ELECTION RESULTS 2012

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL 2012 .....

BARACK OBAMA HAS BEEN RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

At 11:17 PM on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, all five networks, FOX, CNN, CBS, NBC & ABC called the election for Obama.  With five states outstanding, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Ohio & Virginia, it was OHIO that put Obama over the top.  I believe that FOX called it first and all of the other networks were quick to follow within the next 45 seconds.

It is now past midnight though, and Mitt Romney's camp is not prepared to concede.  They do not believe that Ohio is lost and they have not made the "phone call" to the Obama people.  As a result, all the network talking heads are still talking.  They await someone to take a stage, Romney to concede or Obama to claim victory.

There are now three states left to call: Colorado, Florida, and Virginia, (Nevada was just called for Obama a few minutes ago).  I did call Florida at 10:01 PM tonight for Obama after doing a County by County analysis.

With 73% of the popular vote cast, these are the numbers, (you can't make this up):

ROMNEY - 49,028,980
OBAMA - 49,028,645

OTHER ELECTION NEWS:

Judge Andrea Wolfson appears headed to re-election.  With 83% of the votes counted, Wolfson maintains her lead of 53% - 47%.

All three Florida Supreme Court Justices have been retained after each received 68% of the vote.

All but three of the Constitutional Amendments have gone down to defeat.  The only three that will garner the required 60% of the vote are: Number 2: Veterans Homestead Discount; Number 9: Surviving Spouse of Military Veteran Homestead Exemption; and Number 11: Low-Income Seniors Homestead Exemption.

Congrats go out to former ASA Catherine Vogel who will be the next State Attorney in Monroe County.  The 16th Judicial Circuit vote shows Vogel getting 56% of the vote and defeating Mark Kohl.

Say goodbye to State Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff in State Senate District 34.  State Senator Maria Sachs defeats Bogdanoff 53% - 47%.

In a closely watched US House seat, incumbent Allan West is trailing challenger Patrick Murphy.  The vote right now is: Murphy 155,365 (50.16%) - West 154,392 (49.84%).  The margin is less than one-half of one percent - meaning that this race is headed for a recount.

In BROWEIRD COUNTY, there were three Judicial races:  former Circuit Court Judge Julio Gonzalez appears headed to defeat against Laura Watson.  Watson leads 51% - 49%.  In County Court races: Olga Levine defeats Robert Nichols 52% - 48% and Incumbent Judge Robert Diaz will retain his seat over challenger Roshawn Banks 59% - 41%.

Congratulation to all of the candidates and bravo to all those who got out and voted today.

We look forward to our next election cycle in 2014.

As always, feel free to email us with any tips at captain4justice@gmail.com.

CAPTAIN OUT .....

ELECTION CENTRAL - 28 DAYS TO GO

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL .....

Four weeks from today, our nation goes to the polls to elect the next President of these United States of America.  In many places around the country voting has already begun.  In Florida, if you ordered an absentee ballot, you should be getting that in the mail later this week.  Here are your choices:

Just ask yourself the following question: Do you want to vote for the candidate who took out Bin Laden, or, do you want to vote for the candidate who has vowed to take out Big Bird?  Those are your choices.

On a more serious note, 538.com, the New York Times online thread, still shows President Obama winning the Electoral College on November 6th.  They show him with 302.5 and Romney with 235.5; (it takes 270).

The Times calls the following states Competitive: Colorado (leaning blue); Florida (toss-up); Iowa (leaning blue); North Carolina (leaning red); New Hampshire (likely blue); Nevada (likely blue); Ohio (likely blue); Virginia (leaning blue); and Wisconsin (likely blue).

How close is this election?  If Romney pulls Florida into his court, he picks up 29 electoral votes.  He then needs only 6 more to become our 45th President.  Virginia has 13, Colorado has 9, and Iowa has the exact 6 votes he would need.

The next three debates could prove crucial.  This week it's Biden v. Ryan on Thursday night from Danville, Kentucky.  Next week, on Tuesday, Obama and Romney will hold a town hall style debate from Hofstra University.  The final debate takes place in our backyard, at the FAU campus in Boca Raton on Monday, October 22nd.  That debate will be about foreign policy.

If Obama wants to have another four years of free rides on Air Force One, he better bring his "A" game to his final two debates; last week he didn't even bring "a" game to Denver.  Rumpole has stated more than once on this blog that the only two things that could cost Obama the election are: the debates, or, some world event.  We had a convergence of both in the past couple of weeks.  First, was the attack on our embassy in Benghazi which cost the lives of four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens.  It has now been revealed, by recently released emails, that the State Department (Hillary Clinton) pulled most of the security from Libya a few months before the attacks.  Second, was the no show of Obama last week in Denver.

On the local scene, don't forget that we do have one outstanding judicial election as a result of the County Court Run-off between Incumbent Judge Andrea Wolfson and Challenger Greer Elaine Wallace.

North of the Border, in Broweird, there are three run-offs.  In Circuit, former Judge Julio Gonzalez faces Laura Watson.  In County Court, Incumbent Robert Diaz faces Challenger Roshawn Banks.  And, Olga Levine faces Robert Nichols.

Most important in the judicial races is the Retention Vote for three Florida Supreme Court Justices.  Justices Peggy Quince, Fred Lewis, and Barbara Pariente all face the possibility of being voted out of office.  If any of them are, then Governor Scott gets to choose their replacements.  There has been a lot of posts recently concerning the fact that, last week, the Republican Party of Florida voted to make this a campaign issue and supports ousting the three sitting jurists.  Numerous Republican leaders throughout the State have taken a stand publicly supporting the three sitting Justices.

We will also be watching the races for State Attorney in the 16th, Monroe County, as Catherine Vogel (D) is up against Mark Kohl (R) and in the 17th, Broward County, where Mike Satz (D) faces Jim Lewis (R).  There will be a new State Attorney in the 15th, Palm Beach County, as Dave Aronberg (D) is up against Dina Keever (R).

It should be an exciting 28 days running up to the Tuesday, November 6th election.  We look forward to reporting on all of the happenings right here.

If you have any tips to share, please do not hesitate to email me at:

Captain4Justice@gmail.com

CAPTAIN OUT .......

ELECTION CENTRAL ... PRIMARY RESULTS

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
(captain4justice@gmail.com)


ELECTION CENTRAL ..... AUGUST 14, 2012 .... PRIMARY RESULTS .....

EARLY VOTING NUMBERS & ABSENTEE BALLOTS HAVE NOW BEEN POSTED AND HERE THEY ARE. JUDGES LOBREE AND LUNDY THOMAS MAY NEED TO DUST OFF THEIR RESUMES.

HERE IS YOUR 9:00 PM UPDATE. CLOSEST RACE IS JUDGE PANDO V. GONZALEZ.  JUDGE WOLFSON IS 102 VOTES ABOVE A RUNOFF.  THAT WILL BE THE LATEST ONE TO CALL BY THE END OF THE NIGHT.

