WHAT'S 25 YEARS WORTH?

Ken Anderson was a prosecutor in Texas (motto: "execute em all and let the good lord sort it out") who intentionally withheld exculpatory evidence and sent Michael Morton to jail in 1987 for a murder he didn't commit. 

In 2011 Morton was freed and exonerated after DNA conclusively proved he didn't beat his wife to death. In the same courthouse where Anderson wrecked Morton's life, and the life of Morton's young son who saw his father wrongfully convicted for killing his mom, Anderson accepted a plea offer to ten days jail and a $500.00 fine. 

That's what sending a man to prison for twenty-five years for a crime he didn't commit is worth in Texas. Not even one day for every agonizing year Morton served.  And a fine of twenty bucks a year. That's it. Yes Anderson was disbarred, but the price he paid for his criminal conduct is outrageously beyond the pale. Not even a year of probation. Anderson will be done with his sentence before Thanksgiving. 

In a state that likes, no make that loves, to send a message about getting tough on crime, what message does this send to lawyers who believe they are above the law? 

Don't mess with Texas? Ha! Go right ahead and mess with Texas, as long as you are a lawyer sending criminals- real or imagined- to prison. 

AN APOLOGY TO OUR CIVIL COLLEAGUES:
Longtime and careful readers of our blog know that in our view, it's hard to distinguish who we have less respect for: the hardworking jurist who puts in three tough hours denying motions before getting some lunch, hitting the golf course or the nail salon (or both) or the civil suits, creeping around, filing summary judgment motions, billing by the second,  and generally being a pimple on the butt of a civilized society. 
We were wrong. 
Civil lawyers can do some good. They can see a problem, a group of poor and innocent individuals being taken advantage of by a large and unfeeling corporation, and they can swoop in and put an end to this injustice. 

Like the class action case against RCI Hospitality Holdings, which happens to own Rick's Cabaret in NYC. The dancer/entertainers were not being paid as employees, but as independent contractors, who were forced to split their tips with the house, and other employees of the house, and after a hard night of dancing and being leered at by unattractive and impaired middle-aged men caught in a mid-life crisis, sometimes actually owed the house money. 

Good for them! RCI got hit with a sweet ten million for the dancers. 
Admittedly, we are not entirely familiar with this premise of an establishment where nubile young women dance for men. Must be a NYC thing. We are not as worldly as we sometimes appear to be. 

But this seems like the type of case, purely because of the underdog nature of the plaintiffs, that given the opportunity, we might have enjoyed working on, despite the civil nature of the proceedings. 

There's aways next time. 

Enjoy the week. See You In Court. 

NFL WEEK 11

Ten days ago the Bengals lost to the Browns and Cat QB Andy Dalton had a 2.0 QB rating. Could it be any worse? 
We don't like to go against teams coming off a bye, but the Bengals have peaked. The Saints are coming off a tough OT loss and we like good teams to bounce back. 
Saints at home -7, which is a big number, but it's the way to go. 

And here's a shocker....the Bears stink, the Bears are coming apart, they have no D, their QB is awful, and they will beat the Vikes at home today giving 2.5. 

Speaking of dysfunctional,  look in the dictionary and see a picture of the 2014 Redskins. They are in disarray, a part of the team supports QB Colt McCoy and a part supports RGIII. But they are a better team than the visiting Bucs, who picked a coach- Lovie Smith, who will never make a team a real winner. He is a very good Def Co-ordinator, and just out of his league as a HC.  Skins are -7 at home and in some places -7.5. It's a big line and we like under 46 but are also giving the TD. 

Would you ever give points against the Seahawks? Maybe Denver or the Cheaters, but the Chiefs are at home favored by 1.5. Give the points; take the Chiefs; leave the cannoli. 

SURVIVOR SCANDAL!!! We still have 4  TWO great players alive in the survivor pool at week 11: Plea D and Dustin Tischler.  An independent commission headed by Ken Starr reviewed the results and confirmed that we missed Fake Alex Michaels losing in week seven with the Chargers and Grieco losing in week eight with the cowpokes. You're out- it's not personal, it's strictly business. 

The match-ups are tough this week. In our big (2k buy in) Survivor pool in Vegas, we are seriously considering the Bears, the Redskins, but will probably go with the Saints.  Update: our partner convinced us to take the Bears. Wheew. Dodged a bullet. 

Both Tischler and Plead D took the Steelers so we will have to wait until Monday night to see. 

THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM

Broward charges for accessing it's clerk's website, unless you use the terminals inside the courthouse. 

It's a money grab pure and simple despite the fact that the Florida Constitution guarantees unfettered access to public records.

Broward claimed they had the first drug court in the nation, until our Captain straightened them out on his blog post Thursday.  Miami-Dade Drug court was the first in the nation. The court was set up through the cooperation and foresight of Janet Reno, Bennett Brummer, and the late Judge Stanley Goldstein who was a gem of a man. 

Broward arrests people for feeding the homeless. 

Have an innocent client in Broward? Their State Attorney (unwritten) policy is to "let the jury decide". 

You couldn't pay us enough to live and work in that insane asylum. It's pure madness, with a nasty, evil bent. 

