PROMISES PROMISES

THIS BLOG IS SHUT DOWN UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
BY ORDER OF

Ha Ha: fooled ya. You didn't really think HWMNBN could shut this down??

However, promises should be kept. Here was his promise:

"I will promise you that by 12:00 noon on thursday your blog with be shut down."
Email from HWMNBN to Rumpole.

Isn't that just like a client? They never keep their promises.

STILL UP AND RUNNING.
3:01 PM.

Rumpole- he who is always named.

HIGH NOON

THIS TOWN AIN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US.

"I'm still standing."
Elton John

See You On the Pages Of This Blog.

UPDATE: He who must not be named emailed us and said his Google buddies were all in the hot tub (you know how it is in California) and requested an extension of his deadline to 3:00 PM, which is 12 Noon on the west coast. Being as friendly and nice as we could be, we agreed. He also emailed us a bar complaint against some lawyer who was forced to refund HWMNBN $2,000.00. Can you just imagine what bad karma that lawyer had when HWMNBN walked in to hire him? Talk about not knowing what you're getting into. Any way, 3:00 PM it is. Moderation is off. Post all you want. See You at 3:01 PM.


RUMPOLE.

WILL RUMPOLE BE OUTTED?
WILL RUMPOLE BE HAULED OFF TO THE GOOGLE GULAG?
WILL RUMPOLE BE BANNED FROM BLOGGING?
WILL ___________ BE DISBARRED FOR RUNNING THE BLOG?
WILL HWMNBN SEEK A FURTHER CONTINUANCE?

TUNE IN AT 3:01 PM, ON YOUR FAVORITE MIAMI LEGAL BLOG.

11:30 HALF HOUR TO GO

TOWN CRIER: 11:30 AND ALL’S WELL ON RUMPOLE’S BLOG


CNN: Susannah, what do you have for us?

(fake) Susannah Nesmith: I’m standing here with Horace Rumpole, the famed Miami Legal blogger, who is about to be shut down. Mr. Rumpole is standing behind a black curtain but he has agreed to speak with us,

“How do you feel? Any last words for your fans?”


Rumpole: Regrets? I’ve had a few, but then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through
Without exemption.
I’ve planned each charted course
Each careful step along the highway
But more
Much more than that

I DID IT MY WAY.

(fake) Susannah Nesmith: Back to you Rick Sanchez, at CNN in Atlanta.

Rick Sanchez: Coming up next: People who pretend to be lawyers, and the doctors who are treating them

TICK TOCK

OH THE MAIL WE GET:


Mr. John Doe:

I told you once and I will tell you again I do NOT post on your blog. (see thats a period at the end of that sentence).

Last time you allowed people to libel me, I let it slide because you took down some of the libel but not all. In fact the bit about "SOMEONE FORGOT TO TAKE HIS MEDICINE" was defamatory I did not really care because you took down some of the libel. [Rumpole notes: what we did was apply the same rules to posts about him that we apply to everyone. When he was attacked for his conduct in his personal life, we removed it, because thats what we do for any post that mentions a person's private affairs. This bully got no special treatment.]

You sir have exactly 2 hours to take down all mention of my name from your blog immedaitely [hey Blackstone- you spelled a word wrong. Try and use the spell check and you might frighten me a bit more.] and without delay [Rumpole comments: kind of redundant don’t you think? Sort of like “stupid moron”] I will promise you that by 12:00 noon on thursday your blog with be shut down.

Again I don't post on your blog and those posting my name and ORJ web site material are simply fraudulent.

I will bet you any amount of money that I can subpoena ONE single source and your name is reveiled [Did you mean revealed?] and I sir will file a swron [Rumpole notes that the Bar does not accept "swron" complaints] complaint with the Florida Bar for you conduct as a lawyer. You sir will be better served never mentioning my name again.

Call me XXX-XXX-XXXX lets chat TOUGH GUY.

Kind regards,
Darrin McGillis

Ps. go ahead make a blog subject of this e-mail because as I said by 12:00 noon, Thursday you blog is shut down. I already did my research on the subject and have all the contacts I need at Google and elsewhere.

RUMPOLE RESPONDS:
You are a bully. Bullies can only we handled by not backing down. You saw fit to post your stupid web site on my blog multiple times. I asked you to stop. You refused.


You are all for freedom of speech and attacking people like Judge Hernandez on the internet, but when someone shines the light of truth on your sordid conduct and petty little world, you scream and threaten to sue and go to the Florida Bar. I have the tape of your “appearance” (its hard to call it an argument considering how poorly it appeared to me that you performed) before the 3rd DCA. I have clients with 3rd grade educations who are more articulate and learned in the law. So as I said, you don’t scare me. And more importantly, we did nothing wrong.

One final question: If you do not post on my blog, how did you see the comment about you? I note that for the last week or so, your stupid web site was posted on this blog's comments section around 11PM. The comment about your arrest record went up around 10 PM. Hmm Sherlock, what do you think?


