RUMPOLES RULES FOR THE NEW YEAR

First, congrats to the 2019 Justice Building Blog Fantasy Football Champion Gary Bass, who bested Rumpole over the last two weeks. While not making an excuse, we did lose our top two RBs to injuries for the finals, as well as a starting TE. But injuries are part of the game and give Mr. Bass credit for snagging the QB we dropped earlier in the year- Jameis Winston from Tampa Bay. He was a big part of Mr. Bass's run to the championship. We have made the finals for the last two years, and won last year (our ability to brag officially ended on Sunday so Judge De La O can now rest easy). 
See you in 2020 Mr. Bass. 

Rules for the new year. 

1) No more Merry Christmas. That ended over this past weekend.

2) You can say "Happy New Year" through Sunday, and at five days that's stretching it. If you see us in the courthouse Monday (and you won't-see below) and say "Happy New Year" we will ignore you and keep on walking. 

We have a few rules for trials. We don't like Friday afternoon verdicts. They tend to be bad.  We don't believe in coincidences. It's usually not happenstance when two bad things happen to your client in a case.  As Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, once wrote- Once is a mistake, twice is happenstance, and the third is enemy action. 

But our number one rule for criminal defense attorneys, and this is inviolate, is do not- under any circumstances, allow a case to be set for trial for the first week of the new year. There are many factors at play during week one of the new year, and all of them bad. 

First, prosecutors have returned from vacation, refreshed and raring to go and one of their resolutions is to "get tough on crime". 

Second, and more ominously, Judges have returned from time off. And to the limited extent any of them engage in serious introspection, they have also decided that their case load is too high and they have the reputation of being too lenient. So, within the dark crevices of their black robes and hearts, they have decided  the best way to get people to plead and lower the case load  is to slam a few defendants right out of the box in the new year. The word will get out, lawyers (not your blogger) will fold their tents and plead their clients guilty. 

All of this leads to the inescapable conclusion to NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES allow a court to set your client's case for trial during the first week of the new year. Schedule surgery. Get married or divorced or both. Take you holiday vacation late. Donate blood. Volunteer for Lawyers without Borders. Do something. Do anything but make yourself unavailable during that first week of the new year. 

You ignore Rumpole's advice at your own peril.   

Happy New Year. We will be back in town sometime around January 15, 2020. 

NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS

We asked all our bloggers to give us their new year's resolutions. First up, our newest member, long a contributor in the comments section: 

BTDT:
1.  To be the father and man my child(ren) think(s) I am.

2.  To better appreciate my family, friends, and job.

3.  To try to be more more patient.

4.  To be less judgmental.

5.  To help fix that which I can.

6.  To learn something new and do it right.

7.  To have more fun!

8.  To get more sleep!

[Rumpole adds, "to get two more resolutions for 2018 to make it an even ten like the rest of the world"].

Next up, our rookie of the year, guaranteed to light up the comments section no matter what she says. She's been the subject of endless speculation, (not to mention a few emails from robed readers with complaints or speculations) the effervescent, but sometimes accused of being effluent, but always energetic- the woman, the myth, the legend (in her own mind for the time being)....

MillennialMe:

10. Eat more fish and do #meatlessMondays all year;

9. Learn to bake gluten free;

8. Take an art class, once a week for a month;

7. Save 5% of my salary and fund my IRA;

6. Text less;

5. Turn off my phone an hour before bed and read;

4. Buy more books (see #5);

3. Yoga 4x a week (no exceptions for work, trials, etc.) so I can lose those five pounds (sigh);

2. Learn to meditate and then do it everyday;

1. Fill out that "Big Sister" application and be a Big Sister! 

The Original contributor to the blog, the blogger who keeps track of all things election and judicial appointment related, and our go-to guy in a pinch:

El Capitan:

Good evening and thanks for letting me be a part of the Blog for the past 12 years.  Here is my list - hope it's not too late:

New Year’s Resolutions are always easy to write down but so much tougher to follow through with. In the past year I have attended too many funerals of friends and colleagues. With that in mind, I resolve to:

