THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE ..........
On the national front, eight weeks from today we will know who will be the 44th President of the United States.
On the local front, we have one open Circuit Court seat that will be decided by the voters in November: a runoff election between Steve Millan and Yvonne Colodny.
For those of you looking ahead, 2010 brings a host of new judicial elections. By January of 2009, expect to see candidates opening up campaign accounts.
Some of the seats up for election will be wide open as there are a few judges who are expected to retire, (including some because of the age restrictions).
The following seats are up for election in 2010:
In COUNTY COURT:
Beth Bloom
Wendell Graham
Amy Karan
Carroll Kelly
Edward Newman
Ada Pozo Revilla
Judith Rubenstein
Flora Seff
Fred Seraphin
Rodney Smith
Lisa Walsh
In CIRCUIT COURT:
Peter Adrien
Barbara Areces
Jennifer Bailey
Scott Bernstein
Gill Freeman
Michael Genden
Norman Gerstein
Gerald Hubbart
Julio Jiminez
William Johnson
Judith Kreeger
Rosa Rodriguez
Nushin Sayfie
George Sarduy
John Schlesinger
Paul Siegel
Scott Silverman
Bertilla Soto
William Thomas
John Thornton
Finally, regardless of your politics, please say a prayer on Thursday for the more than 3,000 innocent victims that died seven years ago. Our parents' Pearl Harbor Day is our 9-11.
CAPTAIN OUT ..........
Showing posts with label Judicial Elections 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Judicial Elections 2008. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
CAMPAIGN UPDATE -
FACDL JUDICIAL CANDIDATES FORUM
On May 28, 2008, we wrote: "Beginning today and continuing each and every Wednesday, we will attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate."
Over the course of the next 10 weeks, we wrote about each of the candidates. Well, now, you have a chance to meet all 19 of them in one location.
Local FACDL President Rick Freedman wrote to us and asked us to pass along the following information and we are happy to do so. We encourage all of our Gerstein Justice Building bloggers to show up and see who these candidates are and what they really sound like in person.
Here is the information on the FACDL Judicial Candidates Forum:
On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:30 PM, FACDL-Miami hosts a Judicial Candidates Forum beginning at 5:30 PM. The event will be held at the Miami Dade College Downtown Wolfson Campus located at 300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami in Room 1261, (Building One, Second Floor). Free Parking is available at the MDC Garage located on 5th Street between NE 1st Avenue and NE 2nd Avenue across the street from the fire station. Walk south on NE 2nd Avenue and Building One will be on your right. Take the escalator to the second floor.
All 19 Candidates have confirmed their attendance for the event. Each candidate will be given a brief opportunity to introduce themselves and tell the audience about their background and why they believe they are the most qualified candidate for the job. There will also be a series of questions posed to the candidates. The candidates will then have time to meet and greet those in attendance and there will be light food and drinks served.
Here is the line-up for the event:
Congratulations to FACDL-Miami for putting this event together. While Rumpole and I will be predisposed at a local watering hole imbibing in the finest Chateau Miami River, we look forward to hearing all about the Forum from our readers and bloggers on Thursday.
CAPTAIN OUT ......
CAMPAIGN UPDATE -
FACDL JUDICIAL CANDIDATES FORUM
On May 28, 2008, we wrote: "Beginning today and continuing each and every Wednesday, we will attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate."
Over the course of the next 10 weeks, we wrote about each of the candidates. Well, now, you have a chance to meet all 19 of them in one location.
Local FACDL President Rick Freedman wrote to us and asked us to pass along the following information and we are happy to do so. We encourage all of our Gerstein Justice Building bloggers to show up and see who these candidates are and what they really sound like in person.
Here is the information on the FACDL Judicial Candidates Forum:
On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:30 PM, FACDL-Miami hosts a Judicial Candidates Forum beginning at 5:30 PM. The event will be held at the Miami Dade College Downtown Wolfson Campus located at 300 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami in Room 1261, (Building One, Second Floor). Free Parking is available at the MDC Garage located on 5th Street between NE 1st Avenue and NE 2nd Avenue across the street from the fire station. Walk south on NE 2nd Avenue and Building One will be on your right. Take the escalator to the second floor.
All 19 Candidates have confirmed their attendance for the event. Each candidate will be given a brief opportunity to introduce themselves and tell the audience about their background and why they believe they are the most qualified candidate for the job. There will also be a series of questions posed to the candidates. The candidates will then have time to meet and greet those in attendance and there will be light food and drinks served.
Here is the line-up for the event:
COUNTY COURT
GROUP 42
LISA LESPERANCE V. NORMA LINDSEY (I)
CIRCUIT COURT
GROUP 11
JORGE CUETO V. JOSIE PEREZ VELIS
GROUP 18
MIGNA SANCHEZ-LLORENS V. MANNY SEGARRA
GROUP 19
YVONNE COLODNY V. PATRICIA KOPCO V. STEPHEN MILLAN
GROUP 38
MARIO GARCIA V. STACY GLICK
GROUP 50
RICARDO CORONA V. ABBY CYNAMON
GROUP 51
MARCIA CABALLERO V. DOUGLAS CHUMBLEY (I)
GROUP 55
JERI BETH COHEN (I) V. ABBIE CUELLAR
GROUP 57
DENISE MARTINEZ-SCANZIANI V. BERNARD SHAPIRO (I)
GROUP 42
LISA LESPERANCE V. NORMA LINDSEY (I)
CIRCUIT COURT
GROUP 11
JORGE CUETO V. JOSIE PEREZ VELIS
GROUP 18
MIGNA SANCHEZ-LLORENS V. MANNY SEGARRA
GROUP 19
YVONNE COLODNY V. PATRICIA KOPCO V. STEPHEN MILLAN
GROUP 38
MARIO GARCIA V. STACY GLICK
GROUP 50
RICARDO CORONA V. ABBY CYNAMON
GROUP 51
MARCIA CABALLERO V. DOUGLAS CHUMBLEY (I)
GROUP 55
JERI BETH COHEN (I) V. ABBIE CUELLAR
GROUP 57
DENISE MARTINEZ-SCANZIANI V. BERNARD SHAPIRO (I)
Congratulations to FACDL-Miami for putting this event together. While Rumpole and I will be predisposed at a local watering hole imbibing in the finest Chateau Miami River, we look forward to hearing all about the Forum from our readers and bloggers on Thursday.
CAPTAIN OUT ......
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Steve Chaykin dies in accident.
RUMPOLE UPDATE: The federal blog has the details of the untimely death of attorney Steve Chaykin who died in Colorado rescuing his wife who slipped and fell into a stream during a hike. The title of the post links to the Herald's story. David Markus's blog also has articles from the Colorado papers.
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our ninth and final report in a series of reviews of the contested judicial races. Over the past two plus months we have attempted to introduce you to the 19 candidates that are running for the nine contested judicial seats in Miami-Dade County.
In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny; Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan; Garcia v. Glick; Corona v. Cynamon; Caballero v. Chumbley; and Cohen v. Cuellar.
Today we cover the ninth and final race in Group 57 between incumbent Judge Bernard Shapiro and his opponent Denise Martinez-Scanziani.
DENISE MARTINEZ-SCANZIANI .....
Ms. Scanziani has been a member of The Florida Bar since May of 2000. She graduated from the University of Florida School of Law and began practicing as a Staff Attorney for Legal Aid of Broward County. Soon after, she opened up her own private practice and she now handles family law, real estate and probate matters.
Ms. Scanziani is 33 years old and if my recollection serves me correctly, she would be just slightly older that the youngest ever Circuit Court Judge in our County, Judge Thomas E. Scott, (who went on to become a Federal District Court Judge and was also the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida for a three year stint).