DOM is covering a big federal trial, with snitches, and drugs, and former cops and a defense attorney doing a "My Cousin Vinny" take off. We need more humor in Federal Court. 

DOM also had a post on the lack of transparency of Supreme Court Justices. They exempted themselves from the rules that cover the rest of the federal judiciary, and they don't have to explain why they recuse themselves from cases. The article seeks more transparency from the court and the justices. 

We say there should be less transparency. 
The justices should sit behind a screen and ask questions, ala "The Dating Game."
Their opinions, when issued, should be encoded and the lawyers should have to scramble to get the code key to find out who won. 

Court should be held in "undisclosed locations" ala Dick Cheney circa 2001. 

In sum: Bring a little Broweird to the Supreme Court. 

And finally, if you're planning on traveling to the City of Lights, which we do frequently, there is a tiger on the loose in Paris! And it's not the golfer, but the big cat. ABC reports here. 

We are imagining walking down the street in our favourite arrondissement,  a cup of coffee in one hand, a loaf of bread and Le Monde in the other, and trying to explain in our limited French that we just saw a Tiger stalking around.  Maybe we'll just stay at the Grosvenor  House in London until the big cat is caught. 

Enjoy the weekend. 

NATIONAL BREAK UP DAY

There are some relationships, and the inevitable break-up, that have become part of our popular culture and consciousness. For those old enough to remember a world without Starbucks and texting, Elizabeth  Taylor and Richard Burton is the seminal relationship-breakup-remarriage event of the last century. 

Katie Holmes left weirdo Tom Cruise. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt never made it.  Elin Nordegren threw out Tiger, and he hasn't been the same since. 

But in our humble opinion, the most culturally significant break up of our time,  occurred today, November 13, year unknown, when "Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence...and that request came from his wife."  Thus was born one of the best sitcoms ever, and dozens of philosophical gems, as well as some of the best lawyering you will ever see. Observe below:







Best cross examination: "When you ASSUME... you make an ASS out of U and ME" It starts at 3:17 of the clip. Plus, it always pays to bow to the court. And the actual "assume" incident is at 4:20. We've been waiting 30 years to use this. And of course there is the valuable lesson all of us always need to keep in mind: calling one witness too many, and asking one question too many. This should be required viewing in every law school. 






Best way to end a cross? "Get off the stand, you make me sick!" 
The cross of the stooge of management, corporate puppet, the nameless, faceless little gray men trying to claw their way to the top, begins at 3:15. 

"THERE ARE NO WINNERS IN THIS CASE"

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

IT'S A SAD, SAD, SAD, SAD, WORLD .........

Just over three years ago, in July of 2011, the fate of two people, who did not know each other, collided at the intersection of Lejeune Road and Aledo Avenue, in Coral Gables, at 4 o'clock in the morning.  The results were nothing short of catastrophic.

Ace reporter David O'Valle, (who recently hit the 5,000 mark for twitter followers), covers the story in the Miami Herald here. 

Peter Munoz, 27, was a police officer employed by the Coral Spring PD.  By all accounts he was a good cop with a great career ahead of him.

Jenny Gutierrez, 23, was a single mother of a three year old girl.  She was employed as a paralegal and she was also enrolled in school at Miami-Dade College.  By all accounts she was a good person, a great mother, and she was working hard to provide for a better life for herself and her young child.

Munoz was traveling Southbound on Lejeune.  According to the accident reconstruction investigation, he was driving his vehicle at a maximum speed of 56 mph in a 40 mph zone.  He was also under the influence of a large quantity of alcohol.  His blood, taken after the crash, showed a BAC of .229, nearly three times the legal limit.

Gutierrez was traveling Eastbound on Aledo.  She entered the intersection immediately in front of the path of Munoz.  She violated his right of way.  She was also operating her vehicle with a suspended license.  Toxicology results performed by the MEs office indicated positive for both Xanax and Cocaine.

The investigation also showed that there was a 6 to 8 foot hedge that likely obstructed the sight of Gutierrez's vehicle as she was pulling into the intersection to turn left and head Northbound on Lejeune.

Munoz was fired shortly after his arrest.
Gutierrez was pronounced dead at the Ryder Trauma center two hours after the crash.  Her daughter is being raised by Gutierrez' mother.

In 2012, defense attorney Alan Ross filed a Motion to Suppress the Blood.  Judge Murphy, after hearing testimony that the first officer on the scene did not detect any signs of impairment, that the THI did not believe he had PC for the search warrant when he submitted it to the judge, and after finding that the warrant, (which was the basis for the collection of the blood evidence) lacked key essential facts, granted the Motion to Suppress.  The State dropped the DUI Manslaughter charge.

This week, the state dropped the remaining charge of Vehicular Manslaughter.  The speed, by itself, was not enough to establish the element of recklessness necessary to obtain a conviction.  (See Luzano v. State, 3D13-1678, Oct. 1, 2014).

We have been quoted in the press on more than a few cases as saying that "there are no winners in this case".  It appears that that statement certain would apply here.

It's a sad, sad, sad, sad, world.

HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY TO MIAMI DADE DRUG COURT .......

