By John R. Byrne
It was a heartfelt--and very funny--sendoff for Magistrate Judge William Matthewman yesterday at the Wilkie D. Courthouse. Magistrate Judge McCabe served as master of ceremonies, and the other speakers included former Magistrate Judge O’Sullivan, Magistrate Judge Reinhart, and Judge Williams.
At the outset, Judge McCabe unveiled an incredible throwback photograph of a young (and mustachioed) Judge Matthewman from his days as a K-9 officer with the City of Miami. Yes, his dog, Fuzz, was pictured too. I wish I had snapped a photo of it. As Judge Williams observed, Judge Matthewman looked ready to audition for CHiPs.
Although the speeches prompted plenty of raucous laughter, they also made clear how much respect and admiration Judge Matthewman’s colleagues have for him. And, although I probably should have known this already, I learned that Judge Matthewman was an accomplished criminal defense lawyer before taking the bench, including trying a high-profile death-penalty case before Judge Ungaro.
In his own remarks, Judge Matthewman cracked a few jokes, of course. But he also shared some words of wisdom that judges and lawyers alike could take to heart. For judges, he recalled what Judge Cohn told him when he first took the bench: “This job isn’t that hard. Listen carefully to the arguments and just be reasonable!” And for lawyers, this: Be concise. In your openings, your examinations, and your closings.
And with that, I’ll end this blog post.
5 comments:
Was Fuzz the name of his dog or his mustache?
That was a very short stay. Not a big deal to have him leave.
His last trial (I’m pretty sure ) as a criminal defense attorney was, along with Al Milian (now also a judge), a spectacular and successful defense of an Aventura man accused of killing his wife. They proved her death was an accident in a total rout of a case that should never have been brought. It was a very comforting (and unfortunately all too rare event these days) to be arguing a PTD hearing before a judge who you knew had stood in your shoes and understood the pressures of the job. He will be sorely missed. I wish him Godspeed.
Dude. He was a United States magistrate judge for more than 14 years and retired as the chief magistrate judge in this district. So if facts are important to you, you might want to learn a few before you post. But I doubt facts and learning are in your wheelhouse.
Are there portraits of Palermo, Shapiro,Garber and Goodman and other Mags?
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