GOV. SCOTT NAMES THREE NEW MIAMI-DADE JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

THREE NEW JUDGES COMING TO A COURTROOM NEAR YOU .....

Tonight, Governor Scott, announced the appointment of three new Judges in Miami-Dade County. Scott leaves office on January 7, 2019; (maybe even earlier if he is confirmed to have won the Senate race), and he clearly wants to leave his final and lasting impressions on trial court benches throughout the State. He moved quickly to name replacements for Circuit Court Judges Stephen Millan and Ariana Farjardo Orshan and County Court Judge Wendell Graham.


CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE ALEXANDER BOKOR

Judge Bokor, age 40, has been a member of The Florida Bar for 13 years. Bokor was an Assistant County Attorney, when, in October of 2016, Scott named him to the County Court bench. Two years later and Bokor is now a Circuit Court Judge replacing Stephen Millan. Bokor had applied to open seats on the Circuit Court, 3^rd DCA, and Florida Supreme Court all within the past two months.


CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE CARLOS GUZMAN

Judge Guzman, age 48, has been a member of The Florida Bar for 21 years. Guzman was an ASA for two years, then worked for the FBI for six years as a legal advisor, followed by two years in private practice before working as a Chief Assistant Statewide Prosecutor for five years.  He was named a County Court Judge by Governor Scott in 2012. Six years later he becomes a Circuit Court judge replacing Judge Farjardo Orshan.


COUNTY COURT JUDGE LODY JEAN

Lody Jean, age 40, has been a member of The Florida Bar for 14 years. Jean was born in Haiti of Lebanese decent. For the first eight years of her legal career she was employed as an ASA in Miami-Dade County. She has been in private practice for the past six years handling immigration and criminal defense matters. She is the Immediate Past President of the Haitian Lawyers Association. She replaces Judge Wendell Graham.


NORTH OF THE BORDER .....

Congrats to Miami-Dade ASA Frank Ledee. Governor Scott named Ledee a Circuit Court Judge today in Broward County replacing Judge John Contini.

Scott named a total of ten new judges today, the four aforementioned judges as well as six others in Broward (County Judge Natasha DePrimo and Circuit Judge Gina Hawkins); 7^th Circuit (Circuit Judge Christopher Ferebee, Ponte Vedra Beach); Palm Beach (County Judge Paige Hardy Gillman); 5^th Circuit (Circuit Judge Gregg Jerald, Ocala); 14^th Circuit (Circuit Judge Dustin Stephenson, Panama City).

Governor Scott still has ten names on his desk for two open seats on the 3^rd DCA. We expect he will name those replacements sometime in the next 30 days.

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

EIGHT NEW JUDGES COMING TO A COURTROOM NEAR YOU .....

BREAKING SATURDAY AFTERNOON: JUDGE KAVANAUGH CONFIRMED TO US SUPREME COURT IN 5-48 VOTE. Rumpole not to be nominated to fill Kavanaugh's seat on DC Court of Appeals. 

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS:

AND YOUR THREE NEWEST COUNTY COURT JUDGES ARE ......

Today, Governor Rick Scott announced the appointment of three new County Court judges to replace Judges Dawn V. Denaro, Andrea Ricker Wolfson, and Renatha S. Francis; all three were previously promoted to the Circuit Court.

JUDGE CHRISTINE BANDIN, age 39, currently a partner with Shutts and Bowen. She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years. She currently handles the defense of class action and mass litigation cases for them. She replaces Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson

JUDGE RAUL CUERVO, age 63, currently a shareholder at Carlton, Fields, Jorden, Burt. He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 33 years. He currently handled the defense of insurance claims, class action suits, and commercial litigation cases. He replaces Judge Renatha Francis.

JUDGE LUIS PEREZ-MEDINA, age 58, currently an ASA at Miami-Dade’s State Attorney’s Office. He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 12 years and has worked at the SAO for his entire career. He ran for an open Circuit Court seat in 2016 in a four way race coming in second place in the primary. In the general election run-off he lost a close contest to Judge Mark Blumstein, 51%-49%. He fills the vacancy created by Judge Dawn Denaro.


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

3^RD DCA & CIRCUIT COURT & COUNTY COURT .....