Many of the regular readers of this BLOG know that I hit Ms. Scanziani pretty hard on February 23, 2008 with a piece that I ran about her campaign. I will not provide you with the laundry list of details, but I feel that I must recap the history that caused me to write such a strong article.
On February 15, 2008, Ms. "Denise Scanziani" filed papers to run in County Court Group 34, which was Judge Sarduy's seat. The only problem with that was the seat was not open as a result of the JNC conducting interviews to replace Judge Sarduy, (who had been named to the Circuit Court bench). On February 20th, Ms. "Denise Martinez-Scanziani" filed new papers. This time she filed to run in Group 17 of the County Court against incumbent Judge Eric Hendon. (It was the name change that drew all the attention).
Finally, on May 2, 2008, at approximately 11:59 AM, (the deadline for qualifying was NOON that day), Ms. Martinez-Scanziani, switched again and filed against Judge Shapiro.
If you missed all of the fireworks, I would direct you to read the front page pieces by The Captain on Feb. 23 and Ms. Scanziani's reply on March 2 and the more than 135 comments written by our readers, (including my rebuttal that was posted on March 3rd at 6:42 pm).
As for raising money, Ms. Scanziani has a lot of catching up to do. To date, she has raised only $7,289 from 35 donors. She has added $2,000 of her own money into the kitty.
Check out Denise at deniseforjudge.com.
JUDGE BERNARD SHAPIRO (i) ....
Judge Shapiro has been a member of The Florida Bar since 1973. He graduated from the University of Miami School of Law. He first ascended to the County Court bench in 1987 and in 1990 voters elected him to the Circuit Court where he still sits 18 years later. In between, he was reelected in 1996 and in 2002. He has never faced opposition in any of his races for judge.
Judge Shapiro sits in the Family Division and has also been assigned in the past to the General Jurisdiction and Criminal Divisions. He began his career as a jurist handling DUI and traffic cases and then moved into general misdemeanors and civil cases. Prior to becoming a judge, Shapiro was in private practice for 14 years first trying PI and work comp cases and then handling family law matters.
Judge Shapiro is far ahead in the fundraising department having pulled in $94,789 from 384 contributors. He has also kicked in $25,200 of his own money.
Judge Shapiro's website can be found at voteforshapiro.com. (UPDATED)
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
It has been a pleasure to provide our readers with this weekly series over the past couple of months. I must congratulate our readers for providing mostly positive input as to who they feel are the most qualified candidates for these nine seats. At times, the debate got a bit raucous, but all in all I think it was a positive exercise in the way a BLOG can be useful to our profession. I hope that you learned some new information along the way about the candidates (certainly a lot more than you would have garnered from those weak Herald endorsement pieces), and I hope that we helped you form a decision on whom you may end up casting your ballots for at election time. If we did, then we did good.
Rump has been nice enough to give me the vine and I have tried to use it fairly and, without taking sides, just present the facts ala Joe Friday.
Look forward to seeing you on Election Day with those real-time returns.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our eighth in a series. Over the past seven weeks, we have brought you seven of the nine contested races analyzing the judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny, Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan, Garcia v. Glick, Corona v. Cynamon and Caballero v. Chumbley.
As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today we cover the race in Group 55 between incumbent Judge Geri Beth Cohen and her opponent Abbie Cuellar. Next week we will rap it up with the Bernard Shapiro race.
JERI BETH COHEN (i) .....
Judge Jeri Beth Cohen has been a member of The Florida Bar for 22 years. She educated herself at Boston U, Harvard, and earned her JD at Georgetown Law School. She was a practicing attorney from 1986-1992 when she was elected a County Court Judge. She spent four years on the bench, in the Criminal Division, and in 1996 she ran, unopposed, for a Circuit Court seat. She has spent the past 12 years in the Juvenile Division and the General Jurisdiction Division.
Judge Cohen has a long history of community involvement both off and on the bench. The list is long and I would direct you to her website to read all about her background. Of note, she began one of the first Dependency Drug Court programs in the country in 1999.
Judge Cohen has not avoided controversy while on the bench. While challenger Cuellar can actually claim being shot at (see below), Judge Cohen can only admit to shooting herself in the foot, a few times. There was the comment about Hispanics many years ago that first got her in trouble. This year, her campaign manager's secretary inadvertently sent out a campaign letter to several prominent attorneys; the letter included the names of several attorneys who had not in fact endorsed her. Then she showed up at the Coral Gables Democratic Club meeting and gave a speech. Only problem - that was a violation of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. She admitted the violation and apologized.
Judge Cohen has been in the news of late; she is the Judge on the City-County-Marlins v. Norman Braman lawsuit. By all accounts, she seems to be doing a great job given the very complicated legal issues and the public nature of the case.
All this publicity has not hurt her one bit in the fundraising category. She has blown away her competitor and The Captain is impressed with the 806 attorneys who have donated over $190,000 to her campaign. Judge Cohen has kicked in an additional $100k.
Check out Judge Cohen at judgejeribethcohen.com.
ABBIE CUELLAR ....
Ms. Cuellar has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years. She earned her legal degree from Rutgers Law School. She runs a solo practice with a concentration in Family law and Criminal law. She is also a Guardian Ad Litem Staff Attorney and has been very committed in that area.
Ms. Cuellar made the news in March when she was driving her Infiniti SUV and suddenly two men jumped out of a van and started shooting a hail of bullets at her windshield. She pulled a Starsky & Hutch reverse move and survived with cuts from the flying glass.
Ms. Cuellar, along with attorney Alan Mishael, represented real estate developer (and former sports agent) Joe Cubas and his wife last year in their unsuccessful effort to become the permanent guardians for a five year old Cuban girl. The Judge - Jeri Beth Cohen. It was the decisions of the Judge and the way she handled the case that motivated Cuellar to run against Cohen.
Cuellar reports raising no money as of her last filing. She did contribute $15,000 of her own money to the campaign.
You can check out abbieforjudge.com for the Cuellar campaign.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our eighth in a series. Over the past seven weeks, we have brought you seven of the nine contested races analyzing the judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny, Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan, Garcia v. Glick, Corona v. Cynamon and Caballero v. Chumbley.
As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today we cover the race in Group 55 between incumbent Judge Geri Beth Cohen and her opponent Abbie Cuellar. Next week we will rap it up with the Bernard Shapiro race.
JERI BETH COHEN (i) .....
Judge Jeri Beth Cohen has been a member of The Florida Bar for 22 years. She educated herself at Boston U, Harvard, and earned her JD at Georgetown Law School. She was a practicing attorney from 1986-1992 when she was elected a County Court Judge. She spent four years on the bench, in the Criminal Division, and in 1996 she ran, unopposed, for a Circuit Court seat. She has spent the past 12 years in the Juvenile Division and the General Jurisdiction Division.
Judge Cohen has a long history of community involvement both off and on the bench. The list is long and I would direct you to her website to read all about her background. Of note, she began one of the first Dependency Drug Court programs in the country in 1999.
Judge Cohen has not avoided controversy while on the bench. While challenger Cuellar can actually claim being shot at (see below), Judge Cohen can only admit to shooting herself in the foot, a few times. There was the comment about Hispanics many years ago that first got her in trouble. This year, her campaign manager's secretary inadvertently sent out a campaign letter to several prominent attorneys; the letter included the names of several attorneys who had not in fact endorsed her. Then she showed up at the Coral Gables Democratic Club meeting and gave a speech. Only problem - that was a violation of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. She admitted the violation and apologized.
Judge Cohen has been in the news of late; she is the Judge on the City-County-Marlins v. Norman Braman lawsuit. By all accounts, she seems to be doing a great job given the very complicated legal issues and the public nature of the case.
All this publicity has not hurt her one bit in the fundraising category. She has blown away her competitor and The Captain is impressed with the 806 attorneys who have donated over $190,000 to her campaign. Judge Cohen has kicked in an additional $100k.
