SFL Friday -- I Like Exactly HALF This Picture!

Dang does Frank dress up nice!

I'm so pissed at Blogger for eating my posts and making me have to focus today almost exclusively on (1) my cases; and (2) deciphering the contents of Osama's porn stash.

Nearly as interesting as what's hawt right now in Abbottabad is this genuinely amusing defamation suit filed against the Internet.

Even better, our local intertubular representative in this epic legal fiasco is none other than bashful Brian Tannebaum.

Given the heavy hitters comprising the "Rakofsky 74" I am quite certain they will be ably represented, either by themselves or by that fabulous Coral Gables restaurateur Marc Randazzao.

This is the legal equivalent of Charlie Sheen -- someone needs to stop the train before it runs off the cliff.

(Let's see when -- or if -- Blogger posts this.)

Judicial Spanking Week Continues!

Huge and well-deserved victory for our own David O. Markus as Judge Gold drops a bomb on Alex Acosta's office:

The judge reprimanded the two trial prosecutors, saying that along with Drug Enforcement Administration agent Christopher Wells, they “acted vexatiously and in bad faith” in prosecuting Dr. Ali Shaygan. Also reprimanded was assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Gilbert, the narcotics section chief.

Gold called the secret taping of phone calls to Shaygan’s attorney and defense investigator by two informants was “profoundly disturbing.” He raised the specter of the recent dismissal of a conviction against former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, because prosecutors in that case withheld key evidence.

The $601,795 covers court fees and lawyer costs dating from a superseding indictment filed by prosecutors in September.

“The order speaks for itself. We regret that any of this ever happened in the first place but we are grateful that Judge Gold took it seriously and did the right thing,” said Miami criminal defense attorney David O. Markus, the lead counsel for Shaygan. “Thank goodness that the conduct did not distract the jury from finding Dr. Shaygan not guilty of all 141 counts against him.

Miami attorneys Marc Seitles and Robin Kaplan served as co-counsels for the defense.

You can read the order here.

Alex has other not-so-great coverage in the DBR here.

I previously covered Alex's alleged supervision of rogue Christian Bradley Schlozman and his unsolicited intervention in the Ohio election process.

His defense on that -- that I was just informing those poor black voters about their legal rights -- is particularly lame.

I like Alex. He doesn't strike me as aggressively ideological, and his office is filled with many talented attorneys who take their charge as public servants seriously. And of course he is not solely responsible for this Judge Gold order.

But as I say about Frankie boy and 9th Circuit torture judge Jay Bybee, this stuff kinda matters.

It's easy to have integrity and to be highly ethical when you are not particularly pressed by a superior or government to do something possibly dubious or questionable. That's 98 percent of your life.

It's what you do in the other 2 percent that matters.

And that doesn't mean people don't make mistakes sometimes and can't ever do the right thing again. They do and can.

But if you are in denial mode about the original questionable action it is hard to move past it and for others to have confidence in your judgment in the future.

Alberto Mora Profile Is A Must-Read.

UM Law grad and former Greenberg attorney Alberto Mora gets the love in this great profile:

Though he now lives in a red-brick mini-mansion down a silent, frostbitten cul-de-sac in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., Alberto Mora is at heart a Miami Cuban. Among the clues are a voracious appetite for debate and the Bustelo espresso he brews for visitors to his sparsely decorated home.

And until recently, you could tell by his politics. When U.S. soldiers invaded Iraq in 2003, he was general counsel for the U.S. Navy, the equivalent of a four-star general. He was a die-hard right-winger who had earned appointments to both Bush administrations.

But this past fall, he voted for Barack Obama.

A pivotal reason: He found the Bush administration’s inattention to human rights law “offensive . . . I’m elated and hopeful,” he says during an interview at his home two days before the inauguration, “that this new administration will lead other countries in establishing global prisoner-treatment guidelines that are even more stringent than those in effect before Bush mangled them.”

You could say this is Mora’s thing. Perhaps more than any other American, he’s responsible for turning the tide on prisoner abuse at Guantánamo Bay. For two years, with memos and heavyweight legal arguments, he waged a quietly vicious inner-Pentagon campaign to stop the torture.

“Mora’s an American hero,” says Michael Gelles, a Navy psychologist who also helped bring prisoner abuse to light. “He created a debate that led to a full reversal.”

Hey, General Counsel for the Navy?

That position sounds familiar....I wonder if the person who eventually succeeded Mora similarly fought just as hard, and put his career on the line, to stop prisoner abuse at Gitmo?

Exhibit A For Why Lawyers Should Never Write Letters to the Miami Herald

Because intelligent observations such as these by Raquel Rodriguez on the Frank Jimenez appointment mess will be printed right next to this:

Providing former President Jimmy Carter with a forum to present his prejudiced and inaccurate views is the equivalent of letting Osama bin Laden write an Other Views column about the U.S. government.

I expect better from The Miami Herald.