NEXT POST: 12:01 PM. THURSDAY- (or as close to that time as I can get to a computer.)

JUDGE THOMAS SUPPRESSES CONFESSIONS

go here!

Here is the link to our favourite Scribe’s Herald article and that article has a link to the PDF file with Judge Thomas’s order. Rumour has it that Mr. Laeser was overheard to grumble that the order was well written and that the AG’s office had a fight on their hands.

Just so it’s clear. We take no joy in this order or the possible outcome of the case.

True, we are engaged in the business of defending people charged with crimes. But we are also a citizen of this community, and if the allegations in this case are true, then we need and value people like Mr. Laser doing the job he does.
The allegations in this case are almost unspeakably horrid.

As a matter of pure speculation, we posit that Judge Thomas took no joy in writing or issuing the order. He went where the facts took him, regardless of the consequences of the decision.

That’s what a Judge does.

There are no winners here.

Other than the rule of law.

See You In Court.
Sometimes this is a very depressing job.

PS: Do you think the Dade County Public Defender's Office should explain their policy of banning lawyers from public state owned buildings? WE DO. Vote in our new poll.

BENNETT BRUMMER STAYS SILENT: DAY ONE
(we write at least one post a day and will keep this up until the Czar of 14th Street speaks.)

If it wasn't so sad, it would be funny: Miami Beach and FDLE will not comment if



these were the officers involved in the confession:

MURDER CONFESSIONS TOSSED

Judge William Thomas stepped up and followed the law today, as our favourite herald scribe writes on the Herald website:

Judge tosses out confession in murder case
BY SUSANNAH A. NESMITH
snesmith@MiamiHerald.com
The jury that has to decide whether Joel Lebron should be put to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Ana Marie Angel won't hear about his tearful confession.
Circuit Judge William Thomas tossed out the confession on Tuesday, ruling that Lebron wasn't properly informed of his right to remain silent when he spoke to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent.

...

Angel was gang raped and her boyfriend, Nelson Portobanco, beaten. His throat was slashed and he was dumped on the side of Interstate 95 in Broward County.
Angel was later found dead in Palm Beach County. But Portobanco lived and was able to give police information about what happened to both of them.

...
Thomas also tossed the confession of one of the other men, Jesus Roman. Roman was only 16 at the time and is the only defendant not facing the death penalty.

Assistant State Attorney Abe Laeser said prosecutors plan to appeal both rulings.

...
There is nothing but a confession tying Roman to the crimes, according to his attorney, David S. Markus.
''I'm very pleased with the judge's ruling,'' Markus said. ``It took a lot of courage, given the high profile case.

NICE ARTICLE- TOUGH CASE.

TUESDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE

STILL DEAD




STILL DYING







STILL BANNING LAWYERS

TUESDAY MORNING HEADLINES

(for those smart and educated readers who disdain CNN and the NY Times and get their news here;
For those of you tuning in for Judge Hernandez: The Movie, we will get to it as soon as we can.)

CASTRO STILL ILL

CHANNEL 7 CANCELS ALL PROGRAMMING.

CALLE OCHO ERUPTS IN CHANNEL 7 SPONSORED “SPONTANEOUS” CELEBRATION.

ON A SERIOUS NOTE:

Maybe it’s time to back things down on the blog a bit and have a serious discussion on what the death of Fidel Castro will mean to our fair city.

Lawyers should write in with memories about working in the REGJB during the Mariel Boat Lift. Who remembers going into the building with the National Guard outside?

How has the Cuban diaspora (8:22 ASA-did we spell and use that word correctly?) changed Miami?

Was Miami changed for the better, or worse?

When Cuba does open up, what business opportunities will exist for attorneys in Miami?

Will Judge Farina open a Havana Branch Court?

Will those attorneys banned by Brummer be allowed to travel to Cuba?

Can you get a good cup of Café Cubano in Cuba these days?
How about Cuban toast?

How many Cuban/American attorneys would consider going to Cuba to live and work?

Will Castro's illness effect the upcoming judicial elections? What candidates will seek to capture the renewed anti-Castro feelings that are running through the streets of Miami?

One thing is for sure: The death of Castro will inexorably affect our fair City as much as, if not more, then the Cuban Revolution.

Interesting times await us all.

Read all about it here, on the pages of your favourite Miami legal Blog.

CASTRO ILL

9:35 PM

BREAKING NEWS. CNN REPORTS CUBAN TELEVISION HAS SAID THAT FIDEL CASTO HAS TEMPORARILY HANDED OVER POWER TO HIS BROTHER RAUL AS FIDEL HAS SURGERY.

CHANNEL 7 IS IN HYSTERICS.

PS: CHECK OUT THE NEW POLL. WAS RUMPOLE FAIR TO BRUMMER?

BANNED BY BRUMMER

WELCOME TO THE OFFICE OF THE DADE PUBLIC DEFENDER:
They defend the worst this community has to offer.
Accused of murder, sexual assault, child abuse, clients march into the Dade County Public Defenders office confident that they will be treated with respect and dignity.

