SURVIVOR POOL STARTS TONIGHT

HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II HAS DIED 

MORE ON THIS LATER. 

The Queen is dead. Long live the King. 

 Here it is. The award winning, earth shaking, JOA making, NG getting, No discovery needed, viagra taking, world famous REGJB BLOG SURVIVOR POOL

It's amazing how the most brilliant legal minds cannot follow simple instructions. (People who wear all black to work every day and sit above the world are obviously excluded from that last statement). 

1) send all selections to FBpool12@gmail.com. Use our other email and you lose. 

2) Make a REGULAR pick for this week. Name your team. Saints, Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Bucs, Vikes, you decide. That's your regular pick. 

3) Want a bonus week off? (Everyone gets one). Pick the total in the Rams-Bills opening game set for Thursday night. Any number works. 2 (just one safety), 3 (just one field goal) 10-7 (a td and two fgs) etc. 30, 44, 56, 67, whatever you want. CLOSEST TO THE TOTAL GETS A SECOND WEEK PASS

4) Want a SECOND LIFE? Pick the EXACT SCORE: Bills 11-Rams 9; Rams 67-Bills 65; Rams 21- Bills 17. Whatever you want, To win a second life you have to hit this EXACTLY. 

Which means- your total pick- 11, 19, 67,33, 44 DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THE SUM OF YOUR EXACT SCORE PICK. You can go out on a flyer and say Bills 9-Rams 6 to try and win a second life AND ALSO PICK A DIFFERENT TOTAL- like 44. The choice is yours. 

This is NOT BRAIN SURGERY OR THE FEDERAL RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE You passed the bar, you should understand this. 

IF YOU ARE NOT ON THE CHART BELOW YOU ARE NOT SIGNED UP- SEND AN EMAIL TO FBPOOL12@GMAIL.COM and make your picks.  If you don't want to play for the bonuses on the Thursday night game, just make a regular one team pick by Sunday kickoff. 

TIES- STAY ALIVE. That's the rule. Live it, learn it, love it. Jets 33- Ravens 33, and you picked the Ravens, you continue on. 

Book1 Survivor by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

MILLER MUDDLED BY PREGNANCY

Update: Tune in tomorrow for important Survivor Pool updates. The NFL season begins tomorrow night, and 85% of our survivor players are totally confused. 

Some Judges like 

And some Judges like 

and this is a story about a judge who chose the golf cart over the child and threw the baby out with the bath water until world took notice.  

When you see what judges do when the harsh light of the media is shinned upon them, you can only wonder at the tyranny of their actions when no one is watching. 

Which brings us to Circuit Judge David Miller, and his initial denial of a continuance of a civil trial involving a cop, a kart, and a person at a Dolphin game that was up for the first time. The defense attorney and his wife had tried for several years to conceive via IVF, and having done so, the attorney moved for a continuance for a trial set for the first time so he could be present with his newborn baby 

DENIED wrote the judge, and then threatened sanctions if the lawyer sought additional relief. 

GRANTED wrote the judge after intrepid Herald Ace David Ovalle, a new father he BTW, swung into action and wrote of the infamy and tyranny of a judge who decided the birth of a lawyer's child was not as important as a trial over a cart and a person attempting to violate the laws of physics in the Dolphin Stadium parking lot by both of them occupying the same space at the same time. You cannot do that. Newton proved it. 

You also cannot deny a continuance when a lawyer or their spouse is giving birth.  The Florida Supreme Court said so. 

“As adopted, subdivision (a) of new rule 2.570 requires that absent a finding of one or more of the reasons listed in the rule, a court must grant a timely motion for continuance based on the parental leave of the movant’s lead attorney, due to the birth or adoption of a child, if the motion is made within a reasonable time after the later of the movant’s lead attorney learning of the basis of the continuance, or the setting of the proceeding(s) or the scheduling of the matter(s) for which a continuance is sought,” 

From El Herald: 

The reason: A Miami-Dade judge had refused to allow the postponement of a civil trial, even though all of the attorneys involved are OK with Fumagali taking parental leave. The decision by Miami-Dade Circuit Judge David Miller appeared to go against a recently enacted Florida Supreme Court rule that requires judges to grant postponements of cases for lead attorneys for the birth of a child.

But on Tuesday afternoon — hours after the Miami Herald published this story online — the judge backtracked, granting the continuance because of the lawyer’s “need for parental leave,” according to an order.

Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/article265348906.html#storylink=cpy

David Ovalle

@DavidOvalle305

·

4h

GOOD NEWS! Hours after we published a story on Judge David Miller refusing to grant attorney Alex Fumagali a trial continuance for the birth of his baby, the judge changed course.

Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child is full of grace, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child has far to go, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child works hard for a living.

And the child that is born on the trial day, will miss his Father if Judge Miller has his way. 

WE HAVE A NEW PM AND HANZMAN AND COLBY MAKE THE NY TIMES

 The world's oldest democracy, and perhaps its best, has a new Prime Minister- Liz Truss- England's third female leader.  Truss will pick up Tuesday where PM Boris Johnson leaves off. A dedicated Brexiter and Conservative, she will travel to Scotland to meet the Queen, who will formally ask her to form a government. The Queen has met every PM since Churchill, but this will be the first time the Queen has met a Minister of Parliament outside of London and asked them to form a government.  The Queen is in Scotland for the summer and the 96-year-old monarch has some mobility issues, as the Palace discretely refers to her age-related challenges.

