JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2018 ..... CONGRATS TO OUR THREE NEWEST JUDGES .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

QUALIFYING DAY HAS COME & GONE .......

Congratulations to our newest judges who will all take the bench in January of 2019. None of them received opposition as of Noon today:

CIRCUIT COURT

Carlos Lopez

COUNTY COURT

Betsy Alvarez-Zane

Jacqueline Woodward (and Happy Birthday to Jackie today).

AND NOW FOR THE CONTESTED ELECTIONS. ANY PREDICTIONS .....?

CIRCUIT COURT

19 Incumbent Circuit Court Judges were reelected without drawing any opposition; (for a list of those judges please see our post from May 3rd ). There are three contested races this year. One candidate, Renee Gordon, returns for a second try after losing in the primary in 2016 to eventual winner Mark Blumstein. Judge David Miller is the only incumbent Judge in Miami-Dade County to draw opposition. Judge Miller is no stranger to contested elections - in 2012, the last time he ran for office, he also drew an opponent. He soundly defeated Mauricio Padilla in that contest with 62% of the vote. Miller first won election to the Circuit Court in 2000, when he defeated two other candidates, Arthur Spiegel and David Peckins (in the runoff). In fact, the only time Miller has not faced opposition was in 2006.

GROUP 8

Elisabeth Espinosa
David Miller - INCUMBENT

GROUP 14 (OPEN SEAT - Judge Cindy Lederman retiring)

Vivianne del Rio
Renee Gordon
Louis Martinez

GROUP 25 (OPEN SEAT - Judge Dennis Murphy retiring)

Yery Marrero
Joe Perkins

COUNTY COURT

17 Incumbent County Court Judges were reelected without drawing any opposition; (our May 3rd post also includes the names of these judges). There are five contested races this year. Four of the candidates have past experience running for Judge. In 2016, Milena Abreau just missed out when she lost a close County Court race to Incumbent Judge Fred Seraphin. Abreu lost by only 677 votes out of a total 210,919 ballots cast. Lizzet Martinez lost out in 2016 as well, to Incumbent County Judge Ed Newman. Rosy Aponte lost a Circuit Court race in the primary to eventual winner Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts and Elena Ortega-Tauler lost a Circuit Court race to Incumbent Judge George Sarduy.　

GROUP 2: (Judge Mary Jo Francis retiring):

Rosy Aponte
Kristy Nunez
(Jeffrey Cynamon withdrew from this race at 11:58 AM today).

GROUP 32: (Judge Caryn Canner Schwartz retiring):

Lizzet Martinez
Chris Pracitto

GROUP 33: (Judge Teretha Thomas Lundy retiring):

Olanike Adebayo
Eleane Sosa-Bruzon

GROUP 40: (Judge Don Cohn retiring):

Michael Barket
Elena Ortega-Tauler

GROUP 43: (Judge Joseph Davis, Jr retiring):

Milena Abreu
Mike Mirabal

The primary election takes place on August 28, 2018 with any runoffs to be decided on November 6th. Good luck to all of the candidates.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS 2018 - THE DAY BEFORE “THE DAY” .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN ..... QUALIFYING WEEK .....

T-MINUS 36 HOURS AND COUNTING
It's down to the last few hours and the burning questions remain:

BREAKING NEWS:

Candidate Jeff Cynamon, County Group 2, has withdrawn from that race as of 11:58 AM.

1. Will an Incumbent Judge get an 11:59 AM Friday Surprise and have to spend those long, hot, rainy, summer days trekking from Florida City to Aventura attending every breakfast, lunch, and dinner in town?

2. Will Carlos Lopez, Betsy Alvarez-Zane, and Jackie Woodward get handed a gavel without ever sniffing an opponent?

3. What Group will Vivianne del Rio end up qualifying in?

THE CLOCK IS TICKING .......

Over the next day and a half, we expect to see some jockeying around of candidates looking for just the right place to land their campaign and deposit their qualifying fee.

The deadline is FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2018 at NOON.

Here is where we stand:

CIRCUIT COURT:

Will any of the incumbents who are presently unopposed receive a last minute opponent?

