CHECK YOUR SPAM! – If you want to vote for BOG or TFB President electronically, be sure to check your Inbox, or more likely the Spam folder, to retrieve the following email. Deadline to consent to an Eballot is this Friday, January 31, 2020, by 5:00 P.M., so please follow the instructions in the email if interested …
The Florida Bar Election eBallot Option – Select Now
Election Services Co. for The Florida Bar
Jan 27, 2020, 12:28 PM
Dear Florida Bar Member:
We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to receive your Florida Bar confidential election ballot by email. By consenting to this option, you will not receive a paper ballot. Just click on the link below to consent to letting us email you the voting instructions. We need to hear from you by 5:00 PM (EST) on January 31, 2020.
Members are encouraged to receive their voting material by email. By accepting this electronic option, you will be expediting the election process. Voting instructions will be sent via email on February 28, 2020. If we do not receive your online consent, a paper ballot will be mailed to you on February 28, 2020.
Eballot consent link: (check your specific email for your specific link)
If you click on the link and it does not automatically open your web browser, please open your Internet browser and then copy and paste the URL into the “Address” field.
Thank you for participating.
Please add our address: flabarhelp@mg.electionservicescorp.com to your email contacts/whitelist in order to ensure that your voting information arrives in your Inbox.
Speaking of TFB officers – pictured above is the oath sworn by former president Michelle Suskauer, currently under investigation by TFB. Rumor has it she’s likely to emerge relatively unscathed, after her less than credible former client who sparked the complaint was convicted of fraud. Still, is it fair to wonder, given the portion of the sworn oath regarding Bar rules, why Suskauer would have struggled answering Jimmy Cohn’s questions regarding the rules seen in the transcript excerpt below, if she had read them thoroughly before swearing in as president? You make the call!
Jay Spechler in the news … again – as reflected in the comments section this morning, the always ready to rumble Jay is in a dispute with a neighbor over dock size. This follows the JAABLOG contretemps from 2018, which is once again newsworthy as Team Spechler is optimistic the BOG and Supreme Court will agree with their proposed consent judgement that has already been blessed by Bar Counsel. The proposed settlement is found here …
And for any of you looking to get into Bar defense work, here’s the applicable rule:
RULE 3-7.9 CONSENT JUDGMENT
(a) Before Formal Complaint is Filed. If before a formal complaint is filed a respondent states a desire to plead guilty, bar counsel shall consult established board guidelines for discipline and confer with the designated reviewer. If bar counsel or the designated reviewer
rejects the proposed consent judgment, the matter shall not be referred to the board of governors. If bar counsel and the designated reviewer approve the proposed consent judgment, the
respondent shall be advised that bar counsel and the designated reviewer will recommend approval of the respondent’s written plea, and the matter shall be placed on the agenda of the board of governors for its review. If the board of governors concurs in the consent judgment, bar counsel shall notify the respondent and file all necessary pleadings to secure approval of the plea. If a proposed consent judgment is rejected, bar counsel shall prepare and file a complaint as provided elsewhere in these rules.
Warning! More law! – yes, you can plead no contest to a VOP Warrant with new law allegations, instead of entering an admission. It’s discretionary to the Court whether to accept the no contest plea, of course, but it’s legal. Next time you have a sympathetic but concerned judge, cite these cases:
Jefferson v. State, 830 So.2d 195, 4th DCA (2002); Horn v. State, 57 So.3d 984, 5th DCA (2011); Stewart v. State, 586 S0.2d 449, 1st DCA (1991).
Also, below is a handy-dandy sentencing flow chart prepared by Mike Usan that’s in use in the 17th, and across the state. It sure would be easier if they just gave out bench books to all lawyers upon admission to the Bar, right?
And while we’re being helpful, check out this Agreed Reset Form in use in Palm Beach, from Lenny Hanser’s assigned division:
Just get the ASA onboard, fill it out, choose a date from an approved list that the in-court clerk maintains, and quickly reset your court date, whether or not the judge is on the bench. Something every Broward judge suffering from dockets clogged with Satz penny-ante prosecutions should consider utilizing in the name of efficiency and courtesy to all litigants, and to preserve precious court time for substantive matters …
Also from Palm Beach, a Motion For Sanctions! – Bill Scherer wants sanctions against Marni Bryson. See Defendant’s Motion For Sanctions Under S 57.105 And For Bad Faith …
Investigation? – following the dreaded “JAABLOG REQUEST” made to the SAO on January 16th regarding the incredible disappearing/reappearing nolle prossed 1st degree felonies, we’re told Mike Satz and some of his upper level team scurried over to the BSO Public Corruption Unit, in the Public Safety Building off Broward, roughly the day after the MLK holiday. Accordingly, to confirm or debunk the rumor, the following was sent to the SAO’s PIO on January 28th:
(I)t’s my understanding Mr. Satz and others from the SAO have met with BSO’s Public Corruption Unit concerning the issues recently detailed in your last response. Is this true, and when and how many times have they met if true?
Here’s the response, from the same day:
The Broward State Attorney’s Office has no comment.
Developing? …
Gold Watch Time! – Brian Reidy, seen above striking a pose made by all the uber trial warriors from the Al Schreiber era at one time or another, is out of here. Come toast his success this Friday, January 31st, 5:00 P.M., at Tap 42. Well done!