BUDGET CUTS AND A GERSTEIN EMAIL

LEST WE FORGET

The Herald reports HERE about the State budget cuts that will be further affecting the Public Defenders and Prosecutors offices across this state. This remains an ongoing shame. The Vox Populi demands tough sentences in criminal cases and yet the Politicians balance the budget on the backs of everyone in the criminal justice system. We have written about this more times than we care to remember, and what happens? Nothing.


We’ll take our split out of MNF last night. Win with the Bengals, loss with the 49’ers not covering, and move on to next week. Dan Lurvey was a late addition to the suicide pool with a pick of the Bengals, as was 52nd Street Irvin, who liked the 49’ers who squeaked out a win. Sunday is week two, and we expect the contestants to start dropping like jurrors subject to premeptive challenges.

We received this email about an old post about Richard Gerstein. It is not likely to be read by many people at this point, but it addressed an interesting issue so we re-print it below. Richard Gerstein was, to say the least, a controversial figure in this town. Beloved. Hated. Suspected of many things. We seem to remember something from Janet Reno talking about when Gerstein hired her. Reno asked Gerstein why he wanted to hire her when – we believe it was her father- was a journalist in Miami and was highly critical of Gerstein. It was to Richard Gerstein's credit that he saw Reno's potential and started her off in a career of prosecution that would take her to the top of her profession.

In any event, our building is named after this man, and it might just benefit the new lawyers to learn a little about our legacy, should they care to spend a career here labouring for justice.


“JHQUINN” wrote:

I stumbled on this blog when doing a search for Joe Gersten who's office was across the street from my restaurant in Coral Gables and who I didn't like at the time. Now I find myself taking his side against the Reno coalition. Having left Miami in '90 I find a lot of these little anecdotes fascinating. Somebody should write a book about Miami in the 90s.As to Gerstein, before I knew the difference between left and right I worked a little on his campaign for gov, probably about '75. I held a fund raiser for him at my home and there was a wise guy there who slipped me two one hundred dollar bills. I stuck them in Gerstein's jacket pocket. A few minutes later he came back to me and handed me the money. he didn't say anything but I knew he didn't want to take any cash.Later we 'suffered' thru election night results in a room at the Dupont Plaze, the results are well known. I can't even remember who won that year.


Rumpole says: Have at it. Budget cuts and Gerstein turns down 2 C notes.

See You In Court, where we rarely get offered cash, and just as rarely turn it down.

WEEK ONE

The fun and profit starts today!!!!
Just keep one thing in mind for a profitable year- The Dolphins.
Bet against them whenever the line allows it.

Early in the year means the offenses are ahead of defenses, so we start by looking for lower over/under totals.

Unless otherwise stated, all of our lines come from the USA Today online lines.

Our Suicide Pick: Chargers over the Bears.
David Markus: Steelers over Browns. (while we think the Steelers will win, we would advise Mr. Markus in general to pick home team favorites in a suicide pool. But he is smarter than we are and doesn't need our advice. He knows the intricacies of things like "me versus I" for real good grammar and such.)
Toots: Seahawks over the Bucs.
Rick Freedman: Jaguars over Titans.
Feet of Clay: Cowboys over Giants.
Miguel De la O(over): Seattle over Tampa Bay.

RUMPOLE'S PICKS:

The Bears travel to San Diego and the Chargers are -5.5 favorites over Rumpole’s second most overrated team in the NFC (the Saints are the most overrated team. Get a secondary will ya?) Give the points and watch the Bears crumble. No Lovie for Smith’s Bruins today. Chargers roll.

Patriots at Jets. The o/u is 41. We seem to remember a bad beat last year on an o/u Pats/Jets game as we liked the over and the final the score was something like 10-3. Once burned but not twice shy. Revamped Patriots Offense plus the loss of a Patriots starting cornerback on defense turns this one into a Meadowlands shoot out.
J-E-T-S-Over Over Over.41.

Arizona at San Fran. We really like both these teams. Great new coach in Arizona with Kenny Whizenhut and Russ Grimm taking their Steeler success to the Cardinals. This Arizona team will make a statement this year. But the 49’ers are more mature. Great drafts over the last few years are now ready to payoff. San Fran is our pick to win the division this year and Alex Smith is the more experienced QB over pretty boy Lineart. A nice low line of -3.5 makes the 49’ers a good home team play.

KC at Houston. Take the over 38.

Tennessee at Jacksonville. Take the over 37.5

(Those are our picks that will count. Purely for entertainment, we try and pick the two best games of the week. Since we make the rules, we only count the outcome if we win.)

Game of the week:
Monday Night Football humdinger as Ravens travel to Cincinnati for a week one divisional match-up. We’re not high on either team this year. We think this is the year the Ravens get old, and Cincinnati’s defense resembles the REGJB security screeners- everything gets in, nothing gets stopped, and the personnel have pending criminal cases. Lay the 2.5 and take the home team Bengals as the history is that these teams split with the home team getting the win.

52nd Street Irwin's Inside tip (see below to find out just who Irwin is) : One word: TOE. Ravens Pro Bowl Offensive Lineman Jonathan Ogden has turf toe. The Ravens depend on him to protect Steve McNair, who is almost as old as Richard Hersch, and to open running lanes for new RB Willis McGahee. With Ogden limping and possibly out, the Ravens are a considerably weaker team than most people realize.

Alternate game of the week divisional rivalry:
Giants go to Dallas. Cowboys give 5.5 to the visiting Gints. Cowboys have the talent, but new Coach Wade Phillips.....uuggh. Vanilla re-tread at best. Rumpole says, give the points if you must play this game.

As an old bookie we knew growing up, named 52nd Street Irwin used to say “Now let us learn you something”.

Don’t play more than two games, three tops. You can’t beat the vig. Ever. (How do you think we paid for law school? On the backs of schnooks who need action.) If you want to gamble, you look for your one best shot, shove all your chips in and let it roll. You can’t beat the odds over a life time, but you can find good bets and swing the odds in your favor every now and then. If you want to turn a profit, find a game or two that you like and take your shot.

If you want action on ten games a week, please listen to us- just email those picks to us and we will book everyone of them every week and every time.
And when you don’t pay up, 52nd Street Irwin, who has retired to Miami, will be looking for you, and he will not be happy.

Have fun.


Last minute news, notes, and thoughts: Steelers have uncertainty on the offensive line and last minute replacements at fullback and kick returner. That can't be good. Broncos have the talent to win the Super Bowl. And for the last two years they traveled east and lost their season opener to vastly inferior teams. Denver plays Buffalo and we wouldn't touch this one with Rick Freedman's civil fees let alone our money. Jags are 8-0 in last 8 home openers and yet the QB situation has us nervous. Vince Young can win a game by himself, and will have to do that most of the time this year. I can't get a read on the Seahawks. Today is a good game to watch. They should win this one, and super bowl teams win the ones they should win. Redskins can make a statement today by the blitz. Superior corners and safety's are the strength of this team. Question is whether new QB has the right stuff. Could be a long day for Trent Green unless he gets his bell rung. Cleo anyone? I am nervous about my suicide pick. This was a pretty tough week and new coach Norv Turner in San Diego makes me nervous. But my gut feeling is Bears are way overrated and will tumble this year like Steelers did last year. Rex Grossman is not the QB to build a wining team around in the NFL. Bears will miss the loss of the A Train more than they realize and several contract issues including the Head Coach have team members whispering about salaries more than you would like. Last year's success has bred this year's dissension.
Finally, current genius - Patriots coach Belichick -has re-built his team with one thing in mind: to match offense with the Colts. He is convinced shoot-outs and 45 point scoring is the wave of the future. I am not convinced he is right. I don't think Pats make the AFC Championship game. They have too much talent to have a bad season, but something tells me not everything is kosher in bean town. If you read the NY Post every day, then you know the resident genius has some troubles in his personal life, not including Randy Moss. We shall see.

FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Football seasons begins, and some of you are sitting on a pile of money, if you followed our remarkable picks last season. While our strength is clearly match-ups and especially totals (over/under) we herewith tender these predictions for the season.

It will be a good year to be a fan in Indianapolis and San Diego and San Francisco, and it will be a difficult year to be a fan right here, in Miami. As we like to sing: “Miami has the Dolphins…a mediocre football team. Nick Saban drafted real bad or so it really seems. He lied and left us high and dry like no one would be believe. Cam Cameron thinks he can change it, but no one really knows. Because when you say Miami, you're talking 4-12…"



NFC EAST
PHILADELPHIA 10-6
DALLAS 10-6 (wild card)
NY GIANTS 7-9
WASHINGTON 7-9

NFC NORTH
DETROIT!!!! ?????10-6
MINNESOTA9-7
CHICAGO 8-8
GREEN BAY 6-10

NFC SOUTH
CAROLINA 10-6
TAMPA BAY 9-7 (Wild Card)
NEW ORLEANS 8-8
ATLANTA 5-11

NFC WEST
SAN FRANCISCO 10-6
ARIZONA 10-6 (Wild card)
SEATTLE 9-7
St. LOUIS 5-11

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

PHILADELPHIA OVER SAN FRANCISCO

AFC EAST
NEW ENGLAND 11-5
NY JETS 10-6 (Wild Card)
BUFFALO 9-7
MIAMI 4-12

AFC NORTH
CINCINNATI 10-6
PITTSBURGH 10-6 (wild card)
BALTIMORE 7-9
CLEVELAND 5-11

AFC SOUTH
INDIANAPOLIS 14-2
TENNESSEE 9-7
JACKSONVILLE 7-9
HOUSTON 7-9

AFC WEST
SAN DIEGO 12-4
DENVER 10-6 (wild card)
KANSAS CITY 7-9
OAKLAND 5-11

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
INDIANAPOLIS OVER SAN DIEGO

SUPER BOWL: COLTS REPEAT.
Dark horse shockers: Steelers win AFC and 49'ers win NFC for super bowl of dynasties.
You read it here first.


GET THOSE SUICIDE PICKS IN.

Our Fabulous Football Femme Fatale- TOOTS- you remember her from last year, is playing. So Is Federal Markus, Rick Freedman, and Feet of Clay Kaiser.
Now is your chance to brag to the world in Au Bon Pain about your prognostication prowess. Send us an email from a private address with your pick. One team, every week, no point spread, can't use the same team more than once. If you're not sure, just follow us. We are picking the Chargers over the Bears tomorrow. The rest of our picks and the Suicide Pool will be up on Sunday.

OEDIPUS BUSH

Longtime and careful readers of our humble blog know that we like to reserve Fridays for political discussions. We started the NFL season 2-0: we said take the Colts -5.5 and under 52. Recall that we liked the point spread a lot, and the under less so. The Colts won by 31 points, and under won by 1 point. As we tried to tell Mr. Markus yesterday, leave the betting to the Professionals and concentrate on shepardizing those footnotes in the Harvard Law Review. Your clients are CEO’s while our clients have names like “Tony no nose” or “El Gordo” and the preparation for representing them is vastly different. You need to know the proposed changes to money laundering guidelines, while we need to know why there was too much layoff action out of New Jersey on the Arizona State Game.

As we prepare for our first big NFL Sunday this year, we take a break from tracking the betting lines to a more serious subject.

September brings the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the U.S along with the much anticipated report on the surge of troops in Iraq. September also brings the release of "Dead Certain" a new book in which the author, Robert Draper, a certified good ol’ Texan, had access to President Bush during his term. There was a little bit of rough going in the beginning when the President screamed and the Secret Service wrestled Draper to the ground. But it was quickly determined that Draper was carrying a book, and the President, unfamiliar with the object, got justifiably nervous.

We learned from Dead Certain that the now infamous policy of “de-bathifying” Iraq- disbanding the Bath Party and the infrastructure of armed bureaucrats that ran the country, which had the effect of driving hundreds of thousands of armed and angry unemployed men into the arms of Al Queda- was in effect, a big “woops.”

Bush has stated that he was not told of the policy. The book quotes Paul Bremer, the first US installed “Shah of Iraq” as saying that he sent the President and Rumsfeld a memo stating his intent “to drive the general population into the arms of our enemy.”

And there of course is the problem. “Memos are for woosies” as Rumsfeld often told the President. As such, the President didn’t read the memo, and Rumfeld, as was his habit, ripped the memo into small pieces and shot spit balls at Condoleeza Rice and Scooter Libby during cabinet meetings.


All of this background brings us to September and the question of what do we do now? As is usually the case, the answer can be found in history, and unfortunately, it is not pretty. In March of 1973, as the US pulled out of Vietnam (“sorry folks, we uhh…made a small mistake. We bombed your cities and dropped agent orange on your jungles, but hey- mistakes happen.”) the largest holocaust nobody wanted to talk about was about to occur. Pol Pot began preparations to murder a few million of his country men in Cambodia, and the North Vietnamese Communist began to plot retribution again their countrymen in South. There is a rumor that Doug Kenny and Harold Ramis, who co-wrote the screen play for Animal House, actually used the withdrawl from Vietnam as their muse: When Flounder's brother’s car is wrecked after a road trip, Bluto (John Belushi) says “ You fucked up. You trusted us.”

The point is that just because we have a bunch of incompetent pathos- driven politicians running this war, does not mean that the best solution is to pack up and leave. It is a fact that more Americans have now died in the aftermath of invading Iraq then died on September 11, 2001. And it is true that the entire might of the American Armed Forces cannot locate, let alone capture, a 6 foot 7 inch tall Arab with a long flowing beard and a kidney disease that requires dialysis on a weekly basis. But that should not mask the underlying problem: Al Queda terrorists want to kill as many of us as possible. If they could explode a nuclear weapon on our soil, or the soil of other western infidel nations, they would. And it just so happens that the country currently producing IED’s (the roadside bombs that kill our soldiers) on a Henry Ford inspired production line- Iran, is actually developing a nuclear bomb.

In Bush’s defense, one of those historical Oval Office dramatic moments is depicted in the book Dead Certain:

Bush:“I told Rumsfeld Iran damnit, Iran, and the idiot didn’t read the memo as usual, and invaded Iraq instead.

Cheney: [Cracking open a walnut on Scooter Libby’s head as Libby sits at his master’s feet] : “You sure did boss. I heard you say it.”

Bush: [Taking the walnut and flipping it to Barney, his dog] : As we say on the ranch- “right war, wrong country”. “When we wuz growing up mah Daddy use to tell Jeb ‘Close don’t count cept in horseshoes and hand grenades.’ and we gotta bunch o hand grenades over there anyways.”

Cheney: “Go getem boss. You a war time President.”

Bringing our soldiers home will not make Al Queda go away. There are bad and crazy people in the world that we must deal with. Once we take care of the dozen or so working at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we need to turn our attention to the rest of them.