THIRD DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL:

Chief Judge Leslie Rothenberg and Judge Richard Suarez are resigning from the 3^rd DCA. As a result, the 3^rd DCA JNC is accepting applications for their replacements.

If you carefully watched the shenanigans that took place in 2016 with President Obama’s nomination of Merritt Garland to the then open Scalia seat, a nomination that was never even considered by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee for nearly a year, then you need to also think about these two open seats on the 3^rd DCA.

Over the next three months, despite the fact that Rick Scott is a lame duck Governor, he will likely appoint, or attempt to appoint a number of judges on the County Court, Circuit Court, DCAs, and yes, three open seats that will be on the Florida Supreme Court.

The 3^rd DCA JNC has provided only 19 days for applications to be submitted for the two open seats. The deadline is October 15^th. The Interviews are scheduled to take place the following week, on October 22-23. That means that Governor Scott should be receiving the finalists names on his desk on the evening of October 23, 2018. The Governor then has 60 days to choose the two replacements, with a deadline of December 22^nd.  Compare this to past history of DCA appointments by Scott and you notice that this particular appointment process has been expedited by approximately fourteen days; exactly the amount of days Scott will have remaining as Governor.   

So, in his final two weeks in office, Scott would likely be choosing the two new 3^rd DCA judges, despite the fact that, by then the Governor-Elect will have been known for a full 46 days.

CIRCUIT COURT:

With the resignation of Judge Ariana Fajardo Orshan, (she is now the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida), Governor Scott also gets to name her replacement. Surprisingly, only ten applied for her seat. Those ten names were considered by the JNC and they have elected to interview two, consider four others who have already been recently interviewed, and not consider four others.

WILL BE INTERVIEWED ON 10/9/18:

DiRaimondo, Christina Marie
Guzman, Carlos

WILL BE CONSIDERED WITHOUT THE NEED FOR AN INTERVIEW:

Altfield, William I.
Bokor, Alexander S.
Brinkley, Tanya J.
Perez-Medina, Luis

WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED:

Barton King, Michelle
Guitian Barker, Maria A.
Cabarga, Carmen R.
Perkins, Joseph

The finalists’ names will likely reach Governor Scott’s desk on the evening of October 9, 2018 with a deadline to name Judge Fajardo Orshan’s replacement of December 8, 2018; again, a full month after the Gubernatorial Election of 2018.

With the resignation of Judge Stephen Millan, the JNC interviewed seven applicants for the open Circuit Court seat including: William Altfield, Alexander Bokor, Tanya Brinkley, Ayana Harris, Gordon Murray, Jorge Perez, and Luis Perez-Medina.

The following names have been sent to Governor Scott:

Judge William Altfield
Judge Alexander Bokor
Judge Tanya Brinkley
Ayana Harris
Luis Perez-Medina

COUNTY COURT:

With the retirement of Judge Wendell Graham, the JNC interviewed one applicant for the open County Court seat: Ariel Rodriguez. They also considered all those applicants that were interviewed for the Denaro, Wolfson, and Francis vacancies.

The following names have been sent to Governor Scott:

Julie Harris Nelson
Jonathan Meltz
Gavin N.L. White

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

HERE COMES THE JUDGE .......FIVE NEW JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

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

BREAKING - WE UPDATED THE POST BELOW BY PLACING AN *** NEXT TO THE NAMES BEING SENT TO GOVERNOR SCOTT.  18 OF THE 26 ATTORNEYS THAT WERE INTERVIEWED HAVE BEEN FORWARDED TO THE GOVERNOR; (6 NAMES PER OPEN SEAT).

It may be hot and muggy outside, and if you’re lucky enough to be Horace Rumpole, you may be able to afford a vacation "down under", but the rest of us are busy back in the Magic City working the corridors of the GJB. And, the 11^th Circuit JNC is also busy, really, really busy.

