MASK UP 2.0

 Now you see them; now you don't. First you don't need to wear them; then you do; then you don't; now you have to wear them again when you enter the courthouse. Thank you, Omicron. 

On Thursday Chief Judge Sayfie issued the order- if you enter a Miami-Dade Courthouse you have to wear a mask.

Why Thursday? It's complicated. 

Who do you think owns the REGJB? The rumored shadowy Japanese real estate conglomerate that went on a spending spree in the bubble 1980s and bought Rockerfeller Center is not the owner of the REGJB despite QAnon hinting otherwise. Neither is the Trilateral Commission or Venezuela - the country that makes all the US voting machines. 

Nope, good old Miami-Dade County owns our courthouses which means the Mayor can issue orders about entering county owned buildings. And when Miami Dade Mayor Cava issued the mask order this week, Judge Sayfie quickly followed. 

On Thursday the hard-working Miami Jury Trial Task Force (yes there really is such a thing. They Zoom weekly and have some top doctors donating their time advising Miami judges and lawyers) recommended that jury trials be suspended until mid-January. But since the Florida Supreme Court (Motto: "Ignoring precedent and medical advice since 2018")  has not approved such a measure, Judge Sayfie cannot issue such an order, no matter how many lives it would save.  Gotta follow the Florida Supreme Court don-cha-know. Of course, in silly matters like, say, the death penalty, the Florida Supreme Court doesn't follow the Floirida Supreme Court. But why get bogged down in details when talking about a vicious virus that kills people? 

So on this Christmas Eve, some sense of reason has returned as we battle this deadly endemic. 

We wish you peace, health, and happiness as this year ends. Make reading the blog daily part of your New Year's resolutions, as we will make writing the blog daily one of ours. 

Happy Christmas one and all. *

*In England, we say "Happy Christmas" not Merry Christmas. 

CRITICAL COURTS

As we end October, what people are talking most about is....climate change? The new spending package? Delta Plus? Nah. It is the proposal by PETA (for whom we have donated time, efforts, and money) that Baseball change the animal-offensive name of "The Bull-pen" to ....(wait for it)....

The ARM BARN! Ta da!

In other news, any guesses as to which of all the court districts in Florida, was first to jump on the no-mask mandate? (Hint, we do not like this circuit). YUP, its Broweird, whose new chief judge eagerly embraced the new rule that people in courts do not have to wear masks. Yes, in Broward, it's June 2021 all over again. 

In Texas, they all up in arms (which means in Texas they are nervously fingering their sidearms) over the issue of Critical Race Theory. Truly, without Googling it, we have no idea what CRT is. And before we go further, speaking of Texas, if you add the sum of the day of the month with the day before, and square it, if the result is a prime number, you can get an abortion in Texas, if it is not a prime number, you cannot. You know what they say about abortion in Texas, it is like the weather in Florida,  if you do not like it, wait an hour, the law will change. 

Getting back to Critical Race Theory, which in 2021, is becoming the new Sharia Law hot button issue, we are imaging the future. Come with us to 2033....

 Facebook National News. Dateline Washington, DC:

A week after her inaugural address, President Tiffany Trump, making good on her campaign promise, announced a deal on funding for the nation's Critical Race Theory Courts, where defendants, who can show they were exposed to CRT in their youth, can be offered a diversion program based on their underprivileged upbringings. The first CRT court will open in Dallas, Texas, at the site of the old Texas School Book Depository, which was destroyed under the orders of President Trump, when it was revealed Ted Cruz's father, using a gun provided by Barrack Obama's father from Africa, shot and killed President Kennedy from the Grassy Noll. 

In other news, Chief Justice Amy  Barrett, writing for a unanimous court, upheld the law 2030 law passed by the Republican dominated Congress banning Twitter. "If you ban President Donald Trump, you get banned, First Amendment or not. And we note, if the First Amendment had the same status of the rest of the Constitution, it would have been in the Constitution, and not some last minute afterthought Amendment."

Some scary thoughts, in line for a scary weekend. 

Happy Halloween. And other than in court in Broward, wear your mask over your nose. 