See You In Court Monday, where hopefully we will go something like 7-2 on Sunday

NFL

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT!!!!



COLTS. SAINTS. The 2007 NFL season kicks off tonight as the defending champion Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints. If you listen to Rumpole, this may just be a preview of the AFC Championship in January. Super Bowl Champs do well in this game, as we all remember last year as our Fins started the season in Pittsburgh with a loss.



Take the Colts -5.5 over the Saints. 52.5 seems a bit high so we like the under, but not as much as the line.



SUICIDE POOL: Want to play against Rumpole? Email us your suicide pick each week before kickoff. We will post our pick on the blog. Unless you want either the Colts or Saints, no need to get your pick in tonight. Right now we're leaning to the Charges at home over the overrated Bears. But we will make our final selection by Sunday. If you really want to compete against Rumpole, your pick must come from an email address so we can track your picks for the season.



The rules are simple- pick one team each week, no point spread involved. However, when you use that team, you cannot pick that team for the rest of the season. One loss, and you are out.





Have fun. And remember, bet with your head, not over it, unless we tell you to.

ROC -n- ROLL

We received a comment from an individual who may or may not be the Head of the Regional Office Counsel for the 11th Judicial Circuit:

rumpole,You seem like a reasonable fella. Can you please stop posting negativity about the regional conflict office? You all need to stop bitchin and get on board to make this thing work. For Pete's sake!! AND BY THE WAY, I HAVE RECEIVED 16 APPLICATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO WISH WORK AT THE ROC.
tHANK YOU,
JG

Rumpole responds: Assuming for argument that is Mr. George, we respond with this open letter:

Dear Mr. George:

First, welcome to the Miami Criminal Defense Community.
However, unlike other new lawyers, you are not being welcomed with open arms. Why? Because the very existence of your job will deprive many of our colleagues of a living. Some of our colleagues have worked very hard for many years to obtain the skills necessary to represent Defendants in criminal court. Many of these lawyers worked for years at low pay for the State Attorneys Office or the Public Defenders Office and then went into private practice with the skills necessary to represent individuals charged with crimes.

Your job will deprive our colleagues of a job. We recognize that you did not cause this situation. But you are profiting from this situation much like a scab that crosses a picket line in a strike. What makes matters worse is that it appears to many of us that you take this job without the hard earned qualifications and experience in criminal law that almost all of us who work in the REGJB have. When you meet members of the defense bar, you will notice that all of them are justifiably proud of the work they did as prosecutors or public defenders. As far as we know, you did not work in either office. The experience they obtained in those jobs gives them the ability to assume the awesome responsibility to stand in court between the state and the Judge and say "prove it."

So you assume your job with two strikes against you: a perceived lack of experience, and the belief that you and you alone are profiting from the misfortune of hundreds of lawyers. That is quite a load to bear in a new job.

However, beyond the money and the anger, lies the most important reason of all: concern for the client. You will notice that almost every criminal defense attorney has a strong desire to see the system work and see clients well represented. The feeling among the defense bar is that the clients your office represents will not be well served. The belief is that the attorneys that will staff your office will not have "the right stuff" to represent individuals facing the death penalty, or life in prison, or a lengthy minimum mandatory sentence.

Just how many Arthur Hearings, let alone criminal trials, have you done?

The remarkable thing is that many of your new colleagues can speak from experience about the intricacies of a consent defense in a sexual assault case, the difficulties in voire dire in a drug entrapment defense case, while also exhibiting a working knowledge of things like blood spatter and exit and entrance wounds. The problem is that while your colleagues obtained that experience while working on cases with more experienced lawyers, you and your staff will apparently be obtaining that experience on the backs of your clients, and to their detriment. And that bothers us a lot.

So when you and your staff appear in court ( Click
HERE for directions to the REGJB), our hope is that our colleagues will be nice and cordial. But do not expect our best wishes for you to succeed, because truth be known, to a person, we all hope this comes crashing down and embarrasses the Governor for what it is- an attempt to balance the budget on the backs of indigent defendants.



The Legislature has no problem spending money on police and prisons, but when they skimp on something as important as the Sixth Amendment right to COMPETENT counsel, we take that pretty seriously.

See You In Court.

PS. In answer to your question about not posting criticism about your office, the answer is NO. See, The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Gabe Martin Update and A Judge To Resign?

We received this letter from Mr. Gabriel Martin. For many of you who knew him and worked with him in the Public Defender’s Office, the information in his letter is bittersweet. You will be happy to learn that Gabe did not do anything criminal. However, you will be sad to learn that he did mismanage his private practice and allow a dishonest and disbarred lawyer to take advantage of his inexperience. The result is a three year suspension from the practice of law.


Hello Everybody:
This is my first time writing to the blog, even though I do check it out every once in a while. I write to communicate to my friends (and those not so friendly) and colleagues about my ongoing situation, which has been referenced here on several occasions. I think you can understand that while my bar matter was pending, I really wasn’t at liberty to speak about it.
On Thursday, The Florida Supreme Court approved Judge Marc Schumacher’s report in my disciplinary matter, calling for a three-year suspension of my bar license, nunc pro tunc, October 16, 2006. The referee’s report in this case was the result of an agreement between the parties. I’ve linked both Judge Schumacher’s report and the Supreme Court order below for those who wish to review them.
The report finds, generally, that I was negligent in my supervision of a former free-lance paralegal, George Garcia, and in the maintenance of my real estate trust accounts. Obviously, as someone who takes considerable pride in his work, I am humbled by the fact that I made these mistakes and will take great effort to avoid any such mistakes upon my return to practice.
The report also finds I was unaware of any fraudulent or illegal activities on the part of Mr. Garcia, and that I passed a George Slattery polygraph to that effect. It is also important to note, that I did not in any way benefit from any alleged fraud and that there was never an allegation of commingling of trust funds with my operating or personal funds.
I thank all of you who have been supportive during this very trying time. I am very thankful to my attorney, Richard Baron, the Court and the staff at the Florida Bar who at all times treated me with great professionalism and respect.
Regards,
Gabriel Martin


SCHUMACHER’S ORDER

SUPREME COURT ORDER


Rumpole says: Quite a fall from the early promise of a bright career and a legitimate shot at becoming Public Defender. His challenge to Bennett Brummer shook up a lot of people, and his involvement in a successful Federal lawsuit against Brummer
(Motto: "No one runs against me and gets away with it.") by his colleague Mr. Richardson who was fired by Brummer for supporting Martin, was the first story this blog broke, and it put us on the map. It takes courage and character to face up to one’s shortcomings, and in this matter, Mr. Martin has shown both. We wish him well.

CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE TO RESIGN?

Our mailbox has been buzzing with rumours of one REGJB Circuit Court Judge who is about to resign. Our sources indicate no, repeat no scandal here. Nor has this "mild mannered" Judge signed a hefty contract for a new TV show as has been the case lately for the Miami Judiciary. It appears merely that sitting high on the bench has just not been all that it was cracked up to be for this well liked jurist. That and the appeal of a lucrative offer in the private sector has made this Judge to decide to hang up the robes. Lets see if Rumpole's sources are correct on this one, and if they are, you can say you read here first, in your favourite Justice Building Blog.

It's nice to be back and to start the new school year off with a juicy rumour. Now lets get to work.

See You in Court refreshed and raring to go.

Wish You Were Here

(not really)

Ahhhhhh......................