All are welcome, and the young and dedicated attorneys who staff that offfice have taken oaths to defend their clients to the best of their ability.

Yes, all of society’s downtrodden and outcast are welcome and provided succor and assistance when they trod through the doors at 1320 NW 14th Street.

But for a certain exclusive club of lawyers, ex-employees of Bennett Brummer, it’s a different story.

You see, these lawyers are
BANNED
from the Law Offices Of Bennett Brummer, the elected Dade County Public Defender.

Like a bloated and corrupt ruler of the apprachik that one would expect to find in the former Soviet Union and not Miami, Brummer comes down hard on all who dare oppose his thirty plus year reign.

The "terrible two" PD's who ran against Brummer in the last election (Gabe Martin and Lonnie Richardson) are rumored to be banned.

So too is the elegant Lynn Overmann, who is such a good lawyer that earlier this year she managed not only to have charges against her client dismissed, but the officer who arrested him arrested himself for perjury.

"Country” Dave Pettus is rumored to have a restraining order against him.

What in the name of Nixonian Paranoia is going on at 1320 NW 14th Street?
Engage in some perceived slight against the Czar of 14th Street, and out you go!

Why would anyone care about being banned from the PD’s office?

The office is used by criminal defense attorneys to take depositions of prosecution witnesses in criminal cases. In many cases where multiple defendants are accused of a crime in the same case, the Public Defenders office has the responsibility to schedule depositions and coordinate the schedules of the attorneys working on the case.

But when you are part of the few, the proud, the banned, no depositions for you.

You are reduced to being turned away at the door and the whole lot – attorneys, court reporters, and witnesses have to trudge in the summer heat around the corner with their tails between their legs to the State Attorneys Office and hold out their hands and beg like the orphaned attorneys they are:
”Please sir may I have a depo room?”

Moral Of the Story:
You can be accused of any crime, and no matter how horrid the accusations, Bennett Brummer and his lawyers are there to help.

Just don’t insult the grand poobah of the poor; the Czar of 14th Street; the big kahunna of indigent defense.

Because if you do, you are tried, convicted, and banned.

All without benefit of Judge or Jury (or even the Public Defenders)

See You In Court.

PS: We almost managed to do an entire post about the PD’s office and not mention Mr. Stein and his morning Danish.
Almost.

THE TRIALS OF JUDGE IVAN HERNANDEZ

Before we begin, remember: Its “Hernandez” with and “H” that stands for “a Hell of a lot of trouble”
Not Fernandez with an “F” that stands for “fine circuit court judge not involved in this mess in any manner and on his way to civil and starbucks.”

County Court Judge Ivan Hernandez was found by the Dade County Bar Association (motto: “Gives us a minute and we’ll figure out a way to tell you why we matter”) to be in violation of the Canons of the Florida Code of Judicial Ethics (number 2million and 4 on Amazon and rising).

The Ad:
In that widely read and influential publication: Libertad News ( June 2006 edition) an advertisement appeared with a picture of Judge Hernandez and our Governor Holly Go Lightly Bush.
There was some accompanying text indicating that Judge Hernandez met Governor Go Lightly on his recent shopping trip to Miami and that “Judge Hernandez hopes to be re-elected.”


The Accusation: That the Ad created the “illusion” that the Governor was endorsing Judge Hernandez.

The Finding:
“That the intoxilyzer 5000 is not held together with snips and snails and puppy dog tails.” Woops… that is obviously another finding by an equally ineffective and unimportant group of Judges and lawyers.

The Finding:
The Ad violates the Canons of Judicial “No No’s” by implying that the Governor has the ability to form intelligent thoughts on his own, and that the Governor endorses Judge Hernandez’s bid for re-election.

Obiter Dicta:
Here is what the Commission also said that seriously bothers us:
”The Commission does wish to note a perceived lack of candor in Judge Hernandez’s July 17, 2006 response in failing to disclose that Marixa Hernandez, in addition to being the Judge’s campaign treasurer, is also his wife.”

The Judge’s Defense:
When will politician’s ever learn? Didn’t Nixon teach everyone: It’s the coverup that gets you, not the original offense? Judge Hernandez is old enough to have learned this lesson, but like so many other failed politicians he ignored the lessons of history and has been doomed to repeat them (no offense or insinuation against the Governor’s mentally challenged brother is meant by this obtuse comment.)

The Judge’s defense was that he was “shocked! Shocked to learn that the Ad was placed.”

The Commission was equally troubled by Judge Hernandez simply writing “No” to answer a series of questions about if the Judge knew who placed the Ad, knew who paid for the Ad, and knew who he was married to.”

What this all means:
Judge Hernandez defended himself against the accusations by essentially stating that he did not know that his Campaign Treasurer, who is also his wife, placed the offending ad in the newspaper. It is also possible to read into the Judge's curt one word reponses, that the Judge does not know who his wife is.