As you may recall, Governor Scott came a-calling for three Circuit Court Judges recently and he tapped Judges Dawn Denaro, Andrea Wolfson, and Renatha Francis, all of the County Court. That means the JNC needs three new County Court Judges and they aim to narrow the list on Thursday, August 9, 2018 when they will interview 26 candidates (out of the 31 that applied). Those being interviewed include:

9:00 Abreu, Milena (currently a candidate for judge)***
9:15 Bandin, Christine  ***
9:30 Barket, Michael (currently a candidate for judge)
9:45 Brown, Karl St. Hope  ***
10:00 Cabarga, Carmen R. 
10:15 Chamorro, Miguel J. 
10:30 Cuervo, Raul A.  ***
10:45 D’Arce, Madelin 
11:15 Delancy, Michelle  ***
11:30 Giordano Hansen, Marcia  ***
11:45 Gitchev Guerrero, Brenda  ***
12:00 Harris, Ayana  ***
12:15 Harris Nelson, Julie 
1:00 Heller Peter S. ***
1:15 Hillery, Kimberly C.
1:30 Janowitz, Scott ***
1:45 Jean, Lody ***
2:00 Kolokoff, Jeffrey M. ***
2:15 Meltz, Jonathan
2:45 Mena, Griska ***
3:00 Perez-Medina, Luis ***
3:15 Pracitto, Christopher (currently a candidate for judge) ***
3:30 Reboso, Manolo ***
3:45 Silver, Stephanie ***
4:00 Torrents Greenwood, Blanca ***
4:15 White, Gavin N. L

Fear not fellow barristers, for if you missed out on applying for one of these three openings, Judge Wendell Graham has announced his retirement after proudly serving for the past 24 years on the County Court bench. 
 
Wendell Graham began his career serving our community when he joined Janet Reno’s office in 1983. After spending five years there, he spent the next six years as a solo practitioner while also serving as a Traffic Magistrate and a Hearing Officer for the Dade County Public School system. In 1994, Governor Lawton Chiles tapped him to become a County Court Judge. Graham last won re-election in 2016 when he defeated Antonio Jimenez garnering 57% of the vote.

We want to take a moment to thank you Judge Graham for your service to the citizens of our community and to our great State of Florida. I’ve personally known Wendell for more than 30 years and he has always been so kind who all that ever came into contact with him. You never saw Judge Graham raise his voice to anyone appearing in his Court before him. He displayed the type of judicial demeanor we would hope for in all of our judges. I spoke recently to Judge Graham and he has indicated to me that his last day on the bench is scheduled for August 31^st. He has decided to return to private practice. He tells me that "he is extremely excited about this opportunity".

Please take a moment and join me as we wish him well in his next chapter of serving our community.

APPLICATION DEADLINE AUGUST 10^th .....

Those that would like to file an application with the JNC to replace Judge Graham have until tomorrow to get that done.

But wait, there’s one more open seat on the bench. As many of our readers will also recall, Judge Stephen Millan recently resigned his seat on the Circuit Court bench. The deadline to file an application to replace Judge Millan is also August 10^th.

EARLY VOTING BEGINS ON MONDAY, AUGUST 13, 2018

Look for our post on Monday as we review the ballot for the eight contested Circuit and County Court races.

Also on Monday, Governor Scott versus The Florida Supreme Court - The Battle for the Fourth Circuit Bench

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

JUDGE SAYFIE HAS AN OPPONENT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS ..... JUDGE NUSHIN SAYFIE HAS DRAWN OPPOSITION .....

UPDATED BELOW

In a stunning move, Judge Nushin Sayfie, Chief Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division, has drawn an opponent.  Judge Sayfie is running for reelection in Group 59 of the Circuit Court.

Her opponent is attorney ROSY APONTE, who has been a member of The Florida Bar for, hold your breath, a whopping seven years.  Ms. Aponte maintains a law office in the City of Doral.  Ms. Aponte filed to run against Judge Sayfie earlier today.

Judge Sayfie began her career with the Public Defender's Office and worked for the Eleventh Judicial Circuit PD from 1994-1999 and from 2001-2007. She also spent two years with the PD in the Second Circuit from 1999-2001. Judge Sayfie became a Circuit Court Judge in 2007.  She was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist in 2007 and ran unopposed in 2010.

Judge Sayfie has currently raised $54,000 and loaned her campaign a total of $5,000.

We know nothing about her opponent.