Have a nice Labor Day Weekend. See You back in court on Tuesday.
We will check the comments and get them up as soon as possible although there is not much internet access on the Bay.

A FEW DAYS OFF

While we rarely comment on our exact whereabouts, it is no secret we have been slow putting up posts as we travel to our summer home "on the Cape" to enjoy the Labor Day festivities.


Out of the loop at the REGJB, we nevertheless post some interesting things that arrived in our mailbox.

Anonymous wrote:

Let's have a one day post dedicated to the following:
Who is the most overrated and underrated defense attorney and prosecutor in the courthouse?


Rumpole replies: We are by far the most underrated defense attorney in the building. We labour away in obscurity, winning cases, but neither fame nor fortune.


Readership is up:

Justice Building Blog
-- Site Summary ---
Visits Total ...................... 302,420
Average per Day ................ 727
Average Visit Length .......... 4:48
This Week .................... 5,092

Rumpole says: We look at average per day and time spent reading. That means over six hundred people find five minutes a day to take a break and relax. And we are glad we can help.


A reader had an epiphany:
Anonymous wrote:

OMG I KNOW WHO RUMPOLE IS OR AT LEAST I HAVE FIGURED OUT A CLUE
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
What Box means something to us? A JURY BOX
Who or what is outside the box?
A CORRECTIONS OFFICER
A CLERK
A COURT REPORTER
A JUDGE
Rumpole, am I thinking outside the box?
This clue was so simple, it was right in front of our noses all the time.

And we responded:

9:06. Take a bow. You, my friend, "think outside the box."
Now I'm not saying you are correct ,however I will reward you for
thinking about something no one else has.
Send me a private email, and I will send you a juicy clue, just for you.
HR.

FEDS....
Certain well known federal bloggers take issue with our grammar, and mock us by complaining about our usage of "I" versus "Me".

Here is part of the offending offal:

"Maybe Rumpole is A.G., as he often makes similar grammar gaffes on his blog..."

(Shouldn't that read "grammatical gaffes...? Bloggers who write in glass offices shouldn't throw stones. Or put another way, "let he who has not published a typo throw the first stone.")

"I" will not take this sitting down.
Watch "me."

It is time to show our friend from "Harvahard" the power of the people- those of us not blessed with the clientele that allow us to practice in the cathedrals ruled by the Federal College Of Cardinals.

If you have an embarrassing story, picture, or court transcript of our favourite federal blogger, and want it to be seen by 700 or so of the Miami Legal Community, email it to us in private. Your anonymity is assured.

See You in court after Labor Day.

30 YEARS AND JUROR RENO

We received this comment, which we edited for this post. The full comment is under Monday’s post by the Captain.:


Dear all:
30 years for 2 checks.

I want to call your attention to a case that recently was before Judge Patrick Cavanaugh, a Circuit Judge in Baltimore County, Maryland. Judge Cavanaugh sentenced Andrew to 30 years in prison for writing two bad checks. Yes, you read that right. Before I discuss the case, I want to say that I am asking for five minutes of your time, and very minimal action which may save a young man 30 years of his life. Andrew Maurice Fisher is a poor 24 year old young black man in Baltimore. ..

Here are the relevant facts: Andrew has absolutely NO PRIOR CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS. He is, by all accounts a good, fun-loving kid. He doesn’t touch drugs or get in trouble. He is especially close with his family and helped to raise his younger brother who is, in large part thanks to Andrew, the first member of their family to attend college. There had been a rash of burglaries in the apartment complex where Andrew and his family live. The landlord mentioned to Andrew that they needed to install a security system, and Andrew, hoping to make a few bucks, volunteered to take on the project. The two checks written to the security company for equipment were not valid. Admittedly, we are talking about a lot of money…close to $20,000.

Andrew either messed up, or made a bad decision, but that is the extent of it. No one was hurt, maimed, violated, etc. In the midst of an otherwise wonderful life, this can in no way justify a lengthy prison sentence, no less one of 30 years. Andrew, wanting to make amends for the situation pled guilty to the charge. The Judge then launched him. He gave him the maximum amount of time on both counts consecutive to one another. At sentencing our wonderfully Just Judge made a comment that if Andrew could pay the money, he would let him out of jail. In other words, if he were wealthy, he would not be in prison. This is the basis of an ongoing appeal. 30 years for 2 checks.

Here is some perspective. In Florida, where I practice, the maximum sentence one can get for rape with penetration is 15 years…and Florida is known as a State with fairly draconian sentencing laws. This injustice must be resolved.So, what can you do?First off, quick e-mails to the Governor of Maryland, who is fairly progressive, are a good start. Here is the link: EMAIL

I would ask everyone who receives this e-mail to at least do that. He is the only person with pardon and commutation power in Maryland, and enough e-mails may prompt him to review the case.

Rumpole says: The individual who left this as a comment appears to be a lawyer in Florida and did not leave an email address. We invite him or her to do so, so we can get more information.

However, this is an injustice that needs to be fixed.

We have constantly commented on the inhumanity of Judges and Prosecutors who toss around decades in jail as if it doesn’t mean much at all to spend time in prison. Prison should exist for violent offenders and violent repeat offenders. We cannot afford to warehouse everyone the Legislature believes should be in prison. Until the law changes we are forced to deal with these outrages on a case by case basis. This appears to be a case worthy of our time.


KUDOS TO JANET RENO

As the Herald reported yesterday, citizen Janet Reno, former State Attorney, former Attorney General of the United States, reported for Jury duty in our Justice Building on Monday morning. Just a guess, but how many other former presidential cabinet members ever report to jury duty as opposed to “pulling strings” to get out of it? None. But then, Janet Reno is not like most other politicians.

Once again, by her simple dignity, she has made us proud.

Thank You Janet, for being who you are.


See You In Court, where Ms. Reno could serve on our jury any time.

ELECTION CENTRAL 2008

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

We are one year away from the judicial elections that will take place in 2008. The exact date is Tuesday, August 26, 2008 and tomorrow, it’s 52 weeks and counting. So for the benefit of those that are interested in the future of the robed ones in Miami-Dade County, here is a preview:

CIRCUIT COURT

There are 37 seats up for election. Of those, 24 incumbents have filed for re-election, 8 sitting judges have NOT filed as of yet, and there are five seats where new challengers have filed to run.

The Incumbents who have filed for re-election (without any opposition) are:

002 Barzee Flores, Mary
004 Ward, Diane
005 Donner, Amy Steele
006 Esquiroz, Margarita
009 Friedman, Ronald M.
016 Firtel, Leon M.
017 Trawick, Daryl E.
023 Lopez, Peter R.
027 Dresnick, Ronald
033 Farina, Joseph P.
037 Muir, Celeste Hardee
044 Bagley, Jerald
046 Zabel, Sarah I
051 Chumbley, Douglas J.
053 Emas, Kevin
054 Wilson Jr., Thomas S.
058 Schumacher, Marc
064 Scola, Jacqueline Hogan
069 Scola Jr., Robert N.
070 Karlan, Sandy
071 Sigler, Victoria
072 Diaz, Reemberto
075 Tunis, Dava J.
076 Eig, Spencer

The eight sitting judges who have not yet filed (and we need to be asking why) are:

001 Fernandez, Ivan F.
007 Rodriguez, Jose M.
019 Silver, Roger A.
035 Prescott, Orlando A.
036 Pineiro, Roberto M.
055 Cohen, Jeri Beth
057 Shapiro, Bernard S.
077 Butchko, Beatrice A.