Crack reporter for the DBR, Julie Kay, wrote a great story about 3rd year law student Shayna Finkelstein, who recently was in Miami with her University of Florida mock trial team.  The team won first place in an ABA southeast regional mock trial competition.  The younger Finkelstein, daughter of famed Help Me Howard Broward PD Finkelstein hopes to follow in her father's footsteps some day and says she will be applying for a job as a PD in Miami and Palm Beach County.

But, here's the problem with Kay's article.  In it, she states that Finkelstein "was instrumental in forming Florida's first drug court ... in Broward County".

Veterans' of the Metro Justice Building (MJB), (yes, that was the name of the building from it's opening in 1962 until it was renamed in 1992 after six term State Attorney Richard E. Gerstein, who served as the elected chief prosecutor from 1956-1977), know that the "first" Drug Court in Florida, and in the United States, opened in the MJB in 1989.   It wasn't until two years later that Broward followed suit; (Las Vegas had the second ever drug court, with Broward's coming next after that).  In the past 25 years, the overwhelmingly successful Miami-Dade Drug Court has had only four judges including Judges Stanley Goldstein, Jeffrey Rosinek, Deborah Labora-White, and current Drug Court Judge Jeri Beth Cohen. 

Julie's a great reporter, but she needs to get her facts straight.   Credit goes out to Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Admin. Judge of the Criminal Division Herb Klein, Public Defender Bennett Brummer, and State Attorney Janet Reno for having the vision to create the ground-breaking program 25 years ago.  Their slogan is appropriate: "Miami's Drug Court - saving lives, one addict at a time".  Happy Birthday Miami-Dade Drug Court - you've come a long way.

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

WITH AGE COMES IRRELEVANCE

How many of us paused yesterday at 11 am to remember the end of the war to end all wars- which as we all know, occurred on 11/11/18  at 11 am? 

And if you didn't do it, why not? 

Our Favourite Federal Judge, the honorable Richard Kopf, has a long vignette on his blog Hercules and The Umpire from a former federal DEA agent, now a private investigator. It's worth a read. 

The agent speaks favorably about a tough cross examination from a defense attorney who used the old "you lie for a living don't you?" cross. Really? The effectiveness of that cross went out the door sometime in 1975. Is there any undercover agent on earth who doesn't respond "I lie when I'm undercover. I don't lie in court" or words to that effect?

In another post referencing a public incident where two lawyers in their 70's got into a fight at a country club, Judge Kopf wrote this gem:
"With age comes irrelevance. With irrelevance comes seething unfocused anger at the unfairness of it all. There is no known antidote. But, it helps to have grown up before you grow old. Too bad for me."

We've been thinking a lot about growing old(er) these days. 
First, there is that recognized phenomenon that time appears to move faster as you age. Seasons fly by, and then years and then decades. It's disconcerting. 

Second, and more troubling, is the recognition that you are running out of chances. If you fail in your 20's, 30's, or 40's, at either business or in your personal life, there still seems like plenty of time to try again. But when you are flying through your mid-50's or 60's, your next business venture, or your next romance seems like it could be your last, so you'd better choose wisely. It's added pressure when that's the last thing you need. 

But with age comes experience, and with experience comes perspective, and that is such a good thing. Because once you have perspective, you make fewer mistakes. 

In his famous commencement speech at Stanford, Steve Jobs had this to say about death:

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something...

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Follow you heart. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. 

Governor Scott Names Two New Circuit Court Judges

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

AND YOUR TWO NEWEST CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES ARE .....

Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II
Jason Bloch

Today, Governor Rick Scott named County Judge Rudy Ruiz and Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County Jason Bloch as replacements for Judge Darrin Gayles and Judge Beth Bloom.  Prior to his appointment as a Judge in 2012, Ruiz also served as an Assistant County Attorney for Miami-Dade County.  Before that, Ruiz worked for White & Case.  He began his legal career as a law clerk to Federal Judge Federico Moreno.  Bloch's entire career, from 1994 to the present, has been with the County.

Both Gayles and Bloom have moved to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  Judge Gayles was sworn in on June 23rd of this year; Judge Bloom one week later on June 30th. Judge Gayles has been assigned to the Miami Division; Judge Bloom to the Fort Lauderdale Division.

On September 10th of this year, the Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, submitted ten prospects to Governor Scott's office for consideration.  Five of those ten are County Court Judges.

The nominees were:

Ayana N. Harris
Laura Anne Stuzin
Jason Bloch
Judge Jason Emilios Dimitris (2013)
Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz II (2012)
Judge Charles Kenneth Johnson (2010)
Diana Vizcaino
Judge Wendell Graham (1994)
Judge Lourdes Simon (2010)
Lauren Fleischer Louis 

JUDGE GLADYS PEREZ RESIGNS .....

County Court Judge Gladys Perez has submitted her letter of resignation to Gov. Scott.  Her last day on the bench, according to the DBR, is November 30, 2014.

Perez told the DBR that she has accepted a job at Shutts & Bowen in the firm's class action and mass litigation defense practice group.

Judge Perez was appointed to the bench by Gov. Crist in 2009 and ran unopposed in Group 37 in 2012.  She sat in the County Civil Division at 73 West Flagler. (Did the failure of the Court Bond initiative have anything to do with her decision; or was it all about the Benjamins?).  Her term would have run through the end of 2018.  The JNC will now have to send up to six names to Governor Scott who will then name her replacement.

