Criminal Law

ADVICE

Posted on March 11, 2008
"Never talk when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink, and never write an e-mail because it's death. You're giving prosecutors all the evidence we need." Elliott Spitzer, interview with ABC news, circa 2006 as Attorney General of New York. Site Feed

17th AVENUE BRIDGE RE-OPENS

Posted on March 10, 2008
Rumour has it that one of the more distressing periods in REGJB history has come to (or will soon come to) an inglorious end with the re-opening of the 17th avenue bridge.If you recall, in an example of superb urban planning, while re-constructing the 12th Street Bridge, city planners suddenly decided to close the 17th avenue bridge, effectively reducing access to the REGJB from most points south to one or two lanes of obstructed traffic on one bridge over the famed Miami River (motto used to be: ?cops dump your drug rip-off murder victims bodies here?...

SHOTS FIRED

Posted on March 09, 2008
Two Miami Herald articles have caught our attention:In the first, shots were fired and thankfully missed Miami Attorney and judicial candidate Abbie Cuellar as she was driving her car home from a function last week. The David Ovalle Herald article is HERE , and the current belief is that it was an attempted car jacking and not related to any political activites...

RUMPOLE ON SLATE.COM!!!

Posted on March 08, 2008
Yes we've made the big time (although Ms. Nesmith's columns have been great as well).Slate.com writes HERE about our posting Mr. Thompson's legal pleadings in his "dispute" with the Florida Bar. And all you readers said our indulging Mr. Thomson would lead to no good! Indeed...

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THREE STOOGES AND SILENT JOHN

Posted on March 06, 2008
David Ovalle has this news story about some of our soon to be clientsHEREIt seems Moe, Larry, and Curly, went to rob a jewelry store; jumped out of the car with masks and guns; ran to the door?.and realized that the owner needed to buzz them in.Woops?no harm, no foul, but the police were called and apprehended our soon to be clients shortly thereafter...

COURT CRISIS CONTINUES

Posted on March 05, 2008
Rumpole has received the Memo from the ?Trial Court Budget Commission? (who even knew there was such a thing? Maybe if they did away with the commission they might have enough money to staff the courts. Just a thought. )A Mr. Belvin Perry Jr. has written that we can expect the following belt tightening changes:1) GOOD BYE TRAFFIC MAGISTRATES! Funding ends Friday March 14, 2008...

ZACK CLEARED

Posted on March 04, 2008
Proving that we in Dade County don't hold grudges, our own Dade Assistant State Attorney Howard Rosen issued a "close out memo" clearing Broward Judge Robert Zack of any possible criminal charges in taking two loans from an attorney north of the border...

THE BLOG ON CHANNEL TEN

Posted on March 04, 2008
BLOG NEWS ALERTAt 6:00 pm tonight, Ace Channel Ten reporter/anchor Glenna Milberg reports on the crisis at the Justice Building and the long lines our clients have to endure to get into court.Rumor has it that the news report (which should air right after the first set of commercials) may even use the now infamous picture we posted on the blog of lines snaking around the justice building...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:Can you say

Posted on March 04, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:Can you say SALVIA DIVINORUM & SALVINORIN A ... ???- SPRING SESSION 2008 - THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE - BACK IN SESSIONAnd with it comes the hundreds of bills that the 120 House members and 40 Senators have introduced to be heard during the annual 60 day Spring Session...

DENISE MARTINEZ-SCANZIANI RESPONDS:

Posted on March 02, 2008
The following is an unedited reply to the Captain's post from Judicial Candidate Denise Martinez-Scanziani. We received an email from the candidate and re-print it in its entirety here:O, Captain! My Captain! Quite a fearful trip you have dragged us into...

LEGISLATURE BLINKS!!!!