HERE IS YOUR 10:00 PM UPDATE.  PERCENTAGES ONLY EXCEPT WHERE CLOSE (NO LINE-THRUS-TAKES TOO LONG).  JUDGE LUNDY THOMAS AND JUDGE COHN ARE BOTH RUNNING BARELY AHEAD AT THE MOMENT.  DON'T HANG UP THAT ROBE JUST YET.

FINAL NUMBERS ARE IN.  CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS WHO APPEAR IN BOLD AND BLUE BELOW.

In January we welcome three new Circuit Court Judges: Verde, Santovenia, & Pooler; and four new County Court Judges: Gonzalez, Barakat, Cuesta & Brinkley.  (All seven, by the way, are women).

Also of Note:

Mike Satz wins primary and faces Rep. Jim Lewis in November.

Our good friend and former Dade ASA Cathy Vogel wins primary beating incumbent State Attorney in Monroe County and faces Rep. Mark Kohl in November. Way too go Cathy!

Jeff Ashton, he of the losing side of the Caylee Lee Anthony trial beats incumbent State Attorney Lawson Lamar and is your new State Attorney.

Dale Ross is still a Judge in Broward.

Julio Gonzalez won 34% of the vote and will be in a run-off with Laurie Wilson who won 27% for Circuit Court seat.  Two other candidates collected the other 39% of the vote.

Judge Diaz in Broward got 49.64% and will be in a runoff with Roshawn Banks (27.94%). Diaz needed 718 more votes to have avoided a run-off.

Judge Terri-Ann Miller was re-elected.

STATE ATTORNEY

Katherine F. Rundle - 60%
Rod Vereen -  40%

CIRCUIT COURT

Judge David Miller -  62%
Mauricio Padilla - 38%

Robert Coppel - 93,227 - 49%
Maria Verde - 98,661 - 51%

Alex Jimenez Labora - 90,027 - 49%
Maria Santovenia -  95,298 - 51%

Victor De Yurre - 43%
Teresa Pooler -  57%

COUNTY COURT

Frank Hernandez - 44%
Judge Patricia Marino-Pedraza - 56%

Diana Gonzalez - 95,523 - 51%
Judge Ana Maria Pando - 92,605 - 49%

Michelle Alvarez Barakat - 71%
Judge Fleur Lobree - 29%

Arthur Spiegel - 46,018 - 24%
Greer Elaine Wallace - 51,720 - 27% (R)
Judge Andrea Wolfson - 90,978 - 48% (R)

Ivonne Cuesta - 67%
Jacci Seskin - 33%

Tanya Brinkley - 61%
Enrique Yabor - 39%

John Rodriguez - 94,685 - 50%
Judge Teretha L. Thomas -  95,943 - 50%

Lourdes Cambo - 90,981 - 49%
Judge Don Cohn - 94,870 - 51%

That is the line-up in Miami-Dade County.  We should have early voting results very soon.  We will keep you updated during the evening.

CAPTAIN OUT .....
(captain4justice@gmail.com)

DCBA JUDICIAL POLL - YOUR BEST & WORST

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

YOUR ANNUAL BEST AND WORST JUDGES LIST IS OUT, AKA THE DCBA JUDICIAL POLL ......

In this year's version, 13,152 members of the DCBA were asked to send in their ballots rating our Circuit and County Court judges, (those up for election), and the judicial candidates as to whether they were: Exceptionally Qualified (EQ), Qualified (Q), or Unqualified.  There were a total of 1,439 ballots returned, although not every judge had that many total votes;(there were many "No Opinion" responses).  The first order of criticism usually comes from those that say, "that is too small a number" to represent any true test of the qualifications of the judges.  Au contraire my friends.  First, pollsters use much smaller samples on a regular basis.  And second, remember that there is a large segment of the membership of the DCBA that has never seen the inside of a State courtroom.  These votes come from those members that regularly appear in court.

And your winners are:

CIRCUIT COURT

Top rated as Exceptionally Qualified:

Judge Stan Blake - 71%
Judge Beth Bloom - 53%
Judge Joel Brown - 50%
Judge Cindy Lederman - 50%

Lowest Percentage of Unqualified votes:

Judge Blake - 1.32%
Judge Dennis Murphy - 3.56%
Judge Bloom - 4.24%
Judge Darrin Gayles - 4.52%

Highest Percentage of Unqualified votes:

Judge Gisela Cardonne Ely - 32%
Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis - 23%
Judge Maria Korvick - 23%
Judge Valerie Manno Schurr - 22%

We have it from a very good source that the 1.32% (13 votes) that voted Judge Stan Blake as Unqualified come from one of two categories: 1. Disgruntled attorneys in family court who did not get awarded their legal fees, and 2. Disgusted attorneys who have viewed the video below and found out that the person/body part appearing at exactly the one minute mark is a stunt double and is none other than our own Judge Blake:*

For those of you Ipad and Iphone users unable to view the video, here is the link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wyx6JDQCslE&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fs.ytimg.com%2Fyt%2Fswfbin%2Fwatch_as3-vfl3J-I2Q.swf&has_verified=1



COUNTY COURT

Top rated as Exceptionally Qualified:

Judge Steve Leifman - 54%
Judge Andrea Wolfson - 52%
Judge Charlie Johnson - 49%
Judge Sam Slom - 47%

Lowest Percentage of Unqualified votes:

Judge Luise Krieger Martin - 5.10%
Judge Leifman - 5.35%
Judge Slom - 5.41%
Judge Johnson - 5.60%
Judge Shelly Kravitz - 5.67%

Highest Percentage of Unqualified votes:

Judge Ana Maria Pando - 60%
Judge Gladys Perez - 21%
Judge Patricia Marino Pedraza - 20%
Judge Maria Ortiz - 18%
Judge Gloria Gonzalez Meyer - 15%

CANDIDATES FOR JUDGE:

CIRCUIT COURT RACES:

Judge David Miller - 86% voted him EQ or Q
Mauricio Padilla - 51% voted him Unqualified

Robert Coppel - 92% voted him EQ or Q
Maria Verde - 36% voted her Unqualified

Alex Labora - 64% voted him EQ or Q
Maria Santovenia - 71% voted her EQ or Q

Victor DeYurre - 40% voted him Unqualified
Teresa Pooler - 81% voted her EQ or Q

COUNTY COURT RACES:

Frank Hernandez - 48% voted him Unqualified
Judge Marino Pedraza - 81% voted her EQ or Q

Diana Gonzalez - 72% voted her EQ or Q
Judge Pando - 60% voted her Unqualified

Michelle Alvarez Barakat - 29% voted her Unqualified
Judge Lobree - 89% voted her EQ or Q

Arthur Spiegel - 42% voted him Unqualified
Geer Elaine Wallace - 29% voted her Unqualified
Judge Wolfson - 92% voted her EQ or Q

Ivonne Cuesta - 82% voted her EQ or Q
Jacci Seskin - 54% voted her Unqualified

Tanya Brinkley - 76% voted her EQ or Q
Enrique Yabor - 50% voted him Unqualified

John Rodriguez - 41% voted him Unqualified
Judge Lundy Thomas - 86% voted her EQ or Q

Lourdes Cambo - 51% voted her Unqualified
Judge Don Cohn - 91% voted him EQ or Q

The entire Dade County Bar Poll Results can be found here:

http://www.dadecountybar.org/media/PDF%20Web%20Files/pollresults2012.pdf


*Judge Blake was quoted in the DBR, on the results and his high numbers: ""I have a sense of humor that I think helps people feel comfortable, both the lawyers and the litigants," he said. "They see that I don't take myself too seriously."