Here is the list of Incumbents who are currently unopposed:

Judge Antonio Arzola
Judge Miguel de la O
Judge Victoria del Pino (appointed to fill Judge Blake’s seat)
Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis
Judge Jason Dimitris (appointed to fill Judge Brennan’s seat)
Judge Pedro Echarte
Judge Jose Fernandez
Judge Mindy Glazer
Judge Michael Hanzman
Judge Charles Johnson (appointed to fill Judge Sigler’s seat)
Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez
Judge Browyn Miller
Judge Teresa Pooler
Judge Maria de Jesus Santovenia
Judge Valerie Manno Schurr
Judge Lourdes Simon (appointed to fill Judge Luck’s seat)
Judge Ellen Sue Venzer
Judge Maria Verde
Judge Lisa Walsh

Here are the contested races: (Q next to their name means they have plucked down the $5,843.20 necessary to run for that seat).***

　
GROUP 8

Elisabeth Espinosa (Q) - UPDATED
- she has a Net Worth of $465,233
- she has raised $64,775 and loaned her campaign $25,000

David Miller (Q) - INCUMBENT
- he has a Net Worth of $2,085,500
- he has raised $205,000 and loaned his campaign $51,000

GROUP 14 (OPEN SEAT - Judge Cindy Lederman retiring)

Vivianne del Rio (Q) - UPDATED
- she has a Net Worth of 1,064,478
- she has raised $18,800 and loaned her campaign $53,000
- she is an ASA with a salary of $84,400
- on March 20, 2018 her campaign deposited a check in the amount of $22,000 which came from her spouse Cristian del Rio. The amount was meant as a $1,000 contribution and a $21,000 loan. On the same date, the campaign realized that the deposit violated the law. The only person that can loan a campaign any money is the candidate. So, on March 20, 2018, a check in the amount of $21,000 was written back to Mr. del Rio.

Renee Gordon (Q) - UPDATED
- she has a Net Worth of 457,512
- she has raised $68,293 and loaned her campaign $47,150
- she is an APD with a salary of $80,140
- In February of 2017, the Dept of State informed the campaign that they filed a Late Activity Report. They warned the campaign to be on time, but they did not fine the campaign because there was no money raised in that cycle.
- In April of 2017, the Dept of State informed the campaign that they filed another Late Activity Report. The Department again took no action
- On 2/1/18 the campaign received a Audit Letter and was given seven days to respond.
- On 2/14/18 the campaign, having missed the deadline to respond, received another Audit Letter
- On 4/11/18 the campaign received a Failed to File Activity Report for the reporting cycle.
- On 4/20/18 the campaign received an Audit Letter
- On April 27, 2018, the campaign was fined $1,650 as the result of filing the Activity Report six days late; (it was due on 4/10 and filed on 4/16).

Louis Martinez (Q)
- he has Net Worth of $135,000
- he has raised $6,950 and loaned his campaign $30,000

GROUP 25 (OPEN SEAT - Judge Dennis Murphy retiring)

Yery Marrero (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $1,955,402
- she has raised $64,793 and loaned her campaign $105,000

Joe Perkins (Q)
- he has a Net Worth of $248,354
- he has raised $33,018 and loaned his campaign $5,000

GROUP 31 (OPEN SEAT - Judge Maria Korvick retiring)

Carlos Lopez (Q)
- he has a Net Worth of $6,202,000
- he has raised $115,775 and loaned his campaign $250,000
- On 4/6/17 he received an Audit Letter from the Dept. Of State (his campaign Treasurer was Hector Lombana).
- On 2/5/18 he received an Audit Letter from the Dept. Of State
- On 3/5/18 he received an Audit Letter from the Dept. Of State
- On 3/12/18 he replaced Mr. Lombana and named himself as Treasurer

HE IS CURRENTLY UNOPPOSED ......

***Our longtime and loyal readers will remember just two years ago when candidate Daniel Espinosa, attempting to unseat incumbent Judge Rosa Rodriguez, plucked down his qualifying fee of $5,843.00 only to be TWENTY CENTS SHORT. He was not permitted to run for judge and Rodriguez won unopposed.