Judge Hernandez is showing himself to be an unprofessional and uncaring politician who sadly demonstrated a complete lack of respect for an investigating body.
Judge Hernandez would not tolerate a Defendant displaying that type of lack of candor and disdain for his court when he conducts his extraordinarily complex and lengthy speeding ticket arraignment calendars in South Dade.

We have steadfastly supported Judge Hernandez in the past.
We sympathize that he has incurred the wrath of “he who must not be named” who is as easy to get rid of as a bad case of syphilis. Just ask any member of the Florida Bar being sued by “He who must not be named.”

But we judge the Judge on the facts, not on who his enemies are.

We invite Judge Hernandez to respond to the findings of the Dade County Bar.
Other Judges have used the pages of this blog to explain their actions and in each and every case we have given them open access to state their case.

Until that time we are left with the fact that Judge Hernandez is not in control of his campaign and does not supervise or have any say where his campaign money is spent.

The fact that Judge Hernandez’s wife controls the purse strings of his campaign may indeed put Judge Hernandez into the same category of an overwhelming number of married American men who can sympathize with his plight.

Understandable? Yes.
Acceptable? Not for a Judge.
Even a Judge In Miami.

See You In Court.

DEWEY BEATS TRUMAN!

IN RE: Judge Samuels:

Judge Samuels, currently ensconced in Domestic Violence Court and facing a challenge for re-election, has had his ups and downs recently. Word has reached us from several sources, including one close to his campaign that some medical issues have slowed the Judge down from a summer of robust campaigning. But, the source hastens to add, Judge Samuels is feeling better and back on track and working hard towards his reelection.

Speaking of Domestic Violence Court, we had occasion in the last two weeks to wander down to the Civil Court Complex. Did you know that there is a Starbucks on a corner directly opposite the civil court house?

What with all of those lawsuits about debentured bonds and subrogated insurance polices, one should fully expect that this Starbucks will be intravenously feeding judges and juries espresso and cappuccinos.


Civil Court, Family Court, Domestic Violence Court and Federal Court are all within a few blocks of each other. Almost makes those of us who labour in the REGJB feel unwanted. This slight must be unintentional. Right?

Yes, we may be the unwashed, rumpled, ruffled, lewd and lascivious litigators of criminal law, but you can’t live without us.


We also note that Family Court has a child care center. That would make way too much sense for the REGJB.

It almost pains us to note that North Of The Border has all their court divisions in the same courthouse. So you can enter a NOA on a murder case, take a continuance on a DUI, go to an uncontested divorce calendar, and pick a jury on the civil suit against your former client for un-paid fees.
You just can’t get any of your cases called if you’re from Miami.



(wants to be shot)

Signs that things aren’t as they seem:

Billions of dollars and over two thousand American lives have brought American style courts to Iraq. Yesterday, prior to a verdict, the presiding Judge had Saddam Hussein pick which method of execution he would prefer. Hussein choose a firing squad.

Somewhere right now, there are dozens of Judges in Texas, and even a few on our own 3RD PCA saying to themselves “what’s wrong with that?”

There are so many things wrong with that, we don’t know where to start.

See You In Court.


PS: The Herald reports this morning that our hard working state and federal prosecutors offices have not dropped the Art Teele investigation despite his death last year. That's the spirit! Don't let him weasel out of his crimes just by dying. This is Miami, where we're tough on crime.

Pss: To the prosecutors investigating Teele: That headline was wrong. Dewey didn't beat Truman.

ORANGE

We want to know what bright bureaucrat at the Jail decided to order the orange jumpsuits for all of the Dade County inmates awaiting trial.

This is Miami folks. We try and do things with style, so when we screw up in the national spotlight (riots, election fraud, you know the drill) we at least look cool.

You can't walk down Ocean Drive without bumping into a wannabe clothing designer.
We are sure one of those aspiring Calvin Kleins would have donated their time for some free publicity.

How about the Dolphins teal, orange, and black? Cuffs trimmed in white.?

Something other than these bright orange blobs.

Don’t be surprised if the next time you saunter through the REGJB on your rounds if you see a surprising number of our judiciary peering at you behind a pair of sunglasses. And not because of a hangover (giving them the benefit of the doubt).

For once, you dear robed readers have our sympathy. (Quick, look outside. Is there a blue moon?) You are the ones who have to deal with that bright orange glare all day (ok- the two hours a day that you work). And it’s not as if our robed readers need any more distractions when trying to work their way through a tough two page arraignment calendar.

This is the Dade County Jail we are talking about. Somewhere, if some enterprising prosecutor pokes around, is an orange coloured scandal just waiting to be uncovered.

REGJB TRIVIA

Congratulations to Assistant Public Defender David Sisselman who was the winner of the last trivia contest. Sisselman was the only one who emailed us that quick draw Henry Ferro was the attorney who beat Ted Mastos and that Ferro then resigned from the bench after he pointed a gun at a juvenile defendant accused of armed robbery and asked him how it felt. Displaying the kind of street smarts and common sense our judiciary is known for around the world, , Ferro saw fit to assault the defendant in front of his family members including Georgia Ayers. For those of you new to Miami, Ms. Ayers was about as powerful a community activist as we have seen in these parts.