JNC BACK AT WORK:

With the appointment of Judge Ruiz and the resignation of Judge Perez, Governor Scott will now have two open County Court seats where he will name the replacements. That means the JNC will have to begin the whole process anew.  Stay tuned for the announcement of when those applications will be due.

POST ELECTION ANAYSIS: WHY DID CRIST LOSE .....

The Daily Kos provides an excellent analysis as to why Charlie Crist lost the election to Rick Scott.  Their verdict ..... Scott had more votes.  Seriously, while low Democrat voter turnout has been discussed, in fact, the Dems turned out in numbers very similar to 2010.  The real reason that Scott won is because of the Republican turnout.  It was much higher than anticipated in both the Panhandle and in the area of Duval (Jacksonville) County.  A good read for all of you poli sci majors.

JUDICIAL EFFICIENCY .....

If closing cases is the best measure of judicial efficiency, then Judge Robert Scola gets the award for the Southern District of Florida.  Scola was appointed to the Federal bench by President Obama in 2011.  According to TRAC, he closed 536 cases in the 12 months ending June 30th of this year.  Scola's reputation when he was in State court was always as a no nonsense judge.  Kudos to Judge Scola.

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

PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND WALK AWAY FROM THAT PLATE OF FOOD!

"Whomever gives food to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse."
Proverbs 28:27

"When I was hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me."
Matthew 25:23. 

Not In Broward. 

You can share many things in Broward- ideas, talk, money,  rides to work, perhaps even bodily fluids during spring break. 

But you can't share food. Nope. It's a crime, because after all, it's Broweird. 

Last week the Gestapo Police charged three men, two pastors and one 90 year old gentlemen, with feeding the homeless in Broward, where kindness and charity are crimes. 

PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND WALK AWAY FROM THE PLATE OF FOOD!

From one of the accused in the report here:

One of the police officers said, 'Drop that plate right now,' as if I were carrying a weapon," said Abbott, who runs a nonprofit group called Love Thy Neighbor, Inc. "It's man's inhumanity to man is all it is."

You can almost imagine the city commission meetings up there:
"We can ban the United Way, shut down those pesky charities and ask for some minimum mandatories for even associating with the ACLU. This business of helping people is going to END now on our watch! Ft. Lauderdale will assume it's rightful place as the meanest city in the world!"
Then the commission members jump to their feet in ecstasy,  visions not just of hundreds of homeless people being arrested, but their benefactors being imprisoned as well. 

And sitting in the corner, nodding with a small smile, the man the myth, the legend, the prosecutor who refuses to ever exercise discretion and who directs his minions to try even innocent defendants with the credo "let the jury decide" Mike Satz. 

Wonderful town they have up their, if you're not poor, hungry, or generous. 

See You In Court. 

NFL WEEK TEN

Waiting on one more survivor before we post the picks. 

We like the Pack at home -7 and below 53.5. The bloom is off the Bears. They stink. They need a QB.

The Fins have been red hot. But a road game against the Lions coming off a bye week is a bit much. Take the Lions -2.5 at home. 

Rams at Cardinals. The Birds are due for a let down, so we don't like giving up the 6.5 at home. But we like the over 43. Roll with that. 

TAKE FOOT. OPEN MOUTH. INSERT.

IN WAR: RESOLUTION. IN DEFEAT: DEFIANCE.  IN VICTORY: MAGNANIMITY. IN PEACE: GOODWILL.
Winston Spencer Churchill.

Judge Jacqueline Schwartz, if nothing else, has shown us that she is no WSC.

In Victory? Piss off the Miami Hispanic community.
This is what she said about her reelection:

When Schwartz won reelection  Tuesday over lawyer Frank Bocanegra, she issued a statement saying voters had "gone past the days when any nondescript Hispanic could go on the ballot and defeat any Anglo sitting judge."

David Ovalle's article on Schwartz's latest misstep is here.

The Cuban-American Bar Association fired back:

In a letter sent to her on Wednesday, the Cuban American Bar Association said "the statement is incompatible with your duties as a judge and with the dignity of judicial office."
Her "troubling" words suggest that "some or all of your Hispanic colleagues on the bench achieved their positions by virtue of a 'nondescript Hispanic name' and not because of their hard work, professionalism and other qualifications," CABA President Ricardo Martinez-Cid wrote.

Schwartz tossed the letter in the trash before going out for a lunch of Arroz con pollo, or maybe as David Ovalle likes to muse, arroz con mango.  (she didn't really do that as far as we know).

Remember that during the campaign Schwartz  told a store clerk to "Go F themselves" when they refused to take down a large Bocanegra sign. (See our post in September "...And the horse you rode in on."

Next up for Judge Schwartz: why battered women need to toughen up and stop complaining.  

In other news, the Lunch and Learn Seminar for November on "Ethics and Ethnic Sensitivities in Miami" to be taught by Judge Jacqueline Schwartz has been unfortunately postponed until never and a day.

 See You In Court, where gone are the days....nah. Not gonna do it. Wouldn't be prudent.    