COUNTY COURT

INCUMBENTS SEEKING REELECTION: NO OPPOSTION

Judge Michelle Alvarez Barakat
Judge Gina Beovides (appointed to fill Judge Charles Johnson’s seat)
Judge Alexander Spicola Bokor (appointed to fill Judge Jacqueline Schwartz’s seat)
Judge Tanya Brinkley
Judge Dawn Denaro
Judge Robin Faber
Judge Gloria Gonzalez-Meyer
Judge Diana Gonzalez-Whyte
Judge Lawrence King
Judge Luise Krieger-Martin
Judge Myriam Lehr
Judge Steve Leifman
Judge Patricia Marino-Pedraza
Judge Maria Ortiz
Judge Sam Slom
Judge Linda Singer Stein
Judge Andrea Ricker Wolfson

GROUP 2: (Judge Mary Jo Francis retiring):

Rosy Aponte (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $186,099
- she has raised $21,614 and loaned her campaign $50,000

Jeffrey Cynamon (Q)
- he has a Net Worth of $3,091,082
- he has raised $10,789 and loaned his campaign $150,000

Kristy Nunez (Q) - UPDATED
- she has a Net Worth of 650,521
- she has raised zero money; according to her recently filed documents, she has loaned her campaign $25,000
- she is an ASA with a salary of $78,830

　
GROUP 18: (Judge Deborah White-Labora retiring):

Betsy Alvarez-Zane (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $91,394
- she has raised $103,100 from an impressive 152 contributors and loaned her campaign $6,300
- her sole income is from her PA - $71,198
- she has a student loan liability currently in the amount of $422,000

SHE IS CURRENTLY UNOPPOSED ......

　
GROUP 21: (Judge Andrew Hague retiring):

Jacqueline Woodward (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $1,538,500
- she has raised $27,366 and loaned her campaign $375,000

SHE IS CURRENTLY UNOPPOSED ......

　
GROUP 32: (Judge Caryn Canner Schwartz retiring):

Lizzet Martinez (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $941,062
- she has raised $70,049 from an impressive 162 contributors and loaned her campaign $30,400

Chris Pracitto (Q)
- he has a Net Worth of $757,481
- he has raised $24,700 and loaned his campaign $3,500

　
GROUP 33: (Judge Teretha Thomas Lundy retiring):

Olanike Adebayo (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $28,152
- she has raised $52,000 from a very impressive 355 contributors and loaned her campaign $2,000
- her income is from her job at Regional Counsel where she is paid $54,000

Eleane Sosa-Bruzon (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $221,077
- she has raised $14,610 and loaned her campaign $26,000

　
GROUP 40: (Judge Don Cohn retiring):

Michael Barket (Q)
- he has a Net Worth of $3,135,486
- he has raised $24,880 and loaned his campaign $28,000
　
Elena Ortega-Tauler (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $641,732
- she has raised $1,300 and loaned her campaign $10,000

　
GROUP 43: (Judge Joseph Davis, Jr retiring):

Milena Abreu (Q)
- she has a Net Worth of $20,000
- she has raised $14,655 and loaned her campaign $80,000
- her income is from her PA in the amount of $77,500
　
Mike Mirabal - (Q)
UPDATED - SECOND UPDATE - THIRD UPDATE
- he has a Net Worth of 1,605,659
- he has raised $6,357 and loaned his campaign $32,921
- I updated the amount raised and the amount loaned by reducing both numbers; there are six separate Amended Financial Reports filed by the candidate.; I have now reduced the numbers again; County Elections continues to change the information, seemingly, by the minute; Last night, the total amount raised and loaned equaled $75,830; this morning that number went down to $59,278; this afternoon it reads $39,278.  Very confusing.
- Mr. Mirabal has filed new documents with the Elections Dept - he now wants his name listed as MIGUEL MIRABAL - he originally filed as MIKE MIRABAL.

CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

RETIRED JUDGE ALAN POSTMAN HAS PASSED AWAY

He ran an innovative political campaign for the time, with signs stating "The Postman is Coming!" And now we are passing along that former Circuit Judge Alan Postman passed away on May 1, 2018, after battling medical issues for several years.

Judge Postman  served in the Circuit Criminal and Civil Divisions from 1991-2003 and presided over some notable cases including a large class action tobacco lawsuit in 1998 and a case where he awarded over seven  million dollars  to the ex-wife of Cuban spy Juan Pablo Roque, where Postman wrote,  ”Cuba committed acts of sexual battery, torture and terrorism by orchestrating Roque's sham marriage so he could infiltrate the exile community.

After retiring Judge Postman became a mediator.

A reader has written us that  "Alan was a very nice man with a good heart. He worked where we work every day, sometimes with us, sometimes against us. In that sense though, we all have a common connection to him and share in his loss."

Funeral arrangements to follow. 