The election is set for Tuesday, August 14, 2012.


CAPTAIN OUT ...........

JUDGE PATRICIA MARINO PEDRAZA SUES TO GET OPPONENT KICKED OFF BALLOT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL .....  COUNTY COURT ... PATRICIA MARINO PEDRAZA FILES LAWSUIT ASKING COURT TO KICK CHALLENGER OFF BALLOT (from the DBR).

http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/PubArticleDBR.jsp?id=1202556158151&thepage=1

The DBR reports today that Rodolfo Pedraza, husband of County Court Judge Patricia "Marina" (the DBR spelled her name incorrectly) Pedraza, has filed a lawsuit against challenger (and Miami-Dade ASA) Frank Hernandez attempting to get him removed from the ballot this August.

For the Plaintiff: None other than Michael Catalano

For the Defense: JC Planas

The Judge:  Looks like the case was originally assigned to Judge Ellen Leesfield.  There is a Recusal listed on the Docket Sheet and it may have been reassigned to Judge Victoria Platzer.?

The issue: Whether Hernandez filed a complete and accurate financial disclosure form required of all judicial candidates.

According to Catalano:

Hernandez did not include his home mortgage as a liability when he filed the disclosure form.  County records show that there are two mortgages totaling $250,000 on Hernandez's home.

According to Planas:   

Candidate Hernandez and his wife, Jodi, are listed on the warranty deed on the home, and both signed the mortgages. But Hernandez isn't on the mortgage note and therefore didn't have to list the mortgages as liabilities.  Planas called the lawsuit "frivolous" and has filed a Motion to Dismiss set to be heard this Friday.

Pedraza's attorney, Michael Catalano, has also demanded that Hernandez turn over copies of his bank statement on the day he filed the disclosure form.  The challenger did not list any bank accounts on his original form.



CAPTAIN OUT .....
captain4justice@gmail.com

MIGUEL DE LA O HAS NO OPPONENT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
DAY FOUR QUALIFYING WEEK:(For any hot breaking tips that you wish to share, please consider emailing us at Captain4Justice@gmail.com . Your personal information will be kept confidential).

BREAKING BREAKING NEWS .....

AND LAST (WE THINK) BUT NOT LEAST

Incumbent Judge Andrea Wolfson now has two opponents.  Attorney Greer Elaine Wallace has joined the fray in Group 24 along with Attorney Arthur Spiegel.

I'm going to lunch!!!!!!!!!!
--------------------------------------------

WOOOO. WE DID NOT SEE THIS COMING.  INCUMBENT JUDGE PATRICIA MARINO-PEDRAZA HAS AN OPPONENT.

In a last minute move, forced by Rick Yabor's decision to jump into the Group 28 race, Attorney Frank Hernandez jumps out of the race with Tanya Brinkley (and Yabor) and into Group 01 against Incumbent Judge Marino-Pedraza.  This leaves Group 28 with only two candidates, Brinkley and Yabor.
-----------------------------------

Carol "Jodi" Breece, 22 year member of the bar, and Board Certified in Criminal trial will NOT be running in 2012 against Judge Pando and Diana Gonzalez.  She will though be running for CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE IN 2014.  Good luck Jodi in 2014.
-----------------------------------------

Our mole at the Elections Office has just told us a secret.  Incumbents, and especially Judge Charlie Johnson, breathe easier, for a few more minutes.  Enrique "Rick" Yabor has jumped out of the Johnson race and is filing against Tanya Brinkley and Frank Hernandez.  Our first three way race.  Although I try not to show favortism, I'm really happy for Judge "Charlie" Johnson.
---------------------------------------------

Welcome to the party.  State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle just got some uncomforting news.  Not only will Mr. Vereen be facing off against her in August, but two more have joined the race as Write-In candidates.

Attorney Michele Samaroo, ten year attorney, has qualified as a WRITE-IN candidate. 

Attorney Todd Omar Malone, licensed eight years in Florida, but practicing as an attorney for 22 years, with licenses in New York and New Jersey, has NOW qualified as a Write-In candidate.  He was an Assiatant Federal PD in Miami for nine years and also worked for Freidin & Dobrinksy, a PI firm, for a few years, before opening his own firm.

What does this mean?  It means that the Primary in August is now a CLOSED Primary, and only Dems will be permitted to vote in the race between Fernandez & Vereen.  So, who is behind the filings of Samaroo & Malone? We'll let our readers figure that one out.
--------------------------------------------------

We have confirmed that Attorney Mauricio Padilla is IN and has qualified to run against Incumbent Circuit Court Judge David Miller.  Many of you have emailed us to ask the WHY - we'll have that answer in a future post.

Still no final decisions to report on Breece, Yabor, or Wallace.
--------------------------------------------------

BREAKING NEWS ...... (We have been holding our Thursday post out of respect to Judge Esquiroz)

AS YOU MAY HAVE READ IN MY POST EARLIER TODAY:

MIGUEL da la O has no opponent.

Greer Elaine Wallace is OUT of Group 42 of the Circuit Court, Miguel de la O currently has no opposition, and Wallace is looking at a County Court incumbent to file against.

Will de la O become the next Milt Hirsch and win without facing any opposition?

In Circuit Court Group 49, we can confirm that Teresa Pooler is all in against Victor DeYurre.

William Pena Wells is OUT of Group 20, County Court, and will not be running for anything this time around. That leave Incumbent Fleur Lobree and challenger Michelle Barakat.

In County Court Group 24, Arthur "Artie" Spiegel is IN against Judge Wolfson. 

In County Court Group 40, Lourdes Cambo is IN against Judge Cohn.

And Rick Yabor has not made a final decision on whether to run against Judge Charlie Johnson or someone else.

Finally, still no solid word on the intentions of Mr. Padilla and his possible show down with Judge Miller.

So, what do have to look forward to in the final three hours (9a-Noon)? Well, two incumbent County Court Judges will likely have opposition, as Enrique "Rick" Yabor and Greer Elaine Wallace make their decisions known.  Carol "Jodie" Breece has not yet qualified in Group 10 of the County Court against Incumbent Judge Pando and Challenger Diana Gonzalez.

-----------------------------
(The rest of this post was written late Wednesday night).

With just more than 24 hours to go, things are finally starting to fall into place. Here is what we can tell you so far:

CIRCUIT COURT

The week began with 24 incumbent judges without opposition.

