New Hurricane Policy for SDFLA (SECOND UPDATE)

 The physical courthouses will close when public schools are closed, so that remains the same.  But Chief Judge Altonaga has tweaked the policy so that court employees are now expected to tele-work even if the courthouse is closed, unless they are without power or wifi.  

Here's the order.

On the other hand, the Chief did declare December 23 as a court holiday. 

**UPDATED -- one helpful tipster points out that many court staff wanted the change to the hurricane policy so that they would get paid when there was a storm since they were working from home even if they weren't coming into the courthouse. 

***SECOND UPDATE -- Well, this is interesting.  I have received a number of responses to the above update and have been told that court employees ARE paid even when the storm closes the courthouse (since they are employees and get a salary).  So, the responses say, this "excuse" is not accurate and not what the employees requested.

Judge Ho and friends cancel Yale for law clerks

Judge James Ho (CA5) and another 11 judges -- including Judge Branch from the 11th Circuit -- have said they won't hire law clerks from Yale because they feel Yale has a cancel culture.  

Yale news covers the story here:

“I don’t want to cancel Yale,” Ho told Reuters. “I want Yale to stop cancelling people like me.”

According to employment lists obtained by the News for the Yale Law classes of 2019, 2021 and 2022, no Yale Law graduates from any of these classes reported first clerkships with Ho or Branch. The most recent Yale Law graduate hired by Ho graduated in 2017. 

Aggrey Odera LAW ’23 pointed out that the boycott was ironic, since those who participate in and embrace alleged “cancel culture” would not likely want to work for a judge such as Ho. This boycott would only shut out the voices of conservative Yale Law students, Odera told the News.

“I find it funny — and counterintuitive if his ends actually are conservative — that a conservative judge would deny clerkship opportunities to conservative Yale Law students … as a means of punishing the school,” Odera wrote in an email to the News.

In his speech, Ho referenced previous events that have taken place within the Law School, one of which followed the backlash surrounding a controversial email — seen as racially insensitive to many — inviting students to an event co-hosted by the Federalist Society. 

Dean of Yale Law School Heather Gerken responded to that incident with an email defending free speech while emphasizing a desire to create an inclusive environment for students.

“The vigorous exchange of ideas is the lifeblood of this Law School,” Gerken wrote in an email to students following the incident. “Protecting free speech is a core value of any academic institution; so too is cultivating an environment of respect and inclusion. These two values are mutually reinforcing and sit at the heart of an intellectual community like ours.”

Branch — also a Trump appointee — is the first federal judge to publicly join Ho’s boycott, raising concern “about the lack of free speech on law school campuses, Yale in particular.”

In other cancel culture news, I was informed by a number of sources that the AO had banned this blog so that the judiciary could not access it. After a few quick calls, this was all sorted out.  Our judges can again take a peak at breaking district news when they get bored on the bench.  All good!

Many cheat, but only prosecutors get away with it

That's the title of my latest piece in The Hill, which you can access here.  

Here's how it starts out:

Cheating to gain an advantage against your opponent is as old as competition itself. 

 

In the last few weeks alone, we have seen cheating scandals in chess, poker, and even fishing. 

 

Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top chess player, has accused Hans Neimann, a 19-year old rising star in the chess world, of cheating. Neimann admitted to previously cheating in online tournaments, after which Carlsen said: “I believe that Neimann has cheated more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted.” Neimann offered to play Carlsen naked in an attempt to refute the allegations. The website Chess.com conducted an investigation of Neimann’s online play and has concluded that he cheated in more than 100 games, including in matches where prize money was at stake. He has been banned from playing on the website. 

 

Just last week, poker had its own cheating scandal — Robbi Jade Lew was accused of cheating when she called Garrett Adelstein and bet $269,000 even though her hand was a lame jack high. Lew returned the money but has denied cheating. She has challenged him to a heads-up game. The casino where the match took place is taking the allegations seriously — it has hired a law firm to conduct an investigation, which may include a polygraph test and a third-party cybersecurity firm. 

 

Poker and chess, fine. But fishing? Yes, even fishing. At the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland, Jacob Runyan is accused of inserting weights into fish so he could win a $30,000 prize. He was disqualified, and an investigation has been initiated over his past three tournaments, which he and his partner won.

 We’ve also seen cheating in ice-skating, baseball, and even paralympic basketball where the winning team faked IQ tests so that they would qualify to compete. Jaw dropping, right? 

 

But when those folks cheat, there is a real investigation and they are punished (and of course, their victims do not end up in jail). 

 

Not so when prosecutors cheat: No one really investigates; they are almost never punished, and their victims can spend years in prison. 

Please let me know your thoughts. 

Remembering Judge Dave Lee Brannon

By Michael Caruso

Yesterday, the Palm Beach-Federal Bar Association hosted a judicial reception that honored and presented the portrait of the late Magistrate Judge Dave Lee Brannon. As most of David's readers know, Judge Brannon had a remarkable career. As a very young man, he served in the United States Coast Guard after graduating from the Academy. During his years in the Coast Guard, his favorite assignment was aboard the USCGC Glacier, an icebreaker that took him to both the North and South Poles. While in the Coast Guard, he attended law school at the University of Miami. His last Coast Guard assignment was with the Seventh Coast Guard District Legal Office and Intelligence Branch in Miami, Florida. He then joined the Southern District of Florida Federal Public Defender's Office in 1986 and served as Supervisor of the West Palm Beach office before being appointed to the bench.