Check out Judge Cohen at judgejeribethcohen.com.
ABBIE CUELLAR ....
Ms. Cuellar has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years. She earned her legal degree from Rutgers Law School. She runs a solo practice with a concentration in Family law and Criminal law. She is also a Guardian Ad Litem Staff Attorney and has been very committed in that area.
Ms. Cuellar made the news in March when she was driving her Infiniti SUV and suddenly two men jumped out of a van and started shooting a hail of bullets at her windshield. She pulled a Starsky & Hutch reverse move and survived with cuts from the flying glass.
Ms. Cuellar, along with attorney Alan Mishael, represented real estate developer (and former sports agent) Joe Cubas and his wife last year in their unsuccessful effort to become the permanent guardians for a five year old Cuban girl. The Judge - Jeri Beth Cohen. It was the decisions of the Judge and the way she handled the case that motivated Cuellar to run against Cohen.
Cuellar reports raising no money as of her last filing. She did contribute $15,000 of her own money to the campaign.
You can check out abbieforjudge.com for the Cuellar campaign.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Thursday, July 10, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our seventh of nine weekly reports analyzing the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny, Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan, Garcia v. Glick and Corona v. Cynamon.
As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Our final three reports cover three Circuit Court races where an incumbent has a challenger: this week we cover the Chumbley race, next week Geri Cohen, and the final week we cover the Bernard Shapiro race.
Today, we cover Group 51, a seat currently held by Judge Douglas Chumbley.
MARCIA CABALLERO .....
Marcia has been a member of The Florida Bar for 19 years. She was a school teacher for three years before becoming an attorney. She filed to run in October of 2007 and has raised more than $21,000 from 108 contributors. Marcia has throw in another $50,000 of her own money.
Ms. Caballero graduated from Thurgood Marshall Law School at Texas Southern. Her practice primarily handles criminal defense and PI cases, but she also takes on family law, probate and real estate matters. She also donates her time as a Guardian ad Litem.
You can read all about Ms. Caballero on her website at caballeroforjudge.net.
DOUGLAS CHUMBLEY (i) ....
Judge Douglas Chumbley earned his present job when Governor Bush appointed him to the Circuit Court bench in June of 2006 to replace retiring Judge Fredricka Smith. He has spent the past two years sitting in the Juvenile Division. Prior to becoming a judge, Chumbley was in private practice for 24 years with three different firms; spending the last nine years with Carlton Fields.
Chumbley has been a member of The Florida Bar for 26 years and he graduated from Washington & Lee Law School.
As a siting Judge, Chumbley has been extremely successful in the fundraising department bringing in $68,651 from 332 contributors. He has also kicked in $100,000 of his own money to the campaign.
You can check out keepjudgechumbley.com for all the latest news on Judge Chumbley's campaign.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our seventh of nine weekly reports analyzing the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny, Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan, Garcia v. Glick and Corona v. Cynamon.
As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Our final three reports cover three Circuit Court races where an incumbent has a challenger: this week we cover the Chumbley race, next week Geri Cohen, and the final week we cover the Bernard Shapiro race.
Today, we cover Group 51, a seat currently held by Judge Douglas Chumbley.
MARCIA CABALLERO .....
Marcia has been a member of The Florida Bar for 19 years. She was a school teacher for three years before becoming an attorney. She filed to run in October of 2007 and has raised more than $21,000 from 108 contributors. Marcia has throw in another $50,000 of her own money.
Ms. Caballero graduated from Thurgood Marshall Law School at Texas Southern. Her practice primarily handles criminal defense and PI cases, but she also takes on family law, probate and real estate matters. She also donates her time as a Guardian ad Litem.
You can read all about Ms. Caballero on her website at caballeroforjudge.net.
DOUGLAS CHUMBLEY (i) ....
Judge Douglas Chumbley earned his present job when Governor Bush appointed him to the Circuit Court bench in June of 2006 to replace retiring Judge Fredricka Smith. He has spent the past two years sitting in the Juvenile Division. Prior to becoming a judge, Chumbley was in private practice for 24 years with three different firms; spending the last nine years with Carlton Fields.
Chumbley has been a member of The Florida Bar for 26 years and he graduated from Washington & Lee Law School.
As a siting Judge, Chumbley has been extremely successful in the fundraising department bringing in $68,651 from 332 contributors. He has also kicked in $100,000 of his own money to the campaign.
You can check out keepjudgechumbley.com for all the latest news on Judge Chumbley's campaign.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Thursday, July 03, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our 6th in a series of nine weekly reports breaking down the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny and Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan and last week, Garcia v. Glick. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Today, it's Group 50, a seat currently held by retiring Judge Stuart Simons. Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
The candidates for Group 50 are Ricardo "Rick" Corona and Abby Cynamon.
RICARDO "RICK" CORONA .....
This is a campaign that has had lots of publicity over the course of the past couple of weeks. We do not want to rehash it all, but if you want to read what Rick had to say about all that has been written by the DBR and others, go back and review his front page post on this BLOG of June 22, 2008. I think Rick rightly pointed out that, The Florida Bar had the opportunity to thoroughly review all of the allegations and history of the FDIC charges that his father and brother were tied up in. The Bar gave Mr. corona a license to practice law.
Mr. Corona has been in several different occupations during his lifetime. Banking, supermarket owner, real estate developer are just some of the things he has accomplished in his career. Now he want to be a Circuit Court Judge. He filed in October of 2007 and has only reported raising $1,250 from three contributors and loaned his campaign an additional $16,000. He has a lot of catching up to do if he plans on matching his opponent dollar for dollar. Rick has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years.
We have been unable to locate a website for Mr. Corona's campaign.
ABBY CYNAMON ....
Ms. Cynamon has also had much written about her on this BLOG. She is a graduate of the UM Law School and has been an Assistant General Counsel for the 11th Judicial Circuit from 1993-2008. She was the President of FAWL from 2006-2007. Abby has been licensed for 18 years in Florida.
Ms. Cynamon is running this campaign and leaving nothing in the bag, so to speak. Her Campaign Treasurer is Hector Lombana. She has stormed the fundraising scene with $51,363 from 259 donors; (and that does not count what she has raised in the past three months as second quarter reports are due to be filed any day now). She also throw in $300,000 of her own money.
She has hired the entire hit list of campaign gurus: Susan Fried, Robert Levy, Armando Gutierrez and ?? have each been paid $11,000 so far. Tangela Sears has been paid an additional $4,500. In fact, Cynamon has spent over $100,00 already on the campaign.
You can read all about Abby on her website at abby4judge.com.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
DCBA JUDICIAL POLL RESULTS ......
Also, this week, the DCBA posted the results of their annual Bar Poll of the Judicial Candidates. We will not comment on the results of the non-elected candidates, but we do feel that it is important to comment on three TOP FIVE lists of the sitting judges.
EXCEPTIONALLY QUALIFIED:
1. Judge Emas - 70%
2. Judge Farina - 66%
3. Judge Robert Scola - 64%
4. Judge Reemberto Diaz - 60%
5. Judge Tam Wilson - 58%
UNQUALIFIED (lowest five):
1. Judge Schumacher - 4%
2. Judge Robert Scola - 4%
3. Judge Prescott - 4%
4. Judge Farina - 5%
5. Judge Emas - 5%
UNQUALIFIED (highest five):
1. Judge Esquiroz - 43%
2. Judge Jacqueline Schwartz - 36%
3. Judge Eig 30%
4. Judge Butchko - 30%
5. Judge Donner - 25%
These last five judges need to figure out what it is they are doing that is causing their ratings to be so low. Granted, there were only a small percentage of attorneys voting in this poll, but these numbers still represent the voices of anywhere from 400-900 practicing lawyers in this County. The people of Miami-Dade County deserve better.