Truss has had a long and winding road to becoming PM. She was the foreign secretary before winning election, so she is well known to world leaders. But as a young woman she was a Liberal Democrat. Even after joining the Conservative party, she was staunchly an anti-Brexit European Union supporter ...until she wasn't. Which brings to mind a few Churchillian bon mots of wisdom: "Those that don't change their minds never change anything", and "A person who isn't a liberal in their youth has no heart. A person who isn't a conservative in their middle age has no brain." 

We supported former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, but alas neither he nor we prevailed. 

THE HANZMAN METHOD

Closer to home, the praise for the handling of the Surfside Building collapse continues to generate praise. The NY Times weighed in with a very flattering profiled of Judge Michael Hanzman, which included the quote from Judge Jon Colby that the survivors received "personalized justice."

Miami has a lot to be proud of in the way this case was handled and settled. It was done quickly; hard work uncovered several hundred million dollars of coverage that was not readily apparent at the outset of the case; and law firms were cajoled into relinquishing their normal 33-44% fee structure for recovery. It may be a road map for how the legal system handles future mass-tort disasters. Kudos to the Judges and the law firms who handled the case. It was very much a collaborative effort. First among the groundbreaking way this case was handled, was the speed in which it was resolved. 

 Ask just about any litigant in a case what the most frustrating part of the legal system is for them, and they will respond that it takes too long. There is no closure. Some of the problem lies with the new economics of the law. More lawyers means more competition which means lower fees which means lawyers take more cases to generate the fees needed to run a law firm which means cases move slower. 

Couple that with the overbooked dockets and inability to get a hearing within six months of filing a motion in civil court, and you have a court system not responsive to the needs of the public it serves. 

But maybe there is a flip side to that never ending downward spiral of the length of cases. And that is the quicker the case moves, the less time it takes, the less hours lawyers have to put in, and thus the lower the fees.  Call it the ....Hanzman Method???

Has a nice ring to it. 

One thing is for sure, Judge Hanzman can expect to be consulted by Judges across the country the next time one of these unfortunate tragedies hits the legal system. 

Summer is officially over- now comes the sprint of trials and hearings until Thanksgiving. Slow and steady wins the race. Well, maybe with the Hanzman Method, quick and steady will be the new normal. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CALENDAR PATRIOT EDITION

 What does patriotism and loyalty mean? Your Constitutional Calendar jurist - Judge Hirsch- has the very topical answer:

    The “Cold War” was already under way when, in the September, 1947, issue of Harper’s Magazine, preeminent American historian Henry Steele Commager published an essay entitled, “Who is Loyal to America?”.  That essay – which resulted in Commager being vilipended as a “commie” in hate mail and even in some newspapers –  included this memorable passage:

        "It is easier to say what loyalty is not than what it is.  It is not conformity.  It is not passive acquiescence to the status quo.  It is not preference for everything American over everything foreign.  It is not an ostrich-like ignorance of the other countries and other institutions.  It is not the indulgence in ceremony – a flag salute, an oath of allegiance, a fervid verbal declaration.  It is not a particular creed, a particular vision of history, a particular body of economic practices, a particular philosophy.

        "It is a tradition, an ideal, and a principle.  It is a willingness to subordinate every private advantage for the larger good.  It is an appreciation of the rich and diverse contributions that can come from the most varied sources.  It is allegiance to the traditions that have guided our greatest statesmen and inspired our most eloquent poets – the traditions of freedom, equality, democracy, tolerance, and the tradition of Higher Law, of experimentation, cooperation, and pluralism.  It is the realization that America was born of revolt, flourished on dissent, became great through experimentation."

Under information and belief, the Republican party has already denounced the Haper magazine's piece, Henry Steele Commager, and this blog as dangerous and radical and wrong.  MAGA loyalty is all about indulgence of ceremony and sum over substance, saying the pledge of allegiance, and the preference of everything American over everything else. In summary, Judge Hirsch has uncovered a missive 69 years from the past, to our current troubles. 

And who else but he could do so?

HANZMAN AWARDS 65 MILLION IN FEES ON TOWER COLLAPSE CASE

 In a remarkable order, full of a long recounting of the remarkable results in the Surfside Tower collapse case in which at the outset Judge Hanzman noted that the building was insured for 48 million and the property was worth about 100 million - and the total recovery ended up being 1.2 billion- and it was obtained  within 18 months- Judge Hanzman REJECTED a fee request of 100 million comprising something called Lodestar that we are entirely unfamiliar with, but did approve legal fees of 65 million dollars. 

The order starts out with voluminous praise for the attorneys who took on the case being warned by the tough-talking judge that it was NOT going to be "business as usual" and they had better "BUCKLE UP" for the hard ride ahead. In Rumpole's world, effusive praise in an order almost always precedes the inevitable "but for the reasons stated herein the motion is denied." 

