JOHN MORTIMER HAS PASSED AWAY

WANT TO TWITTER? GO HERE. I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I HAVE SET UP, BUT CERTAIN LAWYERS SEEM TO USE IT. HAVE FUN. 

JUSTICE BUILDING TWITTER. 

The writer and creator of the Rumpole of the Bailey series, as well as many many other wonderful books, fiction and non-fiction alike, has passed away.  The title of the post links to the NY Times Obit. 

We of course appropriated his most famous character for our nom-de-blog personality. 

If you haven't read any of his writings, your missing some really wonderful and entertaining books. Spend a few minutes on Amazon and order one or two. You won't be sorry. 

He was everything good about being British. 

(sniffle)

See You in court, a bit sadder. 

Long weekend coming up. We remain committed to the proposition that the chaos and problems that occur on Tuesday far outweigh the benefits of having Monday off. Fridays off is the way to go. 

Happy thought: This is the very last weekend W-43 will occupy the White House. Anybody know someone who's going to the inaugural?  I sincerely hope that in my lifetime we do not see someone as anti-intellectual and completely unprepared as W was occupy the White House again. As Obama's nominee for the Department for Education Arne Duncan said during his confirmation hearing "It's cool to be smart again."

BILL MATTHEWMAN GETS A NOT GUILTY IN FEDERAL COURT!!

As reported on the federal blog, Mr. Matthewman's client was acquitted on Thursday in Federal Court in Ft. Lauderdale after staring down the barrel of a 15 year min man for possession of a firearm  by a convicted felon.  For those of you who follow such things, this is the latest in  a string of courtroom victories for Mr. Matthewman.  A former police officer,  Mr. Matthewman has quietly joined the ranks of the finest defense attorneys the South Florida Bar has to offer. Sad to say however, Mr. Matthewman does not get the honor of the first not guilty in the southern district for 2009. That high honor goes to another star- Tim Day of the Federal PDs office. Congratulations to both for great victories.!!

PS. When are the Federal Judges going to get on board and appoint Mr. Day as a Magistrate? He was a finalist the last time a spot was open,  and since our current Chief Judge started his career in the Federal PD's office, isn't it about time that the Federal PDs get the chance to put a highly qualified lawyer on the bench? Just a thought. 

THIS STRIPPER

BREAKING NEWS: US AIRWAYS PLANE DOWN IN HUDSON RIVER IN NEW YORK. EVERYONE OFF THE PLANE SAFELY. 

Here's the BBC coverage: 

Says the only Black Circuit Judge in Hillsborough County's history has stolen from her. 

48 year old Christy Yamanaka has accused Tampa Circuit Court Judge Thomas Stringer of helping her hide the proceeds of her profession. The woman claims she and the married Judge had a relationship. The woman also claims that the Judge took her $450,000.00 and kept it went their relationship went south. 

Here is the NY Post Article. 

Here is the Borward Pulp article talking about Broward attorney David Bogenschutz who represents the Judge. 

And to borrow a Woody Allen line from Annie Hall, Yamanaka was apparently doing to the judge what he was doing to the litigants who appeared before him.

See  You In Court,  pondering a universe that allows Ms. Yamanaka to make almost as much as we...never mind. 

A TRAFFIC LAWYER SPEAKS

A lawyer who handles traffic DWLS cases sent us this email and requested we post it. Here it is. Well done. 

I am a traffic lawyer. About 40% of my cases are DUIs. About 40% are DWLS cases, and 20% are other infractions. 

Here are my concerns about the plan announced by the SAO and Judge Slom.

1) The traffic lawyers who handle about 80% of the DWLS cases were not consulted. With all due respect to the FACDL lawyers who met with Judge Slom, they do not handle a large amount of DWLS cases. One doesn't handle any of them. 

Why does this matter? For us it matters because we spend the money on advertising. We spend the money on staff to process the cases, calendar them, and keep in contact with the clients. And we spend the time to fix the licenses that are fixable.  Therefore, since we do a majority of work, we need to have our concerns and problems properly represented. In this plan, they were not. We did not have a seat at the table. 

2) Is the 60 day plan workable? Not it many cases. 

It is true a large percentage of cases involve paying a few tickets and getting a D-6.  60 days is doable on those cases. 

However, a certain percentage (probably 20-30 %) involves some time consuming work. Here's an example: A person with two DWLS priors gets arrested in Broward for DWLS and pleads at a jail arraignment calendar for time served to get out of jail. That gets them a 5 year revocation. As we all know Broward doesn't  give a damn about DWLS 5 year revocations (the more the merrier in their opinion) so now I have to work on the two Dade DWLS cases. I need to pull transcripts or audio files and get case files. I end up finding that the client was unrepresented on the other two cases and took withhold of adjudications, when one continuance and paying one ticket would have gotten them a license. Remember, most Judges still tell unrepresented clients that a withhold is NOT a conviction. 