At the Federal Public Defender's office, Judge Brannon had a well-earned reputation for his intelligence, kindness, and graciousness—as a colleague and a judge. Those qualities, among others, were celebrated yesterday by his family, friends, and former colleagues.

First, Chief Judge Altonaga offered introductory remarks that focused on Judge Brannon's service to his country in his different capacities. Judge Middlebrooks then spoke and revealed to the audience his warm affection for Juge Brannon in addition to reading the moving tribute to the judge that the Eleventh Circuit adopted after his passing. 

Judge Brannon's career law clerk, Jessica Rodriguez, then delivered a heartfelt tribute that focused on his mentorship of her and his other clerks—both in law and life. During her remarks, to demonstrate Judge Brannon's generosity and kindness, she played an audio clip of the judge helping her young son learn Japanese. 

Finally, Judge Brannon's wife, Dr. Pamela Brannon, spoke. She shared with us several stories about how they met, a date at the Dade County Fair, an awkward dinner with friends, and a meeting with Justice O'Connor. These stories demonstrated their strong and loving bond as well as Judge Brannon's humanity. 

Dr. Brannon ended her remarks by sharing a quote she found in Judge Brannon's highlighted copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. Of course. After all, the novel revolves around a sailor who was falsely accused, arrested, and imprisoned without trial. 

The quote is worth reproducing here: "the friends that we have lost do not repose in the bosom of the earth, but are buried deep in our hearts, and it has been thus ordained that we may always be accompanied by them."

Truth. Rest in Peace Dave.

Same Courthouse, Different Purpose

By John R. Byrne

"Feel Good" Friday story about Angel Sanchez, who went from prison to graduating in the top ten percent of UM law school. Judge Williams and Judge Miguel de la O helped along the way, giving him internships in their chambers.

Sanchez was recently sworn in to the DC bar at the Richard E. Gerstein justice building, the courthouse where he had been sentenced to 30 years in prison (admission to Florida has to wait because of the clemency process). Worth a read.

Yom Kippur news and notes

1. Trump goes to SCOTUS.

2. A vibrant press is important.  This article came out on Monday asking why an 11th Circuit case had been pending for 7 years.  And shortly thereafter, the 11th issued its opinion.

3. KBJ is active to start our her tenure on SCOTUS. Check her out here:

 

Justice Jackson tells the Alabama solicitor general that the Framers of the 14th Amendment did NOT intend it to be “race neutral or race blind,” so taking race into account to protect minority voting rights is perfectly constitutional. Progressive originalism at work. pic.twitter.com/aCXAq2CnJu

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) October 4, 2022

4. RIP Laurence Silberman. 

The Onion files a brief

By John R. Byrne

Ever wonder what it'd be like if the staff at The Onion tried its hand at writing a brief? We basically got that yesterday. The online newspaper filed an Amicus brief yesterday with the Supreme Court asking the Court to take up the case of Novak v. City of Parma, Ohio, 33 F.4th 296 (6th Cir. 2022). In short, in 2016 Novak created a Facebook page parodying the Parma Police Department. Novak was arrested, spent five days in jail, and was actually prosecuted, ultimately securing an acquittal. He later sued the City and several police officers for violating the First Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment to the defendants and the Sixth Circuit affirmed. 

The Onion is now asking the Court to take the case, seeing the ruling as a threat to its "business model." The Onion also fires a (tongue in cheek) shot across the bow at the federal judiciary, which "is staffed entirely by total Latin dorks" who "sweetly whisper 'stare decisis' into their spouses’ ears." Some court watchers say sanctions could be coming. I hope not.

October Term 2022 and diversity in the courts

 It's here.

And --thankfully -- we have a much more diverse Court.

And then there were four. (Photo from before yesterday's investiture of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, by the Supreme Court of the United States.) pic.twitter.com/sQWy4jzp0s

— Amy Howe (@AHoweBlogger) October 1, 2022

In addition to the diversity on SCOTUS, we are making inroads in courts around the country, including here at home.  Congrats to Penny Augustin-Birch, who was sworn in as our newest magistrate judge.

Meantime, I apologize for the sporadic blogging.  It's been a year of trials for me, starting with one here in Miami before Judge Martinez, then in Denver before a different Judge Martinez, and after that, one in Fort Myers of all places.  The jury in that case went out on the Friday before Hurricane Ian turned towards SW Florida.  The jury indicated it was hung, and the parties expected that we would be back for further deliberations last week.  And of course, we couldn't.  Tragically, Fort Myers was devastated and the courthouse is closed indefinitely.  A mistrial was declared.  Here's an article about it.

At the end of this month, my partner Margot and I will be headed off to SDNY for a lengthy trial out there, so blogging will be a little rough when I'm away, but I will do my best.  Wish us luck!  

And if you'd like to write a guest post, just email me.