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Justice Building Blog 

Discussion about and between the judges and lawyers who labor in the world of Miami's criminal justice.
Post Frequency: 3.5/day Last Entry: November 04, 2020 at 06:48:00 Recent Entries: 1056
By "Captain Liberty" and "Rumpole"
Go to Justice Building Blog, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
PICK EM ALL
Posted on January 03, 2010Last week of the regular season, so we decided to pick em all!Indianapolis +8 at Buffalo. Colts resting most of their team, we'll take the Bills -8 at home. Saints +8 at Carolina. Saint resting most of their team as well, including their QB, so we like the Panthers at home...
ONCE IN A BLUE MOON
Posted on December 31, 2009Someone sent this to us, and it seems appropriate to usher in the New Year: There is a blue moon tonight (the second full moon of a month) on a New Years Eve which is ushering in a new decade. Last time was in 1819. James Monroe was president. The next time a blue moon will appear on a new decade's New Years Eve won?t be until 2229...
AIRLINE SECURITY
Posted on December 30, 2009US EMBASSY, Lagos Nigeria. Embassy Officer: How can I help you? Applicant: I wish to apply to travel to US. CIA Officer: For what reason?Applicant: I wish to see NY Knicks in Superbowl.EO: The Knicks made it?CIA Off: I'll have research check it out...
BIGGEST NEWS STORY
Posted on December 28, 2009What's the biggest story of 2009 that has affected our humble little courthouse? It could be something as large as President Obama being sworn in, to something as small as the escalators being fixed/broken/fixed....In no particular order, the nominees are:1) Scott Rothstein steals a few bucks;2) Judge Adrien gets two challengers;3) Former Judge Phil Davis finally convicted;4) Carlos Martinez dummies up;5) Jay Kolsky: busiest man alive;6) Conflict Counsel stays alive;7) Abe Laser retires;8) ???What/who are your nominees? Remember this is Miami, so vote early and vote often...
NFL WEEK 16
Posted on December 27, 2009Second to last week of the regular season. Congratulations again to Rick Freeman for his record breaking Suicide pool win.Denver goes to Philly with the Bronocs playing a win or out of the playoffs game. The Broncos will lose, but we like the over 41 for 700 Geno's Cheesteaks ("wit" of course)The Texans come to cool Miami with both teams having a playoff appearance on the line...
CHRISTMAS EVE
Posted on December 24, 2009Click on the title of the post to watch NORAD track Santa. Dick Cheney once ordered the Air Force to shoot down Santa when he squawked the wrong frequency when approaching Washington, DC. Thankfully the President overrode the order. POPE IN "INCIDENT"...
JUDGE TINKLER MENDEZ HAS NO SYMPATHY
Posted on December 23, 2009for people who kill little children. "For you sir, I have no sympathy." And with those words, Judge Marissa Tinkler-Mendez sentenced defendant Damon Darling to 50 years for firing a weapon whose stray bullet struck down nine year old Sherdavia Jenkins as she played with her doll in her front yard...
HE MAY BE A BIT OF A PAIN.
Posted on December 23, 2009(at times) but HE 'S OUR PAIN, and we don't take kindly to the Broward Blog putting him through the wringer. Who are we talking about? What did the Broward Blog do? It all started with this post on the Broward Blog:JAABLOG FIELD TRIP - our first stop this morning took us to the North Dade Justice Center, for our first ever hearing before the legendary Judge Sheldon Schwartz...
MORE ON SILENT CHARLIE'S PD OFFICE
Posted on December 22, 2009The Dade Public Defender's office and all Public Defender offices across the state feel they are under direct attack from the Florida Senate led by Senator Victor Crist. Crist sees the Regional Counsel's office as the answer for the State's quest to provide affordable representation to indigent defendants in Florida while reducing expenses...