JUDGES SMITH AND RUIZ SCORE FED NOMINATIONS

It's been so busy that we missed last week that Miami Judges Rodney Smith and Rudy Ruiz were nominated to the Federal Bench by POTUS. 

DOM of course didn't miss it and his post is here. 

The nomination of Judge Rodney Smith is especially satisfying. If you've ever seen Judge Smith speak in public, he has an amazing life story that includes as a young man seeing ASA Don Horn speak about being a prosecutor and making up his mind to do the same- and then going to college and law school and becoming a prosecutor. 

Judge Ruiz was, inter alia, a clerk for Judge Federico Moreno. Pretty soon there won't be a Judge in South Florida who didn't clerk for  Moreno, which goes to show how well and carefully he chose his clerks. 

The nominations of both Judge Rudy Ruiz and Judge Smith are ones we can all be proud of. 
Good luck to both. 

ALAN ROSS HAS PASSED AWAY

We lost a legal legend on Friday. Famed Miami Criminal Defense Attorney Alan Ross died on Friday after a courageous battle against pancreatic cancer.

However good you thought Alan Ross was...he was better. No one out worked him. No one out thought him. And certainly no one had the presence Alan did when he walked into court. 

Alan was the type of lawyer that brought comfort to his clients just by being on their side. He was so good; so respected; and so feared as an opponent that clients intuitively felt that he was their champion. And he was. 

But Alan Ross was so much more than just the very best at his profession. 

He was a friend to many; a mentor to those lucky enough to work with him; a devoted family man. An all around great man. 

We will leave it to his friends and colleagues to fill in the many blanks our small tribute did not cover. 

NFL DRAFT 2018

It's that time again.....
The NFL draft, v. 2018. 

Here is who  the top five teams SHOULD draft...

1. Cleveland Browns: Saquon Barkley. RB.  Best player in the draft. And you have a pick three picks later to get your QB. 

2. NY Giants. Bradley Chubb. DE. Best player available. Will start and dominate right away. 

3.  NY Jets. Jets find themselves in unique position of having their pick of the top four QB's. Baker Mayfield is the best fit. Jets will be very tempted to draft a talented QB whose personality fits right in with NYC. "Broadway Baker" you could call him. BUT the best QB in this draft is 6'5, 237 pounds, with a gun for an arm. Think Carson Wentz, but bigger and better. You can coach accuracy and foot work. You cannot coach arm strength. With the 3rd pick in the 2018 NFL draft the NY Jets select Josh Allen, Quarterback, Wyoming. 

4. Cleveland Browns. Now the Brownies can select their QB. Even if the Giants take a QB at two and the Jets take one at three, odds are Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold  will still be available. But in this draft they both are available and the Brownies take the guy they pegged as their number one pick anyway- Sam Darnold, the California Kidd. 

5. Denver Broncos. A top 4 QB has fallen to five. The Buffalo Bills are on the phone offering most of Buffalo to trade the pick. The Broncos have lots of needs including QB, but by trading with Buffalo they can still grab Louisville superstar Lamar Jackson or Josh Rosen or Baker Mayfield depending on who the Bills grab. Denver makes the trade. With the fifth pick in the 2018 NFL Draft the Buffalo Bills select the other Josh- Josh Rosen, QB UCLA. Rosen is the most polished college QB and is ready to start day one. 

And because we have to include our hometown Fins....with the eleventh pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, your Miami Dolphins select....Tremaine Edmunds, Linebacker, Va Tech. Dolphins make controversial pick and pass on Alabama Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. And mark our words, the Fins will regret on passing on Fitzpatrick. He is a hitter. He can cover. He can run. He is a spectacular safety but the Fins need help with their Linebackers. 

Enjoy the Draft!

PAGV

Nothing surprises us anymore.
Judges in Broward throw fits from the bench.
POTUS is best friends with the French.
And now, in a shocking missive, our intrepid State Attorney has written to us to let us know she is against gun violence! (Prosecutors Against Gun Violence- PAGV). 

Dear Rumpole by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

We did not know this. But are pleased with our State Attorney's  position in this matter.

From Occupied America, where we are proud to announce we are against traffic accidents and identity theft, Fight The Power!

PRISONERS DILLEMA PART 2 APPEARING IN BROWARD

Want to know what's good about being in a Broward court before a Broward Judge? .....after more than thirty-five years of practice when we think of something we will let you know. 