As for the other two "top five" lists, those jurists are to be congratulated for being such fine public servants.
CAPTAIN OUT .....
ELECTION UPDATE .....
Welcome to our 6th in a series of nine weekly reports breaking down the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny and Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan and last week, Garcia v. Glick. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Today, it's Group 50, a seat currently held by retiring Judge Stuart Simons. Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
The candidates for Group 50 are Ricardo "Rick" Corona and Abby Cynamon.
RICARDO "RICK" CORONA .....
This is a campaign that has had lots of publicity over the course of the past couple of weeks. We do not want to rehash it all, but if you want to read what Rick had to say about all that has been written by the DBR and others, go back and review his front page post on this BLOG of June 22, 2008. I think Rick rightly pointed out that, The Florida Bar had the opportunity to thoroughly review all of the allegations and history of the FDIC charges that his father and brother were tied up in. The Bar gave Mr. corona a license to practice law.
Mr. Corona has been in several different occupations during his lifetime. Banking, supermarket owner, real estate developer are just some of the things he has accomplished in his career. Now he want to be a Circuit Court Judge. He filed in October of 2007 and has only reported raising $1,250 from three contributors and loaned his campaign an additional $16,000. He has a lot of catching up to do if he plans on matching his opponent dollar for dollar. Rick has been a member of The Florida Bar for 11 years.
We have been unable to locate a website for Mr. Corona's campaign.
ABBY CYNAMON ....
Ms. Cynamon has also had much written about her on this BLOG. She is a graduate of the UM Law School and has been an Assistant General Counsel for the 11th Judicial Circuit from 1993-2008. She was the President of FAWL from 2006-2007. Abby has been licensed for 18 years in Florida.
Ms. Cynamon is running this campaign and leaving nothing in the bag, so to speak. Her Campaign Treasurer is Hector Lombana. She has stormed the fundraising scene with $51,363 from 259 donors; (and that does not count what she has raised in the past three months as second quarter reports are due to be filed any day now). She also throw in $300,000 of her own money.
She has hired the entire hit list of campaign gurus: Susan Fried, Robert Levy, Armando Gutierrez and ?? have each been paid $11,000 so far. Tangela Sears has been paid an additional $4,500. In fact, Cynamon has spent over $100,00 already on the campaign.
You can read all about Abby on her website at abby4judge.com.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
DCBA JUDICIAL POLL RESULTS ......
Also, this week, the DCBA posted the results of their annual Bar Poll of the Judicial Candidates. We will not comment on the results of the non-elected candidates, but we do feel that it is important to comment on three TOP FIVE lists of the sitting judges.
EXCEPTIONALLY QUALIFIED:
1. Judge Emas - 70%
2. Judge Farina - 66%
3. Judge Robert Scola - 64%
4. Judge Reemberto Diaz - 60%
5. Judge Tam Wilson - 58%
UNQUALIFIED (lowest five):
1. Judge Schumacher - 4%
2. Judge Robert Scola - 4%
3. Judge Prescott - 4%
4. Judge Farina - 5%
5. Judge Emas - 5%
UNQUALIFIED (highest five):
1. Judge Esquiroz - 43%
2. Judge Jacqueline Schwartz - 36%
3. Judge Eig 30%
4. Judge Butchko - 30%
5. Judge Donner - 25%
These last five judges need to figure out what it is they are doing that is causing their ratings to be so low. Granted, there were only a small percentage of attorneys voting in this poll, but these numbers still represent the voices of anywhere from 400-900 practicing lawyers in this County. The people of Miami-Dade County deserve better.
As for the other two "top five" lists, those jurists are to be congratulated for being such fine public servants.
CAPTAIN OUT .....
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
It's Part Five of our weekly series breaking down the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny and Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Today, we discuss Group 38 of the Circuit Court. Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
Group 38 is presently occupied by the retiring Judge Leonard Glick. Vying to replace him are Mario Garcia and Stacy Glick (yes, she is related to the sitting Judge Glick).
DR. MARIO GARCIA .....
Mario Garcia has been a member of The Florida Bar for 8 years. He graduated from UM Law School and joined the State Attorneys office working there for three years. He is in private practice and handles criminal defense, real estate, immigration, and family law cases.
Mr. Garcia has kept himself very busy. He is also a US Army Captain, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and a Certified Addictions Prevention Professional. Garcia earned his doctorate in 2004 from Capella University in the field of Psychology. Capella is an online educational institution. The "Dr." in Garcia is as a result of that online degree.
Garcia filed to run in February of 2007 and has reported raising $14,800 from 71 contributors.
You can read all about Mario on his web site at mariogarcia.net.
STACY GLICK ....
Ms. Glick is a lifelong member of the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office. She obtained her law degree from St. Thomas University and has been a member of The Florida Bar for 9 years.
While Stacy may be the daughter of Judge Leonard Glick, she has made a name for herself at the GJB and has obtained a wealth of experience in the trial court over the last 9 years in virtually every division of the SAO. Her last position there was as a supervising attorney.
Ms. Glick has been impressive in the fundraising area since her filing in June of 2007. Since then she has reported raising $47,100 from, get this, 299 supporters. Also, she has kicked in $100,000 of her own money toward the campaign.
Check out Stacy at glickforjudge.com.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
ELECTION UPDATE .....
It's Part Five of our weekly series breaking down the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Since then, we have provided you with the Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis; Migna v. Manny and Colodny v. Kopco v. Millan. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court.
Today, we discuss Group 38 of the Circuit Court. Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
Group 38 is presently occupied by the retiring Judge Leonard Glick. Vying to replace him are Mario Garcia and Stacy Glick (yes, she is related to the sitting Judge Glick).
DR. MARIO GARCIA .....
Mario Garcia has been a member of The Florida Bar for 8 years. He graduated from UM Law School and joined the State Attorneys office working there for three years. He is in private practice and handles criminal defense, real estate, immigration, and family law cases.
Mr. Garcia has kept himself very busy. He is also a US Army Captain, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and a Certified Addictions Prevention Professional. Garcia earned his doctorate in 2004 from Capella University in the field of Psychology. Capella is an online educational institution. The "Dr." in Garcia is as a result of that online degree.
Garcia filed to run in February of 2007 and has reported raising $14,800 from 71 contributors.
You can read all about Mario on his web site at mariogarcia.net.
STACY GLICK ....
Ms. Glick is a lifelong member of the Miami-Dade County State Attorney's Office. She obtained her law degree from St. Thomas University and has been a member of The Florida Bar for 9 years.
While Stacy may be the daughter of Judge Leonard Glick, she has made a name for herself at the GJB and has obtained a wealth of experience in the trial court over the last 9 years in virtually every division of the SAO. Her last position there was as a supervising attorney.
Ms. Glick has been impressive in the fundraising area since her filing in June of 2007. Since then she has reported raising $47,100 from, get this, 299 supporters. Also, she has kicked in $100,000 of her own money toward the campaign.
Check out Stacy at glickforjudge.com.
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Sorry to intrude Captain, but the misdemeanor trial of the defendant/blogger had a suprise ending yesterday. Read his updated blog about the results
HERE
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
This is our fourth in a series on the candidates that seek your vote for County & Circuit Court Judge. To date, we have provided you with a review of the County Court race of Lesperance v. Lindsey, and Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis and Migna v. Manny. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today, it's Group 19 of the Circuit Court and the three candidates who seek to replace retiring Judge Roger Silver.
Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
YVONNE COLODNY .....
Assistant Public Defender Yvonne Colodny has been a member of The Florida Bar for nine (9) years. She has been an APD for that entire time. She graduated from FSU Law School and has gone on to serve in just about every Division of the PD's office.
Ms. Colodny filed to run in April of 2008 and has not reported raising any money yet.
You can read all about Yvonne Colodny on her web site at colodnyforjudge.com.