I pull those two cases, file motions, and one Judge grants the motion. To their credit, most county court Judges and ASAs are sympathetic when I tell them that if the court grants this motion, I can clear the 5 year revocation and get them a license.  With the order signed,   I now  need to deal with the DMV and Tallahassee to update the person's driving record to reflect that one conviction has been removed. That takes two weeks minimum. 

The point is- this is how I earn a living.  And not only my living. But I employ several lawyers on a full or part time basis and 5-7 secretaries and support staff on a full or part time basis, some of them with benefits and health insurance. Is that a bad thing in these tough times? 

More importantly, this is how I help clients. And I am good at it.  I know this, because many of the felony lawyers reading this blog send me their DWLS cases. Under the new proposal, I will no longer be able to do this on many cases. 

3) The new proposal will in the end create more DWLS cases. More people will end up pleading guilty and the long term result will be that more licenses will be suspended and revoked. The SAO/Slom plan plants the seeds for more cases in a system already over burdened. 

4) Lets give credit where it is due. The SAO and the County Court Judges never had to agree to dismiss a case where the person gets a license. We acknowledge we have no right to this benefit. But that doesn't mean it is a bad thing. It was and is a good philosophy. It benefits everyone. The lawyers benefit  because it creates work for us and allows us to help clients  (rather than just holding their hand during a plea) and it benefits clients because it gets them back their license. 

5) What we want: To sit down with the SAO and Judge Slom and revise this plan.  What we pledge is to come to the table  acknowledging that Judge Slom and the SAO have a legitimate if not overriding interest in clearing the large backload of cases and making sure it does not occur again. 

In exchange for meeting the needs of the SAO and the Court system, we want a workable plan that gives us the time we need to do our job.  This rigid attitude of saying "60 days or bust" is neither workable nor fair, nor reflects the spirit of decades of cooperation that has existed in this county. 

In the comments section to yesterday's post, many lawyers noted Broward never dismisses a DWLS upon the client getting a valid license. 

Is that what we want? Do we really want to become Broward?  

Thanks for the Vine Rumpy. 

COME ON IN....TAKE A SEAT

UPDATE: We often opine that the ides of January are the worst time to try a case, as prosecutors and judges are busy working on their new year's resolutions to send more defendants to jail. Now comes this from the Broward Blog that North of the Border Judge Ireland has confirmed that indeed her new years resolution was to send more defendants to jail.   "No more sob stories" she roared in court the other day. 

How many times does an appellate court need to remind a trial judge that YOU CAN'T HAVE A POLICY OF SENDING EVERY DEFENDANT WHO LOSES A TRIAL TO JAIL?  

Listen up you robed readers: considering all factors in arriving at a just sentence is what they pay you for.  Do you get the fact that any idiot can total up a score sheet and throw someone in prison, but it takes a learned and skilled Judge to arrive at a just sentence?  

OK, I realize that the "any idiot" phrase cuts a little too close to home when talking about north of the border. But still, just how long do you have to sit on bench before you start losing common sense? Is it the altitude? Is the daily wearing of black that just eventually blackens your mood? What is it that finally and consistently causes  just about any and every judge to eventually lose their common sense and just try and put as many people as humanly possible in prison? Really, we want to know. Maybe you guys need term limits. Hmmm....there's a thought. Put every judge on the bench with the knowledge that in ten or fifteen years they have to go back to being a lowly lawyer. 

NEW SAO POLICY BELOW!!!  Wait until you get a load of this pile of ....

Senate democrats, a bit embarrassed because they let their emotions overrule the rule of law, have relented and will seat Mr. Burris as the junior senator from Illinois today. 

The Article is here.

You have to say one thing about Governor Blagojevich- he has chutzpah. He is not backing down. He got the person he picked seated in the senate. He picked a rough and tumble Chicago trial lawyer and he is not backing down from this fight. What a great case to be a part of! 

BACK OF THE BUS- NO SEAT FOR YOU: 

Is still the prevailing rule for Al Franken, who like a hungry tyke, is forced to press his nose up to glass window and watch his possible future colleagues dine in the Senate dinning room. It may be some time before Franken can snap his fingers and get a bowl of that famous Senate Navy Bean soup, as Minnesota law prohibits the Secretary of State from certifying the election while there is a legal challenge.  Former Senator Norm Coleman has indicated he will challenge the results in court and for the foreseeable future the most exclusive club in the world will have to get by with 99 members, no comedians among them. 

SAO NEW POLICY!!!

We got an email from Rick Freedman forwarding a new SAO policy on county court. "Finally", we  thought, some leadership from our State Attorney.  "Here we go. She's going to take the bull by the horns and clear out the backlog of cases in County Court."

And how is she going to do this?  (Brace yourselves) BY  DISMISSING LESS CASES!!!!!

Yes, from the legal geniuses who brought you jail offers on misdemeanor marijuana cases comes a new policy designed to dismiss less suspended driving license cases!!!!

