JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RICHARD E GERSTEIN JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG. THIS BLOG IS DEDICATED TO JUSTICE BUILDING RUMOR, HUMOR, AND A DISCUSSION ABOUT AND BETWEEN THE JUDGES, LAWYERS AND THE DEDICATED SUPPORT STAFF, CLERKS, COURT REPORTERS, AND CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS WHO LABOR IN THE WORLD OF MIAMI'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE. POST YOUR COMMENTS, OR SEND RUMPOLE A PRIVATE EMAIL AT HOWARDROARK21@GMAIL.COM. Winner of the prestigious Cushing Left Anterior Descending Artery Award.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

THIS AND THAT

David Markus writes about the recent Supreme Court decision about searches of automobile compartments and concludes that "the Fourth Amendment is not dead yet." Keyword- "YET".

Markus and the Broward Blog also report that former Dade Assistant State attorney and current Chief Judge of the Broward Criminal Court division Ilona Holmes is being mentioned as the next US Attorney for the Southern District Of Florida (motto: "Give us a case and we'll blow it big time.") 

Judge Holmes would whip that office into shape. You betcha. 

Query: What exactly are our obligations in the upcoming Judicial elections? Hypothetically speaking, lets say we personally endorse one candidate over another.  Do we have an obligation to remain neutral on the blog? 


(mug shot of woman flipping off cops)

NFL draft this Sunday. Say what you want about the Fins' needs, but they won't be doing a Nick Saban and drafting a WR (and his family) in the first round. With a draft deep in corner backs, look for a D-lineman, or a linebacker in round one unless a highly rated corner back falls. 

See you in court, dreading the dog days of summer.  How about a discussion on what is the best time to go away over the summer and where are the best places to go? (Canada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Hialeah, etc. ) 

18 comments:

old guy said...

Ilona Holmes. What a nice idea.

Lots of Bushies would head for the hills with a new sheriff in town. Sort of a Blazing Saddles redux.

Anonymous said...

As a (mostly) respected if anonymous voice of the legal community, to the extent you have legitimate opinions about candidates I see no problem with sharing them. Since when have you pretended to be objective? As a PD I know little about many judges and a lot about a few--so insight on the ones I don't know about is valuable to me when voting.

facdl-miami said...

to 6:37 PM:

You said:

"OK- you want to celebrate a "Legal" victory of a NG - your choice. Kudos to the defense attorneys who do a good job for their clients."

I said:

"We should all be happy when one of our fellow criminal defense lawyers wins a case"

Seems pretty close to the same thing. I never said that that we should be "happy" for the defendant.

You should know that Mr. Walsh followed up his federal trial with a state court trial in Broward this week and won another acquittal in yet another drug trafficking case.

Maybe I should state that we should be "proud" that a defense attorney worked so hard for their client and was able to obtain a such a good result for their client. How does that sound?

Anonymous said...

Judge Holmes would undoubtedly whip the U.S. Attorney's Office into shape. She is tough but very fair, not afraid to speak her mind and will admit to her mistakes (she once self-corrected an illegal sentence she gave to a client of mine and personally apologized to both of us). She would run a tough, tight and fair ship.

But there is a better choice out there--I have to agree with the Trial Master--Abe Laeser. We can be sure of two things if Mr. Laeser became the U.S. Attorney: 1) Every case would be meticulously worked up and well-prepared and 2) All AUSA's would be expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards without excuse or exception. Had Mr. Laeser been U.S. Attorney, the three AUSA's reamed out by Judge Gold would be out of a job right now.

Anonymous said...

I recommend the Canadian Maritime provinces, especially Prince Edward Island.I went last August...weather was amazing.

Anonymous said...

Why do I think Ms. Marty is hot?

Anonymous said...

You have no obligation to remain neutral. It's your blog. Tell us what you think.

Anonymous said...

reader in need of advice- who is the best (motion practice and trial work) lawyer in palm beach for a state case? thank you.

Anonymous said...

I second the motion for ABE LAESER for U.S. Attorney. I respectfully ask that ABE apply and we who have some influence politically will back him 100%.

Please ABE - do it. You are a natural for this position and would be one of the greats...

Anonymous said...

Markus for US Attorney!!!!

Anonymous said...

Bring back Atlee Wampler for U.S. Attorney.

Anonymous said...

It never ceases to amaze me what people will resort to when they encounter something that they don't like. Judge Adrien saying that he is being challenged because of his race is laughable but not unexpected. What shocks me even more is the (albeit small) number of people who are writing in saying that he is a good judge and to give him another chance.

Adrien has had a chance. He has been on the bench for years. I was a former supervising attorney (won't say for which side) in his division. He was not bright, arrogant, rude, and simply impressed with himself and the fact that he was a judge. The jurors were even treated with disrespect by his Honor. It was my experience that the SAO, the PDO, and the private bar all were horrified by this man and the fact that he had the position of power that he did.

It occurs to me that the persons writing in to defend him may be Judge Adrien himself or his family. I will say that outside the courtroom, he is a pleasant person but a good jurist that does not make.

If Judge Adrien were being targeted because of his race, how do you explain the fact that excellent African-American or Haitian-American judges such as Trawick, Bagley, Prescott, Seraphin et. al. are NEVER criticized in the way that Adrien is?

The criticisms of Judges Pando and Soto from the blog entry a few days ago are also laughable - especially when written in connection to mentions of Adrien. Soto using her father to scare people? Why would her father even factor in when everyone would agree that she is fair, intelligent, and courteous to ALL parties in the courtroom - state, defense, victim, defendant alike. Why would Pando be mentioned out of the blue when she has never been a factor in any of these discussions before?

Could it be that the reason is Judge Adrien & family have blogging time on their hands?

Anonymous said...

Adrien is a simpering idiot.
Pando is not good but she's not as bad as Adrien

Anonymous said...

Swartz v. Adrien. Forget who would be the better Judge. Which one can dance???

See for yourself: http://tinyurl.com/dbnq5l

Anonymous said...

Canada, Rump? What’s in Canada?

Anonymous said...

1:35, Polar Bears and Celine Dion.

Anonymous said...

11:37-- AGREED!

Anonymous said...

Yo Rump, you gonna ask the
colombian hottie to be your personal tour guide?