And that is what occurred. Sort off. The attorneys got more than they agreed to when they "buckled up", but less than what they asked for- even with the support of some expert who opined "show them the money!" Or something like that. 

It's a good order. A well-reasoned order. The fees represent 6.5% of the money recovered. More than a billion dollars went to the victims and their survivors. 

Well Done Judge Hanzman. Well Done indeed. 

Champlain Towers South - Order on Class Counsel's Motion for Attorney's Fees by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

MORE PDFS? TRY LESS PDFS

 KINDLY ACT ACCORDINGLY 

This notice was in our crowded email in box: 

ATTENTION EVERYONE

Effective October 29, 2022, you will no longer receive a PDF document(s) attached to the E-service Notification of Electronic Filing (NEF). You will receive a link in the NEF to the document(s) submitted. That link will be available for two days (excluding weekends) after the filing is accepted by the Clerk.

FYI unlike the rest of the civilized world and Iran and North Korea, the Dade County Clerk's docket in criminal cases has NO REPEAT NO PDFS attached. 

No soup for you. No documents for you. 

However should you be charged in North Korea with defaming the Dear Leader, the charging documents are available in PDF format on their docket www.moreadvancedcourtsystemthanmiami.com 

TO THE MOON ALICE

 Churchill has been nipped!

 As a well-known anglophile, we are interested in all things WSC. Perhaps the most iconic image of the great man was taken by acclaimed portrait photographer Yousuf Karash, whose show of portraits of acclaimed figures was recently at UM and you could have caught Rumpole there if you were sharp. 

On December 30, 1941, as the war was going badly and Britan was barely hanging on, WSC visited Canada and addressed the Canadian Parliament. He was not prepared for the portrait and when told he had to sit for it, he glowered and told the young artist he had time for one shot. Karash, a young portrait photographer, was brash enough to tell the leader of the free world fighting fascism that he could not hold his beloved cigar. Churchill told him  to bugger off in so many words. Karash snatched the stogie and ran back to his camera and snaped the picture of Churchill glowering at him and the rest is history.   

The signed original hung in the landmark Fairmont hotel in Ottawa until recently, when it was discovered the portrait hanging was the not the original. It turns out from examining selfies on social media that the theft occurred around the end of 2021. 

TO THE MOON ALICE 

We are going back to the Moon. In 2025 we are going to land three astronauts on the moon. One will be a woman. One will be a person of color. The third will not be Rumpole. Not only are we going back to the Moon, but we are also going to land at the south pole, where ice and other valuable minerals are believed to exist. The poles of the Moon exits in perpetual darkness which makes landing and staying there much more difficult. But the existence of ice means water and hydrogen, which means fuel for a trip to Mars. The poles are the valuable parts of the Moon, which means China wants to establish a presence there as much as the US. Putin has threatened to invade once he's done with Ukraine. The poles of the Moon are the Big Kahuna in NASA speak. 

And today- Monday- the SLS rocket that will soon take humans to the Moon is being launched and tested in the Artemis 1 mission. The rocket will be launched and then within a day NASA will say something that it has not said for 50 years "GO FOR TLI" which all NASA nerds means "go for trans-lunar insertion" and Artemis will leave earth orbit for the Moon where it will spend six weeks in orbit. 

The most important test will be the heat shields on the Orion capsule, made of new material never tested in an actual re-entry, will be tested as the capsule comes into the atmosphere at 32 Mach and reaches temperatures of 5000 degrees Fahrenheit, or close to the temperature in Las Vegas around noon when we were there the other day. The re-entry with humans aboard in the future will not be as fast and as hot- but NASA is pushing the edge of the envelope to make sure the rocket and capsule are safe. 

Upon a safe launch and return, NASA in 2024 will send a crew to orbit the Moon, much like the famed Apollo 8 mission that saved 1968. We have written before about Apollo 8, and our view of the historic nature of the mission. It was the very first time humans had left earth orbit for inter-space travel- the future of our race. And it was the very first time humans orbited another celestial body. And it generated the most iconic picture of the Apollo era- Earth Rising. 

Things in space are about to get exciting again. It's about time. We are really excited about this. 

Now what about that "Alice" quote? A bunch of 30 something judges are sitting around their chambers wondering about that. That's because they led deprived childhoods. They were never exposed to the Great One- Jackie Gleeson. Here's a clip.  Of course, today it would never be allowed on television. It is not politically correct. 

JUDGE JEFFREY KOLOKOFF

Dear Judge Kolokoff, 

"The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer." Teddy Roosevelt. 

You did not campaign with a sneer. You campaigned with a smile, with positive statements about the court system, and your love for the system you work for, and the people whom you serve so very well. 

The grace and dignity you showed in a tight race did not go unnoticed by all who watched your race- lawyers, your colleagues, and the public. 

You may have lost the race, but you won the admiration of those who count- and that is what will serve you well as you move forward. 

We do not know what the future holds for you. We do not need to tell you that you can recover from this and get back on the bench. That decision is yours. What we can tell you is that you will have the strong support of all who matter should you try to get back on the bench. If that is your choice, all of Miami will be better for it. 