OFFICE OF THE STATE ATTORNEY KATHERINE FERNANDEZ RUNDLE

ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT STATE ATTORNEY 


Effective January 12, 2009, the Office of the State Attorney will ONLY Nolle Prosse Driving While License Suspended and No Valid Driver’s License (DWLS/NVDL) cases when a Defendant brings a valid Driver’s License to a ONE TIME ONLY ,specially set, hearing docket. This docket will be known as the “DWLS/NVDL Report Calendar.” The report calendar will be specially set no later than 60 days following a Defendant/Defense lawyer’s initial in-court appearance. The report calendar will be set for the exclusive purpose of determining whether a Defendant has been able to get a valid Driver’s License. Habitual Traffic Offender cases, DUI Suspension or Revocation cases, and DWLS/NVDL accident cases will not be eligible for this report calendar.

Rumpole says: Yes,  to combat the extra work and backlog in county court, and meet the challenges of less employees with this budget crisis,  our State Attorney, in combination with Judge Slom in County Court has devised a system that: 1) creates an additional calendar; 2) creates another level of bureaucracy; 3) Will result in less cases being dismissed. Yup, the criminalizing of America continues. 

Lawyers who have emailed us have said that many times it takes more than 60 days to fix a license. Furthermore,  there is little time and energy now expended on these cases, as the lawyers just tell the judge they are working on the case, and the matter is reset a few times until the license is fixed or the case resolved. 

This solution has all the earmarks of a disaster. 

See You In Court, just not at that DWLS Calendar. 

THE REST OF MY MONTH

Looks, and certainly feels like this. I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, the problem is I have this sinking feeling it is an on-coming train. 

Anyone have a life preserver for a humble blogger? 

See you in court; swamped, overwhelmed, and feeling the heat. 

UPDATE: Here's a good thought: the Bush administration days can now be measured in single digits. Not a moment too soon. 

Here are Bush's final thoughts on his administration. 

The Broward Blog has coverage of the retirement roast of Circuit Judge Stanton Kaplan. Apparently everyone thought it was a great idea to make fun of the fact that Kaplan was a tough judge. Quite frankly, we always found him to be a square shooter, unafraid of the prosecution or the police, and quite willing to grant a motion to suppress if that facts required it. We wish him well in retirement. 

Second losing week of football picks this year. Not bad for 18 weeks of picks.  Lost 3 of 4 after going 3-4 for first two weeks. 

Back to the grind (sigh). 

NFL PLAYOFFS SUNDAY

Both road teams won yesterday. One big upset (Cardnals) , and one not so big upset (Ravens)  and we lost both picks yesterday  (and the over bet) and are down to 974  Flaccos. 

Not to worry we have two games today, two next week, and one after that to finish the season with enough to buy that new boat this spring. 

The Eagles go to NY to play the Giants. The Eagles whupped the Giants in NY in their last meeting this year. And our analysis leads us to believe that these Giants are not the same team without WR Plex Burress.    (10-1 with Plex, 2-3 without Plex) The Giants are favoured by 4.5 points and that's a lot. The Eagles think they're a team of destiny, and we picked them last week.

 But today we go with the NY Boyz, Giants -4.5 + 100.  We love the Philly D, but we just can't put our faith in a team that passes to set up the run. We'd love to see the Eagles win and set up an NFC Championship game in Arizona, but we don't think it will happen. 

 A little tech talk: Without having to worry about Plex, the Eagle Defense, which wakes up in a blitz, can roll the safeties up for run support. The Eagles want to shut down the Giant running game. The Eagles want to make Giant QB Manning throw the ball. The problem is that we think Manning is good enough to carry his team, at least through this game. But still...

The Chargers play the Men of Steel next to the Monogahela River today in Pittsburgh.   These Steelers are an enigma.  They play tough D, they want to run the ball, and yet they can be beaten at home. The Chargers are 2-0 in post season games in Pittsburgh, which means nothing. 

The Chargers are hurting, and we neglected that fact yesterday when we picked the Titans (their starting center Kevin Mawae was out, and that was a big factor.) The Chargers have their all world back LT on the bench, and their equally all world linebacker S. Merriman.  This is too much firepower to lose to win a playoff game in Pittsburgh in January. 

The Steelers are relatively healthy after working through a year of injuries. The weather in PGH will be cold and snowy for the afternoon game, and that probably makes a difference. In warm and sunny San Diego the Chargers excellent special teams, and especially their fantastic punter would be a distinct advantage. In cold, snowy and windy Pittsburgh both punters will have a tough day, and the weather is enough of a factor to let us predict the Steelers and the Ravens will playing a matchup next week. 

But can the Steelers cover the 4.5?  It's a 50-50 proposition. The safe bet is the Chargers +4.5, as we see the Steelers winning 17-14.  But for the heck of it, we're going to assume tough Steeler WR Ward becomes a factor in the game and the Steelers cover. 