The seats that new challengers have filed to run in are:

011 Velis, Josie Perez
(The incumbent is Judge Eugene Fierro)
018 Sanchez-LLorens, Migna
(The incumbent is Judge Jon Gordon)
038 Garcia, Mario
Glick, Stacy Daryl
(The incumbent is Judge Leonard Glick)
050 Cynamon, Abby
(The incumbent is Judge Stuart Simons)
063 Millan, Stephen T.
Sampedro-Iglesia, Maria
Segarra, Manny
(The incumbent is Judge Jeffrey Rosinek)

COUNTY COURT:

There are 9 seats up for election. Of those, 7 incumbents have filed for re-election, one of those incumbents has a challenger, and 2 sitting judges have NOT filed as of yet.

The Incumbents who have filed for re-election (without any opposition) are:

013 Brennan, Victoria R.
017 Hendon, Eric
019 Schwartz, Jacqueline
034 Sarduy, George A.
036 Saenz, Nuria
038 Arzola, Antonio

In Group 042, we have an incumbent and a challenger:

042 Lindsey, Norma S. (Incumbent)
Lesperance, Lisa V.

And, finally, the two sitting judges who have yet to file for re-election are:

016 Figarola, Rosa C.
030 Miranda, Cristina

Many questions will be answered in the next few months:

• Will Judge Ivan Fernandez decide not to run for re-election simply because one or two of the readers of this blog continue to confuse him with Ivan Hernandez?


• Will Judge Jose Rodriguez decide to retire and take Madonna up on her offer to cut a duet CD whilst both are wearing their infamous dueling head-pieces?


• Will Judge Roberto Pineiro hang up his robe and go into full-time guest blogging as a career?


• Will Judge Jeffrey Rosinek decide to forego his retirement, and instead, challenge Judge Blake for the position of Administrative Judge of the Criminal Division?

The Captain has no doubt that there will much jockeying around during the next several months and that more challengers will decide to enter the races. We look forward to all the excitement!

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

COUNTY COURT WITH FLAIR (FLARE)

A few alert readers emailed us this story, and we have combined the versions for our report:

Prosecutors, defense attorneys, courtroom personnel, defendants, and Judge Luise Krieger-Martin got a surprise Friday when during a routine hearing on a case, a defendant pulled out a Flare Gun as evidence. When the startled Judge asked if it was loaded, the Defendant showed her the shells.

When Judge Krieger-Martin regained her composure she inquired how the Defendant got the gun into the building. The Defendant stated that he was stopped at security, which required asked him to put the gun on top of the x-ray machine and remove his shoes, which obviously could have contained a nail clipper or small camera.

Nothing gets past our ace security staff.

Longtime and careful readers of the blog will remember that we have written about this topic before. ("Sir. yes, you with the shotgun. Please step aside, as that man has a nail clipper and a camera and we need to deal with this. Please take your gun and pass through the screening device.")

The sad truth is that these security screeners do not do a good job, and they will continue to do a bad job until a tragedy occurs, and then everyone will point fingers. Let it be said we were one of the first to say that things are not working and the security process needs to be revamped and tightened up.


OFFICER MACIAS ARRESTED

Speaking of county court, Michael Catalano has a comment up under yesterday's post where he details a frightening incident with City Of Miami Beach Officer Macias sexually molesting a female defendant he arrested for DUI. Then the officer had the cojones (yiddish for "tortillas") to show up at the Driver's License Hearing and falsely testify that the Woman refused to to take a breath test. At this point in time, the State Attorneys Office and Internal Affiars had concluded enough of the investigation to know that the accusations were truthful. They later told this to the DMV hearing officer, who proceeded to.....SUSPEND THE WOMAN'S LICENSE FOR A YEAR ANYWAY.

We can't even begin to fathom the disturbed mental mindset of a bureaucrat so petty and indifferent to the world around them that they would believe a police officer over a prosecutor and an Internal Affairs Detective.

The real issue here is that this is the fourth South Florida Law Enforcement Officer arrested for sexually molesting a woman in their custody in the last year.

Can you say "disturbing trend."?

If four cases have been reported, how many other officers are getting away with this? Don't tell us you believe these were the only ones misbehaving.
Perhaps its time for our State Attorney to interrupt one of her vacations and return to her community and speak out against this problem.

That's what we'd do if we were the State Attorney. But then again, we could never tolerate a vacation for longer than a few days.

Macias was arrested this week after a year long investigation.
Chris Lyons of Lurvey-Lyons renown for the defense.

See You In Court WITHOUT a flare gun.

LET THEM DRIVE PORSCHES

The Herald carried the 3rd DCA’s opinion in Kuvin v. Coral Gables in which our Ms. Nesmith waxed poetic over the majority opinion of Judge Schwartz and his ability to quote from rock and roll lyrics.

The interesting part of this opinion is the dissent. Written by a former denizen of our REGJB, Leslie Rothenberg shows herself to be a conservative collectivist eager to warm the government loving hearts and minds of the Roberts Supreme Court. To put it another way, Judge Rothenberg writes powerfully for the proposition that there is little the government should not be able to do to its citizens that she would not find objectionable.

The facts of the case are simple: Coral Gables had an ordinance prohibiting the overnight parking on the street of pickup trucks. One Lowell Kuvin was renting a house in Coral Gables without a garage and received a ticket. He fought the ticket and appealed a declaratory judgment upholding the constitutionality of the ordinance.
The case proceeded to the 3rd DCA where the majority found the “Orwellian” actions of the City of Coral Gables frightening.

But Orwell’s world is Rothenberg’s world:

“Florida has long recognized that local governments may legislate to protect the appearance of their communities as a legitimate exercise of their inherent police power.”

Let Rumpole interpret: A government can do what it wishes to its citizens as long as the ends justify the means, meaning so long as the means are justified as a “legitimate exercise”.

Judge Rothenberg wrote:

The ordinances do not regulate “the types of personal use vehicles its citizens drive,” they regulate where they park them at night. I also take exception to two conclusions reached in the majority opinion. The first is that because the house Kuvin was renting had no garage, he had to choose between owning and parking his truck in the City or leaving town. Kuvin was not required to make such a choice. He could have chosen to rent an abode with a garage, or could have found an alternative parking place for his truck at night.


Rumpole says: of course he could! We live in a laissez faire country don’t we?
Tra la la la la- “Muffy, cancel the lease and lease the mansion down the street please. We need a garage.”


“The City’s residents may own and drive cars, buses, trucks, and campers, big and small, within the City. They just cannot park them overnight on the street in the City’s residential neighborhoods.”

Ah, but Judge Rothenberg’s reasoning misses an equally rational point (using her logic) What if the offending resident employs a Klingon Cloaking device, and parks the car on the street but cloaks the vehicle, making it invisible to the code enforcement officers enforcing “quality of life” in the Gables? (“vee have arrived at a final solution for zeese pickup diving renters living in the motherland-Gables….may vee see your papers please?”) The Klingon Cloaking device is as likely an occurrence as the ease and desirability of owning a car in the Gables and parking it in the neighborhood next door.

Can’t you just see the residents of a Rothenberg envisioned Coral Gables where they race like vampires getting in their coffin before sunrise, to drive their trucks out of the Gables before the sun sets? Don’t we have enough greenhouse gas emissions without requiring people to drive their trucks to and from their home every sunset and sunrise?