As of today, that is still the case. Judge David Miller may be facing off with Attorney Mauricio Padilla if Padilla decides to pay the qualifying fee.

There are four open seats and each one has a contested race. They are:

Robert Coppel v. Maria Verde
Miguel de la O v. Greer Elaine Wallace***
Alex Labora v. Maria Santovenia
Victor de Yurre v. Teresa Pooler***

***Ms. Wallace has not yet paid her qualifying fee. We reached out to her campaign but have not heard back. Ms. Pooler has not paid her qualifying fee. We have been able to confirm that she is in the race and looking forward to the campaign.

COUNTY COURT

The week began with 26 incumbents judges; four facing opposition.

This week we saw two more incumbents draw opposition and one incumbent (Pando) now facing two challengers.

There are two open seats and each one has a contested race.

Ana Maria Pando (I) v. Diana Gonzalez v. Jodi Breece***

Fleur Lobree (I) v. Michele Barakat v. William Wells***

Andrea Wolfson (I) v. Arthur Spiegel***

Ivonne Cuesta v. Jacci Seskin (open seat)

Tanya Brinkley v. Frank Hernandez (open seat)

Teretha Thomas Lundy (I) v. John Rodriguez

Charlie Johnson (I) v. Enrique "Rick" Yabor***

Don Cohn (I) v. Lourdes Cambo

***Ms. Breece has not yet paid her qualifying fee. Mr. Wells has not yet paid his qualifying fee. We have reached out to him with no success. Mr. Spiegel has not yet paid his qualifying fee. Mr. Yabor has not yet paid his qualifying fee. We believe Mr. Yabor is contemplating a switch to another race. He will make his decision today and we will know on Friday who the unlucky incumbent Judge is that draws him as an opponent.

STATE ATTORNEY

And the biggest news of the week was certainly that of criminal defense attorney Roderic Vereen filing against longtime incumbent Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

WHAT ARE YOUR CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES NET WORTH:

Of your 24 incumbent judges, 14 of them have a net worth of at least One Million Dollars. Your Top Four are:

Michael Hanzman - $23,000,000
Victoria Brennan - $9.8 mil
Valerie Manno Schurr - $4.0 mil
Ellen Venzer - $3.9 mil

The other ten incumbents include five with a net worth of under $300,000.

On Friday, we will congratulate the winners and post the final line-ups for contested elections.

Keep those private tips coming.


CAPTAIN OUT ......

JUDGE DAVID MILLER VS. ATTORNEY MAURICIO PADILLA

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
DAY THREE QUALIFYING WEEK:
(For any hot breaking tips that you wish to share, please consider emailing us at Captain4Justice@gmail.com . Your personal information will be kept confidential).

BREAKING NEWS .....

Welcome CAROL "JODI" BREECE* to all the fun. County Court Group 10 just grew by one candidate. Attorney Breece joins the race with Incumbent Judge Ana Maria Pando and Challenger Diana Gonzalez. This makes our first three person race and that means a possible primary in August, followed by a runoff in November. Some might think that Pando may not survive the JQC and the Florida Supreme Court this time around. Maybe Breece was thinking, if that were to happen, Gonzalez would win in a walk-over. Well, not anymore.

*Attorney Jodi Breece has been a member of The Florida Bar for more than 21 years. She is Board Certified in Criminal Trial for the past 13 years.

Let's begin today, hump day, with an analysis of the race between incumbent Judge David Miller versus his potential* opponent attorney Mauricio Padilla. We say potential because Mr. Padilla still needs to slap down $5,687.12 of his hard earned money in order to qualify to run for this seat. Why is that important? We'll tell you in just a moment.

First, David Miller. Born in 1953, he earned his BS from the University of Florida in 1975, and his JD from Nova in 1978. He was in private practice for 22 years, from 1978-2000. We believe he spent his time in the civil arena handling insurance defense matters at the Stephens, Lynn law firm. He did appellate work and trial work. In 2000, he spent his hard earned money and ran for Judge against GJB regulars David Peckins and Arthur "Artie" Spiegel (who just filed to run in County Court against Judge Andrea Wolfson).

In the Primary, 32% of Miami-Dade voters turned out and gave Miller 77,700 votes (44%). Peckins joined him in the run-off with 30%. Spiegel missed out with 26% of the vote.

In the General Election, in November of 2000, (can you say Bush v. Gore), 72% of Miami-Dade voters went to the polls and gave Miller a resounding victory; 245,765 (64%) to Peckins 140,934 (36%). In 2006, Miller was unopposed and reelected to a new six year term.

Miller has been on the bench for more than 11 years and he has made some enemies and also earned the wide support of his colleagues. He had a rough beginning when he was assigned to criminal court. Some of our readers have said that he was happy with the moniker "Maximum Miller" and according to the way Rumpole tells it:

"He took the bench and came to the REGJB bragging that he wanted to be known as "Maximum Miller". What kind of human being tries to build a reputation by sentencing people to as long a jail term as possible? What kind of person violates the constitution he is sworn to uphold by punishing people who exercise their right to a jury trial? Not a very nice one in our opinion. Outside of divine intervention, we will vote for anyone other than Judge Miller. He has earned our enmity."

Then he left the GJB and moved over to Civil. There is where he felt most comfortable and earned a reputation as the hardest working judge on the bench who just happens to also have a brilliant legal mind to boot. Says one of our loyal readers in response to Horace:

"While he may have once been "Maximum," he has grown tremendously during his years on the bench. I've seen him in criminal and civil, and first of all, I echo the Cap's comments about his work ethic. Miller works harder and is more accessible than anyone in the robe. In the criminal arena, I think the Dennis incident -- which was all her, BTW -- was an epiphany for him. He thinks hard about everything he does, insignificant or not, and he's not afraid to stick it to the state when they have it coming, even when there might be political ramifications. In fact, among the robed ones, his nickname changed from "Maximum" to "Mellow."On the civil side, he reads everything, asks great questions, and gives everybody all the time they want to blather on. Nobody is more up on the law. He also rules instead of sitting on things. I have won big and lost big in front of him and I never felt that I got anything less than an absolutely fair and thoughtful decision. Be prepared, punctual and respectful with Miller and you'll get it back in spades."

Now let's talk about what we know so far about attorney and potential challenger Mauricio Padilla.

Mr. Padilla graduated from law school at University of Miami in 2000. He earned his license two years later in May of 2002. His practice concentrates in the areas of matrimonial law, civil litigation and criminal defense.

Now here comes the kicker. Why is the amount of the filing fee important? Because $5,687.12 represents approximately 33% of Mr. Padilla income in 2011. That's right, Mr. Padilla reports earning around $17,000 last year. And, the $5,687.12 also represents more than five times than what Mr. Padilla currently has in the bank. We come to this conclusion because in his Financial Disclosure form, where Padilla is asked to list assets valued at over $1,000, (which includes bank accounts), he lists none. In fact, according to the filing, Mr. Padilla's current net worth is NEGATIVE [$91,752.99].