Posted on March 01, 2008
BREAKING NEWS:Reported by the Miami Herald HEREThe Florida Legislature has agreed to tap into "emergency funds" (meaning they will forgo their nightly Ribeyes at tax payer expense) and fund the court system without any layoffs for JAs, clerks, etc.Site Feed

Officer Struck and Killed

Posted on March 01, 2008
City Of North Miami Police Officer Fritz Doucet was killed in Fort Pierce on I-95 when he and another person who had stopped their morotcycles in the emergency lane were struck by a car when the driver lost control of her vehicle.According to the Miami Herald report HEREDocuet was a nine year veteran of the police department...

ONE IN A HUNDRED: BROWARD DOES THEIR PART

Posted on February 28, 2008
One in a hundred americans is in prison or jail, and here's why Broward is helping to keep that number high:The Broward Blog contains the welcome news that Broward Attorney Valerie Small-Williams was acquitted of the misdemeanor charge of failure to obey a police officer...

BROWARD BLOG'S SOLUTION & THE PASSING OF WILLIAM F BUCKLEY

Posted on February 27, 2008
Our Brother Bloggers North of The Border have proposed a solution to the pending court funding-JA furlough crisis: have the robed readers donate a small portion of their salary (like 5%) back to the State to be used to fund salaries for judicial assistants...

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Posted on February 26, 2008
This was the scene this afternoon in a REGJB Courtroom as Rumpole was conducting a devastating cross examination: Rumpole: "Are you sure you saw my client officer?"Officer: Yup.Rumpole: if you're lying, lightening may strike.Officer: if you say so. Channel Seven Reports that Turkey Point (motto: "it's cool to glow at night" and "read our new pamphlet: seven fun facts about radiation poisoning" ) shut down two reactors causing the power outage across the state...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:OCCCRC .....

Posted on February 26, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:OCCCRC ..... GET USED TO THE LETTERSAt 9:00 AM tomorrow morning, the State of Florida and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers will clash heads before the Florida Supreme Court in the case of:FLORIDA GOVERNOR CHARLIE CRIST;KEN PRUITT, AS PRESIDENT OF THEFLORIDA SENATE; KURT BROWNING, ASSECRETARY OF STATE; AND JEFFREYLEWIS, JACKSON FLYTE, JOSEPH GEORGE,JR...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Posted on February 25, 2008
Happy Birthday Marbury v. Madison! 5 U.S. 137 (1803) Decided February 24, 1803 (the case was argued thirteen days before the decision was issued.)205 years old and despite the current White House, still going strong!"The government of the United States has been emphatically termed a government of laws and not of men...

JUDGE SLOM RESPONDS TO THE COURTHOUSE CROWDING

Posted on February 25, 2008
And we quote: "Let them eat cake."Seriously, Judge Slom sent out the following memo on the problem of overcrowding on Tuesday when there is a Monday holiday. THE HONORABLE SAMUEL J. SLOMCOUNTY COURT JUDGE1351 N.W. 12 STREET ROOM 513Miami, Fla. 33125Phone 548-5187TO: THOSE SEEKING ACCESS TO THE REG JUSTICE BUILDINGFROM: SAM SLOM, ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE, COUNTY COURT CRIMINAL DIVISION RE: TUESDAY CALENDARS FOLLOWING A HOLIDAY MONDAY DATE: FEBRUARY 24, 2008 As many of you know, the large number of people seeking access to the REG Justice Building on a Tuesday following a Monday holiday is overwhelming...

REPORT FROM THE FRONT LINES

Posted on February 24, 2008
Hi Rump. We are a State Attorney And a Public Defender and we decided to take you up on your offer to write something for Sunday. Each of us feels, for different reasons that we cannot reveal our identity. On the PD side, there is a culture of being against ?sleeping with the enemy? (not that we?re sleeping together) and the PD here feels s/he will have the friendship held against him/her...

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:ELECTION UPDATE

Posted on February 23, 2008
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:ELECTION UPDATE .....The following is a reprint of a relevant portion of my post of February 15:Group 34 of the County Court has a new candidate. Her name is Denise Scanziani and she has been a member of The Florida Bar for seven years...

WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR?

Posted on February 22, 2008
As the field of presidential candidiates narrows down to three, just who would you like to see as the next President?Hillary Clinton?Barack Obama?John McCain?While we?re at it, how about Vice Presidential choices? Be the first to show your political instincts and correctly predict who the candidates will choose as their running mate...