 

OMMMMMM

Take a deep breath. Breathe in....hold it.....exhale. Breathe in..... hold it....exhale. Ommmmmmmm. 

It will all be ok. 

Before we begin, lets take a minute to remember our colleague Sy Gaer. His birthday was November 7. Happy Birthday SY. Have one on us. For you newbies, go to the second floor, face the elevators, turn 180 degrees. Look up and read the wonderful words written by Judge Milt Hirsch. 

So where are we today?

1. No marijuana in Florida (sorry Jeff Felier). 
2. No civil courthouse. (Sorry Bertie).
3. Four more years of Rick Scott. Can't say Governor Scott has done a bad job on judicial appointments. He hasn't. He hasn't stuck to the playbook of always elevating a county Judge to give him a second appointment, and he has appointed many fair judges from both sides (prosecution and defense) of the aisle. 
4. But no more federal judges. It's hard to think the Senate would appoint Judge Scalia today if Obama nominated him. Mark our words, the Senate is going to shut down the judicial appointment process.  Beth Bloom and Darrin Gayles should close the door behind them, because they just made it.  

So what do the Republicans intend to do? Easy: shut down the government, cut taxes, expect the CDC to cure Ebola (while shut down and bankrupt) and blame Obama if they don't. Seal the border from Ebola infected ISIS fighters streaming in from Mexico, pass numerous laws absolutely forbidding the use of Sharia law in US cases (because that happens all the time, right?), and blame the extremely slight, barely undetectable elevation of global temperatures on the increased use of lights at the White House during the current administration. 

Abortions will be outlawed. 
Homosexuals condemned and tarred and feathered. 
The flag will be protected while stem cells (that could cure disease if the CDC was open and funded) will be outlawed. 
Immigrants will be forced to wear a  large yellow "I" and their attempts to attend school, go to the hospital, drive, eat and breathe will be criminalized. 

Iraq will be invaded agains just because it's a good way to divert attention and get money into defense contractors, while grants to poor families and hungry children will be cut, because you get what you deserve damn-it. 

Taxes for hard working Americans earning over a million dollars a year will be cut, because it takes a lot of work to earn that money, while taxes will be raised on single working mothers earning less than fifty-thousand dollars a year, because no one forced them to be single, a parent and poor. 

And just because they can, that damned health care law will be repealed because it has wrecked the economy (not) and cost Americans jobs (double not). 

Bridges and roads and infrastructure will be repaired through prayer,  because taxes must be cut. And when tunnels collapse and bridges crumble, Obama will be blamed because it happened on his watch. 

And most importantly, most critically, government will get the hell out of the way of Wall Street and the Koch Brothers, because that's all that matters. Regulations will be repealed. Clean coal (no such thing) will save the day, the pipeline from Canada will be built because global warming is a Chinese conspiracy to spread drugs, homosexuality, and godless communism in the free world. 

And finally- we will stop listening to the so called experts and scientists on things like disease, global warming, science, health care, and ecology - because they  are all in Putin's pocket- and get back to what made this country great: prayer and hard work and no taxes. 

We are praying.  That's for sure. 

See you in court. 

ELECTION DAY 2014

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:


UPDATE: RESULTS & ANALYSIS ($$$$$) BELOW .....
As of 7 am this morning, more than 3.1 million voters had already cast their ballots in Florida.  Absentee Ballots received by the election departments' total 1.3 million and an additional 1.8 million showed up during early voting.  Broken down by party, it's 1.33 million Republicans; 1.22 million Dems and 560,000 with NPA.

RETURNS (98% reporting):

County Court Judge:
BOCANEGRA - 179,600 - 42%
SCHWARTZ    - 243,470 - 58%

Does the money spent make a difference?  What do our readers think?  Incumbent Judge Jacqueline Schwartz spent $380,884 on her campaign including $315,000 of her own money.  In comparison, Challenger Frank Bocanegra spent $93,124 including $32,000 of his own money.

COURTHOUSE BOND
YES                 - 165,838 - 36%
NO                  - 293,840 - 64%

NORTH OF THE BORDER
In Broweird, there were two races for Judge; one Circuit and one County.  In the Circuit Court race, Dennis Bailey defeated Rhonda Sokoloff 50.6% - 49.4% (4,300 votes); and in County Court, Incumbent Ian Richards has 177,067 votes to Challenger Claudia Robinson's 178,084.  They are separated by a quarter of a percent triggering a recount in that race.

ELECTION DAY SPECIAL .....

Beginning in 1980 and continuing through 2004, over the course of seven consecutive presidential elections, a Bush and/or a Clinton appeared on the national ticket for President/Vice-President in each election.  The string was finally broken in 2008, when Barack Obama beat out Hillary Rodham Clinton in the Democratic primaries and secured the nomination of his party.  Two years from now, the cycle may repeat itself and we could again be talking about both a Bush and a Clinton on the national tickets of their parties ....

But for now, you'll just have to settle for a Schwartz and a Bocanegra.