Here is Broward Judge Merrillee Ehrlich having a total meltdown during bond hearings with a woman, in a misdemeanor case, and just to show that Broward Judges don't discriminate against the handicapped when they abuse and humiliate defendants- this defendant was in a wheel-chair.  Perhaps some Broward Bar organization will give Judge Ehrlich an award for berating and abusing all defendants on an equal basis. Who knows?  It's Broweird after all. 

Here are the highlights:

2:37: Yells at defendant who responds to question not to talk.

3:04: Yells at lawyer to keep quiet defendant

3:53: Yells at defendant- "I'm not here to talk to you about breathing treatment."

Reflect on that for a moment. This is a misdemeanor case. The defendant is obviously not well. She's in a wheel chair. We learned later that she had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in fact died within a few days of being released. The defendant indicates that she needs treatment to breathe. Not for pain. But to perform the basic function all humans need to perform to live. And the response of a member of the Broward Judiciary was that she didn't want to talk about it.  Yes, this is the Broward Judiciary on full display for the world to see. They abuse defendants and lawyers all the time. However most of them have enough self control not to do it on video in this fashion. 

4:10:  "I’m not going to spend all day with her interrupting me." 
4:50: Judge yells again
5:55 : "You’ve already said too much."
6:10  Judge Throws a fit and waves arms: "Don’t even say yes..." 

6:35: And here's what a kind and decent judge says to a handicapped person in a wheel chair that they've just ordered to go to pre-trial services: "Arrange for someone to carry you if you can’t get there."

Yes, that's what you want in a Judge. Someone who demonstrates caring and concern for the handicapped. 

Here is the video with Judge Merrillee Ehrlich in all her Broward glory. 

After this became public the good judge decided to hang up her robes and she quit. Good riddance.

PRISONER'S DILEMMA

Long time and careful readers of this blog know that Rumpole has a modest expertise in Game Theory, with a keen interest in the Nash Equilibrium and it's application to real life legal decision making. 
In Prisoner's Dilemma, we examine the situation of two individuals arrested and charged with a crime. Each prisoner is in solitary confinement and unable to communicate. The prosecution lacks the evidence to convict both on the main charge.  Each prisoner wants to get a year in jail in a lesser charge. Two prosecutors are dispatched to meet with each prisoner (and their counsel of course, this isn't Miami-Dade) simultaneously. The prosecutors offer each prisoner a deal. Each prisoner must then decide whether to cooperate with the outcomes as follows: 

If P1 and P2 each agree to rat the other out, each will get two years. 

If P1 rats out P2 but P2 remains silent, P1 gets off and P2 gets 3 years in prison. 

If P1 and P2 each remain silent, they each will only  be convicted of a lesser charge  and serve one year. 

Here is the dilemma: If each prisoner acts in their rational self-interest, then each betrays the other and they each get two years. 
If each reject their inclination toward rational self-interest then they each get the desired outcome of one year. 
Acting in rational self-interest and being a rat  leads to a worse result than in remaining silent. However, since by cooperating with the prosecution  the prisoner can possible go free or at worst do two years and eliminate the possibility of the worst outcome- three years,  being a rat is what is called the dominant strategy. And yet, the rational self interested choice to be a rat yields a worse outcome than the non-self interest choice to remain silent. So acting rational is irrational. Oy!

The Nash Equilibrium yields a solution for the dilemma but we will discuss that at another time. 

Let play a little Game Theory. 
Say you are a lawyer. And say you have damaging information on the President of the United States. Say your name is...Cohen. 
What do you do? Remain silent and risk three years (actually more) or cooperate and possibly get two years or walk free? 

Say you are the President of the United States. Being a rational actor do you:
1) Blame Obama; 2) Blame the failing NY Times, Failing CNN, failing MSNBC, and fake news? 
3) Bomb Syria? 4) Make a peace treaty with North Korea and agree to a joint North Korean -US military strike at the Seychelles Islands?  5) Stay in bed all weekend, eat cheeseburgers, watch FOX TV and fire Nicky Halley? 

From Occupied America, even Presidents have dilemmas they cannot reason their way out of. Fight the power and don't be a rat!

CONSTITUTION REVISIONS COMMISSION a/k/a "CRC" .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

MARCY’S LAW - THE CRC HAS SPOKEN .....

While most of our loyal readers have been focusing on the really important issues of the day - Trump, North Korea, Comey and his new book, and Attorney/Client Privilege via the Michael Cohen case, many of you may have missed the latest on the venerable CRC - a/k/a Florida’s CONSTITUTION REVISION COMMISSION.