No one will fault you for deciding that it is not worth it to become a judge again, when the politics of Miami in general, and Judicial races in particular, are so terribly skewered from merit and achievement, and towards a certain type of last name. 

There are no better words for you, then these magnificent ones from Teddy Roosevelt: 

It is not the critic who counts, who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The Credit belongs to the Man who is actually in the arena.  Whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly. Who errs. Who comes short again and again. Because there is no effort without error and shortcoming. But who does actually strive to do the deeds. Who knows great enthusiasms. The great devotions. Who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly. So his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither know victory nor defeat.  

You have an admirer Judge Kolokoff.  We are just one of many. And we wish you well. 

HR

ELECTION CENTRAL - 2022 - SEVEN JUDICIAL CONTESTS - YOUR WINNERS ARE .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

ELECTION CENTRAL - VOTE TODAY ..... AND WATCH TONIGHT FOR OUR LIVE COVERAGE OF THE RETURNS .....

YOUR WINNERS ....... (Results below)

With a turnout of 19%, the voters of Miami-Dade County returned four incumbent judges to the bench: Judge Lody Jean, Judge Robert Watson, Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts, and Judge Fred Seraphin.

Three new judges were elected tonight including: bankruptcy attorney Ariel Rodriguez beat back Incumbent Judge Mark Blumstein; insurance defense attorney Lissette De La Rosa ousted Incumbent Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff; and Assistant State Attorney Alicia Garcia Priovolos bested Incumbent Judge Scott Janowitz.

Some observations:

It was satisfying to see that candidates Teressa Tylman (Cervera) and Renier Diaz de la Portilla (DLP) got their just desserts. Both of them were crushed by their opponents.  Tylman was called out by this Blog for playing the Name Game while DLP should be ashamed for the hit pieces that were mailed out by a PAC directly associated with him. We suggest that DLP resign his membership from FACDL-Miami and go back to law school and retake Crim Law and Con Law and re-learn the term "presumption of innocence".  DLP really needs to consider not running for office anymore. You are really bad at it having lost your last four campaigns.

Judge Lody Jean is off to a great start in her new career as a Circuit Court Judge and we wish her the best in her six year term.

Judge Fred Seraphin has regularly been criticized on this Blog for his judicial demeanor. He should learn from his mistakes and be better for what likely will be his last six year term on the bench.

Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts beat a tough opponent in former Judge Jason Bloch. This was the closest contest of the evening with ORF winning by a mere 1,862 votes. This is Bloch's second loss in a Circuit Court race. ORF should think about some of the extreme positions that the Christian Family Coalition (CFC) stands for before he goes after their endorsement again. We take Judge Rodriguez-Fonts at his word that his personal beliefs do not enter into his decision making from the bench.

Having an Hispanic name does not guarantee one a victory - Judge Watson was returned to the bench over his opponent Brenda Guerrero. Judge Jean beat a Cervera; Judge Seraphin beat DLP. 

One could argue that having an Hispanic name didn't hurt Ariel Rodriguez as he sent Judge Blumstein off the bench. Of course the Judge did not help his cause by regularly violating the Dept of Defense rules when he plastered Miami-Dade County with billboards dressed in his Navy dress blues and Navy hat.

It also didn't hurt Lissette De La Rosa. She beat Incumbent Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff in a very tight race winning by only 4,600 votes. We don't know much about Judge-Elect De La Rosa; by all accounts Judge Kolokoff had gotten nothing but very good reviews during his short time on the bench.

As for Judge Janowitz, well, he ran into a buzz-saw. Alicia Garcia Priovolos, a Miami-Dade ASA, was well financed, by all accounts she ran a great campaign, and she was highly qualified. She was the biggest winner of the night winning her race by 20 points.

It is clear that the way we used to see judicial campaigns run, last century, are long past. This is 2022 and there is little doubt that even judicial campaigns, despite the Judicial Canons, will not stop candidates from pulling out all the stops, going right up to the line, and sometimes crossing it, in their attempts to win a seat on the bench.

You can be sure of one thing. We will be there every step of the way. Calling out candidates when we feel it is appropriate.  Digging into candidates backgrounds and educating our readers along the way.

We are Captain Justice for the Justice Building Blog.

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

CIRCUIT COURT

Group  3 

Lody Jean (I)                -   57%
Teressa Maria Cervera -   43%

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)     -   53%
Brenda Guerrero           -   47%

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)       -   49% (127,520)
Ariel Rodriguez            -   51%  (135,238)

Group  52

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I) -    50% -- (132,167)
Jason Bloch                        -   50% -- (130,305)

COUNTY COURT

Group 05

Fred Seraphin (I)                -   56%
Renier Diaz de la Portilla   -   44%

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)      -   49% -- (127,397)
Lissette De La Rosa           -   51% -- (131,995)

Group 42    

Scott Janowitz (I)               -   40%
Alicia Garcia Priovolos      -   60%

There are a total of seven contested judicial races on the ballot in Miami-Dade County, four in Circuit Court and three more in County Court. Qualifying day was on April 29 and for the past 116 days, the candidates have been criss-crossing the county attending Judicial Candidate Forums (all except for Tessa Tylman) and making speeches at these Forums (all except for Tessa Tylman), and promoting their sense of justice, promising to enforce the language contained in the Constitution and the laws of the State of Florida (all except for Renier Diaz de la Portilla).