These days one can find quick draw Ferro holed up in his home in the swamps of middle Florida, emerging mole like to verbally assault our State Attorney when certain former judicial assistants are bright enough to hire the wise Mr. Ferro to defend them from impending criminal charges.

MORE TRIVIA:


TODAY’S SUBJECT: THE BENCH DURING THE ROARING 80’S : FUN, SUN, SEX, DRUGS, AND INDICTMENTS.

1) A) What Former Judge was known as “The Mouse”.
B)Why is he no longer on the bench?

2) What former judge was known as “Maximum”?

3) A) What former Circuit Judge resigned amid scandalous sex related allegations, and was later re-appointed to the county court bench, then appointed to the circuit bench, and then indicted in courtbroom? B)What was the outcome in his trial?

4) What former judge was acquitted in the trial of the judge in #3.?

5) What former Judge was a paratrooper in the Korean conflict?

6) A) What former Judge ran on the slogan: Put a Mensch on the Bench?
B) What county court judge and former chief of county court for the SAO did he beat?

7) What current judge is married to a former chief of county court for the SAO?


8) A) What former Judge has a tennis court named after him? B)Why is a tennis court named after him?

9) A)Before there was the court-broom scandal, another judge and attorney were tried for corruption. Name the former Judge and current attorney who were both indicted.

B) Special bonus question: Name the Broward Judge who presided at their trial.
C)What was the outcome of the trial? D) Where was the trial held?

See you in court with all the answers, as usual.

Writers block

Yesterday it was all about names. Today the subject is dress (and dresses):

The Other day we made an offhand remark about cross dressing lawyers, and lo and behold, we see this news article:

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A male lawyer who appeared in a New Zealand court dressed in an ankle-length skirt, lace stockings and a diamond brooch said Tuesday he was protesting against a male bias in the country's justice system.

Rob Moodie, a former New Zealand Police union secretary, stunned the courtroom Monday when he appeared in women's clothing at a hearing related to a long-running case involving the death of a man in a bridge collapse on a North Island farm.
Moodie said he wore the two-piece women's suit because of what he described as a boys' network in the court room.

"I'm objecting to the male ethos that is dominating this case and from now on I'm going to be dressing as a girl in my daily life," Moodie told Reuters.

"It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't seen the gung-ho attitude in this case.
The more this goes on and the deeper the cover-up gets, the frocks will get prettier," he said.

Rumpole notes that there is a Miami related joke just waiting to burst forward from this story, but we apparently have writers block and nothing is coming to us.

A reader posted this top ten list:

top ten reasons you should be a Judicial Assistant in Miami Dade County Court:

10. you can start a perfume company outta the chambers of the court.
9. prohibit litigants you dont like because of race from getting a hearing on there motions.
8. start politacal campaign consulting firm right from the office chambers.
7. free office space for your campaign activities.
6. able to visit other judges chambers to extort them to hire you as campaign advisor.
5. free health care
4. free use of the computer to email judges and demand they hire you or else face opposition from hispanic lawyer with no qualifications.
3. can pretend you are the judge and jury.
2. use the office of the judge for profit and personal gain.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO BECOME A JA IN DADE COUNTY COURT.
1. when you f- up your BOSS the Judge will never fire you even if his office is raided under a criminal subpoena and his computer is seized. The Judge will back you no matter what happens.

And another reader posted this take on an old Bob Newhart bit:

Overheard on the phone at a local campaign headquarters:

“Judge Ivan Hernandez reelection headquarters, can I help you ?

"Uh…No Mr. D’Arce is unavailable at the moment.
"Yes…Yes he does help out campaigns for money.

"Why no, I do not think he would accept money to dress up as a clown and come to your child’s birthday party this weekend.

"Oh..you don’t need him to change clothes? He can just comes as he is.
I see. Yes, I see…well I’ll give him the message but I am pretty sure he won’t do it.

"$200.00 ??? "Hold on, let me get a pen. What is your address and when does he need to be there?”

Who says we don't have talented and funny readers?

See You In Court struggling with writers block.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Our favourite Bard wrote:

Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging to a man.
O! be some other name:
What’s in a name?
that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet;

For Circuit Court Judge Ivan FERNANDEZ there is some frustration.
Judge FERNANDEZ, former City of Miami Police Major,
Former Assistant State Attorney, and Circuit Court Judge has nothing, repeat-NOTHING to do with County Court Judge Ivan Hernandez and his frolicking much mentioned JA.



KARMA KRAMER

We’re not a big fan tempting fate. While we are not suggesting that there is anything remotely similar between former Judge Alan Postman and current Judge Larry Schwartz, we did note that Judge Schwartz, currently in a re-election battle, saw fit to hang a large sign on a dilapidated hotel facing I-95 that Postman used as the same platform to host his hefty sign during his losing battle against current Judge Diane Ward.

It’s not something we would have done.

SCHADENFREUDE
“n : delight in another person's misfortune .”