To be fair to Mr. Padilla, this probably was his first encounter with filing a State Financial Disclosure form and he may have misunderstood what it was asking for in the way of cash assets. We also do not know the man and he may be an attorney who has earned a stellar reputation among his peers over the past nine plus years. We would ask you to post your comments if you know anything about Mr. Padilla.

We have privately emailed Mr. Padilla and asked him several questions about his reasons for running and for choosing Judge Miller as an opponent, as opposed to any of the other 24 incumbents who have no opposition. If he respond, and gives us permission to print what he says, we will print it here.

So now it's back to the exciting news of the day. Who's next? Which incumbent Judges will be spending their summer vacations eating breakfasts in Homestead, Florida City and Goulds, lunches in Little Havana, Allapattah, and Little Haiti, and dinners in Miami Lakes, Carol City and Aventura?

Thank you to our readers for all the positive comments on the coverage and thanks especially to Rumpole for giving me the ability to be top dog for a few days every two years.

CAPTAIN OUT .......

JUDGE MILLER DRAWS OPPONENT

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
DAY TWO QUALIFYING WEEK:
(For any hot breaking tips that you wish to share, please consider emailing us at Captain4Justice@gmail.com . Your personal information will be kept confidential).

BREAKING BREAKING NEWS***

INCUMBENT COUNTY COURT JUDGE ANDREA WOLFSON* DRAWS AN OPPONENT .....

In Group 24 of the County Court, attorney Arthur Spiegel* has filed his paperwork and will be challenging Judge Wolfson. Many of you know Arthur as he is a regular at the GJB. He has been practicing in the criminal defense arena for more than 27 years.

This brings the number of Incumbent County Court judges drawing opposition to six (6). We have now confirmed that Judge Pando has paid her $5,371.20 qualifying fee and will run for re-election. Judge Lobree has two possible opponents, Michelle Barakat and William Wells, but neither have qualified yet. Judge Teretha Thomas Lundy has an opponent; (John Rodriguez). As we reported on Monday, Judge Don Cohn has an opponent; (Lourdes Cambo). Finally, Judge Charlie Johnson is waiting to see what attorney Enrique "Rick" Yabor will decide. He has not yet qualified in Judge Johnson's division and our sources are telling us that he may jump to another race.

*Arthur Spiegel has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1985. According to him, he has been involved in nearly 100 jury trials. He handles all types of traffic, misdemeanor and felony cases. He also indicates that he has experience in the PI field as well as representing small businesses in the construction industry.

*Judge Andrea Wolfson was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to an open County Court seat in May of 2010. This is her first election. She was first assigned to Hialeah Branch Court and is currently in the GJB handling criminal cases. Prior to becoming a Judge she was employed by the State Attorney's Office from 2001-2010.

BREAKING NEWS***



INCUMBENT CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE DAVID MILLER DRAWS OPPONENT .....

OYE VEY!!! We have been advised that words to that effect were uttered this morning when veteran Circuit Court Judge David Miller woke up to the news that attorney MAURICIO PADILLA, an attorney for nine (9) years, has filed to run against Judge Miller. The question that immediately comes to mind is: Why does Padilla choose Miller, when, out of 24 incumbent Circuit Court Judges, Miller has raised more money than anyone else with a total of $140,698 raised as of March 31, 2012.

SAD NEWS TO REPORT .......

Longtime Circuit Court Judge Margarita Esquiroz (1945-2012) has died. We reported back in July of 2010 that "Judge Margarita Esquiroz has announced her retirement from the Circuit Court bench. She was the first female Hispanic Judge in Florida. She was appointed to the bench in 1979 and won her only contested election to the Circuit Court bench in 1984 when she garnered 57% of the vote and beat Eli Breger and Joseph Nazzaro." She retired in September of 2010 due to health issues.

Our prayers go out to her family at this difficult time.

***UPDATE*** Services will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2012. A viewing for Esquiroz will be at 4 p.m. immediately followed by a mass at 5 p.m. Both viewing and mass will be at St. Brendan Catholic Church, 8725 SW 32nd St. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the CABA Judge Margarita Esquiroz Scholarship Fund. Checks should be sent to “CABA Judge Margarita Esquiroz Scholarship Fund” c/o Vivian de la Cuevas-Diaz, 2 South Biscayne Blvd., Suite 2100, Miami, FL 33131.


CAP OUT ..............

RUNDLE & BRINKLEY & COHN HAVE OPPONENTS

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
DAY ONE QUALIFYING WEEK:
(For any hot breaking tips that you wish to share, please consider emailing us at Captain4Justice@gmail.com . Your personal information will be kept confidential).

BREAKING BREAKING BREAKING NEWS***

KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE HAS AN OPPONENT ......

Yes, it's true. Ms. Rundle has drawn an opponent and his name is Roderick Vereen*. Most of you know Rod as a criminal defense attorney. He has been a member of the Florida Bar for 21 years. He most recently ran, unsuccessfully, for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Seeing as there was a baseball size team of Democratic candidates in that race, one that Frederica Wilson eventually won, Rod filed as an Independent. In the race to defeat long-time incumbent Rundle, he has filed as a Democrat.

Mr. Vereen better be prepared to spend lots of his own money, or raise it very quickly. Ms. Rundle, not one to take anything for granted, has been hard at work these past six months raising her own campaign funds. As of the March 31, 2012 reporting cycle, she has raised $440,388 (including $26,811 of InKind contributions) from 1475 contributors. That works out to an average of just under $300 for each donator. She has added $48,000 of her own money for a total of $488,388.

Hey Rod, got a half million dollars sitting around anywhere that you would like to kickstart that campaign with?

Now we're really going to have a fun summer!!!!!


*Roderick Vereen was born in Germany and raised in South Florida. He earned a bachelor's in criminology from Florida State University and a law degree from the Southern University Law Center. He served as a former assistant state attorney and later became the first black assistant federal public defender for the northern district of Florida's federal court. He was also an adjunct professor at Florida State University and at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.

BREAKING BREAKING NEWS*** -

TONYA BRINKLEY HAS AN OPPONENT .....

In Group 28 of the County Court, Assistant State Attorney Frank A. Hernandez* has filed to run against Ms. Brinkley. You all have been asking for someone to step up and file against Ms. Brinkley, well now you have your opponent. By the way, Mr. Hernandez has been an attorney in Florida for - wait - hold that thought - Six (6), count em, six years. As reported earlier today, Ms. Brinkley is on the leaderboard of two separate financial reporting lists: She has raised a total of $81,418, second only to long-time incumbent County Court Judge Caryn Schwartz. Ms. Brinkley has also thrown down $100,000 of her own money toward the campaign.

*We know very little about Mr. Hernandez. He graduated from Florida Coastal Law School in the Spring of 2005 and was sworn in as an attorney in October of the same year. We assume he has been through the standard rounds: DUI's, Juvenile and now must be somewhere in the Felony Division. Hopefully our loyal readers can shed some light on Mr. Hernandez and his breadth of experience.