Many of you have already cast your votes either by way of Absentee Ballot or by Early Voting.  For those procrastinators who waited until today to vote, the important races, besides the County Court race alluded to above, includes the following matchups:

Governor: (SCOTT WINS 48%-47%)

Does the money spent make a difference?  The final numbers are not yet in, but as of two days ago, here is what we know:

1. This was the most expensive race in gubernatorial history.
2. Scott and his PACs spent $96 million dollars.
3. Scott reported $10m in expenditures in his campaign account; meaning $86m was spent by PACs.
4. By comparison, Crist and his PACs spent $49 million.
5. Crist reported $9m in expenditures in his campaign account; meaning $40m was spent by the PACs supporting him.
6. $114m was spent on TV ads alone by the two parties; (2-1 in favor of Scott's camp).


Will you be voting for the candidate who is or the candidate who was?  The choice is Rick Scott, the Incumbent, versus Charlie Crist, the former Governor, and current challenger.  Of course, if you didn't know that, well then, you must not own a television set.

Attorney General: (BONDI WINS 55%-42%)

Will you be voting for the Incumbent who has spent most of her elected time in office, (not to mention the valuable resources of her legal team), doing everything she can to make sure that gays cannot marry in the State of Florida or will you be supporting her opponent?  The choice is Pam Bondi versus George Sheldon.

Constitutional Amendment One: (PASSED WITH 75%)

AKA The Florida Water and Land Conservation Initiative.  It deals with our natural resources.

Constitutional Amendment Two: (FAILED WITH 57.5%)

AKA The Medical Marijuana Amendment.  Backed and financed by multi-millionaire personal injury attorney John Morgan, this Amendment polled at around 85% for most of the Spring and Summer.  That was until millions of dollars of out of state PAC money coming from a few billionaires like the Koch brothers and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson funded the Drug Free America group attempting to defeat the amendment.  The latest numbers show about 61% support for this amendment; it takes 60% for the measure to pass.

For a more comprehensive analysis of Amendments One and Two, I'll throw it over to Mr. Cheeseburger in Paradise, who does a much better job than I could ever do at explaining these two very important Amendments:

Constitutional Amendment Three: (FAILED WITH 48%)

AKA The Lame Duck Court Packing Amendment.  This amendment was addressed by the Tampa Tribune recently.  They described the amendment as one that was supported by " ... Republican legislators as a solution to a pending crisis on the Florida Supreme Court. Three of seven justices are expected to retire simultaneously in January 2019, just as a new governor could be taking office. But the amendment placed on the Nov. 4 ballot by the Legislature that would give outgoing governors carte blanche to pack the court on their way out the door is unacceptable. Amendment 3 is one more legislative attempt to push partisanship into the court system, and Florida voters should reject it." 

Miami-Dade Ballot

Locally, the most talked about race is not about whom to select for County Court Judge; instead, it's whether to support a $393 million Bond measure which would fund a new Civil Courthouse to be built somewhere in downtown Miami.  Chief Judge Soto and a host of attorneys and judges have been hosting speakeasy type get-togethers to drum up support for the Bond as well as to raise money to finance the advertising campaign.  The current courthouse is something like 200 years old (j/k - it was built in 1925) and has 28 stories and three bathrooms.  The bond, if passed, would increase the millage rate by about 0.09, or $18, for a home valued at $200,000.

If you have not already done so, get out there today and exercise your right to V-O-T-E. 

And because this whole damn election season has brought us nothing more than $90 plus million dollars worth of false and negative ads from both state parties and their funded PACs, we decided to leave you with this heartfelt moving story that took place this past weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio .....  

Why was a Division III woman's basketball game between Mount St. Joseph's and Hiriam College that would normally put 50 fans in the stands instead moved to Xavier University's 10,000 seat basketball's arena; (PS. they sold out the 10,000 tickets in just one hour)? Read the story and watch the video here.



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

WHY INNOCENT PEOPLE PLEAD GUILTY

NOTE: We took this from DOM's blog. But this is just too damn important to pass up. 

Judge Jed S Rakoff wrote this brilliant piece in the NY Review Of Books. 

How prevalent is the phenomenon of innocent people pleading guilty? The few criminologists who have thus far investigated the phenomenon estimate that the overall rate for convicted felons as a whole is between 2 percent and 8 percent. The size of that range suggests the imperfection of the data; but let us suppose that it is even lower, say, no more than 1 percent. When you recall that, of the 2.2 million Americans in prison, over 2 million are there because of plea bargains, we are then talking about an estimated 20,000 persons, or more, who are in prison for crimes to which they pleaded guilty but did not in fact commit.

Every Judge and Prosecutor should be required to read this. 

More from the article:

One thing that did become quickly apparent, however, was that these guidelines, along with mandatory minimums, were causing the virtual extinction of jury trials in federal criminal cases. Thus, whereas in 1980, 19 percent of all federal defendants went to trial, by 2000 the number had decreased to less than 6 percent and by 2010 to less than 3 percent, where it has remained ever since.

The reason for this is that the guidelines, like the mandatory minimums, provide prosecutors with weapons to bludgeon defendants into effectively coerced plea bargains. In the majority of criminal cases, a defense lawyer only meets her client when or shortly after the client is arrested, so that, at the outset, she is at a considerable informational disadvantage to the prosecutor. If, as is very often the case (despite the constitutional prohibition of “excessive bail”), bail is set so high that the client is detained, the defense lawyer has only modest opportunities, within the limited visiting hours and other arduous restrictions imposed by most jails, to interview her client and find out his version of the facts.

