John Pacenti covers Judge Moreno here
From the intro:
When socialite Paris Hilton came to town for a civil trial, she was upstaged by none other than Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno.
Pragmatic, smart and funny, the Miami jurist stopped seasoned attorneys who were litigating the question of whether Hilton adequately promoted her film box office bomb "Pledge This!," to ask incisive questions. Since it was a bench trial, Moreno was serving as a jury of one and had no need for rote legal arguments.
Despite his good humor, Moreno is a stickler for proper courtroom decorum. He gently chastised an out-of-town attorney representing Hilton repeatedly for failing to stand up when addressing him. He prompted an out-of-town attorney in another case to borrow a tie before speaking at the courtroom lectern. Given the judge's jocularity and ready smile, the attorney asked if he was kidding.
The judge wasn't.
Moreno said his insistence on decorum is based on respect for the institution.
"I think a federal courthouse, or any courthouse for that matter, is a secular temple," he said. "We dress in robes because it's a secular temple. People dress in suits, and I think people behave better when they are dressed better."
The SDFLA Blog is dedicated to providing news and notes regarding federal practice in the Southern District of Florida. The New Times calls the blog "the definitive source on South Florida's federal court system." All tips on court happenings are welcome and will remain anonymous. Please email David Markus at dmarkus@markuslaw.com
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Poll numbers
A week of voting has produced the following unscientific numbers:
Who should be our next U.S. Attorney?
405 votes total
David Buckner 56% 227 votes
Willy Ferrer 24% 99 votes
Daryl Trawick 20% 79 votes
Who should be our next judge?
262 votes total
Jerald Bagley 24% 64 votes
Bob Scola 29% 77 votes
Kathy Williams 46% 121 votes
Why were there so many more votes for U.S. Attorney. Do you think the results would be different if I asked who the Senators will actually pick?
Who should be our next U.S. Attorney?
405 votes total
David Buckner 56% 227 votes
Willy Ferrer 24% 99 votes
Daryl Trawick 20% 79 votes
Who should be our next judge?
262 votes total
Jerald Bagley 24% 64 votes
Bob Scola 29% 77 votes
Kathy Williams 46% 121 votes
Why were there so many more votes for U.S. Attorney. Do you think the results would be different if I asked who the Senators will actually pick?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Perfection
For just the 18th time in baseball history, a pitcher was perfect today. Mark Buehrle was literally perfect. 27 batters. 27 outs. No one reaches first. Unbelievably remarkable.
Is there an equivalent for lawyers?
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
More on JNC picks
Between Paris Hilton and the JNC posts, the blog has been on fire lately. Thanks to everyone for stopping by. I have been stuck in trial the last two weeks (if you are in the courthouse, come by Judge Jordan's courtroom and say hello), so I apologize for the slower than usual posts. John Pacenti over at the DBR has been covering the JNC process. Here's a nice article about what's going to happen now:
What happens next? Not all 20 members of the region’s Judicial Nominating Commission are sure. Some members thought that traditionally Florida’s U.S. senators — Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez — would pick just one name for each position to forward to the White House. But that’s not the case. The rules state that if the senators voice no reservations, all of the JNC’s picks will be forwarded to President Obama so he can narrow the field to one selection for each office.. “As long as Sen. Nelson has been in office, it’s been that way,” said Matt Nosanchuk, Nelson’s legislative counsel in Washington. ... The commission process itself is ever-evolving. “The process has changed back and forth over the years,” said Guy Lewis, who served as an acting U.S. Attorney based in Miami. “It’s almost like making a sausage. I used to love Tennessee Pride Sausage, but I’d never want to know what goes into making it.”
Gotta love Guy. I guess he's trying to keep up with his partner Mike Tein, who is the most quotable guy in the district.
We didn't get to cover the Marshal interviews, but the JNC narrowed the list to William Berger, David C. Nieland and Glen M. Wilner. Unfortunately, the current Marshal -- Christina Pharo -- withdrew her name from consideration before the interview process. Pharo was a great Marshal...
The polls are up below. Vote!