There have been numerous JQC and Bar Complaints filed against Ms. Tylman, Mr. Diaz de la Portilla, and Judge Blumstein, for their campaign tactics; a scathing letter was written from the Watson camp to his opponent Brenda Guerrero over her campaign literature; a brouhaha developed between Judge Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts and his opponent Jason Bloch - Rodriguez-Fonts for his appearance at a Christian Family Coalition (CFC) breakfast and Bloch for a text message accusing his opponent of certain things.  There have been accusations of playing The Name Game, with candidate Teressa Maria Tylman changing her name to Cervera, immediately before filing to run for judge; further accusations of Tylman and Diaz de la Cruz targeting the only two Haitian judges on the bench; a nasty hit piece was sent out by a PAC associated with Diaz de la Portilla which included publishing Judge Seraphin’s personal cell phone number and demanding Seraphin release an Arrest report from 40 years ago for charges the Diaz de la Portilla camp knew were never filed; and the endless list seemingly goes on and on.

Of course, The Captain and Rumpole covered it all right here on the award winning Justice Building Blog, breaking several stories before even the Miami Herald, Daily Business Review, and other threads, ran the stories.

So, now it’s up to the voters, who are hopefully just a bit more educated than they were on April 29. And, after the winners are declared tonight, it will be up to The Florida Bar and the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) to sort through the allegedly multiple violations of Bar Rules and Judicial Canons and to determine if there is probable cause to proceed with charges against any of the candidates over the complaints that were filed against them.

Here are the contests to be decided tonight:

CIRCUIT COURT

Group  3 

Lody Jean (I)
Teressa Maria Cervera

Group  20

Robert T. Watson (I)
Brenda Guerrero

Group  34

Mark Blumstein (I)
Ariel Rodriguez

Group  52

Oscar Rodriguez-Fonts (I)
Jason Bloch

COUNTY COURT

Group 05

Fred Seraphin (I)
Renier Diaz de la Portilla

Group 19     

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)
Lissette De La Rosa 

Group 42    

Scott Janowitz (I)
Alicia Garcia Priovolos

A reminder that, in County Court Group 07, the seat where Judge Edward Newman is retiring, only one candidate filed in that Group, Marcus R. Bach Armas, meaning that he was elected unopposed and he will take his seat in January of 2023.

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

ELIJAH RISING?

 Your Miami-Dade County Court Judge Elijah Levitt is resigning from the bench at the end of September. The Coral Gables courthouse will never be the same. 

The reason? In our opinion PURE LUNANCY. In this great, big wonderful world, of all the places on earth one could live, from Montpellier, France to Montpellier, Vermont- from Berlin to Bombay- from Newcastle, UK, to Newark, New Jersey, to go to...it really turns our stomach to even write this- Judge Levitt wants to call Broward County home!  It's madness! Don't jump! Life is worth living. Nothing is worth that hell with the 954 area code. 

"How was your day dear?"

"Just peachy. I went to the courthouse where no one is smiling, everyone is smug about their own little nefarious cabals and clicks, and judges do bizarre  things like lock the doors at 9 am, and had a great time. You know, that courthouse where during the week of Christmas a few years back the JA refused to set an emergency motion for bond on the calendar for a man dying of HIV. That wonderful place where they intentionally call Miami lawyers last." 

And yet, our fair judge is leaving the friendly confines of The City Beautiful (as Coral Gables wants to be known) for Browierd. Well, to each their own. Some people even root for the Oakland As. Some people watch Kardashian TV.   Some people decide to practice civil law. And some people move to Broward. 

Word has it that the judge wants to pull a "Lauren Levy Miller" named in honor of the Miami Judge in the 90s who resigned the circuit bench for love and moved to Naples, and lo and behold got an appointment back to circuit court.  (We have an institutional knowledge of our court system that is quite remarkable, if we do say so ourselves). The County Switch (the LLM) is more  difficult than the  Miami Judge who resigned in the early 80's, went to Africa, it didn't work out, returned and got re-appointed. 

It's not as difficult as "The Switch" as exemplified below.  What is harder? The Roommate Switch or the  Judicial County Switch? You weigh in. 

FACDL IS CATCHING UP & SLAMS RENIER DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA

 As the late great  Judge Ed Cowart would say about the FACDL  "Bless their soul."

They are catching up and, bless their soul, want to be relevant. 

This weekend they issued two very relevant press releases. First, noting the shocking crimes the President is accused of, including the Watergate break-in, they called on President Nixon to resign. Well done. A bit late- but well done. 

The FACDL also, late to the party, weighed in on everyone's favourite totalitarian judicial candidate Renier Diaz  De La I DON'T BELIEVE IN THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE Portilla. 

As Bruce Willis said in Die Hard: "Welcome to the party, Pal." 

Better late than never. We mean, Nixon has to go, right?

