The First Cut Is The Deepest - the JNC will be announcing the list of interviewees to replace Susan Aramony Wednesday afternoon. Contrary to initial information, all thirty applicants will not receive interviews. We'll post the names and interview schedule tomorrow ...
Don't be denied- yes, the little rooms outside the North Wing criminal courtrooms really were intended for lawyers to meet with clients and witnesses (both state and defense). That's why the little sign on the right says "CONFERENCE". Of course, everyone knows BSO staged a courthouse coup many moons ago, snagging the anterooms for their own personal rumpus space. That's what the little paper sign on the left is all about, not to mention the locked door. Inside you'll often find TV sets, DVD players, refrigerators, microwave ovens, coffee makers, landline telephones, magazine racks, and walls papered with pictures and other personal effects, rivaling even the most well appointed dorm rooms. Some court deputies still let lawyers in when they ask, but the majority throw major tantrums if you go anywhere near their homes away from home. But fear no more. You have a right to use the rooms as they were intended, and BSO brass will back you up. Just ask nicely, or call for Sgt. Solomon Smith, in the unlikely event the doors still remain locked ...
Yes we can't! - walk into most any Broward felony courtroom, and you should get a sickening feeling deep inside your gut. African-Americans dominate both the public pews, and the in-custody populations. While the criminal justice professionals who work on the front lines of the failed drug war are most certainly used to it, you'd expect the incoming President of the Florida Bar to at least make a peep. But that doesn't seem to be the case, judging by Eugene Pettis' refusal to return calls asking what types of initiatives he plans to implement to mobilize the full force of the Florida Bar to combat the plague of institutional racism. Protecting Rights, Pursuing Justice be damned, it would seem. Despite the high hopes everyone had when it was announced the Bar would have its first African-American President, it appears everyone can expect more of the same ...
The Truth Hurts - another possible reason why The Bar doesn't want anyone to know when judges are in (or out) of court is found here: The 2013 Certification of the Need for New Judges. SIX new county judges needed in Broward County? But seriously, folks ...
"The Harvard of the South" - Bob Norman on the alleged grade-fixing scandal at Nova Law School ...
"People, Places, and Things" - Marcia Beach's retirement gives us license to tell a compelling personal story. It was strictly off limits for the blog while she was still a judge, as it deals with a harrowing event from her childhood.
As background, Beach is a native Floridian. Born in St. Pete, she grew up in the deeply segregated South, mostly in Hardee and Polk Counties. "Everything we did was part of the Old South," Marcia remembers, thinking back on the 50's and 60's. Her Dad was a welder and an artist, who worked with materials of the trade to create art in his free time.
The Beach's were a forward thinking lot. Dad was big on helping people who wanted to help themselves, regardless of race, creed, or color. His welding workshop, in the back of the family home, was open to trustworthy people who wanted to learn the trade. Knowledge and tools were freely distributed, even if it meant the backyard of the Beach house hardly resembled the rest of the segregated South.
The Klan was still very active at the time. They sent violent, unsubtle messages to those who angered them, usually in the form of a burning cross. Recipients couldn't talk about it either, since police and government were both riddled with Klan members. It took great courage to stand up to them.
One such man was Mr. Beach, who never wavered in his beliefs, despite the danger. Almost inevitably, Marcia recalled, she woke up one morning to find "a big burn mark in the yard", and a whole lot of tension in the air. Dad had managed to quietly clean up the Klan's fiery calling card while she was still asleep, and her parents didn't acknowledge what happened until dinner later that evening. Marcia, still emotional talking about it after all these years, remembers how terribly shaken they all were. And she's still shocked they were targeted "just for teaching others how to earn a living".
But it didn't change anything. As previously stated, the Beach family never wavered, despite the threat of further violence. African-Americans and Hispanics still came and went as Mr. Beach pleased, and to hell with anonymous cross-burning cowards. Even under a cloud of violence and ostracism, the family remained true to their ideals, just as Judge Marcia never gave up on trying to help a troubled soul overcome an addiction to drugs so many years later.
Remember this tale of inspiration the next time you have to stand up for justice against great odds, and never, ever let the enemies of TRUTH stand in your way!
Coming Soon - If The Bar really wanted Gardiner disbarred, why didn't they call the Timpano witnesses, or effectively cross-examine character witnesses AT TRIAL?; 4th DCA vacancy update; Guess who's running for judge?; Ruffed up - Alan Ruff not likely to get an eighth trial ...
New Times: JAABLOG targeted by Bar
Rumpole on "PD Withdrawal" Supreme Court Decision
SS: High-profile Orlando attorney seeds medical marijuana initiative
Steven Spielberg's Seven Seas
(viewed from 15th Street Fisheries)
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