LUIS GLASER, Miami

Sometimes this blog just writes itself.

A Certifiable, 100 % Guaranteed Frank Jimenez-Free Post!

"And so this is Christmas. And what have you done?"

Let's see, what's happening.....

Economic crisis not good.

Jobless claims at 26-year high.

Dolphins to somehow blow playoff chances.

Frank Jimenez does a mitzvah.

Shoot! I was almost there!

Oh hail:

A Miami man imprisoned more than a half-century ago for his help flying weapons to the Jews who fought to create Israel received a posthumous presidential pardon Tuesday.

Charles Winters died in 1984 at age 71, a hero in Israel but a quiet family man to those who knew him in South Florida. His was only the second posthumous pardon in U.S. history.

Winters' pardon was one of 19 that President George W. Bush approved in the final weeks of his administration.

Two other Florida men were pardoned as well: Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, sentenced in 1973 on marijuana charges; and Richard Harold Miller of Tallahassee, sentenced in 1993 for conspiracy to defraud.

But it was Winters' story -- a Boston Protestant who aided his Jewish friends and served 18 months in prison for it -- that drew support from Republicans, Democrats and even film mogul Steven Spielberg.

''There are probably many unsung heroes of America and of Israel, but Charlie Winters is surely of them,'' Spielberg's letter said. ``While a pardon cannot make Charlie Winters whole, and regrettably he did not live to see it, it would be a fitting tribute to his memory and a great blessing to his family if this pardon is granted.''

Afterward, Winters' son, Jimmy, called the moment amazing.

''I was just in awe that it actually had happened,'' Jimmy Winters said.

It was Jimmy Winters, 44, who began the pardon campaign with the help of childhood friend Frank Jimenez, now the U.S. Navy's general counsel, who has been mentioned as a possible appointee to the Florida Supreme Court.

Well, I'm gonna just have to try again.

Raoul Cantero Writes Op-Ed Quoting Positive Comments About Raoul Cantero

Isn't it cool that as we get ready to inaugurate a new President, we get to fight about the 2000 Florida recount and the Bush years all over again?

Thank goodness I don't have to write another post about Frank Jimenez. I tell you, I was thisclose to pulling a Lew Freeman and launching myself from the top of Wachovia like a despondent Rose DeWitt Bukater hoping to escape the loveless clutches of the very dastardly Billy Zane.

No, instead this is about Raoul Cantero.

Also, it is an Op-Ed written by Raoul Cantero:

Six-and-a-half years ago, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission nominated me to fill a vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court. At the time, I was a lawyer practicing at a medium-sized Miami firm. I had never been a judge. I was the only Hispanic nominated and, if appointed, would be the first justice of Hispanic descent on the court.

The St. Petersburg Times promptly wrote an editorial painting me as a right-wing ideologue. The Times used my representation of an alleged (but twice-acquitted) terrorist to claim that I was "apparent(ly) indifferent to violence that is anti-Castro in motive." The newspaper also used a letter I had written to the Miami Herald editor years earlier, to insinuate that I would grant leniency to some murderers but not others. My letter had condemned the then-recent murders of two abortion doctors. However, I explained that the vast majority of those in the antiabortion movement were decent people from all walks of life who shared a belief that abortions kill children. The Times used that letter to question whether I would affirm the death penalty for the murder of abortion providers.

Of course, the Times' accusations were not well-founded, as subsequent events proved. I will not dwell on my record as a justice. Suffice it to quote one of my colleagues, speaking at my retirement ceremony in September: "His votes on this court have never, ever reflected an agenda either personal or political" and "Justice Cantero is the essence of what we mean by judicial independence."

Cantero does say some other stuff, good stuff actually, about somebody else blah blah blah, but hey I'm trying to dwell on the positive here, ok?

Miami Herald Frank Jimenez Editorial Watch

Oh man am I sick of this story.

Still, the news keeps coming.

Let's see, we've had the St. Pete Times weigh in on the Frank Jimenez appointment mess.

And now the Palm Beach Post:

The worst kind of judicial politics may place an unqualified person on the Florida Supreme Court. Blame Gov. Crist and some of his allies.

Trust me, it goes downhill from there. The Post concludes:

Gov. Crist dismisses the idea that the fix is in, saying that his choice will surprise people. The real and sad surprise has been how far the governor is willing to go to show far-right conservatives, through his Supreme Court choices, that the GOP base could be comfortable with him as a presidential candidate. He filled two high court vacancies with high-profile social conservatives; Mr. Jimenez could be even more extreme. Either way, the commission's credibility is gone. Those commissioners who backed Mr. Jimenez should resign. And if the governor picks Mr. Jimenez, the choice should be challenged in court as illegal.

Given that a native South Floridian is involved, do you think the Herald might weigh in on this someday?

To be fair, they are appropriately focused on something that is on the mind of all citizens of South Florida....the Minnesota recount. There's only so many things they can keep their eye on.

