Congrats to Judge Robin Rosenbaum

President Obama officially nominated her today to serve on the district court:

Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum is a United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Florida, a position she has held since 2007. From 1998 until her appointment to the bench, Judge Rosenbaum was an Assistant United States Attorney in the same district, where she served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Section in the Fort Lauderdale office beginning in 2002. Before joining the United States Attorney’s Office, Judge Rosenbaum clerked for Judge Stanley Marcus on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in 1998, worked as a litigation associate at Holland & Knight from 1996 to 1997, and served as staff counsel at the Office of the Independent Counsel in Washington, D.C. from 1995 to 1996. She began her legal career as a trial attorney at the Federal Programs Branch of the United States Department of Justice from 1991 to 1995. Judge Rosenbaum received her J.D. magna cum laude in 1991 from the University of Miami School of Law and her B.A. in 1988 from Cornell University.

BREAKING -- Rumors regarding district judge openings UPDATE -- Rumors confirmed!

Well, this wouldn't be printed if it were a newspaper or a legitimate publication, but because this is a blog, and I trust my sources, I am going to post the rumor that is being whispered about around town. Again, this isn't confirmed, but if it's being discussed at La Loggia, it can be discussed here too.

As we all know, 4 names were sent up by the JNC to fill Judge Gold's seat. Apparently, the White House is vetting two of those names, John Thornton and Robin Rosenbaum -- one to fill Judge Gold's seat and one to fill Judge Jordan's seat (see below; his confirmation hearing is next week).

If the rumor is true, congrats to Judges Thornton and Rosenbaum!

If anyone out there can confirm or refute this rumor, please email me and it will remain anonymous. Thanks.

UPDATED -- It's confirmed. Congratulations to Judge Thornton and Judge Rosenbaum! Here's hoping that the President and Senate move quickly.

Key count kicked in case against former head of DEA

Magistrate Judge Robin Rosenbaum recommended (in a 43-page order*) that an obstruction count be dismissed against Tom Raffanello, the former DEA chief and then head of security for Allen Stanford. The Herald has the details here:

Two months after one of Miami's most celebrated drug cops was charged in the Allen Stanford financial scandal, a federal magistrate is recommending that one of the key charges be thrown out.
Judge Robin Rosenbaum said prosecutors failed to prove Tom Raffanello -- head of security for Stanford's worldwide enterprise -- interfered with a federal investigation by ordering the destruction of reams of company documents.
The former Drug Enforcement Administration chief, who left the agency to join Stanford's security force in 2004, was charged with ordering the shredding of records just days after federal agents shut down Stanford's empire in a massive fraud case in February.
Though prosecutors said Raffanello defied a court order by destroying the documents, Rosenbaum said the government failed to show he impeded the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's probe.
The magistrate fell short of rejecting the entire case, however, saying prosecutors were able to show the former drug cop destroyed records in the course of a federal investigation. Her recommendation will be taken up by presiding Judge William Zloch later this month.

You can always count on Sharpie for a good quote:

Raffanello's attorney, Richard Sharpstein, said he was pleased with Rosenbaum's recommendation.
``We hope Judge Zloch not only agrees with Judge Rosenbaum, but throws out the entire case,'' he said.
Lead prosecutor Paul Pelletier could not be reached on Monday. However, prosecutors have argued in prior hearings that Raffanello and co-defendant Bruce Perraud were aware of a judge's order to preserve all company documents when they called a shredding truck to the company's Fort Lauderdale security bunker on February 25.

UPDATED -- Here's the DBR article by John Pacenti.

*Even though it's not 90 pages, Judge Marcus would still be proud.

Robin Rosenbaum in the DBR

Julie Kay follows up on our scoop here that Robin Rosenbaum in the new Ft. Lauderdale Magistrate.

Congrats to our new Magistrate

A (reliable) little birdie told me that Robin Rosenbaum is our new Ft. Lauderdale Magistrate Judge. Congratulations!