Judge Beth Bloom confirmed 95-0!

Congrats!

Judge Gayles sworn in

Judge Darrin Gayles was sworn in at a small ceremony in Judge Moreno's courtroom this morning at 9:30. Below is a picture. Congrats again to Judge Gayles, who is now officially a member of the Southern District of Florida.

Judge Bloom to be confirmed tomorrow!

Judge Beth Bloom will have her final vote tomorrow (assuming cloture is invoked today). Congrats to Judge Bloom!


The District is really starting to change. We have an influx of new judges, and we will have a new Chief as of July 1. The DBR covers Judge Moreno's tenure here:

"Someone asks, 'What's a chief judge?' And I said, the chief judge doesn't make more money, doesn't boss anybody around. He is like the Queen of England," Moreno said. "The prime minister is the clerk of court, and my Winston Churchill is Steve Larimore."King said Moreno has managed a district with more judges, more staffers and more headaches than he had as chief judge from 1984 to 1991."I've been here for several chief judges, and in my humble judgment Chief Judge Moreno is the finest, the most outstanding chief judge we've ever had," King said.

And Judge Moore will be taking over:

Moore, who has been on the federal bench since 1992, said he is more than ready for the task that awaits him as chief judge.

The former longtime federal prosecutor is the former director of the U.S. Marshal's Service at the Department of Justice.

He said security is a top priority. Moore wants to make sure that employees and the public, such as jurors, feel they are safe coming to the federal courthouse. In Miami, the federal court complex is often surrounded by the chronically homeless.

"The issues remain the same regardless of who the chief judge is," Moore said. "We are always interested in making sure vacancies are filled and it looks like we are heading in the direction and I think the judges feel the space issue in Fort Lauderdale is still important."

CJA Conference

An all star panel of Lucy Lara, Judges Scola, Moreno, Cooke, & Matthewman, Henry Bell, and FPD Michael Caruso (at the podium). 

“I think you’re going to have to let the emperor stand naked without your helping him."

That was Judge Cooke in scolding Mike Pizzi, but not remanding him to jail. More from the Herald here:

A federal judge Wednesday came within a whisker of sending suspended Miami Lakes Mayor Michael Pizzi to jail after finding that he violated the terms of his bond and lied to a probation officer about it.

But U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke instead allowed Pizzi to remain free on bail with less than a month before his trial on corruption charges of accepting bribes in exchange for political favors.

“If you keep this up, you will be across the street,” Cooke told Pizzi, referring to the nearby Miami Federal Detention Center. “You will be in jail.”

Cooke took Pizzi to task for sending out two political email blasts to his supporters in April that were also received by potential government witnesses the former mayor was forbidden from contacting before trial. Among the recipients: Miami Lakes town manager Alex Rey, whose administration was described as “corrupt” in Pizzi’s unsigned emails. They referred to an actual Miami-Dade County Ethics Commission’s ruling that found the town’s former public works director violated a conflict of interest law.

Pizzi’s probation officer, who had already put Pizzi on notice for sending out email blasts to no-contact witnesses earlier this year, told federal prosecutors that the former mayor lied when asked if he committed the same bond violation again in April. As a result, the U.S. attorney’s office asked the judge to revoke Pizzi’s $100,000 bond and detain him before his July 8 trial.

“I’m giving you fair warning right now,” Cooke told Pizzi, who was emotionally shaken by the prospect of being sent to jail. “No more, this is it. No emails. You just have to put your gadfly-ness on hold.”

Pizzi, a twice-elected Miami Lakes mayor who described himself as a longtime “gadfly” and “whistle blower,” said he can’t help himself because he’s “the guy who says the emperor has no clothes.”

“I think you’re going to have to let the emperor stand naked without your helping him,” Cooke told Pizzi.

Meantime, the CJA panel is heading to Hutchinson Island today for the annual conference. So it should be pretty quiet around the courthouse today and tomorrow.