But in a Rothenberg world, this is what governments and their enforcers do:
“Maintaining the aesthetics of the City is rationally related to the welfare of the City.”

Rumpole wonders: “Whose aesthetics? Who decides? Please define “welfare of a city” We would define it as whether the residents have enough to eat, whether their children have good schools and healthcare. The neo-cons would define it as whether the residents are obeying orders and living in conformity of what the intellectual governing elite decide is good and proper to keep them in line.

Because if the residents express too much individuality, here is what Judge Rothenberg believes could happen vis a vis pickup trucks: “On the other hand, if Kuvin only used his pickup truck for personal use, the majority would find it unconstitutional to restrict his ability to park his truck in front of his house at night with a surfboard, smelly fishing nets, or a number of other items in the open bed of his truck.”

See what can happen in Judge Rothenberg’s world where citizens can run amok without the guiding hand of big brother? “Smell fishing nets or surfboards or other items” similarly offensive. Let them carry a surfboard and the next thing you know these ruffians will be playing (gasp!) Beach Boys rock and roll from their truck's "eight- track" stereo!

Understand that the dissenting opinion is a powerful argument for collectivism and the power of Government over people. To achieve all of this Judge Rothenberg has to engage in some tricky reasoning, foremost that Pickup trucks are and always will be “ designed as commercial vehicles” and a City always has the right to regulate commercial vehicles regardless of whether some cretin uses a commercial vehicle for a private purpose.

“These ordinances make perfect sense and are rationally related to maintaining and enhancing the residential character of the City’s neighborhoods and the aesthetics of the City because any vehicle that was designed for commercial use, regardless of whether it is used for commercial purposes, looks the same and is likely to be used to store and carry bulk material exposed to public view. “

In Judge Rothenberg’s world, only a tasteless clod would subject his neighbors to the tasteless insensitivity of driving a Ford 150- “let them drive Mercedes or Porsches!” she scoffs Antoinette like.


“Judge Cortiñas in his concurring opinion refers to Kuvin’s Ford F-150 open bed pickup truck as a “mainstream” vehicle and as a “light truck.” It is unclear where the label “mainstream vehicle” originates… There is, however, no citing authority for this “mainstream” classification… The justification(s) for referring to Kuvin’s pickup truck in this manner appear(s) to come from “Edmunds,” a source of information not contained in the record, and touted as a “well-known resource for information on personal use vehicles,” a source perhaps well-known to some, but which is completely unknown to me.”


Memo to Judge Rothenberg: on the way from your gated estate ( we really have no idea about this-just a guess) to the secure confines of the 3rd DCA, take a gander outside your car window and count the pickup trucks you see, then let us know if they are “mainstream” enough for you.

As to “Edmunds”, one word “Google". How in the world does a lawyer get on the 3rd DCA unable to research and locate an Edmunds car guide?

We See this opinion as a golden goose of an opportunity for the Judge to demonstrate to the world (and those who make appointments to higher courts) her neo-con credentials and beliefs in an all powerful Government so long as that Government shares the same ideals, belief, and definitions of aesthetics and welfare.
"Individuality is fine, so long as we approve it. "

Thank goodness for Judge Schwartz. Keep fighting the good fight, but be careful of what music you listen to, as others may not approve. It might offend their notion of aesthetics.


See You In The Gables, where apparently we can park anywhere at any time, as our chosen vehicle doesn’t offend anyone. Maybe its time to get a pickup truck and offend the high society among us.

TICK TOCK

INDIGENT SERVICES COMMITTEE REPORT
Rick FreedmanFACDL-Miami

On Wednesday, August 22, 2007, the 11th Circuit ISC met for the final time. As the result of SB 1088, the ISC as we know it will sunset on September 30th. At the meeting today, the JAC was present, by telephone, and General Counsel Stephen Presnell provided the ISC with several important facts which all CAC attorneys need to know.1. F.S. 27.5304 (4) provides that all CAC attorneys must submit their bills within 90 days of disposition of the case or they will be subject to a 15% penalty. The effective date of that clause was supposed to begin 90 days after the Governor signed SB 1088 into law. The bill was signed on May 24th and the 90th day was today.

Fortunately, the JAC has agreed to extend the deadline until this coming Monday, August 27, 2007. If you have a closed case that was closed on or before May 24, 2007, you must therefore have your bill submitted no later than Monday.

What does that mean? In Dade County, if your bill is a “short form” bill, it must be into the offices at JAC and stamped no later than Monday. If you have a “long form” bill, it must be date stamped by the AOC no later than Monday.

For our brethren “North of The Border”, and other Circuits that do not have a Fee Review Committee and submit all their bills directly to the JAC, you must have your bills into the offices at JAC and stamped no later than on Monday. Failure to do so will result in the JAC imposing a 15% penalty to your final bill.

2. Beginning on Tuesday, August 28, 2007, contrary to previous practice in Dade County, all original bills should be submitted directly to the JAC in Tallahassee. In the past, if you had a “long form” bill, you submitted the original to the Fee Review Committee. Now, you will submit copies to the FRC, with the original going to the JAC. Once again, the bill must arrive at the JAC within 90 days of disposition of the case, or you will be subject to a 15% penalty. All other jurisdictions will continue to submit their original bills directly to the JAC.

3. In all counties, please remember that you are still eligible for payment pursuant to the ISC rates established in your Circuit before July 1, 2007; (for cases where you were appointed before July 1, 2007). For any cases that you have accepted as of July 1, you are now subject to the new “flat fee” amounts established pursuant to SB 1088 and the language contained in the General Appropriations Act. Flat fee forms are available at the JAC website.

4. This next matter should be read very carefully. Prior to July 1, when a CAC attorney was appointed to multiple cases on the same defendant, the attorney was permitted to file only one bill and was required to combine all of their work time into that one bill. That procedure has changed!!! On all appointed cases as of July 1, 2007, you may now bill each case separately. Therefore, for example, if a defendant has four (4) second degree felonies, you are entitled to submit four flat fee bills, each for $1,000, and you will be paid a total of $4,000.

5. While our ISC will officially cease to exist as of October 1, it is the intention of Chief Judge Farina to continue with an ISC in some name and some form in the future. The make-up of that future committee is yet to be determined. Judge Farina is convinced that the model that has been in place in Miami Dade County has been extremely effective in helping to deliver quality legal services to the indigent defendants in our community for the past 15 years. That model includes a master body, like the ISC, and subcommittees that operate within that body, such as the Screening Committees and the Fee Review Committees that work in the Criminal, Juvenile Dependency and Probate/Civil systems. All of those committees are run 100% by volunteer attorneys who participate in the CAC system. They are the peers that review applications for new Registry attorneys and review “long form” Makemson bills for their reasonableness before submission to a judge for payment. Due Process Providers, such as court reporters, process servers, investigators, and expert witnesses rely on a functioning advisory board like the ISC when their issues need to be addressed. That will continue in Miami-Dade County.

6. As you should all know by now, the five Directors of the Offices of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel have been selected by Governor Crist. They will be moving swiftly in communicating with county administrators in order to find the space to set up their “law offices”. They will begin the process of interviewing and hiring attorneys and support staff. Depending on where you work in this State, the offices should be functional sometime between October 1 and December 31, 2007. Once that happens, private attorneys will see a drastic reduction in the amount of conflict cases that they are appointed to. Estimates are that the private registry will receive approximately 20% of all criminal conflicts in the future.

