Friday, July 09, 2010

Judge Gold to take senior status in January

I remember when Judge Gold was sworn in -- I was clerking for Judge Davis at the time.  All of the clerks were invited to the ceremony, which back then was held in the old courtyard and catered by Christy's.  Judge Gold made a point of introducing himself to all of the clerks; he was very nice. 

He quickly became known as one of the best, most respected judges in this District.  Luckily, he intends "to continue to render substantial judicial service as a senior judge." Gold also wished Obama "well in these challenging times."

What I appreciate about him is that he holds lawyers to the highest standards.  He believes that the profession is a noble one.  I also appreciate that he writes a number of opinions, probably the most in this District.  From orders on motions to suppress to sentencing orders, Judge Gold often writes -- which is rare in criminal cases in this District.  Accordingly, the parties who appear before him -- win or lose -- know that he has given a great deal of consideration to their issues. 

From the DBRGold, who sits in Miami, was nominated by President Clinton in 1997 when U.S. District Judge Jose Gonzalez Jr. went on senior status. A graduate of Duke University law school, Gold served as a Miami-Dade prosecutor from 1971 to 1975 before going into private practice. He served as a Miami-Dade circuit judge from 1993 to 1997 before his nomination to the federal bench. *** The question is how long will it take to replace Gold. The Obama administration’s nominations have lagged in the U.S. Senate. U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley in West Palm Beach took senior status in February 2009. Federal Defender Kathleen Williams was reported as the front-runner to replace him last December, and she is still awaiting confirmation.



2 comments:

Rumpole said...

It looks better.

Anonymous said...

" ... she is still awaiting confirmation." Rather, she is still awaiting nomination, a necessary antecedent to confirmation. Sloppy error on the part of the DBR. Whoever wrote that article obviously is not a textualist. It's admittedly easy to treat her nomination as a fait accompli, but until President Obama actually nominates her, no one knows who'll be the next two district-court judges in the Southern District.

Speaking of which, have you heard about any movement on that front?