What happens next? Not all 20 members of the region’s Judicial Nominating Commission are sure. Some members thought that traditionally Florida’s U.S. senators — Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez — would pick just one name for each position to forward to the White House. But that’s not the case. The rules state that if the senators voice no reservations, all of the JNC’s picks will be forwarded to President Obama so he can narrow the field to one selection for each office.. “As long as Sen. Nelson has been in office, it’s been that way,” said Matt Nosanchuk, Nelson’s legislative counsel in Washington. ... The commission process itself is ever-evolving. “The process has changed back and forth over the years,” said Guy Lewis, who served as an acting U.S. Attorney based in Miami. “It’s almost like making a sausage. I used to love Tennessee Pride Sausage, but I’d never want to know what goes into making it.”
Gotta love Guy. I guess he's trying to keep up with his partner Mike Tein, who is the most quotable guy in the district.
We didn't get to cover the Marshal interviews, but the JNC narrowed the list to William Berger, David C. Nieland and Glen M. Wilner. Unfortunately, the current Marshal -- Christina Pharo -- withdrew her name from consideration before the interview process. Pharo was a great Marshal...
The polls are up below. Vote!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
BREAKING -- U.S. Attorney finalists announced
Willy Ferrer
David Buckner
Daryl Trawick
Congrats to the finalists!
(And thanks to the many tipsters who emailed me with the names!)
David Buckner
Daryl Trawick
Congrats to the finalists!
(And thanks to the many tipsters who emailed me with the names!)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Paris Hilton update
So I still don't know who made the final 3 for U.S. Attorney. Where are you tipsters? In the meantime, here's more on Paris from Above The Law.
Thanks to Dore for Guest Blogging!
He gave us some great insight below to the interviews of both potential judges and U.S. Attorneys. I will post the final list as soon as I hear it.
UPDATE -- Vanessa Blum has added to Dore's post below with her coverage of the last three interviews. I am very grateful to have such great guest bloggers... Thanks to both Vanessa and Dore.
One other tidbit about the interviews. Apparently, too many law clerks and interns attended the first day of interviews, so the Chief Judge sent this memo around yesterday afternoon:
I have been informed that many law clerks, interns and other employees have been coming in and out of the Judges' Conference Room in the Ferguson Courthouse where the Judicial Nominating Commission is conducting interviews. The Commission' s interviews are open, while their deliberations are not. However the room with 21 Commissioners and the applicant is extremely crowded to the point of possibly violating fire marshal regulations. Chairs had to be added for the public.The constant movement of observers detracts from the seriousness of the task and is somewhat disruptive. Although the Commision desires for an open process, an admirable goal, the large number of employees in one building is yielding heavy traffic. I would ask all employees, including interns and law clerks, as a courtesy , to take this into consideration and not attend this afternoon for the remaining judicial interviews or tomorrow for the US Attorney interviews. In the Summer many judges have a large number of interns and their interest in the process is understandable. The media covers it and we can all read about it the next day. However the comfort of the Commissioners and those being interviewed is also important. I thank you for your consideration. FAM
UPDATE -- Vanessa Blum has added to Dore's post below with her coverage of the last three interviews. I am very grateful to have such great guest bloggers... Thanks to both Vanessa and Dore.
One other tidbit about the interviews. Apparently, too many law clerks and interns attended the first day of interviews, so the Chief Judge sent this memo around yesterday afternoon:
I have been informed that many law clerks, interns and other employees have been coming in and out of the Judges' Conference Room in the Ferguson Courthouse where the Judicial Nominating Commission is conducting interviews. The Commission' s interviews are open, while their deliberations are not. However the room with 21 Commissioners and the applicant is extremely crowded to the point of possibly violating fire marshal regulations. Chairs had to be added for the public.The constant movement of observers detracts from the seriousness of the task and is somewhat disruptive. Although the Commision desires for an open process, an admirable goal, the large number of employees in one building is yielding heavy traffic. I would ask all employees, including interns and law clerks, as a courtesy , to take this into consideration and not attend this afternoon for the remaining judicial interviews or tomorrow for the US Attorney interviews. In the Summer many judges have a large number of interns and their interest in the process is understandable. The media covers it and we can all read about it the next day. However the comfort of the Commissioners and those being interviewed is also important. I thank you for your consideration. FAM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)