The JQC has four pending cases in the 17th Circuit. That’s a lot even for Broward County, the GOAT by a mile in the JQC convictions department.
Any progress made over the years is now kaput. And it’s not backsliding either; it’s more like the entire courthouse has been placed in a time machine and sent back to 2007.
But why?
It’s not a simple question, of course. And there isn’t a simple answer. But one consistent theme since JAABLOG first came into being, when Dale Ross was in charge, is the role of the Chief Judge in setting the tone for what is acceptable behavior amongst the judiciary in the courthouse, on the campaign trail, or driving home from a bar function (double entendre intended).
Unfortunately, given the relentless pace of JQC activity in Broward today and over the last couple of decades, it’s obvious that no Chief Judge has made much of an impact.
And since déjà vu is the order of the day, we spoke with Howard Finkelstein, the former Public Defender who fought as hard as anyone to clean up Broward, about a concern many of us have discussed over the years (and most certainly revisited in the past few weeks). Whether you agree or not, younger readers and others who desire improvement in the 17th Circuit should find the issues presented interesting and worthy of discussion as well.
From Howard:
“I have worked with every chief judge since the first one.
The same link that for decades allowed Broward to build such an exceedingly large membership in the judicial misbehavior club has been followed through to today’s unfortunate JQC nightmare. That is the chief judge.
A highly political position within the judiciary … (t)hey often knew about the misbehavior but only acted when it became public and then a quiet transfer to another division. Behavior uncorrected just moved to a different area. Kind of like what was done with misbehaving priests, and for every judge protected another vote for chief judge acquired. A culture is created from above to those below, not the other way around, and extended all the way to the campaign trail where new judges are elected.
We have a new chief judge who has an opportunity in a new political climate to change what has been a decades long culture of protecting judges even at the expense of the public. It always takes courage to implement important changes, but I believe in the end a leader can and must emerge to finally lead Broward out of its opprobrium.”
WAIT AND SEE …
DBR: ‘More Judges Are Crossing the Line:’ 2 South Florida Jurists Suspended
“In my opinion, however, the Court has not been tough enough in imposing its own sanctions, but that is a longstanding problem—judges throughout the country do not really like to punish other judges“— Ethics professor Bob Jarvis
SS: “Broward has a long history of a highly political legal culture, and with it, an excessive tolerance for mediocrity on the bench.” – Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, April 14, 2025
COMING SOON – SUGGESTION BOX FOR THE NEW CHIEF JUDGE …
The biggest problem with the judiciary is its LACK OF NEUTRALITY.
The tantrums, the campaign violations, and the persistent laziness is not even the worst of it.
The PDO asleep at the wheel
WHATEVER YOU SAY CHIEF
Sleeping with the enemy for votes …
Theys be the bestest booty calls plus they voted for mees.
Amazing
What about the corruption? Our firm is forced to arbitrate with the judge’s pick who just so happens to have gone to law school with the judge.
Most of the judges here are garbage … political opportunists looking for a free ride and a paycheck
NOT MY PROBLEM
IM SLIDING ON OUT
SHE’S ALL YOURS
Saw Tuter the other day and he looks really bad. Is he sick >
LIKE I CARE
HYPOCRISY
That smile of new Cheify has a lot resemblance of Tooty.
Quit your whining. You got a Judge through random selection. Your folks choose arbitration way back when. So what if the neutral and independent magistrate choose an arbitrator he went to school with, maybe he knows that his classmate of 30 years ago has sound judgment and subject matter expertise.
You Broward lawyers are as bad as your judges. You chant “corruption” at every adverse ruling. Your idea a judge should pick some rando for a complicated assignment, instead of someone he knows and respects, is stupid.
I think they meant that the selected arbitrator was mandatory, even if the parties wanted another, hence the ethical implications
And of course there’s petty Michael Usan, who got hostile w a lawyer (In Court of all places), who had donated to his opponent.
Usan is one of the best judges on the bench. The only time he is disrespectful is when others are disrespectful to him first. Get a life.
No. Look at the statistics and it is overwhelmingly elected judges having disciplinary issues. Appointed judges, while you can scream nepotism all you want, have far better temperaments because they have been vetted by actual legal professionals before taking the bench. The general public rarely know or care who they are voting for judge, and we end up with people like (insert name of former judge – likely elected) on the bench.
Good point. That is including the ones that are having issues now, Farmer, Moon, Levy and Peffer. Elected. And don’t forget Gunderson.
The man, the legend. If only private lawyers stood up to judges the way Howard always did.
Some do. But the JQC only cares about campaign violations.
WE GOT THEM ALL FOOLED
The fact that law is a self-governed profession is the root of the problem.
Would the Board of Medicine allow doctors to run crazy like this?
We need to replace the Florida Supreme Court as the governing body of judges and lawyers!
We need legislative action.
Imagine a job you can royally fuck up and the worst you get is a “reversal”.
No jail time.
No pay deduction.
No risk of termination.
Therein lies the problem. They abuse their power, they threaten people with contempt, they yell, they scream, they unlawfully keep people in jail.