We’ve written about this feeling before.

Not much comment on former attorney Knovack Jones’ fall from grace. It must have been tough to have been Judge Schlessinger last Thursday as he contemplated the possible sentence for Jones.

On the one hand was ASA Gail Levine advocating on behalf of the children and grandchildren from whom Jones looted the estate entrusted to her by a member of her church.

On the other hand was the always eloquent and tenacious Larry Handfield reminding the Judge about the lifetime of good and hard work Ms. Jones had given to our community. Probation was in order according to Mr. Handfield.

In the final analysis Judge Schlessinger decided prison was a necessary punishment in addition to the restitution that the law requires.

We don’t know what the proper sentence should have been, but it occurs to us that these are the tough cases that shape a Judge’s career and philosophy.
It’s easy to send a criminal with priors to prison, even for a long time.
It’s much harder to send a first time offender who makes one huge colossal mistake in their life.

As we said, we wouldn’t have wanted to been in Judge Schlessinger’s shoes last Thursday.

THE CLASSIFIEDS

Odds are that not every wearer of the black robes facing re-election will win.
We are wondering what any of these soon to be ex-Judges will do.
All of them are too young to consider retirement like former Judge Bruce Levy.

Only time will tell.

On the subject of jobs, we always thought that the Court along with the SAO and PD’s office should institute an exchange program for Judges. For a 6 month period during a 6 year term, every Judge should work a 3 month stint in the PD’s office and a 3 month stint in the SAO. Let the Judge find out (or remember) what its like to drive an hour in traffic to Metro West to see a client for trial on Monday only to be told that the jail is on lockdown and there is no way to know when the client will be available.

Let the Judge deal with recalcitrant victims who don’t want to come to court and testify on behalf of the prosecution.

We know this will never happen. The judiciary will never agree to it.
They became Judges precisely because its hard to get a good round of golf in on a Friday afternoon when clients need to be seen. But just imagine how much better everyone would get along in court if Judges got this six month refresher every six years.

See You In Court.

THE CAPTAIN'S MIAMI-DADE COUNTY ELECTION BIOS

JULIE KAY of the Daily Business Review writes a great article about Federal PD Orlando De Campo trapped in Lebanon because of the war. De Campo was in Lebanon working on the defense in the Padilla case when a war inconveniently broke out and interrupted his research.

Unfortunately for De Campo, the Federal Courts have already ruled that a war is no reason to grant a defense continuance.



THE FOLLOWING POST WAS WRITTEN ENTIRELY BY OUR CAPTAIN. GREAT WORK.

Now that the qualifying period is over, it’s time for the campaigning to begin. Over the next six weeks, the decisions we make will shape the future of our County and Circuit Court bench. One vote CAN make a difference. Because the candidates are so limited in their ability to sell themselves, it is up to us to speak for them. If we feel that one candidate is clearly more qualified than another, they we owe it to ourselves and our clients, to speak to as many voters as we can and let them know what we know.

So, having said that, here are the contests (the year following the name is that listed with the Florida Bar):

COUNTY COURT

GROUP 1

Patricia Marino-Pedraza, 1990; was listed as Patricia Marino with the Florida Bar until this week when she added the Pedraza name; this is her first campaign.

Shirlyon J. McWhorter, 1991; Incumbent, appointed by Gov. Bush to replace Judge Adderly; this is her first campaign.

GROUP 4

Robin Faber, 1983; this is his first campaign.

Ivan Hernandez, 1983; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when he defeated incumbent Judge Reginald Richardson (in a runoff) and Jim Best.

GROUP 9

Victoria del Pino, 2000; this is her first campaign.

Joel S. Jacobi, 1997; this is his first campaign for Judge; he has been a Councilman in the City of Bal Harbour for the last four years.

GROUP 10

Sari Teichman Addicott, 1978; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Sari Teichman; this is her first campaign.

Ana Maria Pando, 1988; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when she defeated David Alschuler.

GROUP 11

Karen Mills Francis, 1989; Incumbent, elected in 2000 when she defeated incumbent Judge Harvey Goldstein.

Stephen Millan, 1991; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 12

Juan F. Gonzalez, 1982; this is his first campaign.

Steve Leifman, 1987; Incumbent, elected in 2000 without opposition. A veteran of many elections including two tries for the State House, he was appointed a County Court Judge in 1995; ran as the incumbent in 1996 and lost to Judge Myriam Lehr; he was again appointed by Gov. Chiles in 1997.

GROUP 14

Gloria Gonzalez-Meyer, 1994; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Gloria Gonzalez; this is her first campaign.

Michael Samuels, 1972; Incumbent, elected in 1996 when he defeated incumbent Judge Kevin Emas; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 27

Migna Sanchez-Llorens, 1994; this is her first campaign.

Sheldon “Shelly” Schwartz, 1969; Incumbent, elected in 1996 when he defeated Larry King; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 39

George A. Alvarez, 1994; this is his first campaign.

