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
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Picture day
I am in a picture mood today, I guess. These two come from a reader who was on the turnpike this morning and had to stop when she saw these clouds rolling in. Pics taken with an iphone.
Bench & Bar Photos
Okay, so my pictures weren't the highest quality... SO....
here are some more professional photos from the Bench & Bar conference:
here are some more professional photos from the Bench & Bar conference:
Monday, December 01, 2008
Shout out to South Florida Lawyers!
The ABA Journal named our anonymous blogging colleague -- South Florida Lawyers -- as a top 100 Blawg (law blog). Even though Rumpole and I got snubbed, a big congrats to SFL!
Public Defender elections
Florida is one of the few states that elects its Public Defenders. It's very strange. What platform do you run on for Public Defender? Tough on crime? Save the taxpayer money? Mostly, we've been lucky not to have anything crazy like this happen... But here's a story out of Jacksonville, where the newly elected PD, supported by the Fraternal Order of Police, fired all the top lawyers at the office. I kid you not:
Ten attorneys and three administrators found themselves suddenly out of a job, sacked Friday by the newly elected Public Defender Matt Shirk.
At least one of the attorneys told Channel 4 he believes the mass firings were a form of payback.
The firings came on the eighth anniversary of one of the office's most notable legal triumphs. On Nov. 21, 2000, taxpayer-supported public defender lawyers proved that a Jacksonville teen, Brenton Butler, was not guilty of robbery and murder.
***
McGuiness said they expected some people to lose their jobs when the new boss came in, but he said they didn’t expect the cuts to go so deep.
"Well, Mr. Shirk had not yet reached pre-K when many of these attorneys were trying cases already. I think he is uneasy around those with skill and experience," said McGuiness.
Shirk let 10 prominent attorneys and three administrators in the office know that in January they will be out of work.
"There are very few people who would have acted as divisively as Mr. Shirk in term of ridding the office of skill and experience without interviewing a single attorney or looking at a single personnel file," McGuiness said.
The mass firing occurred eight years to the day of when Butler was found not guilty after McGuiness and other attorneys who were recently fired proved the sheriff's department bungled the case.
McGuiness said the firings are payback.
"Mr. Shirk was supported by the Fraternal Order of Police and made certain representations to them, as I understand, that there would not be questions raised about integrity of policemen," McGuiness said.
Hat Tip: BT
Ten attorneys and three administrators found themselves suddenly out of a job, sacked Friday by the newly elected Public Defender Matt Shirk.
At least one of the attorneys told Channel 4 he believes the mass firings were a form of payback.
The firings came on the eighth anniversary of one of the office's most notable legal triumphs. On Nov. 21, 2000, taxpayer-supported public defender lawyers proved that a Jacksonville teen, Brenton Butler, was not guilty of robbery and murder.
***
McGuiness said they expected some people to lose their jobs when the new boss came in, but he said they didn’t expect the cuts to go so deep.
"Well, Mr. Shirk had not yet reached pre-K when many of these attorneys were trying cases already. I think he is uneasy around those with skill and experience," said McGuiness.
Shirk let 10 prominent attorneys and three administrators in the office know that in January they will be out of work.
"There are very few people who would have acted as divisively as Mr. Shirk in term of ridding the office of skill and experience without interviewing a single attorney or looking at a single personnel file," McGuiness said.
The mass firing occurred eight years to the day of when Butler was found not guilty after McGuiness and other attorneys who were recently fired proved the sheriff's department bungled the case.
McGuiness said the firings are payback.
"Mr. Shirk was supported by the Fraternal Order of Police and made certain representations to them, as I understand, that there would not be questions raised about integrity of policemen," McGuiness said.
Hat Tip: BT
Help
One of my favorite readers forwarded me this NPR quiz and I can't figure it out:
Name a type of lawbreaker that starts with the letter S, and which, upon removing the S as well as one other letter, becomes another type of lawbreaker.
UPDATE -- a friend just emailed me the answer. I will post it in the comments section so I won't spoil it for you if you want to figure it out.
Name a type of lawbreaker that starts with the letter S, and which, upon removing the S as well as one other letter, becomes another type of lawbreaker.
UPDATE -- a friend just emailed me the answer. I will post it in the comments section so I won't spoil it for you if you want to figure it out.
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