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
Friday, December 05, 2008
"Suspect in Dunkin' Donuts robberies barks at judge"
Why we need cameras in federal court: The headline and article about this case just don't capture what happened as well the video does (at this link).
Julie Kay follows...
... our post about the public defender controversy in Jacksonville here.
Here's the intro:
Attorneys who were fired en masse by a newly elected public defender and state attorney in Jacksonville, Fla., are considering legal action. Meanwhile, the incident is igniting controversy and debates about whether employees of these offices should be civil service employees and whether the position of public defender and state attorney should be appointed rather than elected. The Fourth Circuit in Florida, which includes Jacksonville and the counties of Duval, Nassau and Clay, both elected a new state attorney and public defender in recent months. Public Defender Matt Shirk and State Attorney Angela Corey, both Republicans, defeated longtime employees of their respective offices. Shirk, 35, worked as an assistant public defender in the office for five years and as a private attorney for four years. He defeated Bill White, a Democrat who worked in the public defender's office for 34 years. Shirk, who takes over the position on Jan. 6, fired 10 attorneys from the office on Nov. 21. He did so by sending an e-mail to White, telling him to fire the attorneys. In the e-mail, he spelled several of their names wrong.
Here's the intro:
Attorneys who were fired en masse by a newly elected public defender and state attorney in Jacksonville, Fla., are considering legal action. Meanwhile, the incident is igniting controversy and debates about whether employees of these offices should be civil service employees and whether the position of public defender and state attorney should be appointed rather than elected. The Fourth Circuit in Florida, which includes Jacksonville and the counties of Duval, Nassau and Clay, both elected a new state attorney and public defender in recent months. Public Defender Matt Shirk and State Attorney Angela Corey, both Republicans, defeated longtime employees of their respective offices. Shirk, 35, worked as an assistant public defender in the office for five years and as a private attorney for four years. He defeated Bill White, a Democrat who worked in the public defender's office for 34 years. Shirk, who takes over the position on Jan. 6, fired 10 attorneys from the office on Nov. 21. He did so by sending an e-mail to White, telling him to fire the attorneys. In the e-mail, he spelled several of their names wrong.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
From Celeste Higgins
I am happy to announce Dan Ricker will be the second speaker in the FBA's Luncheon Series.
Mr. Ricker is the publisher and editor of Watchdog Review and a local contributor to The Miami Herald, WLRN Radio and WLRN TV. Mr. Ricker gave up a life of wealth and leisure to be the community's eyes and ears in local government. He provides us with neutral and nonpartisan information about our elected officials.
As "all politics is local politics" and local politics affects us all, I'm sure Mr. Ricker will provide us with great insight to that part of our government we are not always able to observe first-hand.
You may have heard that our first speaker was Beth Wilkinson, former General Counsel of Fannie Mae. She provided us with a fascinating view from within the financial markets and mortgage crisis. Our second speaker is going to be just as interesting.
This month's speaker should prove to provide a very interesting presentation. It will be held Wednesday, Dec. 10th at noon at the Bankers Club. Please RSVP with Lourdes Fernandez at 305-523-5771.
Thank you,
Celeste S. Higgins, President
Federal Bar Association
Mr. Ricker is the publisher and editor of Watchdog Review and a local contributor to The Miami Herald, WLRN Radio and WLRN TV. Mr. Ricker gave up a life of wealth and leisure to be the community's eyes and ears in local government. He provides us with neutral and nonpartisan information about our elected officials.
As "all politics is local politics" and local politics affects us all, I'm sure Mr. Ricker will provide us with great insight to that part of our government we are not always able to observe first-hand.
You may have heard that our first speaker was Beth Wilkinson, former General Counsel of Fannie Mae. She provided us with a fascinating view from within the financial markets and mortgage crisis. Our second speaker is going to be just as interesting.
This month's speaker should prove to provide a very interesting presentation. It will be held Wednesday, Dec. 10th at noon at the Bankers Club. Please RSVP with Lourdes Fernandez at 305-523-5771.
Thank you,
Celeste S. Higgins, President
Federal Bar Association
Whoops.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen hung up on Barack Obama.... TWICE!
Obama laughed it off:
"It is very funny that you have twice hung up on me," Obama said. Ros Lehtinen responded by telling Obama that radio stations in South Florida always make these sorts of jokes. Obama said similar pranksters reside in Chi-town.
"You are either very gracious to reach out in such a bipartisan manner or had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me and Saturday Night Live could use a good Obama impersonator like you," Ros-Lehtinen joked with the president-elect.
Obama laughed it off:
"It is very funny that you have twice hung up on me," Obama said. Ros Lehtinen responded by telling Obama that radio stations in South Florida always make these sorts of jokes. Obama said similar pranksters reside in Chi-town.
"You are either very gracious to reach out in such a bipartisan manner or had run out of folks to call if you are truly calling me and Saturday Night Live could use a good Obama impersonator like you," Ros-Lehtinen joked with the president-elect.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
RIP Frederick Zloch
Judge Zloch's father passed away Sunday. Here's a beautiful article about him by Vanessa Blum. From the intro:
Frederick J. Zloch, a longtime Little League coach and announcer at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium, died Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. He was 87. A New York native, Mr. Zloch moved to South Florida as a teenager and graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School in 1939. He served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater in World War II. After his discharge in 1945, Mr. Zloch spent more than 35 years as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. The former high school athlete became known for his involvement in youth sports, serving as a coach, umpire and referee."My dad was a great second father to a lot of the kids in Fort Lauderdale," said son Charles Zloch. Over the years, he mentored hundreds of young athletes and led his Little League team to four consecutive local championships in the early 1960s.
From 1951 to 1986, Mr. Zloch was the voice of the Flying L's, his alma mater's team. In 1960, he announced the game between St. Thomas Aquinas and the Flying L's that inaugurated Lockhart Stadium. In 2002, the city of Fort Lauderdale dedicated a baseball field at Holiday Park to Mr. Zloch. Mr. Zloch's three sons kept up the sporting tradition — all playing high school football in Broward County and later for the University of Notre Dame. Sending his boys to Notre Dame was Mr. Zloch's dream, said youngest son James Zloch: "If you know Fred Zloch, you know how much he loved Notre Dame."
Frederick J. Zloch, a longtime Little League coach and announcer at Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium, died Sunday in Fort Lauderdale. He was 87. A New York native, Mr. Zloch moved to South Florida as a teenager and graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School in 1939. He served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater in World War II. After his discharge in 1945, Mr. Zloch spent more than 35 years as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service. The former high school athlete became known for his involvement in youth sports, serving as a coach, umpire and referee."My dad was a great second father to a lot of the kids in Fort Lauderdale," said son Charles Zloch. Over the years, he mentored hundreds of young athletes and led his Little League team to four consecutive local championships in the early 1960s.
From 1951 to 1986, Mr. Zloch was the voice of the Flying L's, his alma mater's team. In 1960, he announced the game between St. Thomas Aquinas and the Flying L's that inaugurated Lockhart Stadium. In 2002, the city of Fort Lauderdale dedicated a baseball field at Holiday Park to Mr. Zloch. Mr. Zloch's three sons kept up the sporting tradition — all playing high school football in Broward County and later for the University of Notre Dame. Sending his boys to Notre Dame was Mr. Zloch's dream, said youngest son James Zloch: "If you know Fred Zloch, you know how much he loved Notre Dame."
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