Pittsburgh -4.5  +100; Under 39 +150.   A little tech talk: In the first matchup, the Steelers used a defensive formation where they had one D-Lineman and 4 linebackers rushing the QB. And the interesting thing is the pressure was all up the middle. There was no outside containment, as the book on Charger QB Rivers is that he cannot run outside the pocket. If we were the Charger O-Coordinator (and by the way, any NFL team looking for an offensive or defensive coordinator and wanting to go in a different direction with a high powered gambling trial lawyer, shoot us an email and we are there)  we would throw in some designed rollouts where the entire pocket rolls to the left or right. That might shake the vaunted Steeler Defense up a bit.  

But still...look for the Steeler to come out with two TEs, a full back, and run Willie Parker until, in the words of coach Tomlin, "the wheels come off. "   

We have a few rough weeks coming up. We really don't want Sunday to end. 

NFL PLAYOFFS SATURDAY

We made the New Times, and we didn't even know it. Natalie O'Neill's article on the faux PD/SAO crisis is here, with our quote. And thanks to Brian Tannebaum for emailing us on this article,  which escaped our attention. We're busy (see below). 

We start the second round of the playoffs up 1469 Gators and ready to roll. 

Call this the "re-match" weekend as each playoff game is a re-match of one (or two in the case of the Giants/Eagles) regular season games. 

The big game today is the Ravens-Titans rematch. 

We told you last week that these Ravens are for real. Fantastic defense. Excellent running game. Big arm QB who is getting it done. The same applies to the Titans, except their QB is a cagey veteran (Kerry Collins. )

The Ravens are the hot pick, and we will be rooting for them, but if you're approaching this in a semi-professional manner, take the Titans. Experience and talent trumps talent. It's as simple as that. Titans Coach Jeff Fisher is the best in the game (notwithstanding the evil genius in New England.) 

The Titans are at home and were the best team during the regular season. That's enough to get them at least one playoff win. 

Lay the 3 points. Titans -3 +200.  The over/under is 34.5 and the over is attractive here. Yes, both teams have good defenses, but they also have good offenses. Over 45.5 +50. 



The less attractive match-up is the Cardinals at the Panthers, as can be seen by the fact that Arizona is a 10 point road dog.  If you have to play this, lay the ten. The Panthers are hot, and the Cardinals did what they had to do- they won their first ever home playoff game in Arizona.  Panthers -10 +100. 

 

Our early feeling about tomorrow, and we haven't finished crunching the numbers yet, is the Giants and the Steelers are the picks, especially the over 41 in the Giants game.

Just in case, if your wondering, we have a trial next week. Guaranteed. Then we have a trial the following week. Guaranteed. Then we have an evidentiary hearing out of town  on several motions. Then we have a one month wiretap case  starting in late February. Then we have the trial out of town in late March.  The price we pay for spending December at our winter blogger's retreat.  So today, and tomorrow will be spent working, rather than biking across Key Biscayne in this wonderful Miami weather.  (It was 58 degrees this morning at 6AM, and this weather pattern of lows in the high 50's and highs in the mid 70's  will last through Wednesday)

THOSE JOKERS AT THE 3RD DCA

The above picture is on the 3rd DCA Website, courtesy of those jokers . Don't believe us? Click on the post to the link. 

We kid you not, the fun still continues over there- the 3rd DCA has put out an invitation to bid on renovating the lawyers' restrooms at the 3rd DCA.   To quote from the "invitation"-  "the restroom shall consist of at least two holes, three feet deep by one foot wide,  sufficient for an attorney who has just had his/her ego destroyed, not to mention six months to a years worth of work on a case, to vomit in after being yelled at by a panel of three Judges who pretended to read the record." 

Judge Melvia Green retired from the 3rd DCA on December 31, 2008. Longtime habituates of the REGJB will recall she was a Circuit Court judge in our building before being nominated to the 3rd DCA.  Here is the Resolution in Honor of Judge Green by the Florida Conference of District Court Of Appeal Judges. 

This past December, 2008, 3rd DCA Judge David Gersten became President of the aforementioned Florida Conference of District Court of Appeal Judges. 

Next week- Tennessee Titan 3rd DCA Judges-Fans post their picture next to a cut out of Coach Jeff Fisher. 

YOUR NATIONAL CHAMPION

FLORIDA GATORS 

TIM TEBOW MAY GET THE PRESS, BUT YOUR GATOR DEFENSE WON THE GAME, SHUTTING DOWN THE BOOMER SOONER OFFENSE.

BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A GRAND?

By the time you read this, (and we are in court) the latest figures for national unemployment will be out, and they will be bad.  500,000 or more jobs will have been lost in this recession. 

UPDATE: We're back from court (the judge was late taking the bench) and the numbers are out: The NY Times reports here that the economy lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, 524,000 in December alone.  The unemployment rate is 7.2%, the highest in 16 years. 11 million americans are out of work. 

