SAO update – Teresa Williams has confirmed she is running again for State Attorney.
-Jim Lewis has filed:
– Gina Faulk has responded:
– Sarahnell Murphy has not yet responded to a text and email sent earlier today asking if she’s also running …
Termed out – the Bar confirmed that IP Address subpoena signer Sean Collin has concluded his term as a member of the JAABLOG focused GC …
SAO update – Mickey Rocque, who has wanted to run for State Attorney for years but never did out of respect for Mike Satz, reports he is excited to run and serve the people of Broward County.
Paul Backman is not, as rumored, running for SAO, and is expected to officially file for Clerk of Courts soon.
Regina Faulk is rumored to be considering a run for her outgoing boss’s job. This could be more than a rumor, however, as multiple texts and an email asking her to confirm or deny have not been returned as of posting …
Anyone else? Stay tuned …
Six Degrees of 17C! – speaking of Faulk, she’s on the Grievance Committee that signed off on the subpoena asking for protected JAABLOG IP Addresses. Today’s news of her potential future ambitions are coincidentally her second newsworthy appearance on the blog as of late, as she was also a witness on Brenda v. Coleman:
Since it’s a small Browardtown after all, it’s not surprising there’s another member of the GC whose firm, Cole, Scott & Kissane, was JAABLOG-worthy years back, during Gardinergate:
(From ANSWER BRIEF OF RESPONDENT, by Dave Bogenschutz and Jack Goldberger)
Lastly, the lawyer whose signature appears on the subpoena on behalf of the GC, Sean Collin, is no longer showing up as a listed member of 17C. We’ll be following up with the Bar tomorrow to see if he was termed out, or something else.
In any event, Collin’s firm, Lyons, Snyder, Collin, has been a financial contributor to Bobby Diaz’s reelection bids over the years, and we learned through a PRR that NSU grad Collin had once been assigned to Diaz’s division as a newbie ASA. Diaz’s wife Dian Diaz is, of course, a witness on Brenda v. Blog. And JAABLOG’s relationship with the judge named Diaz certainly doesn’t require much expounding around here …
There’s more, but for now …Thanks for playing 6 degrees of 17C!
Attention current and former Broward ASA’s – The original, legendary, Miami’s Rumpole, has thrown down the gauntlet. He’s promised to publish all your comments disproving his opinion of Satz. Here’s the link to support your leader!
Thank you TFB – the Bar has confirmed they will not be covering anything to do with Michelle Suskauer at this point in time, just as they previously indicated they won’t be informing the membership about their quest for JAABLOG’s IP Addresses.
That’s right, because “The Daily News Summary doesn’t include clips about pending litigation or pending disciplinary cases … (and) … The Florida Bar News also only reports on Bar cases that conclude with court-ordered discipline“, it will be up to blogs like JAABLOG that are read statewide by judges and lawyers alike to spread the news of what’s going on at the highest levels of a major government agency.
Interesting, isn’t it? JAABLOG’s arguments concerning the need and importance of an unfettered and protected Fourth Estate have now been bolstered by the Bar’s very own policies concerning news blackouts when they’re sometimes the ones in an unflattering spotlight.
Here’s what Howard Finkelstein had to say on the topic earlier this week:
“In my over forty years in this courthouse, I can say without the blog, so many secrets would stay a secret forever. It is only because of the blog that some of the dirty deeds and corruption of our criminal justice system and legal profession have seen the light of day, and reached the public’s ears. If they will not keep their own house clean, then the blog is more important today than ever before.”
And if you don’t believe him, read what the great Sandy D’Alemberte had to say about Brenda v. Blog, shortly before his passing ...
COMING SOON – $750 Grand Theft cutoff applied retroactively, please; Catching up with Pro Bono Warrior John Howes …
Dennis Bailey’s public reprimand at the hands of the Supreme Court is scheduled for Wednesday morning, June 5th, at 9:00 A.M.
Watch it live here, or wait for it to archive here.
Suskauer comes out swinging – Zach Schlein of the DBR gets a statement from Michelle:
COMING SOON – Jack Seiler & Mark Bogen to SAO race?; TFB Standard Bearers Brenda & Michelle, and you …
UPDATE III – Jim Lewis out of PDO race, and in for SAO …
UPDATE II – Harold Pryor is another rumored SAO hopeful …
UPDATE – Add Ken Padowitz. He’s “seriously considering” a run as well …
With all the major offices in the criminal justice system up for grabs in 2020, things are really getting interesting. With Satz’s anticipated announcement now official, the JAAB phone is already blowing up with rumors.
Here’s what we can confirm thus far:
Sheila Alu:
“It’s true. I’m sad to see Mike Satz retire, and I wish him well, and I am now seriously considering running for State Attorney. ”
Josh Rydell:
“I’m definitely interested, this is a position to truly change and effect the county for the better.”
Developing …
Email just went out …
The accusations concerning Michelle Suskauer that Anthony D’Amico made to Jimmy Cohn are found in this letter, and here are the exhibits that were also filed with the Clerk.
Below is the overall section of the rule that Cohn referred to:
COMING SOON – Broward SAO PIO says earlier today “a decision should be announced soon” as to whether or not Mike Satz is in, or out …
Michelle Suskauer didn’t answer any of our questions, but she’ll sure be answering serious ones brought to the Bar’s attention by Jimmy Cohn.
From today’s Palm Beach Post article by Jane Musgrave:
The Florida Bar is investigating its president, longtime West Palm Beach criminal defense attorney Michelle Suskauer, after a federal judge alerted the agency that she may have let a disbarred lawyer represent one of her clients …
“Certainly his role was more than that of a paralegal,” (Judge) Cohn said after looking at dozens of emails (that disbarred lawyer John) Garcia exchanged with accused fraudster Anthony D’Amico. “And he had direct client contact, which is prohibited by the Florida Bar. And it is a serious allegation.”