BREAKING NEWS*** -


DON COHN HAS AN OPPONENT ......

In Group 40 of the County Court, attorney Lourdes Cambo* has filed to run against incumbent Don Cohn. Judge Cohn has raised a total of $22,500 in campaign contributions and has loaned an additional $21,000 to the campaign. It looks like Judge Cohn will be in for a long hot summer campaign to retain his seat.

* We know very little about attorney Lourdes Cambo. She has been a licensed attorney in Florida for 20 years and specializes in Workers Compensation.

***You can't find this Breaking News in the Daily Business Review. Can't find it in the Herald or the Sun Sentinel. But, you can always turn to Rumpole's Justice Building BLOG for the latest Breaking News on what's going on at our Gerstein Justice Building.

Thanks to all our loyal followers.

Cap Out .......................

BLASTOFF - 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
(Thank you to Rumpole for permitting this to be reposted this afternoon. My apologies to our readers for posting two posts on the same feature - but there is a slightly different slant to my post. I also have posted some new information on Elections & JNC appointments below).

50 YEARS AGO TODAY ......








..... Astronaut John Glenn climbed into his Friendship 7 space capsule atop an Atlas rocket at Cape Canaveral, blasted off, and became the first American to orbit the Earth.


Sometimes I think we forget about these monumental accomplishments in American history. Our children attending elementary, middle school and high school get little in the areas of history and civics. I would guess that if they were asked, "Who is John Glenn", less than 10% would have a clue. Sad state of our educational system, here in Florida, and all around the country. But our Republican presidential hopefuls will surely make the inability to obtain birth control a much higher priority than teaching about history or civics, if any of them are elected President this November.


And while we are talking politics, did you happen to read your local newspaper this weekend? The Herald invited former justice of the Florida Supreme Court Raoul Cantero and Mark Schlakman, a senior program director for the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at FSU to write an OP ED about the Death Penalty.


The piece is entitled "Unanimous Jury Verdict A Must For Florida's Justice System". It is well written and it is speaking to deaf ears if it was meant to reach most of our elected legislators in Tallahassee. While they spend their time this session giving tax breaks to businesses that hire only non-union workers and redraw the geographic lines for the next decade of voting districts to make them "fairer", they ignore the two simple facts that speak loud and clear on this issue:


1. Of the 33 death penalty states, Florida is the only one that does not require unanimous verdicts. Even Georgia and Texas demand a 12-0 vote.


2. Since 1973, Florida leads the country in reversing more death sentences than any other state.


You can read the entire Op Ed here:

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/18/2647451/florida-ignores-unanimous-jury.html


We hope everyone enjoyed their President's Day Weekends. For those of you youngins', we used to celebrate our 16th President's birthday, Abe Lincoln, on February 12th, and our 1st President's birthday, George Washington, on February 22nd. Congress finally changed that in 1971 when they decided to move most federal holidays to Mondays. They chose the third Monday in February to honour our first President, but rejected the part of the legislation that would name the holiday President's Day. Instead, today we actually honor President George Washington's Birthday. Of course, our retailers didn't see it that way, and over the years, they continually called it President's Day, until the name stuck.

On the Election & Appointment news of the day:

Circuit Court - Group 49

As a result of Richard Hersch's appointment last week by Governor Scott, Group 49 found itself with only one candidate: Victor De Yurre. That was until County Court Group 28 candidate Teresa Pooler, (sister of Katie Pooler), withdrew from that race and filed in the Group 49 race. So, for now, County Court Group 28 is left with lone candidate Tanya Brinkley.

JNC: Circuit Court .....

The JNC has received applications from 16 attorneys and three County Court Judges for the open seat of Judge Julio Jimenez. The shock is from who is NOT on the list. After applying for what must have been a dozen or more times, and being nominated by the JNC to the Governor's office a dozen or more times, Judge Deborah White-Labora has not applied for this seat. Judge White-Labora told me last month that she was done, for now, applying, if she did not get the appointment that recently went to Richard Hersch. Can you blame her?!

Also missing from the applicants: Miguel de la O, who was another one of the six finalists in the Hersch group from last month. De la O is currently a candidate for Circuit Court Judge running against Greer Elaine Wallace in Group 42.

Those on the list include:

Paul Aiello, Steven P. Befera, Manuel L. Casabielle, Judson L. Cohen, Michelle Ashby Delancy, Ariana Fajardo, Alan S. Fine, Andrew S. Hague, Victor J. Hayes, Lisa Lehner, Christine Lopez-Acevedo, Louis V. Martinez, Cristina Miranda, Jonathan Parker, Bonnie Riley, Vivian Rosado, Alan D. Sackrin, Rodney Smith, Veronica A. Xiques

JNC: County Court .....

Interviewing this Friday, February 24th, for the open County Court seat of Norma Lindsey:

Veronica Adriana Xiques, Rodolfo A. Ruiz, Vivian Rosado, Yadira Pedraza, Jonathan Parker, Gordon Charles Murray, Sr., Jonathan Meltz, Steven Lieberman, Carlos Guzman, Vincent Peter Farina, Ivonne Cuesta, Judson L. Cohen, Manuel Casabielle, Tanya Brinkley, Christopher Andrew Angell, David Alschuler .

CAPTAIN OUT ...........

ELECTION CENTRAL: SANTOVENIA V. LABORA

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

Election Central .....

Circuit Court Group 47. Maria de Jesus Santovenia now has an opponent.

An Attorney using the name ALEX JIMENEZ LABORA has filed to run against Ms. Santovenia for the open Circuit Court seat.

BUT, HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM .........

There is no Alex Jimenez Labora that is licensed by The Florida Bar to practice law in the State of Florida.***

The Florida Bar does list an Alexander J. Labora as an attorney who has been practicing law in Florida for 18 years. (He also happens to be married to one Judge Deborah White Labora).

Now, suffice it to say that both Horace and I have always been big supporters of Judge Deborah White Labora and the Drug Court Program on this BLOG. But, fair is fair. And in the past, when someone has filed to run for Judge using a name different than the one they are licensed under, and when that different name just happens to be an Hispanic name, we must call Mr. Labora out on this.

***We checked at SunBiz.org for the name Alex Jimenez Labora and we were only able to find an Alexander J. Labora listed as an RA and/or an Officer in three different corporations. We also checked Fictitious Names, Limited Liability and General Partnerships. We did find one listing for an Alexander Jimenez PA that was formed in 2008 but the addresses do not appear to match up to Mr. Labora. Mr. Labora does state on The Florida Bar web site that his firm name is Alex Jimenez Labora, but there are no corporations or fictitious names found searching "Alex Jimenez Labora".

Mr. Labora specializes in foreclosure defense, bankruptcy, commercial transactions, personal injury and probate. He went to school in Mexico at Universidad IberoAmericana graduating with a chemical engineering degree in 1979. He furthered his education with an MBA obtained in 1983 at the Wharton's School of Business at the Univ. of Penn. He then went to law school at the "U" and got his JD in 1992. He has been a Hearing Officer in the 11th Judicial Circuit since 2010.