The prosecutor, by contrast, will typically have a full police report, complete with witness interviews and other evidence, shortly followed by grand jury testimony, forensic test reports, and follow-up investigations. 

...

Against this background, the information-deprived defense lawyer, typically within a few days after the arrest, meets with the overconfident prosecutor, who makes clear that, unless the case can be promptly resolved by a plea bargain, he intends to charge the defendant with the most severe offenses he can prove. Indeed, until late last year, federal prosecutors were under orders from a series of attorney generals to charge the defendant with the most serious charges that could be proved—unless, of course, the defendant was willing to enter into a plea bargain. If, however, the defendant wants to plead guilty, the prosecutor will offer him a considerably reduced charge—but only if the plea is agreed to promptly (thus saving the prosecutor valuable resources). Otherwise, he will charge the maximum, and, while he will not close the door to any later plea bargain, it will be to a higher-level offense than the one offered at the outset of the case.

...

Third, and possibly the gravest objection of all, the prosecutor-dictated plea bargain system, by creating such inordinate pressures to enter into plea bargains, appears to have led a significant number of defendants to plead guilty to crimes they never actually committed. For example, of the approximately three hundred people that the Innocence Project and its affiliated lawyers have proven were wrongfully convicted of crimes of rape or murder that they did not in fact commit, at least thirty, or about 10 percent, pleaded guilty to those crimes. Presumably they did so because, even though they were innocent, they faced the likelihood of being convicted of capital offenses and sought to avoid the death penalty, even at the price of life imprisonment. But other publicized cases, arising with disturbing frequency, suggest that this self-protective psychology operates in noncapital cases as well, and recent studies suggest that this is a widespread problem. For example, the National Registry of Exonerations (a joint project of Michigan Law School and Northwestern Law School) records that of 1,428 legally acknowledged exonerations that have occurred since 1989 involving the full range of felony charges, 151 (or, again, about 10 percent) involved false guilty pleas.

...

 Research indicates that young, unintelligent, or risk-averse defendants will often provide false confessions just because they cannot “take the heat” of an interrogation. Although research into false guilty pleas is far less developed, it may be hypothesized that similar pressures, less immediate but more prolonged, may be in effect when a defendant is told, often by his own lawyer, that there is a strong case against him, that his likelihood of acquittal is low, and that he faces a mandatory minimum of five or ten years in prison if convicted and a guidelines range of considerably more—but that, if he acts swiftly, he can get a plea bargain to a lesser offense that will reduce his prison time by many years.

Rumpole says:  Just don't tell us that we have the greatest legal system in the world. We don't. 

See you in court, where we are one of the 3% that goes to trial. 

SHARPSTEIN MEMORIAL

On December 11, 2014, there will be a service in our courthouse to memorialize our colleague Richard Sharpstein, who died earlier this year. There will be a plaque hung on a wall. The expenses for this have admirably been covered by donations by ASAs, the FACDL and the league of prosecutors.

Mark your calendars and attend this event. 

ARRESTED:
There has  been an arrest in the armed robbery of retired Judge Scott Silverman. The Herald/Ovalle article is here. 


Speaking of Miami's ace crime reporter, when you see him this week prowling the hallways of the REGJB, make sure to offer to buy him a cup of coffee and commiserate with him. The Dolphins "nipped" his Chargers Sunday, 37-0. Tough loss. 

Stephen ImMasche and Juan Gonzalez went down in the survivor pool with an ill-fated pick of the 49ers. They had a good nine week run. We are down to 4: Michael Grieco, Plea D, Fake Alex Michaels and Dustin Tischler. 

It's cool outside! Enjoy. 
See you in court. 

NFL WEEK NINE

We're down to the sweet six in the survivor pool this week. The Cowpokes loss last week eliminated Peter Sautter and Survive. 



We went 3-0 on our picks last week (of course) and this week we like the following plays:

Home dog Steelers +1.5 versus the Ravens. 

Home dog Cheaters at home +4 over the Broncos. 

Colts -3 at Giants. 

Browns -6 and under 44 at home against the Bucs. 



PRISON ESCAPE!
Sorry to intrude on your weekend with business, but there was an escape from Dade Correctional Friday. Ronald McCoy, serving two life sentences, is on the lam. Anybody know who represented him? 

McCoy escaped probably around 8 am Friday. The prison wasn't sure he was gone until 1pm, and didn't notify Metro Dade until 5:30 pm. 

Here is the Herald article. 

BOLO: male wearing orange jumpsuit, reported to be a bad speller: has the word "psycho" misspelled on a tattoo on his right arm. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

SCARY HALLOWEEN IMAGES

DISCO

Feeling a little bored, maybe a little blue? Then we have just the thing for you. A little smattering of 3rd DCA justice. 

The ABC's of discovery are on full display in M.H. v. State, and Judge Rothenberg and company reach the conclusion that it is a discovery violation most foul when the State lists a "victim" (which every good defense attorney knows should be called "complaining witness") as category B witness. Category B means you won't B taking their depo, and Rothenberg says that is reversible error. 