And nothing. “Appeal me.” No consequences.
Or worst case you get a 10 day suspension LOL!!! An unpaid vacation. Still a vacation. Oh noooo please don’t do that.
I dealt with a certain judge. He would not let me address the court made me sit in the row in which I could not hear his ruling or comments. He dismissed my case with prejudice and has since been reversed by the 4th dca. I’m filing a JQC complaint against him. The irony is that the same division has a newly assigned judge who has a pending JQC complaint. Peffer pass the pepper to Evans.
What a joke these judicial judges are.
Let’s play a game: Who are the top 3 worst judges in the criminal division?
The whiny baby on 7.
Who
Rothschild: starts late (and still comes late to court), leaves early (leaves the Judges’ lot 1-2pm) bitches at both sides of the aisle, the jail, and the clerk incessantly. Trial dodger
Coleman: genuinely has some kind of psychiatric disorder. Insufferable and abusive. Wouldn’t be on the bench but for Haddad’s connections
Rothschild??? Really? He’s one of the best judges for the defense. Are you a prosecutor?
It shouldn’t matter if a judge starts late as long as they treat both sides fairly.
But Coleman…. Yeah…. That’s another story.
PD. He’s not as great for defense as people say he is
Of course it matters if a judge starts late, and if they only work 4-5 hours a day because they trial dodge by continue everything or farming out their trials constantly
They are both morons !
Rothschild is as dumb as they come just like his dad who couldn’t find his way out of an elevator.
Are you all talking about Michael Rothschild?
I thought there was only 1 judge rothschild?
He was always good way back in the day for the defense. He would declare statutes unconstitutional! He would grant motions to suppress. In fact he was one of the few who could follow a complex legal argument and deliver a well reasoned order.
Honestly he was like the best judge. Hence the confusion? Are you all talking about the same guy?
Michael Rothschild
Trial dodger is an old MJS era term. Just saying.
Yes, and everyone says it nowadays, at least the newer lawyers
Chief Judge Philips needs to move Judge Coleman before he ends up like Judge Farmer because of the things he say.
Coleman and Evans. Worst at each level.
Rothschild. Coleman. Garcia-Woos
Sounds like mostly prosecutors on this blog. Garcia Wood is the best for the defense
My comments about Rothschild and Coleman are based solely on temperament, professionalism, and work ethic.
Coleman, in addition, is also an infamous trial dodger, unless it’s a murder/rape he can’t punt
Coleman work ethic? Trial dodger?. Dodging trial would be on the attorneys.
He starts court on time, you can always get a hearing,, and he doesn’t drag us back into court every month.
You can’t exclusively lay the blame for trial dodging at the feet of lawyers, if judges give continuances nonstop and ask other judges to take their trials when they do go. That is black robe trial dodging
Both are retardos especially Coleman
Garcia-Wood is the best.
Marina es excellente! And she is neutral.
How about a ball team that loses every game.
The manager goes first in the real world.
Here they throw a banquet for the manager to prop him up and to make it look like the team was supposed to lose every game.
The worst? The day after they get elected or appointed they’re called Honorable. Some are for sure but some are drunks, tax cheats, lazy, liars etc etc. Then Abracadabra! Honorable. Gimme a break.
Lmao “Abracadabra! Honorable” ..nah brah you’re still the same cheat you always were
This reminds me of a quote from the 1995 movie Billy Madison, where a student answered a question and the teacher stated, “Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. “
Is Howard ok? What the heck is he talking about? The jqc complaints were campaign related. How could a chief judge have anything to do with campaign conduct?
I suggest this blog asks for comment from more relevant characters- not a has been.
You saying Judges Farmer and Moon were campaign related?
Please 🙏 tell me how to get Has Been Howard off every TV set in South Florida WSVN and WPLG every gosh darn day.
What’s his name?
A PUTZ BY ANY OTHER NAME
He was always a little man with a messiah complex who couldn’t play golf worth a chit !
Finkelstein is the most famous lawyer in the history of South Florida so get over it because no one else even comes close.
Finkelstein ran the Courthouse with an iron fist and when he left the leadership void went straight back to the ‘do anything you want’ mentality that the judiciary endorses.
Drug addicted whimp you mean ?
Howard seemed to be very afraid of Cathy Keuthan, too.
When I told Howard in ’05 I was leaving the PDs office to go private, he asked me to stay for 3 extra months bc SO MANY ppl had quit since he had just become PD. I said ok, but Keuthan said “we’re not paying your Bar dues”. That was fine – but what about covering those 3 months?
“Nope,” Keuthan said.
Howard agreed w me that the 3 months should be covered, but when Keuthan still said No, Howard refused to do anything..so I didn’t stay the extra months.
I remember saying to Howard as he walked away silently, “hey man, where you going? You’re THAT afraid of Cathy?!”
A few years later he gave me the stink eye bc I had donated to his opponent, Alex Arreaza.
Roscoe
She was Howie’s wet nurse
>
What’s BACDL doing about all these JQC Judges?
