That was Judge Turnoff in jailing Emmanuel Roy, the former lawyer who is alleged to have ignored numerous court orders. SFL has covered this story along the way, but it's worth writing about here as well. Some interesting tidbits from the Sun-Sentinel:
The judge found Roy had focused his efforts on wringing cash and other
valuables out of Coulton's family.
Roy even flew to England and took a $23,000 wedding ring from the finger of
Coulton's wife at a meeting, the judge found. He also took a Porsche, tens of
thousands of dollars and a Coconut Creek townhouse, the judge found.
Turnoff gave Roy and Mayas 10 days to comply with his order last September
but Roy never responded so the judge eventually issued a warrant for his arrest
after he failed to show for a July 6 hearing.
On July 12, Roy wrote to Turnoff that he had "always shown great respect to
the court."
"I trust that the court will not conclude that I have decided to stump [sic]
my nose at it, for any party who does so does it as his own peril," Roy
wrote.
Five days later, Roy was arrested in New York on the judge's warrant. He was
refused a bond and transferred -- via Oklahoma -- to face the judge, arriving
Wednesday at Miami's Federal Detention Center.
Finally facing Judge Turnoff in court Thursday, Roy didn't get into details
about the Coulton case. He claimed he's now penniless though he told authorities
he had a net worth of about $700,000 in 2009 when he was charged with wire fraud
in a federal mortgage investigation in New York. He has pleaded not guilty and
is going to trial on that case next month.
Though Turnoff was clearly astounded by Roy's actions, he said he is keeping
an open mind and gave Roy and his lawyer time to prepare for an Aug. 16 hearing
where Roy can explain himself before the judge makes a final ruling.
...
Turnoff ruled Roy can be released on a $250,000 bond if he can put up $5,000
cash and promises to return for the hearing next week.
If you are looking for a something a little more light-hearted, check out this Jerry Seinfeld short with Ricky Gervais.
Or, if you are a Supreme Court junkie, here's a case from the upcoming Term on whether a house boat is a boat or a house:
As yachts go, Fane Lozeman’s vessel was no Queen Mary. First of all, the two-story, 60-foot boat had no name, motor or way of being steered. She drew only 10 inches of water and had glass French doors on three sides, making the idea of an ocean passage nonsensical. Tied up at the dock in North Beach Village, Fla., she was the functional equivalent of a house down to the sewer line and electrical lines snaking onshore.
That didn’t stop town authorities from getting an order under marine law to seize the vessel and tow it to Miami, after Lozeman failed to heed local ordinances and pay his dockage fees. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to decide the question of whether the term “vessel” applies to anything that floats, or should be reserved for things intended to move from place to place.
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