Statement by the FACDL-Miami Board of Directors by Anonymous PbHV4H on Scribd

 

QUERRY: Let's assume this two-bit politico wins. Where does Judge Sayfie stick him? Bond hearings? Nope- everyone is guilty and won't get a bond. And speaking of bond hearings, boy is there a bruhaha brewing between our chief judge and our SAO over revamping bond hearings. Talk about your NASTY emails....coming real soon on the blog. Back to Renier I won't follow the law and will do anything to win, so where does he go? Civil won't take him- the big firms won't let someone with his legal provenance in their milieu. DV? Criminal. Can't have that. Seems like the stepping stone to the US Supreme Court is the only place- Hialeah Branch Civil!  (And our apologies to the robed readers laboring away in Hialeah civil- you're doing the lord's work and we do not mean to demean you. But NS has to dump his butt somewhere. 

We are sure NS would send him to the Crimea branch court if she could, but with the whole Putin/Ukraine thing, that's iffy at best.)

RANDOM RUMPOLE

 Good Saturday morning. This will be our weekend post. 

There is a whiff of fall in these late summer mornings. Not in fetid and sweltering Miami, but here in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, as we enjoy a mug of Unrivaled Boot Track Java to start our day.  We have some random thoughts. 

The Lexicographic bible - Book of Saint Albans- calls a group lawyers "an eloquence of lawyers". The book was clearly written before the current population of our profession. But we are thinking of groups of lawyers because you may see new ones, wandering wide-eyed through the REGJB, stiff-fitting new suits and professional outfits, glancing at notes typed on iPhones, looking lost while trying to find "courtroom four hyphen three" or "judge deelayoh" or even worse, being told to find Judge Morphonious's courtroom for a meeting by some older prank playing colleague. 

We speak of the new class of PDs and ASAs. Welcome! We say. Bienvenidos!  More on this soon. 

Random Rumpole. 

The Guardians is  dumb name for the Cleveland baseball team. We acknowledge the prior name was offensive to Native Americans and don't suggest to going back to that. But like the Washington Commanders Football team, both new names are complete whiffs. (That's twice we've used the word "whiff" in a post. Has to be a record). 

How about "Advise and Consent" for the DC gridders? "It's third and four for Advise and Consent. They are 6 for 8 on third downs so far..."  Or even better ....The Filibusters! Something. Anything. 

Fantasy Football is sold out! With everyone from last year back for a second run, there is no more room in our famed REJGB league, run by no nonsense commissioner "Iron Hand De la Over".  No Rumpolian 16 points for punts over 45 yards like in years gone by. A strict constructionist he, our commissioner is a PPR conservative. 

If enough people send us emails and cajole us- at least 8- we will form a second league. 

You can however enroll for the greatest ride of your football Sundays- Rumpole's  award winning, earth shaking, brief writing, cookie baking, leaf raking,  viagra taking..... E Street Band Survivor Pool. 

Just send an email to FBpool12@gmail.com confirming whether you believe judges should abide by the presumption of innocence and you are in. Make one pick of one team every week.  That is all it takes to be an REGIB Champion. Last year's Champion Feet of Clay Kaeiser saw a 3000% increase in his social media following as he ascended to the top and he is now rumored to be an IG influencer. Who doesn't want to know what socks a Survivor Pool Champion wears? 

NYC VS TEXAS GOVERNOR ABBOTT 

There is a political chess match taking place across the country. Upset that we are a country of immigrants and he lives in a border state, TX Gov Abbott (Motto: "Welcome to Texas, now y'all skedaddle and leave") is busing immigrants to DC and NYC. 

And according to the NY Times here, New York is welcoming the immigrants with open arms. NYC's  Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs  meets each bus with open arms, food, clothing, toys for children,  and free hotel room housing as immigrants are given a chance to get their feet under them and begin the important process of assimilation. 

Bravo NYC. We can  cite Emma Lazarus' poem on the Statute of Liberty, but Governor Abbott and his Texans would dismiss is as just "some ramblings from another Central American Migrant....".   Or as they like to say "We don read here un Texas, we do...an we speak darn great English as wells  as y'alls Yankees." 

Double Bravo NYC. You called their buff. We'll take NYC over Texas any day (but sorry NYC delis, Texas has you beat in brisket.) 

Enjoy your summer weekend. We are going for a hike. 

DETECTIVE CESAR ECHAVERRY HAS DIED

 As reported earlier in the week Cesar "Echy" Echaverry, a Miami Dade Detective was murdered in the line of duty working in a Robbery Intervention Detail. 

This is tragic and it serves us all well to remember that every day law enforcement officers go to work with the understanding that they may never return to their families. 

We will only post comments in memory of this officer. 

Detective Echaverry was 29 years old. 

TYLMAN CONTINUES DIGGING HER OWN GRAVE; DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA JUMPING INTO THE SAME HOLE .....

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

UPDATED:

We do our best to keep it light on this Blog, while regularly discussing important issues that affect our criminal justice family.

But, today, a family, and a police department mourn the loss of a brave young police detective, Cesar "Echy" Echaverry. Detective Echaverry was 29 years old when he was shot while on duty Monday night working his job as a Robbery Intervention Detail (RID) Detective. While he bravely fought for his life, his body surrendered and he passed away tonight.