Bronwyn Catherine Miller, 1997; Incumbent, appointed by Gov. Bush in 2005 to replace Judge Richard Suarez; this is her first campaign.

GROUP 40

Don S. Cohn, 1975; lost a Circuit Court race in 2004 to Judge William Thomas.

Bonnie Lano Rippingille, 1976; Incumbent, defeated Judd Aronowitz in 1996; re-elected in 2000 without opposition.

GROUP 43

Cecilia Armenteros-Chavez, 1994; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Cecilia Armenteros; this is her first campaign.

Michael Aaron Bienstock, 1973; this is his first campaign.

Jose L. Fernandez, 1989; this is his first campaign.

--------------------------

CIRCUIT COURT

GROUP 25

Dennis Murphy, 1983; Incumbent, in 2000 defeated three other candidates. In that election, in the primary, Gina Mendez garnered the most votes (40%) and Murphy took 29% of the vote, while Martin Zilber (25%) and Peter Sylvester Adrien (6%) were eliminated. In the runoff, Murphy squeaked by Mendez 209,000 to 197,000; also in 1996 Murphy lost a three-way County Court race coming in third to Judge Andrew Hague and Elio Vazquez.

Josie Perez Velis, 1988; lost to Judge William Thomas in 2004, she did not make the runoff in that race.

GROUP 42

Gina Mendez, 1994; lost to Judge Murphy in 2000 (see above).

Lawrence Schwartz, 1978; Incumbent, was unopposed in 2000; was a County Court Judge from 1990-1996 and has been a Circuit Court Judge since 1997.

GROUP 78

Rima Catherine Bardawil, 1997; this is her first campaign.

Valerie Schurr Manno, 1993; she is listed with the Florida Bar as Valerie Manno; lost in 2004 to Judge Judith Rubenstein.

Jose Ramon Sanchez-Gronlier, 1991; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 79

Marie Abigail Davidson, 1985; this is her first campaign.

Antonio "Tony" Marin, 1984; this is his first campaign.

GROUP 80

Mario Garcia Jr., 2000; this is his first campaign.

Marisa Tinkler Mendez, 1986; this is her first campaign.

Catherine "Cathy" Parks, 1984; lost in a runoff to Judge William Thomas in 2004.



See you in court pondering the ballot.

MIAMI JUDICIAL ELECTIONS TRIVIA

HAPPY 68TH BIRTHDAY JANET RENO!!!!!





MIAMI DADE ELECTIONS TRIVIA

1) NAME THE LAWYER WHO RAN UNSUCCESSFULLY FOR JUDGE SEVERAL TIMES WITH SIGNS THAT PROMINENTLY FEATURED THE LETTER Z.

2) THIS FORMER JUDGE WAS FAMOUSLY RUMORED TO HAVE TOLD A CONVICTED RAPE SUSPECT “YOU HAVE TO BUY THEM DINNER FIRST LIKE THE REST OF US.” A) NAME THE FORMER JUDGE B) NAME THE PERSON WHO BEAT HIM. C) IDENTIFY THE EPISODE IN THAT JUDGE’S COURTROOM THAT PROMPTED HIM TO RESIGN FROM THE BENCH.

3) NAME THE COUNTY COURT JUDGE CURRENTLY UP FOR RE-ELECTION WHO WAS PREVIOUSLY BEATEN. B) NAME THE CURRENT COUNTY COURT JUDGE WHO BEAT HIM. C) NAME THE DISNEY FIGURE IN THE JUDGE’S PREVIOUS CAMPAIGN ADS.

4) IN A 2000 OPEN SEAT, THIS MALE JUDGE WHO NOW HAS OPPOSITION BEAT THIS CURRENT FEMALE CANDIDATE. A) NAME THE MALE JUDGE; B) NAME THE FEMALE CANDIDATE CURRENTLY RUNNING. C) NAME THE JUDGE SHE IS NOW RUNNING AGAINST.

5) THIS CURRENT FEMALE JUDGE WHO NOW HAS OPPOSITION BEAT A SITTING JUDGE WHO WAS AN ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE. A) NAME THE FEMALE JUDGE; B) NAME THE JUDGE SHE BEAT.

6) THIS CURRENT SITTING JUDGE WAS ONCE FORCED TO ABANDON AN EARLIER ELECTION CAMPAIGN. A) NAME THE JUDGE; B) WHY DID HE HAVE TO WITHDRAW FROM A CAMPAIGN AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT ELECTION CYCLE?

7) NAME THE LAST MALE ASA WHO RAN WHILE STILL AN ASA AND LOST. A)WHAT CURRENT JUDGE WON THAT ELECTION?B) WHAT OTHER CURRENT JUDGE WAS THAT JUDGE'S LAW PARTNER.

Summer hours in effect. See You In Court Monday.

CHH CHH CHANGES

This is a good fact to ponder throughout the day:

The Captain writes:

Next time The Captain will refrain from metaphoring with references to skud missles and the Middle East. It looks like I turned the REGJB blog into the Middle East Conflict Blog.
Let's get back to the good stuff like the upcoming elections and the Indictment of a Judge (that is Indictment on this Blog).