RULE ...SHMULE

Posted on February 20, 2008
When we last left Jack Thomson, Esq., he was hard at battle with the Florida Bar, Florida Supreme Court, Judge Tunis, and the video game industry. The Florida Supreme Court filed a rule to show cause as to why Mr. Thompson should not be held in contempt for his frequent filings in the Supreme Court, many of which have been posted in the comments section of this blog...

FACDL RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF BEN KUEHNE

Posted on February 19, 2008
RESOLUTIONOF THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERSIN SUPPORT OF BENEDICT P. KUEHNEWHEREAS, Benedict (Ben) Kuehne has been a member of the Florida Bar since 1977 and is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Criminal Trial, Criminal Appellate, and Civil Appellate Law;WHEREAS, in addition to his leadership as a member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, President of both the Dade County Bar Association and Miami Chapter of FACDL, Ben Kuehne is a Charter Member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (FACDL), dating back twenty years to 1988;WHEREAS Ben Kuehne is a trusted advisor to those he has served with in FACDL, and always made himself available to better the organization on issues of by-laws, ethics, and other legal matters;WHEREAS, Ben Kuehne has contributed as an author to FACDL?s Defender magazine on issues of the Fourth Amendment, and the United States Supreme Court;WHEREAS, Ben Kuehne has routinely been recognized for his legal talents and contributions to the legal profession and specifically the criminal justice system, including but not limited to his recognition as one of the ?Lawyers of the Year? by the National Law Journal in 2000;AND WHEREAS Ben Kuehne is currently seeking justice in his own defense and is deserving of the same support, counsel and assistance that he has given to FACDL for so many years;NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS:That the FACDL supports and stands ready to assist Ben Kuehne during this time when he seeks to find justice for himself in a criminal court of law...

COURTHOUSE IN CRISIS

Posted on February 19, 2008
This was the scene Tuesday morning, as the lines to get into the courthouse stretched from the rear entrance (by the bridge to the jail) around the corner. If the line was any longer it would have met the line waiting to get into the front entrance. The citizens who own this courthouse should not have to wait for an hour to get inside...

HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY

Posted on February 18, 2008
To all our brother and sister lawyers North of the Border this President?s Day:Try not to work too hard.Sincerely,Your Friends and Colleagues South of the Border.Item: The Broward Judiciary does not recognize President?s Day as a day off from work. Site Feed

THE GREAT FLOOD

Posted on February 16, 2008
Latest Herald article on the "Kuehne sting." HEREThe Government was using an informant to feed Kuehne phony information that drug money was legitimate. They ought to hang their heads in shame for prosecuting this man.And God looked upon the earth (and North Of the Border), and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth...

Woops.

Posted on February 15, 2008
Once again DNA evidence exonerates an innocent individual, in prison since 1993. But the case of Lynn DeJac and her wrongful conviction for murdering her 13 year old daughter 14 years ago has a different twist.Last year DNA evidence that implicated another individual led to a court granting DeJac?s motion for a new trial and her release...

JUDGE GARDINER

Posted on February 14, 2008
From the Broward Blog comes this article about the driving habits of North Of the Border Judge Ana Gardiner, who serves as Chief of the Criminal Courts (but not traffic) division. On Valentine's day, the lesson is love can sometimes hurt (and wreck a Mercedes)...

MADNESS

Posted on February 13, 2008
Is John McCain the last sane man in the Republican party? You can make a good case for the fact that he is. Start with this thought: Mike Huckabee is the clear choice of a large vocal and powerful wing of the Republican party. It is 2007, and Mike Huckabee does not believe in evolution...

POP QUIZ

Posted on February 11, 2008
Time for a little update and recap and a quick quiz. Here?s what we?ve learned so far:In Miami it is dangerous to:A) Shake hands with a federal prosecutor.B) Get arrested in Miami Beach.C) Issue a due diligence opinion letter.D) Be acquitted of all charges in Federal Court...

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