Jeffrey Kolokoff, county COUNTY

1:15 p.m. Gale Lewis, county/circuit COUNTY

1:20 p.m. Steven Lieberman, county COUNTY

1:25 p.m. Joseph J. Mansfield, circuit CIRCUIT

1:30 p.m. Griska Mena, county COUNTY

1:35 p.m. Hilton Napoleon II, county/circuit COUNTY

1:45 p.m. Steven Paulson, county

1:55 p.m. Luis Perez-Medina, circuit CIRCUIT

2 p.m. Christopher Pracitto, county COUNTY

2:05 p.m. Cristina Rivera Correa, county COUNTY

2:15 p.m. Patricia Salman, county

2:25 p.m. Robert T Watson, circuit CIRCUIT

2:30 p.m. Craig Weissberg, county COUNTY　


The Governor has 60 days to make his selections.


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

AU REVOIR SAM SLOM

Today judges and lawyers and clerks and bailiffs gathered to wish Judge Sam Slom a fond farewell as he heads to retirement. It was a worthy send off for a Judge who has labored long and hard to make the REGJB a better place. Not only Judge Slom, but his JA and Bailiff- the sui generis Ma-bell, are all headed into retirement. 


There was general merriment- judges sang a song!; some enterprising ASAs made a Slom-App (don't ask); there were some good natured jokes, a wonderful portrait painting procured by Judge Soto that will hang in Judge Slom's courtroom, and bittersweet sadness as Judge Slom heads to a well deserved retirement in another State. We have most likely seen the last of a wonderful Judge. Years from now young lawyers will wander into their first courtroom, wide-eyed, and at some point ponder the portrait of a man they will never know. Such is the river of life. 

We wish Sam Slom a  long and healthy and happy retirement. 
Au Revoir Judge Slom. 

Not Just a Gator, but the first St. Thomas law graduate to take the bench. 

SIX OPEN SEATS; TWO CIRCUIT AND FOUR COUNTY .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

SO, YOU WANT TO BE A JUDGE .....
          THEN FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL .....

CIRCUIT COURT

Judge John Thornton has resigned. This has resulted in an open seat on the Circuit Court.

Judge Renatha Francis has resigned, sort of. The Honorable Judge Francis was first appointed by Governor Scott to the County Court in August of 2017. Scott elevated Francis to the Circuit Court in June of 2018. On Tuesday, Governor DeSantis appointed Francis to an open seat on the Circuit Court bench in the 15^th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach County) to fill the vacancy created by the death of Judge Meenu Sasser.  Open seat Circuit Court.


COUNTY COURT

Judge Sam Slom has resigned. Open County Court seat.

Judge William Altfield has been elevated to the Circuit Court. Open County Court seat.

Judge Gina Beovides has been elevated to the Circuit Court. Open County Court seat.

Judge Laura Shearson Cruz has been elevated to the Circuit Court. Open County Court seat.


The Eleventh Judicial Circuit JNC is going to be berry berry busy these next few months.  If you ever wanted to sit on the bench, now would be a very good time to get your Application submitted.  Just remember that the first two lines of your resume better read: current (or former) ASA/AUSA/AAG; Member, The Federalist Society.


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


 

JUDGE SLOM TO RETIRE

(Scroll down below for exclusive video of THE BROWARD STRANGLER ( (c) Rumpole, 2019, all rights reserved)- a Broward Judge in action. Not safe for children.) 

Say it ain't so Sam. 
Judge Sam Slom, the Chief Administrative Judge of County Court Criminal Division  is set to retire on October 31, 2019. Boo!
As the Chief Administrative Judge of the criminal division of County Court, Judge Slom took County Court from the era of paper files and pushed, and pulled, and cajoled and led his Court into the future, implementing most of the technology the Florida Supreme Court has required. (Misdemeanor Criminal Files are still paper files, in violation of the order, but shhhhhsh….we won't tell if you won't.)

Judge Slom was a good, capable, and dedicated administrator. He is much like an umpire or referee; you know he is doing a good job when you don't hear much about him or his charges. Riding herd on a gaggle of misdemeanor judges who are just sitting around marking time until their true brilliance is discovered and they are elevated to circuit court is not an easy job.  Egos must be accommodated. Judges who have no idea what they are doing, but think they know it all, are difficult to handle on their best days. 

Judge Slom handled his duties with aplomb. His work and dedication should be recognized and appreciated, and his leadership will be missed. 

But now the real fun: you think there is political intrigue in electing a pope? HA. The Vatican has nothing on the type of political infighting and backstabbing we will see  when judges sense a leadership ring is within their grasp. Who are the front runners? Who are the dark-horses? Stay tuned. 

VIDEO OF THE BROWARD STRANGLER (que spooky music)
Here is the video of the Broward Strangler - a Broward Judge doing what Broward Judges do best: acting insane. 

Judge Rosenberg and the First Step Act. 
And before you're done with todays action packed blog post, check out Judge Rosenberg's Op Ed piece in the NY Times about reducing a life sentence to 20 years under the First Step Act. The piece is here. This is what real judges do readers. 
H/T to the indefatigable Mr. Markus and his top notch blog. 

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SAM SLOM'S WORLD

Kudos to Judges Slom and Soto for responding to the complaints re: the infamous lot 26.

Dear Friends:

Judge Soto and I understand your frustration and we will chat with Chief Judge Joel Brown and our Trial Court Administrator as to what avenues can be pursued to address the parking issue. (Rumpole can't help it- "avenues", parking problems, gridlock. Pretty cute phrase.)

We have improved timely entry into the building for both attorneys and the general public. At 6:15 this morning I sent the e-mail below to our building manager to remind her about the importance of gaining timely entry into REG on a Tuesday following a holiday that falls on Monday.

In fact, at a meeting today, Judge Soto, Judge Brown and I briefly discussed the gridlock issue around NW 12 Avenue.

We will keep you apprised of our discussions and will likely include you in our efforts when we determine which course of action should be pursued.

Thanks,

Sam Slom

Ditto. We will address the issue asap!! Thank you for your patience!

Judge Soto

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF SAM SLOM:

Dear Sabrina, David and Rick:

As you know, each year, the escalators at REG are taken out of service for a period of time (normally 90 days for the service to be completed) for their annual maintenance.

We have requested that the building manager schedule the service during the summer so that it coincides with three judicial educational conferences because the population entering REG is lower during that period. As a consequence, it is hoped that the inconvenience experienced by lawyers will be somewhat minimized because fewer lawyers are noticed to appear during this period.

We have asked that the annual service maintenance begin approximately May 20th and continue thereon for the necessary period. We have also asked that the heaviest used escalators (the lower floors) not have their maintenance performed on our busiest days (the beginning of the week). Contractually, maintenance must be performed annually and there are limitations on when it can be done and the time frame in which it must be completed. Please be assured that we have discussed this issue at length in an attempt to arrive at the best solution.

While we are attempting to minimize the inconvenience escalator servicing has on our REG population, please do keep in mind that the County is ultimately responsible for and in charge of building maintenance. Additionally, due to the age of the building and the machinery therein, occasionally an unanticipated maintenance obstacle rears its head and could affect the timetable we have requested.

Judge Soto and I are mindful of your concerns and we both endeavor to make life at REG as pleasant as possible.

Thank you.

Sam Slom

So there you have it dear readers. Parking problems; escalator issues.

All in the day of the life of the chief judge of county court.

And all in the day in the life of a humble REGJB lawyer, striving for justice, and a few extra bucks to buy that nice bottle of GSM wine to drink this weekend.

See you in court.