"ABC
easy as 1-23
simple as do-ri-me-
ABC-123-list your victim as an A and you will A-OK"
(c) Rumpole and Motown Records, 2014. 

WHEN COPS ATTACK -warning- the following video contains graphic and nasty language including multiple uses of the F word. Not surprisingly, Officer Friendly is doing all the cursing. 




Miami Beach cops used to have a reputation for being mean, nasty, abusive, violent, thuggish...oh wait...they still do. 

No truth to the rumor the video will be playing on a loop at MIA welcoming visitors to Miami this winter. 


See You In Court. 

I FEEEEL GOOD......

UPDATE: Joseph Richer was convicted Monday night of second degree murder for shooting a maintenance worker in the back as he fled after Richer produced a gun when police arrived to convict him. Richer was also convicted of attempted first degree murder of a law enforcement officer. 

The last call at Tobacco Road made the NY Times Monday. Here. 

We went three for three on our picks yesterday. Naturally.

Want a nice, quick, fun, mindless read to relax? 
Try the Parker Novels, by Richard Stark. Start with Book One: The Hunter. Fun and easy. 

Judge Maritza Tinkler-Mendez sentenced Andrew Rolle to life in prison for the murder of Detective James Walker. She called the acts "selfish and senseless." (h/t @davidovalle305)

Also on tap, closing arguments before Judge Tinkler-Mendez (the James Brown of Judges? You know, the hardest working judge in the business? ) in the trial of Joseph Richer, a Wyoming Lawyer who shot and killed a worker on South Beach during an eviction. Tammy Forrest for the prosecution, PD Herb Smith for the defense. 

South Florida Lawyers blog has all the latest on the battle for a new civil courthouse. No word on whether the new digs  will come with a locker room for civil counsel to check their egos. What it won't need is a whole lot of jury boxes. Those chumps can't try their way out of a paper bag. Everything settles. 

If the referendum fails, we can see a Judge Soto/Kickstarter campaign in our future. Maybe.  Or maybe a bunch of robed-readers can take to the streets like those kids with football helmets trying to finance a trip to a big game. They can wear their robes, shake a gavel, and their bailiff can collect proceeds. 
Or maybe someone can start a Ponzi-scheme. 


Fall is definitely here. 

See you in court.

NFL WEEK 8 2014

Another travel day, so another terse post, foregoing our witty repartee and analysis for just getting something out:

We're not off the Bengals bandwagon, and we can't pass them up with +2 at home, and the Ravens just aren't as good as their record. 
(WIN)

But the Dolphins on the road at JAX -6 means that we think the Fins are going to ride a little wave here. Their win on the road last week against the Bears shows us they have some moxie. 
(WIN)

The Pack is due for a letdown; Saints -2.5 at home. 

Survivor Pool: 
An investigative committee is closely examining the Dustin Tischler issue. Emails will be posted and the issue will be resolved. Stay tuned. 

RESOLVED: A switch in time saves Tischler this time:


> From: Dustin Tischler <dustintischler@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: Pool
> To: "HORACE RUMPOLE" <fbpool12@gmail.com>
> Date: Sunday, October 5, 2014, 10:41 PM
> Hey
> Rump,
> Was
> reading the blog and just realized that I already took
> Packers this year.  If its not too late, I will switch
> my pick to Seattle for Monday night.  
> Thanks Dustin
> Tischler, Esq.Bruck & Tischler, Attorneys
> at Law
> New World Tower100 N. Biscayne
> Blvd.
> Suite 2301
> Miami, FL

LAST CALL TOBACCO ROAD

Tobacco Road, Miami's oldest bar, closes its doors for the last time this Saturday. It's had a good great run.

In simpler times, lawyers and judges met after court and had a few cold ones, and maybe ate a cheeseburger before heading home.  It was a place of good food, good drinks, good live music, and after tomorrow it will be gone. More than a few criminal and civil cases were settled there, and more than a few assignations were consummated. 

Goodbye old friend. 


Here's the thing about winning a trial. It's a great feeling (we should know). But most of the time, despite what we as attorneys think, the case was ripe to be won.  The frustrating thing about trials is that  usually your best work goes unrecognized. As you are crossing the cop and s/he is crumbling on the witness stand,  a bored judge, an overworked prosecutor, and an unappreciative client are the only spectators. But that comes with the territory. And we find it unseemly when a lawyer touts their own victories, much less sending out emails with summaries of supposedly amazing cross. War stories years later are one thing, the "look how great I am" emails are something else. 

Back in our high school glory days, an errant football was thrown and landed in our hands  for an interception, and we galloped into the end zone before a few thousand cheering fans during a championship game. Days later we were still recounting the event for bored teammates when our crusty old coach who in fact did wear a houndstooth hat pulled us aside and growled: "Act like you've been there before son". 

It's good advice. 

EBOLA IN NYC
It's not a new play on Broadway. A doctor who went to Africa to treat patients has tested positive for Ebola. And here's the problem: he was riding the subways for three days before his fever hit. 

That's one of many reasons why we aren't sleeping well these days. 

The weekend is almost here.