“Quite honestly,” Cohn continued, “the Florida Bar needs to take a look at this, and I plan to refer it to the Florida Bar.” …
While (Suskauer) didn’t attend a hearing in February when D’Amico pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud for allegedly directing more than $1.5 million of a former employer’s money into his own accounts, she said she sent an associate. She said she didn’t know why Garcia sat at the defense table.
D’Amico said it was all part of the ruse to make him believe Garcia was a lawyer. The only reason he hired Garcia was because Suskauer urged him to do so, D’Amico told Cohn. She described Garcia as a “federal court specialist,” he said. So, he agreed to pay Garcia $10,000 on top of the “significant amount” he paid Suskauer, he said …
“We used him as an expert so that our clients, if they’re sentenced as such, will be able to be better acclimated to the procedure,” (Suskauer) said. Aside from offering prison counseling, he worked only as a paralegal, she said.
But, Cohn said, Garcia — with Suskauer’s help — may have stepped over some important lines. He asked Suskauer about various Bar rules that attorneys must follow when dealing with disbarred lawyers. For instance, lawyers much file quarterly reports that include statements that none of a disbarred attorney’s work involved the unlicensed practice of law and that the former lawyer had no direct contact with clients, according to the Bar’s website.
Suskauer said she wasn’t familiar with the rules but was convinced that neither she nor Garcia violated them.
“Well, perhaps you should acquaint yourself with Florida Bar Rule of Professional Conduct 3-6.1(d)(2),” Cohn said. “I think you may come away with a different opinion.” …
Imagine if you will:
A dimension where the chief justice of the Supreme Court is the strongest of proponents for free political speech …
(click any image to enlarge)
… living in a world where his underling Bar prosecutors and attorney grievance committee members swore an oath of admission to uphold the aforementioned constitutional free speech rights, and to maintain respect due to courts and judicial officers by reporting on bad actors who disgrace both the courts they serve and their honorable colleagues …
… but curiously part of a universe where the same Bar continues to attack a whistleblower on behalf of a complainant and constitutional officer currently under criminal investigation for alleged dishonesty in Bar and court filings, who has already been found to have acted dishonestly in other proceedings by a circuit court judge …
… comprising a society where the same Bar may somehow believe reporting on the controversial actions and investigation of said constitutional officer doesn’t serve a “legitimate purpose” …
… part and parcel of a civilization where there’s confusion regarding the most basic of protections, when there really shouldn’t be …
… dominated by a culture where the same Bar is seeking identifying IP address information of constitutionally protected anonymous individuals, when there is no certainty they’re all even attorneys governed by the Bar’s jurisdiction …
… living in a land now so foreign that the sacred principle of stare decisis has been thrown into question …
(the last image is from the Bobby Diaz photography case)
… on a troubled planet where front page controversial news about the same Bar is purposely kept off their own informational page for dues paying members and the general public, because they “don’t include stories on pending cases and litigation“.
… with a long standing social order wherein the Bar’s ideals espousing motto is seemingly more akin to an agenda, as evidenced by the fact they certainly didn’t refer their discredited complainant to the State Attorney after damning video evidence was uncovered (JAABLOG had to both obtain the video and make the referral, in the interest of justice), making it now more than fair to question whether the Bar’s pursuit of “professionalism” requires ethical and moral underpinnings as a starting point …
So beware, what you are about to watch is a nightmare … something found only in The Florida Bar Zone!
COMING SOON – Satz: In or Out? (Our money is on out! ); Who is Brenda’s ghost writer?
Brenda v. Blog has attracted a lot of attention, and now a new guest author, Elihu Smalls. His post is an update on the ongoing search for two new federal judges. As reported by the SDFLA Blog, Raag Singhal is a front-runner for one seat, while perennial government application-filler John Couriel is being talked about for the other.
Smalls’ post is more “R” than the usual JAABLOG fare, but the timing is perfect, given the unconfirmed rumor that the Bar’s 1st Amendment IP Address attack may be a trial balloon in line with Donald Trump’s desire to modify free speech when it concerns public figures. In any event, as always, anyone seeking to publish coherent and relevant articles on JAABLOG, or looking for equal time, can drop us a line.
And without further ado, here’s Mr. Smalls:
Can Jeb Bush loving candidate be your next Federal Judge?
Who is the next Federal Judge appointment?
Word is that Rubio, who President Donald Trump used to call “little” Marco, and the President have been close due to Rubio’s activity in the Senate. Due to that closeness, the President takes his recommendations seriously.
So who is Marco Rubio’s rumored recommendation for a Federal Seat in the Southern District? John Couriel, a Miami Lawyer.
The only problem? Well it seems that Marco Rubio thinks the White House will have a short term memory lapse.
John Couriel was also a leading applicant for the US Attorney position that was recently filled by the Honorable Ariana Fajardo.
It’s been told that during that interview process, there was a discussion about Bush and Trump that could have cost Couriel the job. The fact Couriel wrote-in Bush’s name on the ballot in 2016 wasn’t missed either.
So now the question remains: will the President’s loyalty to Marco Rubio overshadow putting someone on the bench that was anti-Trump? Will the President’s ego let him kneel to the political power of Marco Rubio to appoint John Couriel?
This is going to be a HOT summer on the Federal Bench!
Elihu Smalls
As promised, here is the transcript concerning Dennis Bailey’s now withdrawn canine ban in State v. Myron Rosner.
There’s a reference on page 6/7 to a conversation concerning the dog from a prior hearing, right after Bailey notes other people can help the paraplegic if he falls down and the dog isn’t present. When that transcript becomes available, we will be sure to post …
(skip to page 24, after reading beginning)