1.)Kevin Kulik and Eddie Kay, a couple weeks back; 2.)Mark Polen, the latest recruit to Weinstein's senior judge army, now handling foreclosures.
Barry Cohen, Live! - be sure to tune in Tuesday at 9:00 AM to see Barry Cohen's public spanking, live from Tallahassee. His crime? In large part telling the truth about the failed Drug War, as you can see from the JQC's Notice of Formal Charges. This tongue lashing might be interesting though, since many of the justices probably agree with some of what Cohen had to say regarding racial disparity in the system, although they'd never make the mistake of admitting it in a public courtroom. Lesson learned ...
The Un-replaceable - no one can replace Joe Murphy, but the JNC is going to try. Here is the notice, with a May 12 deadline for applications. Now the JNC has two chances to show what they're made of, with the May 5 cutoff to apply for Ed Merrigan's spot on the county court also just around the corner.
Speaking of the Colonel ... his ears must be ringing. Whether or not Merrigan would accept his party's nomination for chief judge remains to be seen, but there most definitely is a Draft Ed movement brewing ...
End of an error - Eileen O'Connor's last day is this Wednesday. Well done!
Coming Soon- Following-up on President Pettis' letter; Pay your own filing fee, you cheap *%#$!
BBeat: Judges Nervous as Filing Opens For Bench
JQC response to Watson's Stay request
SS: Laura Watson fights JQC for her job
Bob Norman at Scott Israel's Bergeron bash
OTHER VOICES OTHER VOICES:
Voice of Reason, West"Promoting Judicial Excellence"- blogging fever is spreading, and Haydee Oropesa may have caught it after coming to JAABLOG's defense last June. The Clearwater based attorney recently started the Florida You Judge blog, a great read, even after taking out the nice things she wrote about us. Check it out, and don't miss the post about Beth Harlan, who recently quit the Polk County circuit court to avoid criminal charges. Of course Harlan's judicial assistant wasn't so lucky, suffering a first offense felony conviction, jail time, and probation for her role in the same hijinks that only cost Harlan her job. Apparently Broward isn't the exclusive home of egregious double standards of justice, and now that brave lawyers like Haydee are doing their best to spread the word, everyone in the State should eventually know it. Thank you again, Haydee!
51st Anniversary ...Mike Rothschild writes:
Fifty-one years ago, today, April 29th 1963, the United States Supreme Court entered its landmark ruling regarding desegregation in Johnson v. Virginia. I know you constitutional scholars are scratching your heads wondering why I am referencing this as a landmark case when Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954, sixty years ago, and which eliminated the notion of “separate but equal.” But, Johnson v. Virginia is important because it eliminated desegregation in a very important public venue: the courtroom!
That’s right, even nine years after Brown v. Board of Education the United States Supreme Court, in a 9-0 opinion, was forced by the State of Virginia to rule that desegregation applied in the courthouse. Even though in 1938 the Court ruled that desegregation was not permitted in admission to law schools (Missouri ex el Gaines v. Canada); the very place where due process is guaranteed, where equal protection most applies was among the last places where racial discrimination should have been permitted, or so the State of Virginia believed.
Things certainly have come a long way in fifty-one years…or have they? With current controversies involving Donald Sterling and the NBA, or rancher Cliven Bundy’s statements, or closer to home with the Florida Bar’s call for diversity on the bench and this very Blog’s constant statistical analysis of the incarceration rates of Blacks, has this issue ever really gone away?
Your thoughts?