7. In Dade County, if you have not signed the “new” contract that became effective on July 1, 2007, your name has been removed from the Registry. In order to be placed back on the Registry, you must sign a new contract. As of August 17th, a total of 88 attorneys had signed the new contract in Dade County.

More information will be made available to all CAC attorneys in the near future.

Stay tuned and please feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions.
Rick Freedman, Esq.

MOLDOF REDUX AND TRUE LOVE IS IN THE AIR

THIS IS A JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG SCOOP: We're out in front of the media on this story.

Just when you think it may be safe to go back into the courtroom…Broward Lawyer Hilliard Moldof will be getting a rude awakening Wednesday morning, as Rumpole and the Blog scoop the media and report that the two prosecutors in the murder case in question: Mr. Sheinberg and Mr. Chuck Morton have written the Florida Bar (motto: disbarring lawyers every day and in every way…is fun!!! ) to say that they are “extremely concerned that testimony that was never given (by us) could apparently be the crux of the final report. " The prosecutors respectfully ask the Bar to issue a “Corrected Report” and ask the committee to reevaluate the whole mess.

To remind the less alert readers and robed readers among us, Mr. Moldof was arrested and prosecuted by the Dade State Attorneys Office for allegedly paying a witness in a murder case North of the Border a hundred bucks to change his story.

The Dade SAO gave Moldof PTI in the belief that the Bar matter would be vigorously prosecuted and that Moldof would be suspended. Then the Dade SAO was blindsided by a Bar investigation that resulted in a finding of only minor misconduct resulting in a public reprimand. Most of the voices in support of the result cited the position of the Broward Prosecutors in the Murder case.

Rumpole has learned that the prosecutors ordered transcripts to support their contentions and the basic gist of their letter is that they feel that their comments in the matter have been misinterpreted and they do not want that misinterpretation to be the linchpin of the Bar’s decision to slap Mr. Moldof on his lawyerly wrist.

Rumpole says: Can the Bar reverse itself and issue new sanctions? When the Bar issue was resolve we certainly were impressed by references to Chuck Morton’s “testimony” in support of Mr. Moldof. However, if that is not the case then we certainly reserve the right to change our opinion in the matter. But has “jeopardy attached” as far as Mr. Moldof’s case?

We shall see. This is a breaking story and we may well know more by the end of Wednesday than in the beginning of the day.


WE HAVE A NEW CONFLICT COUNSEL

You know, the “other” PDs office.

A Mr. Joseph P. George, Jr was picked from a large pool of…..uhhh…one.

It seems Mr. George was the only applicant who didn’t withdraw, and thus he wins the “prize”- 80 K a year to run a second PD’s office. Good luck Mr. George, you’re going to need it.

Mr. George assumes the post with a well rounded area of expertise in…ahh...welll..Trusts and Estates.

Yes, you read that correct. Mr. George, who will be responsible for representing defendants in everything from possession of cocaine to first degree death penalty murder prosecutions has spent a decade or so litigating Estates. Mr. George will find that not many of his clients have wills, nor –by virtue of the fact that they qualify to be his client- any property to dispose of after they leave this earth.

We admit to a bit of rancor in our feelings in this matter. We are sure Mr. George is a nice guy. And lord knows this half assed system of funding conflict counsel was not his idea. But he assumes the figure head position of the person who is taking money and work away from very qualified and talented lawyers, some of whom have spent their entire careers in criminal defense. I guess you could say that we would not be so inclined to email Mr. George and his merry band of lawyers any of our motions. But, best of luck.


TWO HOUSES BOTH ALIKE IN DIGNITY

In fair Miami, where we lay our scene.
From ancient grudge
break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whole misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents' strife.

It’s not exactly like that, but we did receive an email from a “Romeo” who later admitted his Juliet works on the other side of the aisle. Love blooms between the Prosecution and Defense. Romeo has asked our advice and we agreed to help.

This is a well worn route traveled by many other ships passing in the aisles of court. Beware the rocky shoals that lie in your path. However, plug in your Garmin and let Rumpole lead the way.


1) Keep it quiet. There is nothing the REGJB loves more than a good love affair except for….a better break up. The courthouse has ears and rumors fly (witness the birth of this humble blog).

2) You may think you and your honey are the first to consider carnal knowledge inside a courtroom, but as several posts confirmed a while ago, you would be treading (not to mention huffing and puffing) where many other lawyers and Judges have gone before. And to be caught in flagrante delicto would mean instant ruination. There are several motels nearby that serve the purpose of true love.

3) But we are jumping the gun. You asked our advice on a first date.
Avoid the Lincoln Road stroll. You will definitely be seen, probably by us.
Try Ft. Lauderdale. There is the car ride up and back to chat, and several nice restaurants and places to stroll afterwards. Plus you are less likely to be noticed.

If you are the more active type, things are tough this time of year because of the heat, but a snorkeling or dive boat trip out of Pennekamp Park in Key Largo one Saturday morning is a great way to start. Then go to the Fish House on the Ocean side of the highway for lunch and sip one Pina Colada before the long drive home. It’s a nice way to spend a day and its always important to see how your intended looks in a wetsuit before committing too much to a relationship.

We wish you the best. Please keep our blog readers updated on the status of this budding romance. We cannot yet claim responsibility for a marriage, so there is always a first time. And if your Juliet has any qualms about dating a lawyer from the other side, just remind her of this:


JULIET:
'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;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.

See You In Court trying to figure out who is Romeo and who is Juliet.

A CHILL IS IN THE AIR

VICK PLEADS GUILTY

Misery loves company and nobody loves being all by their lonesome at a defense table, so Falcon’s Ex-QB Michael Vick has pled guilty.

The allegations in the case are disturbing. Co-defendants have agreed to facts in which not only did Vick fund the dog fighting enterprise, but that Vick actively participated in killing dogs who did not perform well. Dogs were killed by gunshot, strangulation, immersion in water with electric shock, and in one case, by merely slamming the dog on the ground.

Vick will miss the 2007 season and the 2008 season at least if he is sentence to a year. If he is sentenced to 18 months, it is likely Vick will miss the 2009 season as well. Then there is the issue of whether the NFL adds an additional year or years suspension for the criminal conviction. And finally, when Vick is 30 or 31, what team would take a chance on the public relations nightmare that hiring Vick would create?

The NY Times article is HERE

SHOULD JUDGES BLOG?

An issue has emerged in the comments section as to whether Judges should blog? Outside of the obvious restrictions regarding current cases, we see no reason why a Judge should not post a comment on the blog section. Just the other day Judge Pinero congratulated David Gilbert on the award he received from the Governor. What would be the difference if Pinero sent him an email congratulating him, or went over and shook his hand in Au Bon Pain and offered words of congratulations. We don’t think this is really an issue.
Indeed, the mere fact our robed readers have shown the technical ability to find the blog and post a comment requires that they receive acknowledgement for their digital skills. We remember a time when Judges didn’t have computers on their desks.

Anonymous said...

the reason why judges feel it is ok to blog is because none other than chief judge blake is one of the multiple organizers to this blog in on the gossip- how do you think rumpole gets all his info- ever heard of email.


Rumpole responds: We have never, ever received an email from Judge Blake. And it is our distinct opinion that relations between Rumpole and our chief administrative Judge have become downright chilly after Rumpole spent several days criticizing the firing of Judge Klein. Or maybe we’re just too sensitive.