PATRICIA KOPCO .....
Pat Kopco has been a member of The Florida Bar for 12 years. She graduated from the UM law school and went to work at the State Attorney's Office. After leaving there, she has concentrated her practice in the area of Marital & Family law and became Board Certified in 2005 in that area. She has a solo practice.
Ms. Kopco filed to run in October of 2007. Since then, she has raised a good amount of money. In addition to dropping $50,000 of her own money into the race, she has found 80 contributors willing to fork over $18,000 for the campaign.
I have not located a web site for Kopco's campaign.
STEPHEN MILLAN ....
Steve has BTDT (as one of our readers likes to sign). In 2006, he challenged incumbent Judge Karen Mills Francis in Group 11 of the County Court. Millan got trounced in that election by double digits, losing 56% - 44% (76,565 - 59,513).
Now he seeks your vote to the Circuit Court. Steve has been a member of The Florida Bar for 17 years. He filed in January of 2007, right after the 2006 winners were sworn in. In the past 18 months, he reports raising only $5,500 from 25 contributors. Mr. Millan's practice is in the area of Criminal law.
I also have not located a website for Millan's campaign.
Please do your homework on the three candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
HERE
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
This is our fourth in a series on the candidates that seek your vote for County & Circuit Court Judge. To date, we have provided you with a review of the County Court race of Lesperance v. Lindsey, and Circuit Court races of Cueto v. Velis and Migna v. Manny. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today, it's Group 19 of the Circuit Court and the three candidates who seek to replace retiring Judge Roger Silver.
Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
YVONNE COLODNY .....
Assistant Public Defender Yvonne Colodny has been a member of The Florida Bar for nine (9) years. She has been an APD for that entire time. She graduated from FSU Law School and has gone on to serve in just about every Division of the PD's office.
Ms. Colodny filed to run in April of 2008 and has not reported raising any money yet.
You can read all about Yvonne Colodny on her web site at colodnyforjudge.com.
PATRICIA KOPCO .....
Pat Kopco has been a member of The Florida Bar for 12 years. She graduated from the UM law school and went to work at the State Attorney's Office. After leaving there, she has concentrated her practice in the area of Marital & Family law and became Board Certified in 2005 in that area. She has a solo practice.
Ms. Kopco filed to run in October of 2007. Since then, she has raised a good amount of money. In addition to dropping $50,000 of her own money into the race, she has found 80 contributors willing to fork over $18,000 for the campaign.
I have not located a web site for Kopco's campaign.
STEPHEN MILLAN ....
Steve has BTDT (as one of our readers likes to sign). In 2006, he challenged incumbent Judge Karen Mills Francis in Group 11 of the County Court. Millan got trounced in that election by double digits, losing 56% - 44% (76,565 - 59,513).
Now he seeks your vote to the Circuit Court. Steve has been a member of The Florida Bar for 17 years. He filed in January of 2007, right after the 2006 winners were sworn in. In the past 18 months, he reports raising only $5,500 from 25 contributors. Mr. Millan's practice is in the area of Criminal law.
I also have not located a website for Millan's campaign.
Please do your homework on the three candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Thursday, June 12, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
One day later than normal, we bring you our next in a series of reports on the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Last week we switched our focus to the Circuit Court and the race of Cueto v. Velis. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today, we move to Group 18 of the Circuit Court.
Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
Group 18 is presently occupied by the retiring Judge Jon Gordon. Vying to replace him are Migna Sanchez-Llorens and Manny Segarra.
MIGNA SANCHEZ-LLORENS .....
"Migna" as she has come to be known on this blog has been here before. In 2006, she ran a hotly contested race against Judge Shelly Schwartz for the seat in Group 27 of the County Court. In a squeaker, Schwartz pulled in 71,057 (51%) votes to Migna’s 67,236 (49%).
Migna was not afraid to spend money in that 2006 race. In total, she spent $215,745 and $185,000 of it was her own money. She and her husband, (a partner at the silk stocking firm of Shutts & Bowen), have the bucks and Manny better be prepared to either raise lots of money or getting lots of exposure in other ways.
Migna graduated from NYU Law School and she has been a member of The Florida Bar for 13 years. Her entire legal career has been spent in public service, as an Assistant with both the Federal PD and the State PD. Prior to becoming an attorney, she spent nine years in the banking industry.
Migna has been very active in Domestic Violence (D.V.) issues. She serves on the Florida Coalition Against DV and the Miami Dade County D.V. Oversight Board.
You can read all about Migna on her web site at migna4judge.com.
MANNY SEGARRA ....
Manny Segarra has been a member of The Florida Bar for 7 years. He graduated from the Univ. Of Illinois Law School. Manny's entire legal carrer has been spent with the State Attorney’s Office. There, he distinguished himself in the DV Unit. For two years, he was the Division Chief of the County Court Domestic Crimes Unit. He also authored the Misdemeanor DV Unit Training Manuel for his office for three years.
Manny has only raised $2,600 as of the last reporting period and has thrown in another $8,550 of his own money. He readily admits that he will not be able to compete with Migna in the money category.
Manny has three "You Tube" style videos running on his website. Check them out at mannysegarra.com.
Manny does note that he has been endorsed by none other than the "Blue Parrot Bar"; (that may be enough to get Rumpole’s endorsement).
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
ELECTION UPDATE .....
One day later than normal, we bring you our next in a series of reports on the contested judicial elections in Miami-Dade County. In Week One, we focused on the only contested County Court race of Lindsay v. Lesperance. Last week we switched our focus to the Circuit Court and the race of Cueto v. Velis. As we reported on May 2, 2008 on this blog, there are nine contested races here in Miami-Dade County; eight in the Circuit Court and one in the County Court. Today, we move to Group 18 of the Circuit Court.
Our goal will be to attempt to provide you with a weekly contest overview and then let you have at it and give us your opinions on why we should or should not vote for a certain candidate.
Group 18 is presently occupied by the retiring Judge Jon Gordon. Vying to replace him are Migna Sanchez-Llorens and Manny Segarra.
MIGNA SANCHEZ-LLORENS .....
"Migna" as she has come to be known on this blog has been here before. In 2006, she ran a hotly contested race against Judge Shelly Schwartz for the seat in Group 27 of the County Court. In a squeaker, Schwartz pulled in 71,057 (51%) votes to Migna’s 67,236 (49%).
Migna was not afraid to spend money in that 2006 race. In total, she spent $215,745 and $185,000 of it was her own money. She and her husband, (a partner at the silk stocking firm of Shutts & Bowen), have the bucks and Manny better be prepared to either raise lots of money or getting lots of exposure in other ways.
Migna graduated from NYU Law School and she has been a member of The Florida Bar for 13 years. Her entire legal career has been spent in public service, as an Assistant with both the Federal PD and the State PD. Prior to becoming an attorney, she spent nine years in the banking industry.
Migna has been very active in Domestic Violence (D.V.) issues. She serves on the Florida Coalition Against DV and the Miami Dade County D.V. Oversight Board.
You can read all about Migna on her web site at migna4judge.com.
MANNY SEGARRA ....
Manny Segarra has been a member of The Florida Bar for 7 years. He graduated from the Univ. Of Illinois Law School. Manny's entire legal carrer has been spent with the State Attorney’s Office. There, he distinguished himself in the DV Unit. For two years, he was the Division Chief of the County Court Domestic Crimes Unit. He also authored the Misdemeanor DV Unit Training Manuel for his office for three years.
Manny has only raised $2,600 as of the last reporting period and has thrown in another $8,550 of his own money. He readily admits that he will not be able to compete with Migna in the money category.
Manny has three "You Tube" style videos running on his website. Check them out at mannysegarra.com.
Manny does note that he has been endorsed by none other than the "Blue Parrot Bar"; (that may be enough to get Rumpole’s endorsement).
