ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL

Sunday NY Times: 

Crossing the Line: How Donald Trump Behaved With Women In Private:

Donald Trump and women: The words evoke a familiar cascade of casual insults, hurled from the safe distance of a Twitter account, a radio show or a campaign podium. This is the public treatment of some women by Mr. Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president: degrading, impersonal, performed. “That must be a pretty picture, you dropping to your knees,” he told a female contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Rosie O’Donnell, he said, had a “fat, ugly face.” A lawyer who needed to pump milk for a newborn? “Disgusting,” he said.

AND NOW A JUDGE COMMITS A CRIME?

We received the below stated email from a source who was present in embattled Judge Seraphin's courtroom today. We've been waiting for this situation to arise for some time. 

Judges, by virtue of the threatening signs that they post in their courtrooms, often threaten to confiscate the phone of a person in their courtroom. 

By what right and authority can a judge take a piece of personal property of another person? 

None that we're aware of. 

Florida's Forfeiture statutes state (in part)

(1) It is the policy of this state that law enforcement agencies shall utilize the provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act to deter and prevent the continued use of contraband articles for criminal purposes while protecting the proprietary interests of innocent owners and lienholders and to authorize such law enforcement agencies to use the proceeds collected under the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act as supplemental funding for authorized purposes.

§ 932.704, Fla. Stat. Ann.

(1)(a) Any contraband article, vessel, motor vehicle, aircraft, other personal property, or real property used in violation of any provision of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act, or in, upon, or by means of which any violation of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act has taken or is taking place, may be seized and shall be forfeited subject to the provisions of the Florida Contraband Forfeiture Act.

§ 932.703, Fla. Stat. Ann.

Judge's aren't (as surprised as some of them may be to read this) law enforcement officers or agencies. Using a phone in court is not a violation of Florida's Contraband Act (unless you're using the phone to commit a crime). 

As such Judges have no authority to seize the personal property of another individual, even if that person has the temerity to ignore the judge and play candy crush while sitting in court and eating a bucket of popcorn (there is no law against eating in court either). 

So with the law being firmly established we turn to the kerfuffle in Seraphin's court on Wednesday:

A wild scene in Judge Seraphin's Courtroom today...

Judge Seraphin's bailiff took away some guy's cell phone because the guy was texting while he was sitting in the gallery. Instead of asking the guy to leave to text outside the courtroom, Judge Seraphin took the phone from his bailiff and started looking through it. He was not a happy camper. The Judge then decided to hold the guy in contempt. All the while the morning calendar was supposed to be going on. 

The Judge decided to hold a mini rule to show cause hearing for why the guy shouldn't be thrown in jail. Pretty sure a Judge can't do that without going through the proper procedures for notice and whatnot, but Judge Seraphin had it out for this guy. The Judge must've realized he couldn't just throw the guy in jail on the spot...so he appointed the PD to represent him. The PDs advised the guy not to say anything--as any good attorney would advise his client to do--but the guy's silence made Judge Seraphin even madder. The Judge then demanded the guy apologize, on the record. The PDs told him just to do it and he did. The Judge was then satisfied with himself. And he gave the guy his phone back and let him sit back down in the gallery. All in the middle of the morning calendar. 

Rumpole notes ominously, as near as we can tell, depriving the personal property of another individual without legal justification, even temporarily, is theft under Florida law. If the phone was worth more then $300, then it could be grand theft. Directing another to do it could well constitute a  plan to conspire, combine and confederate to commit a crime. Not smart. 

It's probably not a good idea to steal a phone while sitting on the bench when you have already alienated most of the female voters in Miami-Dade County with Neanderthal like views about breast-feeding. We mean, we're not Donald Trump or Karl Rove, but still, this can't help a candidate vying for re-election, unless the Judge subscribes to the view that any publicity, no matter how bad, is good publicity. 

See You In Court, where it's not polite to play Candy Crush on your phone in court, but it's not against the law. 

THE FRED STRIKES BACK

BREAKING BLOG NEWS: From reporter Bill Shields via the South Florida Lawyers Blog: Circuit Court Judge Tam Wilson is .....outta here. Come October 2009 Judge Wilson will retire to golf, pina coladas, late lunches, early dinners...which if you think about it, sort of begs the question as to why retire when the State of Florida will pay you more than 150K a year to do that and all you have to do is wear that dopy robe? 

 But lets not rain on Judge Tam Wilson's parade. He was a good, fair, hard working judge. And we echo the sentiment of the Civil Blog guy- we may never have always gotten what we wanted from Judge Wilson,  but we never left his courtroom without believing that our client  got a full and fair hearing on the issues. Tam Wilson was one of the really good guys and his departure leaves a hole on the Dade Bench that will be hard to fill. *

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. 

Albert Einstein. 

After last week's dustup over Judge Fred Seraphin's putative refusal to call attorneys out of turn during the busy Wednesday sounding calendar in County Court, we sent our spy to Judge Serpahin's courtroom Wednesday morning for a report. The result- a favorable, if somewhat over enthusiastic,  report for Judge Seraphin. 

Rumpole,  I'm here outside courtroom 4-9 at 9:10 and something amazing is going on: the courtroom is quiet and empty. There is a sign announcing Judge Seraphin's new policy- attorneys will be called out of turn between 8:30 and 9:30 am. 

Not since Judge Fred Nesbitt prowled the hallways of County Court in his bright blue robe, terrifying prosecutors and generally snarling at everyone, have I seen a more contentious problem then what was brewing between defense attorneys and Judge Seraphin these past few weeks.  And then,  just like that, PRESTO!!!  A little good old fashion common sense has everybody singing a different tune.  The Judge seems happier. The attorneys are happier. Even the pro se defendants are happier. .... As Bob Dylan sang, "the times" old rumpy, "they are a changing..."  This is county court agent 99 signing out.

Rumpole says: Well done Judge Seraphin. Well done indeed. 

Coming up next on the blog-  Can they really consider prosecuting lawyers for their written legal opinions? Only on your humble little Justice Building Blog. 

See You in Court,  with a new and fuller appreciation for the fact that there really is no cure for drinking too much Tequila. 

*there is absolutely, positively no hidden connection whatsoever between our phrase 

"...leaves a hole...." and the phrase associated with those last two words, and Judge Wilson. Would but we could say that for the rest of his brethren.