For those not in the know, the CRC is reborn once every 20 years in the State of Florida. Its mandate is to review the Florida Constitution and propose changes for voters to consider. For the past year, at dozens of public meetings held around the State, the 37 members have been listening to the voters of Florida. The membership of the CRC is overwhelmingly chosen by only three elected leaders, all Republican; 34 of the 37 members were selected by Governor Rick Scott, House Speaker Richard Corcoran, and Senate President Joe Negron.

After spending the past year listening to proposed amendments to our state constitution, the members whittled down the list of ideas to 23 workable proposals for final consideration. Those 23 proposals were reduced to 11 proposed final drafts for consideration by the CRC. And on Monday, after nine hours of debate between the members of the CRC, they voted to approve eight amendments to go before the voters in November, while rejecting three others.

You can read the Title and Content of each of the eight amendments by going here:

The Amendments range in subject from: Crime victims; judges; first responders and the military; public colleges & universities; school boards; offshore drilling; vaping; property rights; lobbying; and the oh so important industry of dog racing.

Today, we focus on just one amendment, P6001: "RIGHTS OF CRIME VICTIMS; JUDGES". The proposed amendment/s would create a new constitutional right for crime victims to receive information and provide input during criminal cases. Known as "Marcy’s Law", the measure would, among other things, establish a right for the safety of victims and their family members to be considered when bail is set in criminal cases. The package of amendments also includes expanding the mandatory retirement age for judges (from the current age 70) to age 75, while also eliminating the provision permitting judges to serve out their term if they had served more than half their term by the time they reached retirement age.

Here is just some of the language:

(b) To preserve and protect the right of crime victims to achieve justice, ensure a meaningful role throughout the criminal and juvenile justice systems for crime victims, and ensure that crime victims’ rights and interests are respected and protected by law in a manner no less vigorous than

protections afforded to criminal defendants and juvenile delinquents, every victim is entitled to the following rights, beginning at the time of his or her victimization ...

(10) The right to proceedings free from unreasonable delay, and to a prompt and final conclusion of the case and any related postjudgment proceedings.

a. The state attorney may file a good faith demand for a speedy trial and the trial court shall hold a calendar call, with notice, within fifteen days of the filing demand, to schedule a trial to commence at a date at least five days but no more than sixty days after the date of the calendar call unless the trial judge enters an order with specific findings of fact justifying a trial date more than sixty days after the calendar call.

b. All state-level appeals and collateral attacks on any judgment must be complete within two years from the date of appeal in non-capital cases and five years in capital cases, unless a court enters an order with specific findings as to why the court was unable to comply with this subparagraph and the circumstances causing the delay. Each year, the chief judge of any district court of appeal or the chief justice of the supreme court shall report on a case-by-case basis to the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate all cases where the court entered an order regarding inability to comply with this subparagraph. The legislature may enact legislation to implement this subparagraph.

The entire proposed amendment P6001 can be read by going here.

For any of the amendments to become law, they must win the support of 60% of the voters.


JUDICIAL ELECTIONS .... UPDATE ......

As alluded to in the Comments section last week, veteran Judge David Miller has drawn opposition, again. This time it is from Elisabeth Espinosa, a ten year member of The Florida Bar. According to her bio, she is a partner at Cole, Scott’s Miami office and she defends insurance cases. She was an ASA in Orange County for six years, and also spent time as a criminal defense attorney. She states that she has tried over 70 jury trials.
　
CAPTAIN OUT .......
Captain4Justice@gmail.com

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN

With the revelation on Monday that Fox network host (we cannot bring ourselves to call it News) Sean Hannity was the third "secret" client of New York lawyer Michael Cohen, there is a natural tendency to feel smugly happy. 
Let's review Mr. Cohen's client list. 
First up- the current POTUS on whose behalf Mr. Cohen paid $130,000.00 to a porn star Unbeknownst (cough cough cough- we can't get through that with a straight face) to the President. 
Second- Elliot Broidy, the former deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. 
And Third- Sean Hannity. Sanctimonious Fox Host, who regularly blasts the Clintons and Obamas for their "immoral ways". 