Please do your homework on the two candidates. Help out our readers by giving us your comments, pro and con, on each of the candidates.
The election takes place on Tuesday, August 26, 2008.
CAPTAIN OUT .........
Friday, May 02, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE ……
ELECTION UPDATE ……
The numbers are in and here they are: 35 Incumbent Judges (7 County and 28 Circuit) have been returned to office without opposition. There are 9 contested races (1 County and 8 Circuit). Four Incumbent Judges face opposition in August (Lindsey, Shapiro, Chumbley, and Cohen). We are guaranteed at least 6 new judges, all on the Circuit Court, as the result of the retirement of Judges Eugene Fierro, Jon Gordon, Roger Silver, Leonard Glick, Stuart Simons, and Jeffrey Rosinek. (dare I say that the courthouse may be open next Yom Kippur).
On a separate note, we have a new PUBLIC DEFENDER. Carlos Martinez, Chief Assistant to BHB, has been elected, as no one has filed to run against him. On January 1, 2009 he takes over an office that has been run by Mr. Brummer for 32 years. In 1971, Brummer joined the Dade County Public Defender's Office as an Assistant Public Defender in the Appellate Division. Over the next five years, he was promoted to Chief of the Appellate Division and later to Executive Assistant to the Public Defender. In 1976, Bennett Brummer was elected Dade County’s Public Defender, and in November 2004 he was re-elected to his eighth consecutive term.
Also, Katherine Fernandez Rundle wins another four year term as our State Attorney. Ms. Rundle started her career at the SAO in 1978 and has been the State Attorney since 1993.
Now, on to the Judicial races .......
Congratulations to the following seven County Court Judges who have been reelected to a new six year term:
Victoria Brennan ............................ Cristina Miranda
Rosa Figarola ................................. Nuria Saenz
Jacqueline Schwartz ........................Antonio Arzola
Victoria Brennan ............................ Cristina Miranda
Rosa Figarola ................................. Nuria Saenz
Jacqueline Schwartz ........................Antonio Arzola
Eric Hendon (whew !!!!!)
Congratulations to the following 28 Circuit Court Judges who have been reelected to a new six year term:
Ivan Fernandez ...................... Celeste Hardee Muir
Mary Barzee Flores ................. Jerald Bagley
Diane Ward ............................ Sarah Zabel
Amy Steele Donner ..................Kevin Emas
Margarita Esquiroz ................ Thomas Wilson Jr.
Jose Rodriguez ........ Bernard Shapiro - NOT (sorry Bernie - last minute filing)
Ronald Friedman ................... Marc Schumacher
Leon Firtel ............................ Jacqueline Hogan Scola
Daryl Trawick ......................Robert Scola
Peter Lopez ......................... Sandy Karlan
Ronald Dresnick .................. Victoria Sigler
Joseph Farina ..................... Reemberto Diaz
Orlando Prescott ................ Dava Tunis
Roberto Pineiro ................. Beatrice Avgherino Butchko
Congratulations to the following 28 Circuit Court Judges who have been reelected to a new six year term:
Ivan Fernandez ...................... Celeste Hardee Muir
Mary Barzee Flores ................. Jerald Bagley
Diane Ward ............................ Sarah Zabel
Amy Steele Donner ..................Kevin Emas
Margarita Esquiroz ................ Thomas Wilson Jr.
Jose Rodriguez ........ Bernard Shapiro - NOT (sorry Bernie - last minute filing)
Ronald Friedman ................... Marc Schumacher
Leon Firtel ............................ Jacqueline Hogan Scola
Daryl Trawick ......................Robert Scola
Peter Lopez ......................... Sandy Karlan
Ronald Dresnick .................. Victoria Sigler
Joseph Farina ..................... Reemberto Diaz
Orlando Prescott ................ Dava Tunis
Roberto Pineiro ................. Beatrice Avgherino Butchko
Spencer Eig (in a last minute decision, it appears that Roniel Rodriguez has decided not to challenge Judge Eig).
For all 35 of you, it’s nice to know that you will be able to avoid the unemployment lines until at least the year 2014.
Unfortunately, for the rest, it’s a long hot summer ahead of breakfasts in Goulds, lunches in Hialeah and dinners in Aventura, as you make your way across this large and great county of ours, meeting and greeting voters, holding fundraisers and begging for checks from members of the bar, all the while with a smile on your face (and Purell in your pocket). The campaign begins anew, May 2 – August 26, 2008, and for some, it may drag on until November 4th. At least 116 days of campaigning …..
The contested elections:
COUNTY COURT:
Group 42:
Lisa Lesperance vs. Norma Lindsey (I)
CIRCUIT COURT:
Group 11:
Jorge Cueto vs. Josie Perez Velis
Group 18:
Migna Sanchez-Llorens vs. Manny Segarra (I have eliminated Tauler)
Group 19:
Yvonne Colodny vs. Patricia Kopco vs. Stephen Millan
Group 38:
Mario Garcia vs. Stacy Glick
Group 50:
Ricardo Corona vs. Abby Cynamon
Group 51:
Marcia Caballero vs. Douglas Chumbley (I)
Group 55:
Jeri Beth Cohen (I) vs. Abbie Cuellar
For all 35 of you, it’s nice to know that you will be able to avoid the unemployment lines until at least the year 2014.
Unfortunately, for the rest, it’s a long hot summer ahead of breakfasts in Goulds, lunches in Hialeah and dinners in Aventura, as you make your way across this large and great county of ours, meeting and greeting voters, holding fundraisers and begging for checks from members of the bar, all the while with a smile on your face (and Purell in your pocket). The campaign begins anew, May 2 – August 26, 2008, and for some, it may drag on until November 4th. At least 116 days of campaigning …..
The contested elections:
COUNTY COURT:
Group 42:
Lisa Lesperance vs. Norma Lindsey (I)
CIRCUIT COURT:
Group 11:
Jorge Cueto vs. Josie Perez Velis
Group 18:
Migna Sanchez-Llorens vs. Manny Segarra (I have eliminated Tauler)
Group 19:
Yvonne Colodny vs. Patricia Kopco vs. Stephen Millan
Group 38:
Mario Garcia vs. Stacy Glick
Group 50:
Ricardo Corona vs. Abby Cynamon
Group 51:
Marcia Caballero vs. Douglas Chumbley (I)
Group 55:
Jeri Beth Cohen (I) vs. Abbie Cuellar
Group 57:
Bernard Shapiro (I) vs. Denise Scanziani (last minute filing)
Group 63:
Maria Sampedro-Iglesia vs. NO-ONE - YOU ARE A WINNER !!!!!
Over the course of the next 16 weeks, we will attempt to feature each of the 11 contested races and open it up for discussion as to whom are the most qualified candidates to wear the robe and hold the gavel.
Congratulations and good luck.
Group 63:
Maria Sampedro-Iglesia vs. NO-ONE - YOU ARE A WINNER !!!!!
Over the course of the next 16 weeks, we will attempt to feature each of the 11 contested races and open it up for discussion as to whom are the most qualified candidates to wear the robe and hold the gavel.
Congratulations and good luck.
CAPTAIN OUT ..........
D DAY
DOS DE MAYO
D DAY
The day our wonderful robed readers will find out if they have opposition. Will the summer be spent knocking off around 3PM and squeezing in a round of golf or a massage at the Four Seasons on Brickell (we highly recommend their spa) or trudging to endless chicken dinners at such hot spots as the Hialeah Kiwanis Club or the evening card rooms at Aventura condos?
Like the German Atlantic wall (and we are ever mindful of the problems we ran into the last time we used a WWII analogy) Judges have their hired guns- political consultants, lawyer-friends, and the rumor is one even hired new Dolphin Offensive Lineman Jake Long- manning the wall in Tallahassee. These politicos are ready, willing, and able to tackle if necessary any challenger who marches up at the last minute to file their papers to run against a particular Judge.