As we labour through our annual January blues (holidays over, Judges wanting to try cases, clients upset, 51 weeks to go, etc.,)  if you are cashing a pay cheque today, be grateful. We are. 

Football playoffs this weekend, and as always we will have your winners for you. 

WEIRD

GOOD MORNING. That cold front we were expecting has arrived. It' 59 degrees this morning at 7:00 AM.  The high today should be 75 and that pattern of lows in the high 50's and highs in the mid 70's should last through next Monday. 

Here's a great idea. 

New West Palm Beach State Attorney Michael McAuliffe is proposing to use private attorneys as part time prosecutors in County Court. The Attorneys, mostly former prosecutors, would volunteer and assist in misdemeanor cases so the State Attorney can concentrate resources in Felony Court. Talk about new ideas!!  Maybe someone could discuss that with our State attorney when she gets back from vacation? 

CAN I PLAY?

And in Florida's own mini-replay of the Senate controversy, Palm Beach "Judge" William Abramson has not been seated and sworn in, despite winning the election. Governor Crist has not yet issued the certificate necessary for Abramson to be sworn in.  Abramson joins "senators" Burris and Franken as those desperately seeking an election certification. 

One thing about Florida, under no circumstances will we let the national government take the weird spotlight away from us. 

The West Palm Beach Post here quotes the Chief Judge of the Circuit as noting that the 91 day suspension is what makes this a problem, as after the 91 days, Abramson still needs to apply for re-admission to the Bar. What if he is not accepted?  Hmmmm. The Bar wouldn't do something like that would they?   

UPDATE:  After Burris met with Senate Majority Leader Hang em High Harry Reid,  Reid and the Democrats, following a "wink and a nod" from the President Elect, indicated that Burris would be seated "sometime before the end of the year or when we can get around to it". 

The WSJ article is here. 

Anyway, we're on the downside of the first week of the new year. One down, 51 to go. (sigh). 

Here's a little personal financial advice: If you're thinking about buying a house- do it now. If you have an ARM, refinance now. In a year from now interest rates will be through the roof. Think late 1970's and 10%  plus. 

Why? 

President elect Obama recently warned of budget deficits above a trillion dollars. Someone has to finance this deficit spending. And China, which financed our current spending crisis through the early part of this decade, is signaling an unwillingness to continue buying US Debt. 

The NY Times article is here. 

Plus, if you think about it, even if the Chinese or any other nation wanted to buy US Treasury Notes, they need cash to do it. And in this global recession, many nations no longer have the spending power they once did just a few short months ago. Even the oil nations have less spending money as oil has fallen over $100 a barrel since the spring. 

What does this mean? If the US can't find a sucker to buy our debt, the government can no longer pump cash into the economy through the FED.  Less available cash= higher costs of borrowing = higher interest rates. 

Just watch these dominos fall. It won't be pretty, unless you have cash now. If you have cash, hold it, and when those interest rates hit double digits, start buying bonds and secure your retirement. 

One of the many reasons we don't sleep well at night. 

COME ON IN

Reports indicate that the rear entrance to the building (no smart remarks please) is now open and working after being closed for maintenance while they assisted some individuals in bringing cannons into the building. Not strictly a firearm, cannons  are apparently not among the items like hairspray and nail clippers that are banned from the REGJB. 

It has been strictly mayhem for the past two days as the entire population of inhabitants of the REGJB was funneled into the front holding pens pending security screening.   However, we have been assured that things will be back to normal tomorrow  for the Wednesday misdemeanor  sounding blitz. Which means..... don't hold your breath and bring a newspaper to read while standing in line. 

Dade SAO Clears former Broward Judge Larry Seidlin of Bribery Charges. 

However, he still acted like a putz on national TV in the Anna Nicole Smith case. 

Here's veteran Miami ASA Howard Rosen's close out memo. Seidlin is not facing criminal charges, but Rosen recommends a referral to the Florida Bar and the JQC for the small, tiny, but troubling fact that Seidlin and his family received over $400,000.00 in gifts from an 82 year old woman that Seidlin forgot to report on his yearly judicial reporting forms. 

We may not know much, but an elderly and lonely woman bestowing over $400,000.00 in gifts appears to us  more than a bit fishy. Shame on you Mr. Seidlin. Shame shame shame. 

JEB Bush decides he will NOT run for the Senate. Click here. 

JEB Bush's brother is a moron. Click anywhere. 

And Dr. Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General? Could happen. Click here. 

AND The head of the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Feinstein of California, says Roland Burris should be seated as the junior senator from Illinois. Click here. 

Wow. Lots going on. And we're not even going to mention that two teams are battling it out for the college national championship right here in South Florida Thursday night. Who's going to the game? 

Not us. Our college doesn't even have a football team. Anymore. (Wow. Talk about a hint.)

See You in court. 