All of the police officers of our community go out to work each day, kiss their loved ones, spouses, children, and then are prepared to take a bullet for us. To make our community safer. Let us never forget the sacrifices they make for us to protect our safety and security.

May God bless Detective Echaverry and may his family gather strength from the prayers of the citizens of our community.

CAP .......

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES ... 

... AND SO DOES TESS TYLMAN DIGGING HER FLORIDA BAR & JQC HOLES EVEN DEEPER .....

In her latest desperate move, Tess Tylman is sending text messages to voters phones that include a photo of Governor DeSantis. Next to the Governor's photo are the words stamped in bright red VOIE #90 (a reference to Tylman's location on the ballot).  This text violates several Judicial Canons including using Desantis' image as if he is endorsing the candidate and using the Governor's image when DeSantis is also running in the same election and on the same ballot.  If by chance Tylman somehow gets more votes than her opponent, Judge Lody Jean, The Captain predicts that it will be a short rein on the bench for Ms. Tylman when the Florida Supreme Court removes her from office.

In other news, we can't help but "like" several of the Comments that have appeared over the past few days in the Justice Building Blog (JBB).  Thanks mom and dad for the following:

Captain killing it this election year with his multiple stories on the candidates. Rumpole and Captain thank you for the public service you are providing. Thursday, August 11, 2022 10:51:00 PM

It is true. This coverage blows away the herald. They should just link to this site and call it a day.  Friday, August 12, 2022 7:09:00 AM

Cap, I'm loving all this campaign info! Great job.  Saturday, August 13, 2022 11:32:00 AM

That’s a pretty nice investigation! Sunday, August 14, 2022 8:29:00 AM

In case you have missed the coverage, we have been quoted and been provided attribution several times over the past month in the Daily Business Review, the Miami Herald, the Florida Bulldog, among other threads.  Yesterday, THE DBR did a follow up to our story called: GET OUT THE HANDCUFFS ??? HAVE THE DIAZ DE LA PORTILLA BROTHERS BROKEN THE LAW ??? that can be found here.

In the DBR story, reporter Michael Adam Mora (who contacted me directly) wrote a story called: 'This Is Gutter Politics': Ethics Question Raised in Miami-Dade Race Between Judge Fred Seraphin and Renier Diaz de la Portilla. Mora writes: 

"Ethics experts say it could become problematic if someone could prove to the Florida Supreme Court or the Judicial Qualifications Commission that Renier Diaz de la Portilla, a partner at Diaz de la Portilla Lawyers in Miami, was aware of the distribution of certain campaign materials in the judicial race from the PAC that supports his brother, Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla."

Mora went on to say:

"But when the Justice Building Blog published the news Saturday of the alleged criminal implications, Renier Diaz de la Portilla claimed in an email that the blog is “conducting a nasty third-party campaign against me with what I am told is my opponent’s full knowledge and consent.”***

Our colleague Brian Tannebaum was quoted in the story saying: “This is gutter politics,” said Tannebaum, who is not involved in the Group 5 race. “This is exactly the type of conduct that causes the Florida Supreme Court to remove a judge, and in the Santino case they made that clear.” (Tannebaum was referring to one of the two Florida Supreme Court cases we cited in our story). 

Mora went on to say: "Tannebaum said that whether the release of the phone number could lead to Renier Diaz de la Portilla or his brother facing a first-degree misdemeanor, as the anonymous blogger claimed (in the Justice Building Blog), is an academic argument, since one could argue the PAC—a non-governmental entity—disclosed the number in the mailer. Regardless, “If you go down the list,” there are allegedly multiple violations of bar rules and judicial canons."

***In response to Diaz de la Portilla's allegations that his opponent (Judge Seraphin) has full knowledge and provided consent for our posts, we just had to laugh out loud (LOL). Judge Seraphin may read the Blog and would therefore have knowledge as to what we have written. We can assure you that we have not contacted Judge Seraphin and asked for his permission or blessing to post what we have written.

ELECTION OR APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES, THAT IS THE QUESTION .....

A debate broke out in the Comments section of the Blog last week about whether we should continue with the election of judges, or turn to the appointment system (the one used for open seats, and appointments to the appellate courts and Florida Supreme Court).

One Commenter stated:

"651 what bad or extreme appointments has Desantis made in our trial courts? None."  Thursday, August 11, 2022 8:39:00 AM

Let me respond to 8:39 AM by answering his question with a question. Governor DeSantis claims that diversity is of his highest priority when it comes to the appointment of judges. My question is - is he being honest with the citizens of the State of Florida when he makes that statement; is he being honest with himself?

Between January of 2019 when DeSantis was sworn into office and August of 2022, DeSantis has made a total of 191 judicial appointments. Of those 191 appointments, here are the "diverse" numbers he speaks of:

A total of 123 of those judicial appointments were from a group whose resumes included the previous jobs of ASA’s, AUSA’s, and/or AAG’s. Of the 123, a total of 72 of those appointments were pulled directly from one of those three offices. Can you guess how many APDs/FAPDs were appointed directly out of their offices - TWO, THAT’S RIGHT TWO, VERSUS 72. Federal Assistant PD Ayana Harris was appointed to the Miami-Dade County Court in December of 2019. Assistant PD Barry Dickson was appointed to the Escambia County Court in September of 2020.