The same thing they always do. Kiss their butts while they have their hands out.
It’s not fair to put all the blame on the Chief. Because BACDL is an impotent sack of flaccid weiners. There’s no Defense Bar here. BACDL are enablers.
It’s sole purpose is to hand out kizzbutt trophies.
There should be a new man of the year award. Having it only for people like Help Me Howard from TV and Galkin from the movies is outdated. There should be an award solely based on lawyer work.
That was their deal. Kathy ran the office, albeit very poorly, while Lit’l Howie devoted his time to shooting his mouth off with one-liners because that’s all his attention span permitted. If he wasn’t posing atop a box babbling about himself, he was playing putt putt golf with chopsticks! Lol
The only suggestion box is this blog and forum
The first I ever saw written about Scherer and Farmer’s absenteeism was right here. So yeah.
Why didn’t the other Judges report them?
BROWARD IS A POT OF GOLD FOR THE MEDIOCRE
REMEMBER WHO SET THE STANDARD
Farmer needs to get back to the sod farm
Ive always said that Broward Judges think the job is early retirement with perks.
Gary Farmer and Liz Scherer just took it to the extreme.
THE BUCK STOPS ANYWHERE BUT HERE
Just goes to show how desperate these Broward judges are to hang on to their jobs and just how lazy they are once they get it.
Look at the devious crap they pull campaigning. To keep or get a job to then do nothing because they know Howie isn’t around anymore to keep them in line. It stinks to heaven
Give them all a Glopskin!
The Broward Judiciary has always been a carnival
I want a Glorpstein!!!
How many Broward judges are getting scooped by the JQC now
Who’s counting as long as they are scooped. Let the accounting begin and not stop until there is accountability. New chief judge you hear that?????
Cleaning house is not a bad thing and nearly all except for delusional farmer are campaign violations and the idiots are required to attend an ethics program regarding campaigning, just plain stupidity
Sitting Judges. Again. Sitting Judges. Pulling that kind of shite in a campaign. I agree with that Jarvis fellow. This is astounding they should be allowed to remain in the chair. The culture here is sick.
They’re giving the farm away so good news for Farmer’s likely IMHO.
A bipartisan bill to shut down courts on Fridays called SB 841 Florida Law Weekly Friday.
Has there been a ruling? The longer they take it’s like there’s no urgency to suspend him. Am I correct or not.
Not enough!
SHOVE OFF
That was Tooty spray to everyone else.
Hopefully it works against him too.
What a joke. The Tooty Room and Portrait.
Lmao.
If he hasn’t already, he should write a personal apology letter to all of the Parkland families.
That disgrace of what should’ve been a sacred trial is his true legacy.
I see Ole Tooty sleazed out without much fanfare. Sort of like he sleazed in after losing an election and getting appointed only to do nothing but skate during his entire tenure as chief judge of a circuit that’s a dumpster fire.
See you in Wilton Manors after Midnight
DOUGHNUT RINGS
At last Tuter is down the toilet … The best thing to happen to the 17th.
L.O. – WORLDS LARGEST SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND DIVESTS ITSELF FROM BIBI NETANYAHU AND ISRAEL
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
The face of a war criminal.
The silent majority the world over IS AWARE that Hamas hides in civilian bldgs., and that Israel does NOT target civilians.
Hamas is SOLELY to blame for any civilian deaths. Hamas could’ve released the innocent hostages a Longg time ago.
Only angry woke folk and ppl w TDS believe the claim that Israel is responsible.
Most importantly, who are the 3 most attractive PD/ASAs?
DONKEY KONG
Someone start. I’m a little out of the loop in civil
Is it possible for the JQC to send monitors to the Broward Courthouses which should include empty Satellite Courthouses? It’s needed thnks.
Nope
Bill: take charge and post something new. If you want to be known for this blog. Stop being a sissy.
And how about the general magistrates who think they are judges!
FIRST THE LIZ SCHERER EMBARRASSING JUDICIAL SCENARIO
THEN THE SLUG TRAIL DEPARTURE OF POSSIBLY THE MOST EMBARRASSING CHIEF JUDGE AND SCHERER MOLE BROWARD COUNTY HAS EVER EXPERIENCED
BOTH DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO JACKIE TUTER AND HIS INCOMPETENCE, HUBRIS AND ARROGANCE
GOOD RIDDANCE TO THE LAST OF JACK TUTER
Like most inept politicians, Tuter thinks it will all be forgotten given enough time. The way he wheedled his way to CJ shows just how slimy he really is. The way he’s administered wayward Broward Judges shows just how little he’s cares.
It certainly seems to have manifested itself in the number of judges facing disciplinary action presently. Although Tuter may not be entirely responsible for the actions of the judges involved, he certainly has never served as a good example of what a judge should be and thus his administrative skills have been found to be entirely lacking as well as suffering from any number of deplorable character flaws. His constant attempts to honor himself can only be described as somewhat pathetic in nature. But that is another question.
Tuter has always been a flea