For the record, there are now four contested Circuit Court races. Also, there are currently four contested County Court races. The only non-incumbent who has yet to draw a challenger is County Court candidate Tanya Brinkley in Group 28.


JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS UPDATE:

We are waiting to hear from Governor Scott on the replacment for Judge Scola.

The JNC sent six names up on December 16, 2011 and the Governor has 60 days. Those names are:

Miguel de la O
Richard Hersch
Alan Sackrin
Rodney Smith
Deborah White-Labora
Bonnie Riley

The JNC is accepting applications for the following open seats:

County Court - the seat of Norma Lindsey (she was elevated to Circuit); application deadline is January 30, 2012

Circuit Court - the seat of Julio Jimenez (he passed away last week); application deadline is February 16, 2012.

Captain Out .....

Charlie Johnson has an opponent

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS .... IT'S BACHMAN ..... NOT

REAL BREAKING NEWS - CHARLIE JOHNSON HAS AN OPPONENT ......

COUNTY COURT UPDATE:

Group 39:

Charles "Charlie" Kenneth Johnson (Incumbent)
vs.
Enrique Lazaro Yabor

This afternoon, attorney Enrique "Rick" Yabor filed to run against Judge Johnson. Mr. Yabor has been an attorney for 12 years. According to his website, he was an ASA and tried over 200 trials. He specializes in: Business Law & Litigation, Real Estate Litigation, Construction Contracts and Litigation, Bankruptcy, Family Law, Employment Litigation, and White-Collar Crimes. (www.yaborlaw.com ).

Judge Johnson was appointed to the bench as one of Governor Charlie Crist's last appointments in December of 2010 after serving as an ASA for 22 years. Judge Johnson has smacked down $140k of his own money as a loan to the campaign.

Group 27:

Ivonne Cuesta
vs.
Jacci Suzan Seskin

In late December, ASA Jacci Seskin filed to run against APD Ivonne Cuesta. Mrs. Seskin had a previous career as a RN for 25 years before attending law school. She has been an attorney for eight years. She apparently worked at both the Public Defender's Office and now, the State Attorney's Office. Mrs. Seskin, who is married to a doctor, plucked down $150k of her own money as a loan to the campaign.

Ms. Cuesta has only $7,000 in her bank account (of which $5,200 is a loan to her campaign).

Group 20

Michelle Alvarez Barakat
vs.
Fleur Jeannine Lobree
vs.
William Pena Wells

I have previously posted on this race.

Group 28

Tanya Brinkley
vs.
Nobody

Ms. Brinkley was up against attorney John Rodriguez until he switched to Group 33.

Group 33

John Rodriguez
vs.
Nobody

Filing deadline still four months away. No changes in Circuit Court races.


CAPTAIN OUT ..............

Election Central

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

Election Central .....

Circuit Court Group 49. Richard Hersch now has an opponent. (ht to 5:48 pm).

Attorney Victor De Yurre, a member of the Florida Bar since 1977 has filed to run against Mr. Hersch. Many of you will remember Mr. De Yurre from his previous life in politics. He first ran for the Miami City Commission in 1987 against incumbent Commissioner Joe Carollo. He defeated Carollo and served on the City Commission from 1988-1995.

Like most politicians elected in our city, De Yurre attracted his share of controversy. In 1991, New Times did one of their many stories about De Yurre. The City of Miami was on the verge of bankruptcy, (so what’s new), and De Yurre had spent the taxpayers money on lavish trips out of the State and Country. De Yurre had taken nine trips in 1990, cultural missions is what I think they call them, to places like Italy, Washington DC, Seattle, San Francisco (supposedly to see programs for homeless people), and Brussels, among some of the places.

The trip to San Francisco must have been anything but eventful. I say that because, in 2002, New Times did a feature story called: “What Did You Do In The War On Poverty”? In the story they interviewed several past members of the Miami City Commission and they asked them each that exact question. When they got to De Yurre, he responded: “I can't put my finger on anything now. I can think of global things, like funding low-income housing projects. We also had those façades on Eighth Street, Overtown, and Liberty City -- injections of money that helped people spruce up places. I can't think of any individual thing I did. I really can't think of anything else I could have done.”

As a lawyer, De Yurre appears to have a solo practice in the downtown area. I have no idea what type of law he practices. I believe he has a son, Anthony, who is also a lawyer. Anthony works for Pathman, Lewis, and is involved in the political scene and is a mover and shaker in the community in his own right.

I would imagine that De Yurre could prove to be a formidable opponent to Mr. Hersch -of course, if Hersch happens to get tapped by Governor Scott to one of the three open Circuit Court seats, then he won’t have to worry about running for Judge again until 2014.

I also reported on November 21st on this BLOG that Fleur Lobree has drawn yet another opponent.

ELECTION CENTRAL ..... GROUP 20 COUNTY COURT

JUDGE LOBREE DRAWS YET ANOTHER OPPONENT

On October 12, 2011, on the Justice Building BLOG, I reported the following:

And the newest filing has someone challenging newly appointed County Court Judge Fleur Lobree:

William Pena Wells; (he is the attorney that caused much discussion on this blog on the issue of his being suspended by the Bar for three years as the result of his criminal conviction).

The newest candidate:

Michelle Alvarez Barakat. Ms. Barakat has been practicing law since 1999. She worked for the Florida Bar in lawyer regulation. She now practices in a two person firm with her husband, former ASA Brian Barakat. According to her web site, her practice concentrates on criminal defense and commercial litigation.

JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS UPDATE:

We are waiting to hear from Governor Scott on several appointments:

Circuit Court open seats include: Judge Ivan Fernandez, Judge Amy Steele Donner, and Judge Robert Scola. Six names sit on Scott's desk for the Fernandez seat and the Donner seat. The JNC has not yet selected the names to replace Scola. Expect two new Circuit Court Judges to be named sometime during the week before Christmas.

Donald "DJ" Cannava
Miguel de la O
Richard Hersch
Norma Lindsey
Deborah White-Labora
Angelica Zayas

County Court open seat: Judge Rosa Figarola. The Governor has five names on his desk. Expect a new County Court Judge to be named around the same time as the two new Circuit Court Judges.

David Alschuler
Tanya Brinkley
Donald “DJ” Cannava
Ivonne Cuesta
Steven Lieberman


Cap Out .....

Happy Birthday, Six & Counting

JUROR ARRESTED FOR THEFT! (This is why we started the blog). David Ovalle has all the details here as a juror who was going through security snapped up a Mac Lap top. Surprisingly good police work solved the "Case of the pilfered 'puter" in record time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

Congratulations to Horace on his 6th Birthday as Administrator of the Justice Building Blog. And with due deference to South Florida Lawyers, Southern District of Florida, and the Broward Blogs, we here would like to say that your BLOG is Number One in our book.