UPDATE:

If Aponte decides to leave Group 59 and jump into another race, here are the Incumbents currently running unopposed. One of them may end up having a long, hot summer filled with shaking lots of hands:

John Schlesinger - $61,000**; $100,000***
Rudy Ruiz - $118,000; $3,500
Scott Bernstein - $76,000; $50,000
Bertila Soto - $108,000; $2,000
John Thornton - $189,000; $100,000
Jennifer Bailey - $156,000; $5,000
Rosa Rodriguez - $89,000; $0.00
Barbara Areces - $64,000; $10,000
David Young * - $222,000; $250
William Thomas - $188,000; $500
Milton Hirsch - $174,000; $100,000
Samantha Ruiz Cohen - $111,000; $25,000
Monica Gordo - $144,000; $0.00
Jorge Sarduy - $105,000; $500
*former judge with no current opposition
**the first number represents the amount raised
***the second number represents the amount the candidate loaned to their campaign

If Judge Sayfie is lucky enough to have Ms. Aponte move to another Group, I'm thinking that Scott Bernstein is shaking in his boots right about now.

COUNTY COURT .... GROUPS 15 & 35

The latest on Group 35 is that Judge Wendell Graham is down to one opponent; Antonio "Tony" Jimenez.  That's because his other opponent, patent attorney Ruben Alcoba, has jumped into the Group 15 race against Linda Luce and Eleane Sosa-Bruzon.

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

ELECTION CENTRAL UPDATE .... WENDELL GRAHAM UPDATE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2016 ...................

COUNTY AND CIRCUIT COURT RACES

A whole lot of changes in the landscape of judicial races has taken place in the past week in both the County Court and Circuit Court.

COUNTY COURT

GROUP 15

We were the first to report (on March 8^th) that Judge Judith "Judy" Rubinstein had decided to hang up her robe after 16 years on the bench.

As soon as Judge Rubinstein announced her intention to retire, two attorneys who had filed to run in Circuit Court jumped at the opportunity for a less crowded field and filed in her County Court Group. The first attorney, Antonio G. Jimenez, who had previously filed to run in Circuit Group 34, is still now running for County Court.  But, the second lawyer, Raul Perez-Ceballos, who previously filed to run in Circuit Group 52, then filed to run in County Court Group 15, has now firmly chosen to return to the Circuit Court race in Group 52 against Jodie Breece, Elena Ortega-Tauler, and Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts. Perez-Ceballos plucked down his check in the amount of $5,843.20 last week representing the filing fee to run for Circuit Court Judge.

GROUP 35

We previously reported to you that only one incumbent, Judge Wendell Graham, had yet for file to run for reelection in his Group 35 of the County Court. When we spoke with Judge Graham this past October, he indicated to us that he intended to run again. Judge Graham has been on the bench since 1994. With two weeks left in the filing period Graham has still not filed to retain his seat.  When we recently spoke with him again, he reiterated his intention to file.  The problem is, because he waited as long as he did, when he does file, he will now have to face two challengers who are attempting to take his seat away from him.

Filing to run in Group 35:

Antonio G. Jimenez. Yes, the same Jimenez that had first filed in Circuit Group 34; then moved to County Group 15, has now settled into running for the open seat in County Group 35.

Ruben Y. Alcoba. He joined the race this past Friday. Mr. Alcoba has been a member of The Florida Bar for the past 17 years. He is a patent attorney having handled over 500 patent and trademark legal matters.

GROUP 15

Wait, so if incumbent Judith Rubenstein first filed, then dropped out of County Group 15; and if challenger Antonio Jimenez first filed in this Group and then switched to County Group 35; and if challenger Raul Perez-Ceballos first filed in Circuit Group 34, then switched to County Group 15, only to switch back to Circuit Group 34,

Who, you ask, is left to run in County Group 15. Well, until a few days ago - nobody. Enter:

Linda Luce. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1995. We believe Ms. Luce handles primarily family law matters with an office in Coral Gables.

Eleane Sosa-Bruzin. She has been a member of The Florida Bar since 2005. Ms. Sosa-Bruzin is currently employed with Landau & Assoc., a large firm based in Hollywood. She began her career at the Broward PD’s office. She now handles PIP suits.

No doubt there will be a lot more hopping around between Groups and a few last minute surprise candidates as we draw closer to the filing deadline of Friday, May 6, 2016.

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