ATTORNEY GENERAL GRIFFIN BELL DEAD AT 90

UPDATE: TRESPASS AFTER WARNING: SENATE REFUSES TO SEAT BURRIS AS MEDIA CIRCUS LOOKS ON. CLICK HERE. 

Griffin Bell, who served as U.S. Attorney General from 1976-1979 in the Carter administration, and was the dean of Georgia lawyers, died Monday at age 90.   Judge Bell, who served on the old Fifth Circuit Court of appeals by virtue of an appointment from President John Kennedy was a man ahead of his times. He was an avowed anti-segregationist and upon appointment as Attorney General he restored the professionalism of the department, making decisions without regard to politics even when they did not sit well with the White House. 

Rumpole notes: You just don't meet that many people named Griffin these days.  And Gentlemen who are lawyers like Griffin Bell don't come around but once in a generation or so. 

Rumors abound of State Attorney layoffs due to budget cuts. We well know the SAO's propensity to deliver bad news around the holidays. They seem to, dare we say, revel in it. 

The Broward SAO believes "Attorney-Client Privilege" means lawyers get preferential access to the Broward County Jail. And only that. Listening to phone calls between a lawyer and his client is AOK by Mike Satz and company. Lucky for us, Judge Lebow disagreed. Read all about on the Broward Blog here. 

Did anyone else find it a bit strange that yesterday the Herald ran a front page local section article memorializing Stuart Mishkin when he died several months ago ? 

Stuart worked more than 30 years in the REGJB. Not us. We are well beyond 20 but we are working on an exit  strategy. You can bet on that. Hawaii here we come. 

TEN BEST MOVIES?

Some guy named Stanley Fish has posted in the Times here his list of the 10 best movies. Double Indemnity is on the list. No argument there. Ditto Raging Bull, Vertigo, and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  But the man lost all credibility when he included, we kid you not, Groundhog Day.    His Bio says that Fish is a Professor of Law at FIU in Miami.  That doesn't say much for the Law School. 

First of all Stanley, you don't have Casablanca on there. It's a perfect movie. And you left off The Godfather. And The Hustler. Really Stanley, stick to teaching torts. 

In our humble opinion, a great little movie, well done all around, humorous and yet touching on deep philosophical issues,  is Woody Allen's Crimes And Misdemeanors. It's worth another look if you haven't seen it in a while. 

Well, we survived Monday. See You In Court. 

RICHARDSON AND DOLPHINS OUT

UPDATE: The Herald reports here that former Miami Heat player Antoine Walker was arrested on South Beach for DUI. This is one time a basketball should have been called for traveling. 

The Herald also has a nice piece on Attorney Stuart Mishkin who passed away earlier this year, but for some reason we can't find it on line. 

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, a power house in the Democratic Party has withdrawn from his nomination to be Commerce Secretary in a New Mexico version of "Pay to play".  (The title links to the Times article.) 

Meanwhile, the Miami Dolphins are out of the playoffs, in a Miami version of "pay but no play."

QB Chad Pennington was intercepted 4 times, and as we predicted, the Ravens defense lit up the Dolphins, with all world safety and former UM star Ed Reed getting a "pick-six". 

Richardson will be back when this scandal clears. So will Pennington, but the future of this franchise is with another quarterback. Everyone gives the Dolphins and their Big Tuna Brain Trust high marks for drafting this year, but has anyone noticed that Parcells and the Fins passed on Rookie QB sensation Matt Ryan? For that matter they passed on Ravens QB Joe Flacco as well. It may well be that the tandem of first round pick Jake Long and QB Chad Henne will work out, but until Henne becomes a starter for this team, the final grade for this years draft is Incomplete. 

For the second straight week we went 3 for 4 with our picks, and we now sit at a season high  1469 Reeds as we enter the second week of the playoffs. 

Meanwhile, President Elect Obama flew to Washington DC yesterday, sans a nominee for secretary of Commerce, while he deals with the last 15 days of this post election interregnum. (You robed readers may want to click on the word to read its definition.) 

That's right folks, 15 days and counting until the "decider in grief" heads off to Texas, returning the idiot to his village. 

The Congress goes back into session this week with the man who called Rush Limbaugh a "Big Fat Idiot" on the cover of his book ( Al Franken ) leading former senator Norm Coleman  (his term expired on Sunday) by about 225 votes. 

And here's a fun fact: Roland Burris the embattled and possibly putative appointed senator from Illinois and the Senate's Sergeant At Arms are old friends from Illinois politics: Terrance Gainer, the current Sergeant At Arms used to work for Burris when Burris was the Attorney General for Illinois and Gainer was the director of the State Police. 

While neither expects fist-a-cuffs when Burris arrives to be seated, you can bet your cable bill that the cameras will be there to record the highlights of this strange twist in this strange political season. 

And finally, yes we have reluctantly returned from our Winter Blogger's retreat, melancholy, and wistful, and rested and refreshed and ready to go. 