If you haven't seen it, it is a spectacle not to be missed.
Gary Cooper in High Noon it is not.
And yet, at high noon, ask not dear robed readers for whom the bell tolls, because for some of you, it tolls for thee.
Think March of the Penguins, plus the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landing at Omaha Beach, with a little of WWW wrestling thrown in for good measure.
People laugh. People cry and beg. Promises are made by these political consultants that they can never keep: "I'll make you a Judge next election guaranteed. Pick your spot. Third DCA? You got it, just don't file against my county court judge." There are scuffles, and shouts, and more cell phone usage than a Britney Spears appearance outside of a Hollywood courtroom.
Check this blog for updates throughout the day, handled in a most capable fashion by El Capitan.
See You In Court Monday, where some Judge who is sleeping soundly tonight, will be sitting there with a very sour face Monday morning, the bell having tolled for them.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE ……
Be careful what you wish for ….. In Group 18, Migna Sanchez-Llorens has long been unopposed for this open Circuit Court seat. (Migna has raised $18k and added another $40k of her own money to the campaign account). Many of you wondered why she had no opposition, others called out for an opponent to sign on.
Well, now Migna has an opponent.
Meet ELENA C. TAULER, a member of The Florida Bar for 19 years. Ms. Tauler is 51 years old and she graduated from the University of Miami School of Law. She has a solo practice and limits herself to the areas of: Family Law, Civil Litigation, Corporations, Criminal, Immigration, Real Estate, Real Property, Probate and Trusts.
Before you start commenting on her ability to be a “jack of all trades”, you may want to hear how and why she is so experienced in so many areas.
A quick check of the public records of Miami Dade County indicates that Ms. Tauler has been involved as a defendant or plaintiff in over 30 lawsuits. Most of the time she has been the defendant and the cases sort out like this:
1982 – Sued by Baptist for a debt
1982 – Sued by Finance America for a debt
1983 – Sued by Fannie Mae for Foreclosure
1983 – Sued by Sears for a debt
1983 – Sued by Southeast Bank for a debt
1986 – Divorce proceeding with her husband Antonio Tauler
1990 – Sued by Review Publications for a debt
1990 – Sued by Reed Somberg for a debt
1991 – Sued by Dept. of Education for a debt
1992 – DV Restraining Order filed against her ex law partner Calvin Fox
1993 – Sued by West Publishing for a debt
1994 – Sued by Granada Insurance for Foreclosure
1995 – Sued by BRM Engineering for a debt
1995 – Sued by Univ. Miami for a debt
1996 – Sued by Computer Crisis for a debt
1996 – Sued by Accurate Reporting for a debt
1996 – Sued by Taylor & Jonovic for a debt
1999 – Sued by Fed-Ex for a debt
2000 – Sued by Bank of NY for Foreclosure
2007 – Sued by Doral Estates for Foreclosure
There is more you should know.
On November 3, 1998, The Florida Bar filed a Complaint against Ms. Tauler moving for her DISBARMENT from the practice of law. The case went to the Florida Supreme Court and she was represented by attorney Scott Sakin.
The allegations were rather serious. Ms. Tauler was accused of taking over $50,000 from her Trust Account and using the money for personal and business obligations. This offense normally results in Disbarment. The referee, however, recommended a three (3) year Suspension; no doubt due to the fine work by Mr. Sakin. (Those who know Scott know how great an attorney he is).
The case went to the Florida Supreme Court. And in a 5-2 opinion, the Court upheld the recommendation of the referee, went against the wishes of The Florida Bar, and approved the 3 year SUSPENSION. The opinion is at 775 So.2d 944.
ELECTION UPDATE ……
Be careful what you wish for ….. In Group 18, Migna Sanchez-Llorens has long been unopposed for this open Circuit Court seat. (Migna has raised $18k and added another $40k of her own money to the campaign account). Many of you wondered why she had no opposition, others called out for an opponent to sign on.
Well, now Migna has an opponent.
Meet ELENA C. TAULER, a member of The Florida Bar for 19 years. Ms. Tauler is 51 years old and she graduated from the University of Miami School of Law. She has a solo practice and limits herself to the areas of: Family Law, Civil Litigation, Corporations, Criminal, Immigration, Real Estate, Real Property, Probate and Trusts.
Before you start commenting on her ability to be a “jack of all trades”, you may want to hear how and why she is so experienced in so many areas.
A quick check of the public records of Miami Dade County indicates that Ms. Tauler has been involved as a defendant or plaintiff in over 30 lawsuits. Most of the time she has been the defendant and the cases sort out like this:
1982 – Sued by Baptist for a debt
1982 – Sued by Finance America for a debt
1983 – Sued by Fannie Mae for Foreclosure
1983 – Sued by Sears for a debt
1983 – Sued by Southeast Bank for a debt
1986 – Divorce proceeding with her husband Antonio Tauler
1990 – Sued by Review Publications for a debt
1990 – Sued by Reed Somberg for a debt
1991 – Sued by Dept. of Education for a debt
1992 – DV Restraining Order filed against her ex law partner Calvin Fox
1993 – Sued by West Publishing for a debt
1994 – Sued by Granada Insurance for Foreclosure
1995 – Sued by BRM Engineering for a debt
1995 – Sued by Univ. Miami for a debt
1996 – Sued by Computer Crisis for a debt
1996 – Sued by Accurate Reporting for a debt
1996 – Sued by Taylor & Jonovic for a debt
1999 – Sued by Fed-Ex for a debt
2000 – Sued by Bank of NY for Foreclosure
2007 – Sued by Doral Estates for Foreclosure
There is more you should know.
On November 3, 1998, The Florida Bar filed a Complaint against Ms. Tauler moving for her DISBARMENT from the practice of law. The case went to the Florida Supreme Court and she was represented by attorney Scott Sakin.
The allegations were rather serious. Ms. Tauler was accused of taking over $50,000 from her Trust Account and using the money for personal and business obligations. This offense normally results in Disbarment. The referee, however, recommended a three (3) year Suspension; no doubt due to the fine work by Mr. Sakin. (Those who know Scott know how great an attorney he is).
The case went to the Florida Supreme Court. And in a 5-2 opinion, the Court upheld the recommendation of the referee, went against the wishes of The Florida Bar, and approved the 3 year SUSPENSION. The opinion is at 775 So.2d 944.
http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/pre2004/ops/sc94239.pdf
There are a bevy of facts that speak to the cause for the taking of the money. It appears that Tauler’s second husband, (she got remarried in 1994 to Dr. Joaquin E. Tomas), had back surgery and, as a result, lost his surgical oncology practice and caused their home to go into Foreclosure (see 2000 Bank of NY above). The Doc went schizoid on Tauler and she finally got to the breaking point. She was trying to run a law practice, raise five children (two from her marriage to Tauler and three more with Tomas) and she took the money out of the Trust Account.
To her credit, she never denied anything. The Referee and, ultimately the Supreme Court, gave her the benefit of the doubt, finding that she was going through ‘personal and emotional problems, had a positive character and reputation, made a timely good faith restitution effort, did full and free disclosure and showed remorse.’
On December 9, 1998, Tauler was suspended for three years and ordered to pay $3,426.38. After that time, upon reinstatement, she would be on Probation for one year with special conditions.
On February 21, 2002, Tauler filed a Petition for Reinstatement. In October of the same year, she voluntarily withdrew the Petition and paid costs in the amount of $2,290.24.
On September 8, 2003, she again filed her Petition For Reinstatement. The Court GRANTED her Petition and she got her ticket back on April 23, 2004. She paid additional costs in the amount of $1,783.28.
She did have one other contact with The Florida Bar. In 1988 and 1989 when attempting to first get licensed, The Florida Board of Bar Examiners opened an investigation. That investigation was eventually closed and no action was taken. It is unknown what the basis of that investigation was?