MASKS REQUIRED IN COURT

UPDATES: reports flowing in on the changing circumstances and shifting ground because of Covid. Judge Scott Bernstein was heard to "ponder" whether a return to full zoom was in the works. Meanwhile MASSIVE PROPS TO JUDGE REBULL who is running a FULL ZOOM HYBRID calendar without a hitch. Want to walk in? No problem. Want to Zoom with the Judge? You got it. Way to go Judge R!

Meanwhile the opposite is happening in DV Court where every day Judge Bandin flames out on lawyers appearing by zoom, screams at her staff, loudly and repeatedly pontificates on her hatred for Zoom (although by all accounts County Court is entirely Zoom) and continually bemoans the fact that she has childcare issues and cannot start on time- as if most defendants appearing before her do not have even more compelling childcare issues. Talk about a Judge being tone deaf... 

It took a while. First the Courts needed to process that Truman beat Dewey. Then there was the celebration of Armstrong and Aldrin landing on the moon. Nixon resigning was a big deal, as was Iraq invading Kuwait. But eventually, after the Miami Dade Mayor issued an edict Wednesday  that masks needed to be worn in all government buildings, the Miami-Dade Court system followed with an administrative order that all persons entering courthouses must wear masks in all public places and courtrooms. 

You know what comes now don't you?  The morons who wear the mask below their nose. As if that will protect them or us. They are wearing a mask. It is around their mouth, but because they are too stupid to understand what a mask does and how it protects the person wearing it and the people around those who are wearing masks, the mask will be below their nose, which is as good as not wearing a mask at all. 

So here is what we are saying to our Judges. Good job getting to the point where you can order everyone to wear a mask. Now enforce the rule. Kick prosecutors and people out of your courtroom who wear the mask below their noses. Hold people in contempt of court. 

Make Masks Great Again. 

NO MASKS IN COURT PLEASE

 MEMO 

FROM: H RUMPOLE, ESQ., BLOG PROPRIETOR 

TO: FLORIDA SUPREME COURT 

CC: CJ CANADY 

RE: MASKS IN COURT 

It has come to our attention that a dichotomy of sorts now exists. Pursuant to the wide spread success of vaccinations and the order of our Governor, masks are no longer required in doors. Masks are discretionary, and as an aside we urge our friends, colleagues and even those who wear black robes to work to wear masks in crowded in-door situations. Therefore one can now enter a courthouse sans mask, but must wear a mask in court. This in and of itself is probably a good idea. But when the riff-raff and flotsam and jetsam of the morning calendars are cleared and judges turn their laser-like attention to a pending motion, PVH or even a trial, when there are only a few people in court, pursuant to your pending order the litigants must wear a mask. This is wrong. Lawyers and judges and court personnel who are vaccinated should be able to decide if they want to wear a mask or not. If social distancing is being followed, the courtroom isn't crowded, the choice should be an individual one. 

We know you have a lot on plate, what with overturning decades of pro-criminal defense cases and such, but could you please see fit to correct this matter? It is personally affecting us, and others around our state. 

Best of luck in your continued assault on the fourth amendment and getting death penalty jury recommendations down to one with no judicial override. 

Yours, etc.

H Rumpole, Esq. 

MASKS OFF

 The CDC said if you're fully vaccinated, and if you believe Joe Biden won Nevada and Georgia, then you can go mask-less in-doors and outdoors with some exceptions. You should wear a mask if you are in the health care profession, or if you're attending a 100,000 plus religious rally in India. Other than that, you can now start saying "who was that mask-less woman?" 

EVEREST

If you know Rumpole, then you know we are avid followers of mountaineering. This is the climbing season in Everest. Two climbers lost their lives in the last few days. Both climbers were part of the Seven Summits Treks, an organization that organizes Everest climbs. American Piwei Liu 51,  died this week after making an unsuccessful summit attempt. Abdul Waraich 41, of Switzerland, died after summiting Everest and on the way down. If you know about Everest, then you know that the most dangerous part of the climb is the climb down after summiting. If you haven't summited by early morning and haven't cleared the Hillary Step before noon, you are in grave danger (is there any other kind? Name the movie) of getting caught in a storm and dying on the way down.