The answer to my question, if you are being honest with yourself, is NO. DeSantis’ appointments have been anything but diverse.  

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

COUNTY COURT RACES - KOLOKOFF V. DE LA ROSA & JANOWITZ V. PRIOVOLOS .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

EARLY VOTING CONTINUES ... ELECTION DAY IS AUGUST 23

County Court Group 19

Judge Jeffrey Kolokoff vs. Lissette De La Rosa

Jeffrey M. Kolokoff (I)

He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 15 years. He was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is his first election. Prior to taking the bench he was an ASA for more than six years in Miami-Dade County and he then worked for the law firm of Beighley, Myrick. His campaign web site can be found here.

Judge Kolokoff has a net worth of $2,182,366.  His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377. He has raised $85,210 from a total of 171 contributors. He has loaned his campaign a total of $325,000. His campaign has spent $164,948 to date.

Lissette De La Rosa 

She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 20 years. According to her campaign web site, she has litigated insurance cases for both the defense and the plaintiff during her career. She appears to have previously worked in the area of Estates and Trusts in the Tampa area. She is currently employed by a Clearwater property insurance company, Heritage Property & Casualty, in their Sunrise office. Her campaign web site can be found here.

Attorney De La Rosa has a net worth of $543,576. Her annual salary with Heritage Py. & Casualty is $165,979. She has raised $86,135 from a total of 124 contributors.  She has not loaned her campaign any money. Her campaign has Expenditures in the amount of $36,174.

County Court Group 42

Judge Scott Janowitz vs. Alicia Garcia Priovolos

Scott Janowitz (I)

He has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years. He was appointed to the bench by Gov. DeSantis in April of 2020 and this is his first election. Prior to taking the bench he was an ASA in Broward County and he then worked for a few law firms including the law firm of Geyer, Fuxa. He finally opened his own law firm and he focused his practice on insurance litigation and criminal defense. His campaign web site can be found here.

Judge Janowitz has a net worth of $425,000. His annual salary as a County Court Judge is $156,377. He has raised $53,638 from a total of 138 contributors. He has loaned his campaign a total of $22,000. His campaign has spent $62,645 to date.

Alicia Garcia Priovolos

She has been a member of The Florida Bar for 16 years, all of that time as an ASA in Miami-Dade County. She prosecuted cases involving murder, sexual assault, armed robbery, kidnapping, organized crime, and human trafficking. She was named Director of the Human Trafficking Unit at the State Attorney's Office. She is married to former ASA and current criminal defense attorney John Priovolos. Her campaign web site can be found here.

Attorney Priovolos has a net worth of $1,816,344. Her annual salary as an ASA is $94,890. She has raised $136,871 from a total of 277 contributors.  She has loaned her campaign $50,000. Campaign expenditures to date total $146,825.

THE BAR POLLS .....

The Cuban American Bar Association (CABA) asked their members to vote whether the candidates were Exceptionally Qualified, Satisfactory, or Unsatisfactory.  Judge Kolokoff’s scores were 35%, 31%, and 4% while his opponent attorney De La Rosa scored out at 5%, 20%, and 27%.  Judge Janowitz' scores were 44%, 24%, and 6%. His opponent, attorney Priovolos scored 31%, 26%, and 19%.

The Miami-Dade Bar (MDB) polls asked their voters to weigh in on which candidate was the Most Qualified. Judge Kolokoff blew away his opponent 74% to 26%. In the second race, it was much closer with Judge Janowitz outscoring Priovolos 57% to 43%.

The Miami Herald Editorial Board weighed in with their recommendations. In Group 19, they stated: “Though he has only been on the bench for a little over two years, we believe Kolokoff’s experience makes him the best qualified in this race. The Herald recommends JEFFREY KOLOKOFF."  

In Group 42, the Herald went in a totally different direction.  The Editorial Board stated: “Janowitz and Garcia Priovolos are both fine choices for county judge. As the incumbent, Janowitz has acquired institutional knowledge, currently presiding over insurance, eviction, small claims and personal debt cases. But Garcia Priovolos’ resume and engagement in the community tip the scale in her favor. County judges aren’t just court officers, but also stakeholders in the community. Since 2018, she says she has given more than 30 presentations to raise awareness about human trafficking to different organizations. “One thing that I have been very active in throughout my entire career is really going out to the community and speaking to people, educating, and that’s the one thing that I would like to continue doing especially as a judge,” Garcia Priovolos told the Herald Editorial Board. The Herald Editorial Board recommends ALICIA GARCIA PRIOVOLOS”.

I will not make any predictions in these two races, but I will say that candidate Alicia Priovolos has a very good chance of winning. A look at the names of her 277 contributors shows a wide cross-section of the legal community has written checks to her campaign. A large amount of well respected criminal defense attorneys are part of that list.  Priovolos has twice as many contributors as the Incumbent Judge Janowitz and she has raised 250% more money than her opponent.

We invite our readers to let us know about their interactions in court before Judge Kolokoff and Judge Janowitz and any cases they may have litigated against challengers Lissette De La Rosa and Alicia Priovolos.

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