1. Work less.
2. Say thank you more often.
3. Say I love you more often.
4. Stop sweating the little things.
5. Travel even more; (that one finally began in 2017 and I definitely need to take this to the next level).
6. Keep working out at the gym and do so more often; (another one that began in 2017 and I have surprised myself with my commitment and plan on taking this to the next level as well).
7. Use the word "dope" in a blog post; (a friendly dig at our young new blogger Millennial Me)
8. Stop sweating the little things; (by far my toughest one as it’s my worst habit and I need to be reminded at least twice to cut back on this habit).
9. Research our family ancestry; (this one comes from my daughter who encouraged me to do so).
10. Pick up the phone more often and make phone calls to old friends - instead of the quick and easy text.
Cap Out .....

And finally, your humble, award-winning blogger. After much introspection, reflection, and struggle to find any areas of improvement in what is already a life well lived and a blog (exceptionally) well run...we offer this:

Rumpole:

10. Be nicer to co-counsel;

9. Clear emails before end of year (did you know if you clear all your emails on Gmail there is a GIF of someone sitting in a beach chair with the words "you're all done" ?)

8. Gym, yoga, or biking every day (El Capitan is right);

7. Do all our Do-lingo App German assignments; 

6. Cook more healthy soups in our Instapot;

5. Go sugar free (no sweeteners other than xylitol, which is all natural and made from tree bark);

4. 8 hours of sleep a night (BTDT is right);

3. Less texting and emails on the phone (MM is right);

2. Recognize now and live in the moment;

1. [this resolution had been removed by the moderator of the blog]

If you want to see a fascinating discussion, look at the prior blog post comments. Meanwhile, it's been a good 2017 and we are looking forward to 2018. There are cases to be won; prosecutors to be crushed; Judges to be mocked, fees to be collected, wines to be drunk, clients to be saved, and blog posts to be written. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL.

H. RUMPOLE, ESQ. 

Blog Proprietor. 

LAST POST OF 2011

We wanted to end the year on a good note, and not a sour one. Criticizing Judges is a wearisome and unfortunately necessary job of the preeminent blog that covers the legal scene of Miami. In other words, it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it. Like bond hearings on New Years Day.

So Happy New Year!

2012 brings a new year loaded with special challenges. Clients will show up seeking help. Some will be in distress, some will need immediate help, and others will just need a confident, guiding hand.

Our wish for our blog readers is that 2012 brings you all the joy and success that you want and deserve.

We (meaning all of us who work in the REGJB) are truly blessed to be working in our chosen profession, using our talents to support our family and help those who need our skills.

Many of our fellow citizens suffered in 2011. They lost their jobs and their homes were endangered or lost. The news reports that millions more americans have given up hope of finding employment and are thus not counted in the unemployment statistics.

There are simple enjoyments in life that sometimes we need to be reminded of. The joy of working in a fulfilling job. The pleasure of using your training and skill. The simple comfort of being with family and knowing that they are similarly safe and happy.

Sometimes life throws curveballs at you and you lose things that are precious to you, like your health or your job or your loved ones. In those times we are comforted by this saying: "Tough times don't last, tough people do."

Here's hoping that 2012 is filled with those simple joys and pleasures that make life worth living. For those of you who have faced tough times- be tough and endure. Life will get better. For those of you lucky enough to have had a successful 2011, take time to remember that there is an element of luck and chance in life and be happy for the good fortune you have been blessed with.

See you in court in 2012.

HR

364 DOWN-1 TO GO

Today is the last day of 2010.

There are 365 days in a year- that equals

8760 hours

525,600 minutes

31,536,00 seconds.

We who labour in the REGJB have had our share of sadness and loss this December and if anything that should make all of us aware of how precious life is.

We have one New Year's Resolution (ok two*) and that is to make the most out of every day, every hour, every minute and every second of the new year.

From all of us at the Justice Building Blog, have a happy. healthy and successful new year, and don't take one single second for granted.

For the last time this year, we say: See You In Court.

*Eat a few less cookies as well.