In less than 7 weeks, the voters of Dade County will be faced with contested races in:

Circuit Court:Group 25, 42, 78, 79, 80

County Court:Group 1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 27, 39, 40, 43

That means we could be looking at as many as 16 new judges in our County come January of 2007.
Let the voter beware!!!!!

AND THE CAPTAIN HAS SPOKEN .....

Rumpole wonders how many members of the judiciary are getting less sleep than the Captain(who posted after 1AM) and Rumpole (who posted before 6 AM)?

PS: Congratulations to Judge Rob Pinero. Successful prosecutor. County Court Judge. Respected Circuit Court Judge. But you've never really made it in this town until your thoughts on sentencing are posted on everyone's favorite federal blog. Welcome to the big time Judge Pinero!

See You In Court sipping the cuban coffee and scanning the federal blog on our phone to see what comments we can lift for our humble blog.

THE RUMPOLE JUDICIAL ENDORSEMENTS

Before we announce our much awaited and highly prized judicial endorsements, we thought it appropriate to publish the criteria upon which we will be basing our decisions.

We start with these simple rules:

1) An attorney running for judge should be qualified and have extensive jury trial experience. Why?
The court system is swamped with cases. In criminal court the ever increasing scope of minimum mandatory sentences is forcing cases to trial that in the past would have been settled. Only an attorney who has been on the winning and losing side of dozens of trials has the experience to understand what a trial requires, what the trial lawyers are doing, and why they are doing it.

We not so fondly recall the newly elected Judge who had not tried many cases in a failed career as a private attorney. The prosecution sought to introduce a document and we stood up and asked for voire dire. The Judge responded that we had used the wrong term, as the jury had already been selected.

2) An attorney running against a Judge must further articulate why the Judge needs to be replaced. What about the Judge- demeanor, work habits, etc., necessitates that the Judge be replaced?

We have already emailed several candidates privately where we explained that running merely because gender, race, or name gives the candidate a favorable chance of winning is abhorrent, as it diminishes the quality of the Judiciary.
Judges like Martin Khan, Hank Harnage, and Harvey Goldstein were victims of this and we have all suffered for it.

3) A Judge should articulate the experience, work habits, demeanor on the bench towards clients and counsel that would support the conclusion that the Judge should be re-elected.

4) A Judge should impose a just sentence, not a sentence that the public wants, or the police demand , or the defense requests.

We recall a very sad situation many years ago when the prosecution offered a Defendant 20 years on a second degree murder case. The case went to trial, and after the defendant was convicted Judge Moreno (when he was a state court judge) sentenced the defendant to about ten years based on the facts of the case. You don’t see things like that happening these days.

Justice doesn’t always mean following the victim and arresting officer’s recommendation of “maximum sentence.”

5) Do judges berate defense attorneys for not filing motions to compel discovery or motions for continuances early enough? Do Judges take counsel out of turn? (and this includes prosecutors who also have several courtrooms to be in).

6) Do Judges interfere in voire dire, cross examination and then give each side ten minutes for closing arguments?

7) Do Judges routinely expect all parties (including court personnel like clerks, corrections, and court reporters) to start at 8:00 AM, work through lunch, and work to 7:00 or 8:00 PM or beyond?

Nothing, and we mean nothing speaks louder about the blatant stupidity of a Judge then when they brag about how they tried a DUI in one day and had the attorneys do closing arguments at 11:00 PM, and sent the jury out at midnight. These Judges some how think that gives them some sort of “macho” reputation. All it does is deprive both sides of a fair trial, and make jurors disgusted with their service.

8) Do Judges absolutely refuse to engage in plea negotiations, even when it is obvious to everyone that an inexperienced prosecutor is taking advantage of a situation but the Judge will not step into correct it? We saw one new County Court Judge on the day of trial for a DWLS case refuse to do anything when the defendant had obtained a valid license, had two prior convictions, and the third conviction would result in a loss of license for five years, and the prosecutor (about 1 month on the job) refused to do anything other than obtain a conviction.

9) Do Judges understand the law? If we see one more Judge tell an unrepresented defendant that a withhold is not a conviction, we are going to scream. HEY JUDGE- A WITHHOLD IS A CONVICTION UNDER MANY CIRCUMSTANCES, including loss of license for a DWLS, and FOR PURPOSES OF IMMIGRATION AND DEPORTATION. STOP TRICKING DEFENDANTS INTO PLEADING GUILTY.


This is where we are starting. We invite our readers to provide other criteria and to start emailing us (we said email not post) on who we should endorse and why.

(please make cheques payable to “CASH” and leave with the Cuban coffee person at Au Bon Pain in a plain manila envelope marked “BRIBE FOR RUMPOLE”.)

See You In Court.

Six Simple Rules

Six Simple Rules to be Happy

Free your heart from hatred.

Free your mind from worries.

Live simply.

Give more.

Expect less.

Read Rumpole every day.