The President allegedly slept with a porn star. Enter Cohen. 
Broidy admittedly got a Playboy Playmate preggers and needed to pay her. Enter Cohen. 
And Hannity....? Perhaps a speeding ticket? Or a complaint about a bad meal at the Palm in NYC?  Or a landlord-tenant dispute? What could it be? What could it be that required the special skills of Mr. Cohen, Esq??

Here's the common thread of the three. Yes, they're men, but that's not it. 
Yes, they're older married men. But still, not what we are looking for. 
Hmmm...could it be that they're all mainstays of the religious right that believes sex is reserved for marriage and marriage is reserved only for two people of the opposite sex. 

There is a strong urge to call out the massive hypocrite that Hannity is. 
But there is a more important issue at play here. 
Attorney-Client Privilege.

Broidy and Hannity went to a lawyer with a problem. They have done nothing illegal that we are aware of. They are entitled to have their lawyer keep their secrets. 
It was disturbing to read Monday that Judge Kimba Wood (who is a great answer to the trivia question "name the second person Bill Clinton wanted to nominate for Attorney General before he nominated Janet Reno" - Zoe Baird was the first of course) forced the disclosure of Hannity's name in open court. That was wrong. Hannity had a right to have his secrets kept and Judge Wood was wrong to force the disclosure in open court. 

Of course Baird and Hannity aren't entitled to our support and sympathy. They have zero ability to ever see the principle behind an issue. They jump on any issue that helps their right-wing agenda regardless of whether it could later be used against them or their cause.  

But some of us are enlightened. Some of us can look behind the schadenfreude we feel about the revelation of the hypocrisy of Broidy and Hannity (Trump was always a what-you-see-is -what-you get- type of creepy guy). 

What occurred in the SDNY Monday was disturbing for all lawyers and clients. 

From Occupied America, where secrets are important, fight the power. 

NOW HE BELONGS TO THE AGES

The President left the White House in the early evening. 
He and his party went down H Street NW for about 7 tenths of a mile. The presidential party made a right on 10 Street NW and went down three blocks before stopping in front of Ford's Theater.  The show that evening was the hit "Our American Cousins". 
April 14, 1865. Abraham Lincoln  had about 24 hours to live. 

Five days earlier General Lee surrendered the Confederate Army of Virginia to General Grant.

The Presidential party arrived late for the show, but the President was reported to be in a great mood. Lincoln and his wife were accompanied by Henry Rathbone, a young officer in the army, and Rathbone's fiancée- Clara Harris who was the daughter of New York Senator Ira Harris (the only Ira to serve in the US Senate we think). 

Sometime between 10:15 and 10:25, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor who had failed in his attempt to kidnap the President on March 20. 1865, snuck up behind the President and shot him in the head.  Rathbone leaped up and grabbed Booth. Booth dropped his derringer and produced a knife and stabbed Rathbone in the arm. Booth then fled the presidential box, leaping on to the stage and shouting Sic Semper Tyrannis  ("Thus ever to tyrants") - the motto of Virginia. Booth's left foot and his riding spur became entangled with a flag draping the box, and Booth landed awkwardly, breaking his leg.  

Dr. Charles Leal was in attendance and gave aid to the President who was slumped over in his chair. He was soon joined by Dr. Charles Sabin Taft.  Leal removed a blood clot from the entry wound behind the left ear of the president, and Lincoln's labored breathing improved. Soldiers  arrived and took the dying president through a light rain to the house of tailor William Peterson. The doctors had judged the ride to the White House as too difficult for the dying president. 

Lincoln's oldest son  Robert Todd Lincoln arrived along with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Wells and Secretary of War Edward M.  Stanton.  Throughout the night more doctors and government officials arrived, as well as Lincoln's faithful secretary John Hay. 

At 7:22 AM on April 15, 1865, the 16th President of the United States died without regaining consciousness. 

Secretary Stanton was widely reported to have said "Now he belongs to the ages". 

TRISKAIDEKAPHOBOA

Today is Friday the 13th. 
Who is afraid? 
Who should be afraid? 

The Federal Blog run by David Markus reports that the judges of the SDFLA appointed acting US Attorney Ben Greenberg to be US Attorney, because his appointment runs out April 28, 2018. None of this ever happened under Obama even when he was spending most of his time hiding his birth-certificate, trying to usher in Sharia-law through the back door, raise our taxes, deplete our military and otherwise be a bad and incompetent President. Through all of that he somehow was able to make executive appointments on time. 
It seems a bit untoward that the judges of the district are appointing the prosecutor. 