Don't know if you'll be around for another six years, but many of your loyal readers and posters will stick with you for as long as you are willing and able to continue with your fine administration of the BLOG.


On a lighter note:


The Captain Reports:

As mentioned by one of our loyal readers, attorney Miguel de la O, who filed many moons ago for an open Circuit Court seat in Group 42, now has an opponent. That opponent is attorney Greer Elaine Davis Wallace, a solo practitioner with an office in Florida City, she specializes in family law and has been practicing since 1979.


Captain Out .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

BREAKING NEWS.....

UPDATED: JUDICIAL REASSIGNMENTS ANNOUNCED TODAY. We hear that the GJB will be getting William Thomas, John Schlesinger, Victoria Sigler, Valerie Manno -Schurr and Samatha Ruiz Cohen; and we will be losing Trawick, Hogan-Scola, Cueto, Ward & Zabel in January of 2012.

ELECTION 2012 - CANDIDATE WILLIAM PENA WELLS .....

On October 12, 2011, on the Justice Building BLOG, I reported the following:

And the newest filing has someone challenging newly appointed County Court Judge Fleur Lobree:

Fleur Lobree vs. William Pena Wells. Mr. Wells has been practicing in Florida since 1988. In 2002, he was suspended from the practice of law for three years nunc pro tunc to October of 1998. He petitioned for Reinstatement and was reinstated in 2004. He has a solo practice in NMB.

In the past week, bloggers have posted on Mr. Wells past. Here is what we found:

In October of 1996, Mr. Wells was arrested and charged with two felonies: Two counts of Worthless Check of $150 or more in violation of FS 832.05 (2) under case number F96-33449. Mr. Wells was appointed a PD. The PD filed a conflict an PCAC Philip Horowitz was assigned the case. In March of 1998, the State Nolle Prossed the two charges. They immediately refiled the two charges during that same month. A trial on the two charges took place before Judge Carney in June of 1998. Mr. Wells was found Guilty of both charges by a jury. On August 12, 1998, Mr. Wells was placed on Probation for one year; restitution was reserved. Wells filed an appeal with the 3rd DCA in September of 1998. In January of 2002, the 3rd DCA issued their opinion Affirming the Convictions. The opinion is found at Wells v. State, 807 So.2d 132. 3D98-2706. (I will not explain the basis for the two felony charges as the 3rd DCA lays out the facts of the case in their appellate opinion).

In January of 1992, it also appears that Mr. Wells was arrested in Miami Shores and charged with DUI. Mr. Wells was found Guilty of the DUI on February 26, 1997. See Case number 21404-WD.

I emailed Mr. Wells and asked him if he had anything he would like to say or share with the readers of this BLOG. He wrote back and said (UNEDITED):

Dear Captain Justice:

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss these issues early in the campaign to flesh out the facts and correct the inaccuracies.

I would like to say that it is unfortunate that the campaign is "William Pena Wells" vs. "Fleur Lobree." I hope to reject that notion. Judges run as nonpartisan candidates, held to a higher standard of ethics and campaign practices, and limitations of active campaigning, than most other elected officers in our County. It demeans and cheapens the judicial office to put candidates for judicial service in a head to head horse race. I am running because I am qualified, not because a sitting judge is somehow not qualified.

Judge Lobree was only recently appointed to her seat by Gov. Rick Scott in April of 2011 by the elevation of Judge Bloom to the Circuit Court bench. This election will be the voters first opportunity to have a voice in who sits on the bench to judge them.

I would much rather have a system of election where each candidate runs on merit. So that if there are 10 seats to be elected, the candidates, sitting and aspiring, were listed in alphabetical order and the voters were told to "pick any ten"... This would preserve the dignity of the judicial office and make certain that the best candidates were elected.

But that is not the system we have...

County Court is truly, to borrow the television term, "the people's court" and it is a cornerstone of American democracy that the people have the last word in who sits on the bench. Without an announced candidate, as I am, that right disappears.

As to the DUI, that happened on Super Bowl weekend of 1992. I had consumed a glass or two of wine and by the time the chemical tests were done, the alcohol had metabolized so that I had reached an unacceptable limit. As a result, I accepted a first offender penalty and have learned a valuable lesson -- that I carry with me. I think this makes me a more valuable judge on the bench... Having made a mistake nearly twenty years in the past, and learned from that isolated incident, I can be a more empathetic role model for others.

As to the felony charges, those occurred in 1996, but the judicial process took quite some time to finally conclude and the Florida Bar investigation was held in abeyance while the criminal case was completed. So the dates are misleading and out of context.

Basically, this was a business dispute. I was an attorney for a concert promotion entity, and as part of my compensation, was an officer of the corporation with check signing authority along with several others. The business was to put on a mega concert on the beach at Ocean Drive with musical legend Little Richard among others. Trying to stimulate the local economy, a Miami Beach travel agency was used to coordinate the travel arrangements for the band and performers (nearly 100 tickets in total).

Sadly, the William Morris Agency reported that the inexperienced agent had booked the tickets wrongly. In order to secure the travel on the short notice available, the corporation had to wire William Morris the funds directly and allow them to book the talent's flights. The money (and more since they were last minute changes) was withdrawn from the business account and sent to the Agency. The tickets they had purchased were never used and were returned to them.

Unfortunately, the travel agency decided to deposit the checks anyway, hoping I presume for a windfall. But they were returned by the bank as insufficient funds. The agency filed a complaint with the State Attorney and the fact that the checks were in the several thousand dollar range made it a category of felony. It is not surprising that the State issued a nolle prosse on these charges, realizing the futile nature of them.

The concert did take place and the artists, musicians, and staff did arrive. The Mayor of Miami Beach proclaimed it Little Richard Day. The concert was featured in the Miami Herald.

The State refiled the charges and despite being offered a pretrial plea deal, I refused and sought a trial. I did nothing wrong.

There is no element of fraudulent intent in an insufficient check charge. It is a crime against the banking system and the stream of commerce, paraphrasing the statute, to issue a check which is presented to a bank and returned for insufficient funds.

The jury found me guilty of the charges and the judge reluctantly imposed probation.

Thereafter, I appealed the decision and the Third District affirmed, glossing over the fact that the concert did take place and the funds used to cover the NSF checks were routed to another entity which did the job.

The Florida Bar offered to close the investigation of my conduct with credit for the period of time that I had been suspended while on appeal, I agreed, and I resumed my practice.

The travel agency never requested reimbursement of the funds it was supposedly missing by virtue of these tickets. In fact, in the later civil case I filed against them, they specifically disclaimed any and the case was dismissed as a result. I never paid them a dollar of reimbursement. The travel agency is no longer in business.

I hope this fleshes out the bare facts available in the public record.

If you have any more questions, I will be glad to answer them. My mother, and my Cuban born grandmother, raised me right. They taught me never to do anything I was ashamed of later. I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about this.

Regards
William Pena Wells

CAPTAIN OUT ...........