WILD CARD SUNDAY

BREAKING POLITICAL NEWS: GOV. BILL RICHARDSON WITHDRAWS AS NOMINEE

FOR COMMERCE SECRETARY AS A NEW MEXICO "PAY TO PLAY" SCANDAL BREAKS. ILLINOIS GOVERNOR BLAGOJEVICH ISSUES STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR RICHARDSON. 

NY TIMES ARTICLE HERE. 

SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY. 

you're taking one down; you sing a sad song just to turn it around;

you say you don't know; you tell me don't lie

you work at a smile and you go for a ride

you had a bad day

The camera don't lie

you're coming back down and you really don't mind

you had a bad day.

BUT THANKS FOR A MEMORABLE SEASON DOLPHINS!

RUMPOLE NOTES: We didn't say this first, but it's true: DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS. 

We received this comment yesterday in response to our pick of the Cardinals over the Falcons:

Anonymous said...
Rumpole, have you been smoking pot with Ricky Williams again? Your Cardinals pick borders on the insane. They are in the playoffs only because they won a lame division by default. Atlanta may be young, but they have talent.

Saturday, January 03, 2009 12:24:00 PM

Rumpole responds: This is a great example of why gaming should be left to the professionals. A football fan like our dear reader watches some games, sees that the Falcons are the "hot" team and cannot believe Rumpole is picking against them. Our fan knows not the heuristic algorithms we employ for analyzing the hundreds of variables present in any sporting contest. Our fan has little understanding of the "regression to the mean analysis" ( (c) Rumpole 2008) that we have successfully employed this season. And if you had any doubts about the theory, boy did it work with Arizona yesterday. They were not as bad as everyone thought, and Atlanta was just not as good. Great move by coach Whiz to come out running. He's one of the best in the game. 

Our fan is in fact the reason why most bookies drive Porches and our fan is the reason why a well placed bet on Arizona paid for most of our December in our winter blogger's retreat high in the Sierra Nevada mountains.   So please dear fan, just keep on following those hot and popular teams and ignore our advice. We're richer for it. And we mean that. 

Just how many more times will we be writing "Can you believe the Dolphins are playing a meaningful game this late in the season?"

Yesterday everyone was jumping on the Falcons bandwagon. But we knew differently. Today everybody is jumping on the Eagles Bandwagon, which we started last week.  The Eagles are a two point favourite on the road today in Minnesota.  Lay the points and take the Eagles on the road. This team is hot and knows how to win.  Take away Adrian Peterson and what do you have with Minnesota? A team that desperately needs a QB. 

Eagles -2 +200.

The Dolphins are three point underdogs at home. 

 Don't let the sixth seed rating fool you. These Ravens are for real. They are the hardest hitting team in the NFL bar none. They have two of the best (if not the best) defensive players in the NFL in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed and we have not even mentioned Dolphin killer Terrell Suggs.  

Oh how we want to tell you that these Dolphins have changed from the last time the Ravens came here and whupped them. They have matured and gotten better. But not enough. We cannot recommend the Dolphins +3. We will be at the stadium in a private box rooting for out Fins. And they can win. Pennington has shown he is the master at managing a game plan. But these Ravens have a brutal defense and a for real QB that has lit up the NFL over the last 8 games. Plus they have a real chip on their shoulder. They believe they should be AFC North Champions and they want another shot at the Steelers.  Anger has fueled many a late season playoff run.   

Ravens -3 +100. 

Keep you eye on the weather. If that cold front and rain moves in like it is supposed to,  jump hard on the under 37 tonight before the rest of the (mopes) fans like our friend from the comment section wakes up in the morning and takes the over. 

We cannot fulfill our promise of picking the Super Bowl winner today due to events beyond our control. When some of the injury reports are updated, we will have a better idea of where we stand. 

NFL WILD CARD SATURDAY

BREAKING NEWS: GROUND WAR. ISRAELI TANKS RUMBLE INTO GAZA. NY Times article here. 

A child asked why there was war. Someone said it was because one nation was dropping bombs on the other. "Why were they dropping bombs?" the child asked. "Because the other country was shooting rockets." was the answer. "Why were they shooting rockets?" asked the child. "Because the other country was dropping bombs" was the answer.  "But I don't understand" said the child. "Exactly. That is war" was the answer. 

We're up 1189 Kurt Warners as we enter the playoffs. 

For wild card Saturday, the Falcons play the Cardinals in Arizona. Much discussion was given to the fact that many "experts" were going to pick all 4 road teams this weekend. The Falcons are the NFC version of the Dolphins. From self destructing last year over the Vick mess, they drafted a rookie QB and made the playoffs. Bully for them. The Cardinals are the pick here.  Veteran QB Warner lights up the scoreboard as the Cardinals have their first home playoff game since Herbert Hoover was president. Cardinals +1 - +200. 