PLEAS AND CONFLICTS
Posted on December 21, 2009CONFLICT$More than one little birdie has whispered in our ear that regarding the PD's office and the Regional Conflict Counsel's office we have it backwards: That Silent Charlie's real goal is to keep as many cases in his office as possible so as to squeeze the Regional Counsel's budget and ability to get sufficient money from Tallahassee to do their job...
STUCK IN THE SNOW
Posted on December 20, 2009Stuck in the DC snow storm. Using a phone to blog. All 3 suicide players alive- we mistakenly said last week that DT was out. Rick F - Texans; Peter S Broncos over Raiders; DT- Broncos; Could have a winner if the Raiders pull an upset. Take the JETS -6 1000...
YOUR NEW FEDERAL JUDGE!!!
Posted on December 17, 2009We know who the new Federal Judge is. The news reached us way up here high in the California Sierra Mountain range. Let us just say a couple of things. 1)It's too bad Bob Scola didn't get tapped. He would have done a great job, although the new pick is a delightful surprise and has earned it...
IS JAY KOLSKY MIAMI'S BUSIEST PD?
Posted on December 17, 2009The 3rd DCA heard argument yesterday on the Miami Public Defender's motion to withdraw from representation of a client. The Assistant Public Defender in question- one Jay Kolsky- was labeled "Miami's Busiest PD", and the court considered the question of whether being busy, by itself, was sufficient to merit withdrawal of the attorney from representation...
YES VIRGINIA THERE IS A SANTA CLAUS
Posted on December 15, 2009(click on the image to enlarge it.) While there may be a Santa Claus, Christmas itself is in jeopardy, as the Justice Building blog has exclusively learned. The Boynton Beach Police department has arrested MERRY CHRISTMAS!Yes, Merry Christmas has been arrested...
THE STORY OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN.
Posted on December 14, 2009Lets see....Monday Monday. Can't trust that day.Lets give Daniel Tibbitt a hand. Fourteen weeks a survivor in our football pool, he made the final three, until the Chicago Bears let him down this weekend. Well done Tibbitt.!It turns out Kim Rothstein was a Witch in highschool...
FAIR OR FOUL ?
Posted on December 14, 2009Breaking Blog news: Homestead Police Officer Jose Villarreal has been arrested for falsifying documents associated with his application for citizenship. The Herald has it here. When we started this humble endeavor a few years ago, we had no idea of the various and intricate ethical dilemmas that we would encounter...
NFL WEEK 14
Posted on December 13, 2009Lets start with the suicide pool, which is setting some kind of record for longevity. Rick Freedman: Titans; Peter Sautter: Saints; Daniel Tibbitt- Bears. Good luck guys and send me the winner of MNF and the total points scored broken down by total TDs and total field goals...
RED TIDE
Posted on December 11, 2009Ever wonder what the rest of the State thinks of our fair city? Hip South Beach? Fabulous restaurants?The new opera house?Communities filled with hard working families making life a little better for their children? All true, but that's not how some Floridians view us, especially Judges who work in courthouses north of Miami...
NO MORE SOUNDINGS (for now)
Posted on December 08, 2009THE HONORABLE SAMUEL J. SLOM1351 N.W. 12 STREET ROOM 513Miami, FL. 33125Phone: (305) 548-5187 TO: ALL CONCERNEDFROM: SAM SLOM, ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE, COUNTY CRIMINAL DIV.RE: SOUNDING CALENDAR ANNOUNCEMENT DATE: DECEMBER 1, 2009 The Judges of the Criminal Division of County Court have decided that the only cases that will be set for sounding in the future are DUI cases...
IMAGINE
Posted on December 08, 2009John Lennon was assassinated 29 years ago today. Imagine if we didn't live in a society where handgun violence was so accepted and where even mentally ill people have no trouble getting guns. The (CDC) estimated 52,447 deliberate and 23,237 accidental non-fatal gunshot injuries in the United States during 2000...