See You In Court. Doesn’t the new traffic mess make Mondays worse than ever?

IF IT'S SUNDAY

IT MUST MEAN FOOTBALL.

Yes we are jumping the gun a bit early. For those of you new to the blog, you can review old posts proving our amazing run last year at picking the winner of football games. There are at least two new boats named after us by grateful blog readers.

This year, beyond our normal Sunday picks we are thinking of something a bit more interactive. We are actively negotiating with some web sites to allow us to run a football pool of some sort, in which you, the loyal reader could participate.

In order to keep things legal, the prize money would have to come from Rumpole himself. "No purchase necessary" to keep the State Attorneys Office from investigating us.

The question is what kind of pool should we run? Our first thought is an elimination or suicide pool, where the participants would have to just pick one winner from one game a week, no point spread needed. Sounds easy huh? Here's the rub: the first time you pick the Colts over the Lions, you can no longer use the Colts for the rest of the year. So you must not only pick your game carefully, but look at the schedule for weeks to come to plan your picks accordingly. Otherwise before you know it, you're left with choosing the Texans/Cardinals match up.

Let us know your thoughts and if you would be so inclined to participate.


DOLPHINS

Here are our thoughts on our local heroes:

1) In view of the Brady Quinn negotiations and lengthy holdout, and the performance of John Beck, the front office doesn't look so bad in passing on the Notre Dame pretty boy. The Dolphins saved a ton of money, and had their QB of the future in training camp from the get go.

2) Give Ted Ginn time. He is spending his pre-season learning routes and check offs and blitz pickups and special teams. The flashy catches will come.

3) For all of the Dolphins smarts in passing on Quinn, they look positively stupid in blowing all that money on Culpepper, who by the way now looks fine in Oakland. Plus they just guaranteed twenty million to Joey Porter, who they signed not knowing he needed knee surgery. When will Porter contribute? Who knows. And Trent Green is showing that he may never recover emotionally to that devastating hit last year which knocked him out for several games. Can anyone envision him being the starting QB next year?

No team wins by dumping loads of money on aging veterans. The Steelers won a Super Bowl with Porter anchoring the defense. Don't you think they knew what he was worth? The Dolphins have spent close to forty million dollars on Culpepper, Green, and Porter. This is money poorly spent in our opinion. The season is shaping up as a 8-8 or 7-9. But if Beck and Ginn progress to the point of making contributions, then next year the Fins can spend some money on defensive draft picks and OL linemen in free agency, and then we may be talking playoffs.

Until then, we will just have to get our enjoyment out of this season by rooting against the Jets and picking football winners purely for fun and not for profit.

See You Tomorrow, we're the one's reading the sports page in Au Bon Pain.

ONE MORE APPELLATE DECISION

PS: An alert reader emailed us to inform us that we missed this 3rd DCA reversal of a murder case: HERE. The case is noteworthy because it was the second time the 3rd DCA saw fit to reverse the conviction for introduction of the same type of evidence that caused the case to be reversed the first time.

We know the State Attorney's office has an appellate division. The trick however, is to actually READ the opinion, so you can figure out what the 3rd DCA doesn't want you to do again. We know that of all people we should not be chastising anyone for NOT reading appellate opinions, but then again, we have been known to read an FLW or two, but only when it is absolutely necessary.

David Molansky, Esq., on the winning briefs for the appellant, and Judge Murphy stuck with the third trial of the case.

HONORS. HEAT. STORMS.

DAVID GILBERT HONORED

THE HERALD REPORTS

Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney David I. Gilbert was honored this week in Tallahassee by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet for receiving the 2007 Gene Berry Award. The award is given annually by the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association in memory of a prosecutor who was killed in 1982 by the wife of a man he prosecuted.

Gilbert, a 34-year veteran of the state attorney's office, is considered an expert in traffic-homicide cases and also helps his office train new attorneys and prosecute major crimes.

judge rob pineiro said...
Congratulations on a well deserved award, David. Rumpole, you're absolutely right when you say David Gilbert is an expert on traffic homicide. I presided over some of his cases. A true professional and a good guy as well.

Rob

PS Rumpole re you comment: "So I guess your comment means that overall I am a pretty fair guy, as I am catching flak from both sides." Such undiscriminating "flak magnetism" is a definite judicial symptom. I guess you must be feeling a mite "judgely". If you start looking for a black robe, see your doctor immediately.

Rumpole says: Good for you David. You are one of the best.

Good lord! "Feeling 'judgely"? We sincerely hope there is a vaccination for such a terrible affliction.

APPELLATE LAW

As many of you are appellate practitioners you are well aware that besides opinions, our posts are also not final until the time for filing a motion for re-hearing expires.

In that light we revisit our post of two days hence, and submit this post and withdraw our earlier portion of that post:

However, all was not lost for the appellate team from the PD’s office. The defendant was convicted of a triple murder before the late Judge Henry Leyte-Vidal, and the 3rd DCA found problems with the murder instructions for two of the three counts of murder. So Mr. Brown goes to state prison for life with only one murder on his rap sheet. Happy day. We guess the thought that an improperly instructed jury on TWO murder counts might not have been the fairest panel to decide the entire case never crossed the minds of the Judges.

(It seems that although the 3rd DCA’s opinion lists Judge Scott Silverman as the Judge, the case was tried by Henry Leyte-Vidal. We apologize to Judge Silverman, who we are sure will have future opportunities to be reversed by our favourite district court of appeal.)

IT MUST BE THE HEAT

The dog days of August seemed to have heated up the tenor of the comments. Please comment all you want. Try and refrain from personal attacks which are so crude and really beneath the dignity of criminal practitioners. Save the personal attacks for the civil practitioners.

We also suggest refraining from endless speculation about our identity. No one knows, and it just causes us to receive emails from individuals who are upset with being accused of running the blog. Give it a rest already.


HURRICANE DEAN

Hurricane Dean has turned into a very large and dangerous storm and Florida and Miami’s apparent good fortune is another country’s misfortune. Our prayers and hope for the best are for those in the storm’s path.


20 BUCKS.

For those of you who really have nothing to do and read the federal blog and our blog, then you are well aware that David O Markus quickly accepted our proposition that the Padilla jury would be out past Monday. The alacrity with which Mr. Markus accepted our modest wager leads us to believe he may have been chatting with the Marshals. Be that as it may, we owe him a couple of sawbucks, and he should watch his mail this week for its delivery.

See You In Court On Monday.

ALL DEFENDANTS GUILTY

ALL DEFENDANTS GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS.

Our exclusive correspondent David O Markus, who we have placed in the courtroom at great personal expense, (based on his hourly rates) reports a clean sweep for the government.

This has got to be a bit of a surprise as many observers reported a weak prosecution case and powerful closing arguments for the Defendants.

However one should not discount the spectre of terrorism and 9/11 which cast a large shadow on this trial.

Was justice done?

For full coverage and comments about this case, go to the Federal Blog. The Link is on the left. Leave a comment and tell Markus Rumpole sent you.

PADILLA VERDICT

:2:31 PM. BREAKING BLOG NEWS: PADILLA CONVICTED.

more information to follow.


BREAKING NEWS : PADILLA VERDICT TO BE READ.

OUR CORRESPONDENT DAVID O MARKUS IS IN THE COURTROOM. WE WILL BRING YOU THE VERDICT AS SOON AS HE POSTS IT ON HIS BLOG.

And we owe him 20 bucks because we bet him there would not be a verdict until Monday.