So now the voters of Miami Dade County get to decide whether Ms. Tauler is qualified to wear the robes of a Circuit Court Judge. There can be no doubt that she probably has more experience than most of the other candidates that we see filing these days. She has been in nearly every courtroom in the County, in nearly every arena of practice.
What do our readers think? Is Tauler qualified? Does the Suspension “disqualify” her in your minds? Are you bothered by the debt history and what that might say about her character?
As Rumpole likes to say …. Have at it ……
CAPTAIN OUT ……
Monday, March 24, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
ELECTION UPDATE .....
The 2008 Election season just got hotter as we now have our fifth incumbent judge who has drawn opposition.
In Circuit Court Group 76, Incumbent Judge Spencer Eig is being challenged by Aventura attorney Roniel "Ron" Rodriguez IV. Mr. Rodriguez has been a member of The Florida Bar for five (5) years.
Mr. Rodriguez lists his practice areas as in civil and commercial litigation. He has two quite interesting email addresses: sue u soon @aol.com and lawsuit8 @aol.com.
He has some "claim to fame" having sued Hooters, PF Changs, Sports Authority and other retail establishments under an obscure federal law. In the Hooters action, he sued them for "revealing too many figures" as an article on law.com states. It is a violation of federal law for a business to put all of your credit cards numbers on the receipt. Hooters was doing it and Rodriguez filed suit. Apparently, he has been handling this type of litigation against other businesses as well.
Judge Spencer Eig has not had to run in an election before as he was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in October of 2005, after the legislature created a new seat. Eig sits in the Criminal Division.
With Rodriguez' challenge of an incumbent Judge, he joins these races with an incumbent versus a challenger:
Circuit Court Group 51
Incumbent Douglas Chumbley vs. Challenger Marcia Caballero
Circuit Court Group 55
Incumbent Jeri Beth Cohen vs. Challenger Abbie Cueller
County Court Group 17
Incumbent Eric Hendon vs. Challenger Denise Martinez Scanziani
County Court Group 42
Incumbent Norma Lindsey vs. Challenger Lisa Lesperance
Other tidbits:
I must admit when I'm wrong. Judge Prescott is not running for any other office. He has filed in Group 35 to retain his seat as a Circuit Court Judge.
This completes the filings of incumbent judges expected to file for reelection. Now we get to watch over the next six weeks to see if anybody new jumps into the races to challenge another incumbent judge or instead opts to file in one of the open seats.
And speaking of open seats, Migna Sanchez-Llorens remains the only candidate without a challenger in the "open seats" category. Group 18 Circuit Court Judge Jon Gordon is not running again and Migna is the only one who has filed for the seat - So Far .....
As for the "open seat" in Group 63, Judge Rosinek's plans to resign before the end of his term have been put in a freezer.
Rosinek, who participates in the infamous drop program, had wanted to exit out early as the result of the drop system - but - he has gotten some behind the scenes pressure from some incumbent judges whom I shall not name - to keep his seat until the very end. To do otherwise, would cause a domino effect the likes we haven't seen since the war in Vietnam. If Rosinek resigns, Crist gets to appoint a replacement. If that happens, the two candidates that are now running to replace Rosinek, Maria Sampedro-Iglesia and Manny Segarra - would be forced to file against incumbent judges - alas, two more incumbents would join the five races mentioned above. So, you see, Rosinek is here to stay, until December 31, 2008.
It's going to get very interesting .....
Judicial Nominating Commission
The JNC has met and they have recommended six attorneys to Gov. Crist to replace County Court Judge George Sarduy, (who was promoted to the Circuit Court). The names:
Joeseph Davis, Jr. (34 years)
Steve Grossbard (34 years)
Alicia Otazo-Reyes (16 years)
David Peckins (31 years)
Rodney Smith (7 years; City Atty's Office)
Lourdes Simon (13 years; Public Defender)
Notably missing from the list: Stephen Millan, Mario Garcia, Jr., and Migna Sanchez-Llorens (all judicial candidates), Shirlyon McWhorter, Flora Seff and William Altfield.
CAPTAIN OUT ........
Monday, August 27, 2007
ELECTION CENTRAL 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
We are one year away from the judicial elections that will take place in 2008. The exact date is Tuesday, August 26, 2008 and tomorrow, it’s 52 weeks and counting. So for the benefit of those that are interested in the future of the robed ones in Miami-Dade County, here is a preview:
CIRCUIT COURT
There are 37 seats up for election. Of those, 24 incumbents have filed for re-election, 8 sitting judges have NOT filed as of yet, and there are five seats where new challengers have filed to run.
The Incumbents who have filed for re-election (without any opposition) are:
002 Barzee Flores, Mary
004 Ward, Diane
005 Donner, Amy Steele
006 Esquiroz, Margarita
009 Friedman, Ronald M.
016 Firtel, Leon M.
017 Trawick, Daryl E.
023 Lopez, Peter R.
027 Dresnick, Ronald
033 Farina, Joseph P.
037 Muir, Celeste Hardee
044 Bagley, Jerald
046 Zabel, Sarah I
051 Chumbley, Douglas J.
053 Emas, Kevin
054 Wilson Jr., Thomas S.
058 Schumacher, Marc
064 Scola, Jacqueline Hogan
069 Scola Jr., Robert N.
070 Karlan, Sandy
071 Sigler, Victoria
072 Diaz, Reemberto
075 Tunis, Dava J.
076 Eig, Spencer
The eight sitting judges who have not yet filed (and we need to be asking why) are:
001 Fernandez, Ivan F.
007 Rodriguez, Jose M.
019 Silver, Roger A.
035 Prescott, Orlando A.
036 Pineiro, Roberto M.
055 Cohen, Jeri Beth
057 Shapiro, Bernard S.
077 Butchko, Beatrice A.
The seats that new challengers have filed to run in are:
011 Velis, Josie Perez
(The incumbent is Judge Eugene Fierro)
018 Sanchez-LLorens, Migna
(The incumbent is Judge Jon Gordon)
038 Garcia, Mario
Glick, Stacy Daryl
(The incumbent is Judge Leonard Glick)
050 Cynamon, Abby
(The incumbent is Judge Stuart Simons)
063 Millan, Stephen T.
Sampedro-Iglesia, Maria
Segarra, Manny
(The incumbent is Judge Jeffrey Rosinek)
COUNTY COURT:
There are 9 seats up for election. Of those, 7 incumbents have filed for re-election, one of those incumbents has a challenger, and 2 sitting judges have NOT filed as of yet.
The Incumbents who have filed for re-election (without any opposition) are:
013 Brennan, Victoria R.
017 Hendon, Eric
019 Schwartz, Jacqueline
034 Sarduy, George A.
036 Saenz, Nuria
038 Arzola, Antonio
In Group 042, we have an incumbent and a challenger:
042 Lindsey, Norma S. (Incumbent)
Lesperance, Lisa V.
And, finally, the two sitting judges who have yet to file for re-election are:
016 Figarola, Rosa C.
030 Miranda, Cristina
Many questions will be answered in the next few months:
- Will Judge Ivan Fernandez decide not to run for re-election simply because one or two of the readers of this blog continue to confuse him with Ivan Hernandez?
- Will Judge Jose Rodriguez decide to retire and take Madonna up on her offer to cut a duet CD whilst both are wearing their infamous dueling head-pieces?
- Will Judge Roberto Pineiro hang up his robe and go into full-time guest blogging as a career?
- Will Judge Jeffrey Rosinek decide to forego his retirement, and instead, challenge Judge Blake for the position of Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division?
The Captain has no doubt that there will much jockeying around during the next several months and that more challengers will decide to enter the races. We look forward to all the excitement!
CAPTAIN OUT ...............................
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