Of court the term "untoward" could be applied to most of the current federal administration. 

There's an untoward side to the retirement of Judge Zabel. And by that we mean the actions of the State Attorneys office, and not Judge Zabel.  When and if we can, we'd like to run the whole story. For now we feel comfortable in saying Miami lost a well respected and decent and honest judge who worked very hard at her job and did a very good job, because of a nasty power-play. 

BTW, speaking of former Presidents, Clinton balanced the budget. The current deficit is going to shoot up over a trillion dollars with the new budget. Just wondering where all those Republican deficit-hawks are? Maybe they're all retiring from Congress. 

Of course Clinton was disgraced because he had an affair with a woman and that's something the Republican party assured the American people was conduct unbecoming a President and something that would never occur when a Republican got into the White House. 

From Occupied America, where hypocrisy and incompetence is the order of the day, Fight the Power and have a great weekend. 

JUDGE ZABEL RESIGNS AND WAR

UPDATE: JUDGE ZABEL HAS RESIGNED!
The Judge has been dealing with well known legal issues involving her husband for some time now. It is unknown if this action is related to that and whether she has any liability for being listed on companies that her husband used which are the basis for criminal issues. 

At 4:30 AM on April 11, 1861, soldiers of the Confederacy fired upon the Union Fort Sumter.  The next day Union soldiers surrendered the Fort. 

Confederate Secretary of State Robert Toombs was the only voice in opposition to President Jefferson Davis's order to take the Fort. Toombs prophetically wrote Davis "You will only strike a hornet's nest.  Legions now quiet will swarm out and sting us to death. It is unnecessary. It puts us in the wrong. It is fatal."

Jefferson Davis of course famously tweeted that the order and the shots were "fake news". That didn't work out for him in the end. 

The opening moves of the war that devastated our states and split our country are on our mind as the current POTUS moves the United States towards firing shots upon a dastardly enemy in Syria. 

However this concerns us: 

In 2013 Trump tweeted this, which wasn't bad advice. 

Donald J. Trump‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump

Why do we keep broadcasting when we are going to attack Syria. Why can't we just be quiet and, if we attack at all, catch them by surprise?...For the first time in the history of military operations a country has broadcast what, when and where they will be doing in a future attack!

9:45 PM - 28 Aug 2013 

On Wednesday, POTUS tweeted this:

Donald J. Trump

✔ @realDonaldTrump

Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia,  because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!

6:57 AM - Apr 11, 2018

So Rumpole wants to know why POTUS can't follow his own advice? 

Or are the tweets Fake News?

Or are the people in charge incompetent? 

We are worried. 

Fight the power. 

TRANSITION TO BOND

FACDL head honchos sent out this email this week:

Good afternoon all, 

After meeting with the Transitions program  last week, I was made aware of the following:

1- If your client has insurance and qualifies through their assessment  for the Transitions program, it can be an alternative to cash bond or prison sentence. 

2- The program accepts dual diagnosis clients and has a residential program followed by intensive outpatient. 

3- Most importantly,  they will take clients on an ankle monitor, giving the court a further layer of assurance of safety to the community.  

4- They have, on full time staff,  a court liaison who can provide not only information to the court about the 34 year program, but will give monthly/ weekly/ whatever reports required by the court.   

If you have a client that you believe could benefit from this program or it can aid in the resolution of their case or release from jail call John Whyte 305-949-9001 or his cell 305-302-4455.  

Rumpole responds: 

Count us a confused. Transactions? 

We don't appear much in bond hearing court and we're not sure what this all means, but it appears to be good and the information should be helpful. 

TRUMP RIGHT ON FBI

Count us in on supporting the Prez in his criticisms of the FBI on Monday. 

There is no reason for the FBI to show up early in the morning and raid an office when the issue is business records. 

It is disturbing. And make no mistake, the next time we are crossing a federal agent and they ambush our client at 5 AM we intend to ask them who they work for and if they agree that their boss was correct when he attacked the FBI's tactics in raiding his personal lawyer's office. 

We're on your side Mr. President. Let's make America Great Again and reel in these FBI gestapo tactics. 

It is very refreshing to have a POTUS so concerned with civil rights and criminal procedure. 

From Occupied America, where there is no reason not to show up politely at 9:30 AM after making an appointment and ensuring counsel is present to monitor the situation, fight the power!