Happy PI day.

3.14




It's also March Madness.  Canes are a 3 seed in a tough bracket.

And Thursday is St. Patrick's Day.

What a busy week.

Local news -- the Broward Marshal who was involved in the drug ripoff in California got 10 years.  (via Paula McMahon).

And this guy really really had to go. (via Daily Commercial).

Judge Reggie Walton speaks to Federal Bar Association

It was an entertaining and informative talk.  His college roommate and best friend, Judge Donald Graham, introduced him.  But neither of them would give up any good college stories about the other.  Friend privilege is even more sacred than the FISA privilege...

Judge Adalberto Jordan withdraws name from SCOTUS consideration

CNN broke the story here:

Adalberto Jordan, a federal judge in Miami seen as a top contender for the Supreme Court vacancy, has withdrawn his name from contention, a lawmaker told CNN on Wednesday.

"He pulled himself out of consideration," Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida told CNN. Nelson said Jordan made the decision because of a "personal, family situation" involving his mother.

"I talked to him ... I think that's unfortunate because he is squeaky clean," Nelson said, citing Jordan's long judicial record and his overwhelming confirmation by the Senate in 2012.

Curt Anderson profiles Judge Jordan, SCOTUS short-listers

Here's the piece:

Adalberto Jordan, a federal appeals court judge twice confirmed by the U.S. Senate, could become the Supreme Court's first Cuban-American justice if nominated by President Barack Obama and approved once again.

Jordan, 54, is one of a number of potential nominees to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last month. Obama has vowed to nominate a successor, but Senate Republicans say they will withhold approval in hopes that a new Republican president can pick the next justice.

Born in Havana shortly after the communist revolution led by Fidel Castro, Jordan emigrated to the U.S. with his family as a small boy, along with thousands of other Cuban exiles. He attended a Catholic high school in Miami and got both his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Miami.

Jordan, who goes by "Bert," has served as a federal prosecutor, a U.S. district judge appointed by President Bill Clinton and has sat on the generally conservative 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2012 - the first Cuban-American to do so. He also clerked for former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and was in private practice for five years.

The Senate confirmed him to the Atlanta-based appeals court by a 94-5 vote.

During his confirmation hearings, Jordan was asked by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, about his views on the impartiality of judges and whether there was any place for personal or political viewpoints in their rulings.

"We are all human beings, of course, but I think as a judge you need to try and strive very, very hard to make sure you are deciding the case on something other than your own preferences and views, whatever those might be," Jordan replied. "So I have strived and I hope I have achieved impartiality in my years on the bench in Miami."

Federal prosecutor and defense lawyer debate meaning of "poop" emoji 💩💩💩

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I kid you not. This was the Molly retrial in front of Judge Moreno. This time, it ended in a guilty verdict.

Dave Ovalle covers it here:

Prosecutors also introduced text messages, jail phones calls from Melton and Hernandez to Pereira, who was in jail on an unrelated case. Also shown to the jury were records that the government said showed at least 12 boxes of Molly were ordered to the company, Transfreight International.

The star witness was Hernandez, 37, a heavily tattooed former U.S. Army soldier and Arabic linguist who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an only-in-Miami moment, both sides sparred over the meaning of the smiley-faced “poop” emoji in a text from Hernandez to Melton — with the government insisting it was sent to indicate alarm over law-enforcement scrutiny on their operation.

As Billy Corben would say: "Because Miami."

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