The Colts travel to San Diego to seek a little revenge. Last year the Bolts knocked the Colts out of the playoffs. This year Peyton repays the favor. The Colts are on a nine game winning streak and right now we have them winning this game, and the following week against the Titans before heading off to Pittsburgh, who will beat either the Dolphins or the Ravens. But for today,  we pick the Colts -1  +200. 

Here's a fun hypothetical- Imagine if you will, an undefeated college football team winning a major bowl game, like say, the Sugar Bowl, and beating a former number one team, like say Alabama. Can anyone explain to me why your Utah Utes are not the National Champions?  There's only one undefeated division one college football team, and they don't play in Florida. 

LABARGA GETS THE NOD

Having apparently distinguished himself by virtue of his tenure on the 4th DCA (about a month) Jorge Labarga is your new Florida Supreme Court Justice.  The title of the post links to the Florida AP bulletin. 

Careful readers will remember that the Governor just appointed Labarga, a Palm Beach circuit court judge labouring in anonymity but for his run in with attorney Gary Kollin,  (click here for our post "4th DCA Brouhaha")      (you'll have to scroll down for complicated reasons)  to  the 4th DCA, when the Governor decided to continue his fight with the JNC by asking for more (read Hispanic) names when he didn't like the list submitted for the Florida Supreme Court. (Our own Judge Emas was the best choice by far.)  

Now Governor Crist has finished the rapid rise of Judge Labarga by appointing him to the Florida Supreme Court, and in return, Crist will get the originals and the  negatives of the pictures Labarga apparently has. 

Our own El Capitan called it correctly in our comments section here, on the Justice Building Blog that gives you the news before it is made. A great reason to keep reading in 2009. 

(THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

Early prediction: Jorge Labarga. Yes folks you read it right. Labarga is back in the running. Despite the fact that Crist named Labarga to the 4th DCA, Labarga told the Gov. that he wants to remain on the short list for the Supreme Court.

Crist will name Labarga and take the heat off himself for the shenanigans he pulled with the JNC and the Frank Jimenez fiasco.

Cap Out ...

Monday, December 22, 2008 11:36:00 AM)

The big game starts all over again Monday. Anyone as depressed as we are? 

2009

It was 68 perfect Florida degrees when I got off my bike this Friday morning at exactly 8:03 AM having returned from Key Biscayne. Just in case you're interested. 

Update: we have our first reader prediction- below.

RESOLUTIONS AND PREDICTIONS FOR 2009.

Post yours in the comments sections and we will put the most intriguing ones on the front page. 

Rumpole resolves to 1) try more cases; 2) write more and follow my writing schedule; 

Speaking of reclusive authors....

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY J.D. SALINGER. 

You da man. The title of the post clicks to the NY Times article on his 90th birthday. 

"HAPPY"  50TH ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR OPPRESSIVE "REVOLUTION" FIDEL. They said it wouldn't last (just like our anonymity). But you showed them- on the bodies of the Cuban people, you sure showed them. 

Our First prediction: Our anonymous blog will be around long after Fidel is gone and Cuba is once again free. 

Our Second Prediction: The second shoe of the mortgage crisis (not the sub-prime mortgages) falls and another 500 billion in mortgages goes bad. The stock market falls to 6500 before rallying. The economy goes sideways in 2009. No real growth and no signs of consumer spending or confidence until the fourth quarter. It's going to be a rough year money wise folks. 

Our Third Prediction: President Obama's recovery plan will have real success in 2010.

Our Fourth Prediction: The first major  member of the Obama administration to resign will be Larry Summers. Passed over for the Treasury Cabinet position, Summers is the head of the White House National Economic Council. 

Your Super Bowl winner, on the pages of this humble blog, Sunday.

OUR FIRST READER PREDICTION:

Prediction for this weekend:

Ravens 24
Dolphins 3

This year's Phins were one of the most improved teams in NFL history, but they also had a weak schedule and a division in turmoil. The Phins have a promising future, but their youth and lack of playoff experience will show against a seasoned Ravens team.

And I also predict that Rumpole will pick the Steelers to win the Super Bowl (although even as a die-hard Steelers fan, I think that Baltimore, the Steelers, Indy and the Titans all have about an equal chance of making it).

Rumpole replies:  The Steelers merit close consideration. Can they run through the playoffs relying mostly on their superb defense? Maybe. If Ben R gets hot and doesn't throw more than one pick in three games. The real problem is that they don't have a punting game. You need a good punter to work hand in hand with the defense. 

The Titans? I'm not convinced their QB is for real. But they are.  Indy is Indy, Peyton can carry that team to a SB win, no problem.  I do think Indy will whoop San Diego and that Indy will play the Titans.  If the Fins win, they can't beat Pittsburgh. But if the Ravens win, they can, and may well do so, except it is in Pittsburgh. So we have a lot of  factors to ponder over the weekend.