MONKEY BUSINESS
Posted on December 08, 2009The Broward Blog gave us a shout out for reporting on PTI for DUIs. Those of you who have ever sought PTI for a client North Of the Border know it is given as often as you see a Monkey in court. We guess the folks involved in Dade in implementing this should be applauded for their forgiving nature and steadfast belief in rehabilitation and second chances...
BUTCHKO BLASTS SCRUGGS
Posted on December 07, 2009Judge Butchko has granted a defense motion to suppress two tape recordings in the State's prosecution of Reverend Gaston Smith for allegedly misappropriating $10,000.00 in County grant funds. The New Times is all over this story. The title links to the New Times article...
NFL WEEK 13
Posted on December 06, 2009Onward we press, battered, beaten, unbowed. In War, resolution. In defeat, defiance. In Victory, magnanimity. Winston Churchill. We absolutely love the Giants at home this week against the Cowpokes, and here's why: What we've gotten away from and forgotten is the lesson we have employed to such financial success in seasons past- that teams are rarely as good as they seem or as bad as they appear...
CHANGES
Posted on December 06, 2009Ever wonder what that group of stressed out lawyers were doing running from 6 to 5 to 4 to 2 every Wednesday? They were doing County Court soundings. The soundings were introduced several years ago and touted as a time and money saving system. "Just give it a chance" they said...
RICHARD ESSEN REMEMBERED
Posted on December 05, 2009There's a lot more going on that we need to get to, from changes in County Court to a mistrial in a capital case, but we start with this wonderful piece sent to us by the Honorable Maynard (Skip) Gross about his friend and colleague the late Richard Essen: Back in the more serene days of the late 1960's where a few lawyers could even be found in the Halls of the REG wearing white suits during the summer, I was an ASA and together with my Division Chief Ellen Morphonios, Mike Hacker and Dick Essen, was assigned to the division presided over by Judge Carling Steadman(sp?)...
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:(Rump, with
Posted on December 02, 2009THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:(Rump, with respect to the Essen family, I post these matters. If you want to hold them off until tomorrow, I certainly understand).Justice Thomas, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court & The Death Penalty .......In case you missed it, today marked a new low by Justice Thomas in his rein as an Associate Justice on our highest court...
3rd DCA ROUNDUP
Posted on December 02, 2009UPDATE: We are learning that famed DUI lawyer Richard Essen passed away Monday. Mr. Essen was a pioneer in establishing a specialized DUI law firm and his firm produced many superb DUI defense attorneys including Bobby Reiff, Jonathan Blecher, top Broward DUI Lawyer Carlos Canet, and (now) Judge Joe Fernandez and many others...
IS TODAY THE DAY?
Posted on December 01, 2009UPDATE: here is the complaint in Scotty boy's case courtesy of the Miami Herald. Judge Cohn gets the case. He could have done a whoooooollllle lot worse in Ft. Lauderdale Federal Court which is a veritable mine field. I was somehow expecting that Judge D would have pulled the case...
DADE NORTH?
Posted on November 30, 2009SCOTT ROTHSTEIN UPDATE: Gotta love this nugget from the Daily Pulp:"I know this is frustrating, but let me assure you, this is the greatest story in the history of South Florida, and it will all come out in due time. Let me just say that I'm hearing incredible stories about Rothstein's use of his associates to impersonate judges, officials, and reporters on the phone to help him in his extortion schemes and scams...
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How can I get my parents away from my bulling brother?
First of all, if you are paying your lawyer, you should not be on the back burne...
Divorce what will I get if all is in his families name?
yes...
I live in Sarasota, FL and am appalled at the apartment living conditions in this area. How in the world do they get away with building these apartments with no insulation to keep the noise down between floors (and walls
Talk to your local political representatives to see if you can find somebody sym...
Personal information/online harassment?
Quit talking with people on message boards that support these activities. The se...
Is there a time limit where someone can't be convicted of a sexual crime after the child has told someone?
The statute of limitations can differ from state to state. Look into it by conta...