UPDATE:

Well, as they say a day late and a dollar...., but hey at least the Herald attempted to express an opinion:

By compelling the commission to bend the rules, Gov. Crist taints the process. The commission is allowed to submit six names to the governor. However, after rigorously screening dozens of candidates, the commission settled on five names. In other words, if the JNC had determined that a sixth candidate was qualified, that person would have been included on the original list.

To suddenly produce a sixth name after Gov. Crist selects the only Hispanic on the list and asks for more ''diversity'' isn't the way real diversity works. Diversity means giving everyone an equal chance, not cherry-picking the only one you want.

Meanwhile, Crist "responds" to the flawed process charge:

Asked if the lawyers' complaint had merit, Crist, a lawyer as well, said ``I don't think so. I'll leave that to the judicial branch.''

Crist added: "And good luck with that, by the time I get done with them."

All Frank Jimenez, All the Time.

I don't know, I feel like we're getting a little Frank Jimenez chronic here, and yet more news keeps breaking.

Now it's this, in a fine story by Jordana Mishory:

Late last week, as the controversy over Jimenez’s nomination simmered, the governor’s office moved up the planned interviews with the Supreme Court finalists from early January to today and Christmas Eve. All six are set to meet with the governor, chief of staff Eric Eikenberg and general counsel Jason Gonzalez, the sources said.

But Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said he was not aware of a schedule for the interviews and that he could not confirm if they were on a tentative schedule. He said he had not spoken with Gonzalez’s office before deadline. Calls to Gonzalez’s office were referred to Ivey.

Efforts to move up the interview process at the last minute could be thwarted by holiday plans. At least two of the finalists were on vacation. One source said Labarga had agreed to a phone interview. He could not be reached for comment.

Tony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami, said the efforts to speed up the interview process and the re-inclusion of Labarga hurts the credibility of the governor and the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.

“In American law, the highest value is almost always the value of process,” he said. “Having brazenly undermined the Supreme Court nominating process, the governor is once again demonstrating how results-oriented calculations can damage the integrity of the Florida judiciary.”

Alfieri said it appears the governor is rushing the interviews in response to a public outcry “to mitigate any further controversy or damage to his administration.”

Process-shmocess: who cares if we like the result?

And another thing -- no one likes a scold, Professor!

Hmm, I'm trying to think of the last major political event that happened right before Christmas....no, nothing comes to mind.

Carry on, Governor!

Frank Jimenez Unlikely To Return Calls From St. Pete Times, Either!

We've already noted Frank's seeming inability to be available for phone calls with journalists who are writing negative stories about him. Well, you can add the St. Pete Times to newspapers that probably won't be getting a call back from Frank anytime soon:

If Gov. Charlie Crist appoints Frank Jimenez to the Florida Supreme Court, he will be selecting the least qualified and most ideological nominee available. Jimenez is a Cuban-American and would add diversity to a court that now lacks a Hispanic justice. But in this case, diversity would be a pretext for stacking the Supreme Court with political conservatives and abandoning its centrist history.

A Jimenez appointment would make a mockery of the state's judicial nomination process, which was initially designed to ensure meritorious and nonpolitical picks for the state's appellate courts. While it was reasonable for Crist to ask the Judicial Nominating Commission for more names to add diversity to the list of candidates, the commission's handling of the request in a contentious Wednesday night telephone conference is legally suspect and politically tainted.

In a series of 5-4 votes, the commission publicly agreed to waive its own rules and add at least one more name to the list of finalists. It is no coincidence that the majority were appointees made directly by Crist or former Gov. Jeb Bush, and that the minority were gubernatorial appointees recommended by the Florida Bar. One guess how the secret ballot to add Jimenez went. This was not a broad search for diversity but a heavy-handed move to add one specific name to the list.

Jimenez is a Bush acolyte whose career has been advanced through one political appointment after another. As the governor's assistant general counsel, he sent an e-mail in which he plotted with Bush to recruit "ideologically compatible" applicants for judgeships by creating shadow regional panels to encourage certain judicial candidacies. That alone illustrates the contempt he has for an independent judiciary.

(h/t flapolitics.com)

Sheesh. Who put coal in the stocking of the St. Pete Times' editorial board? I'm not even quoting all the good stuff due to it being the holidays and all.

Given that Frank is from South Florida, I wonder whether our "paper of record" will weigh in on it. (Note to Miami Herald -- when writing an editorial, try to have it express a point of view).

All I know is if Heat Miser and Snow Miser can get along, there is hope for all of us.

UPDATE:

They write letters, continued:

Politics swayed Jimenez nomination to Judicial Nominating Commission

The Judicial Nominating Commission ''ran afoul of Florida law'' and appeared to bow to political pressure when it nominated Miami lawyer Frank Jimenez for the Florida Supreme Court, a group of high-powered lawyers complained in a strongly worded letter Monday.

Jimenez, a politically connected attorney who is currently the U.S. Navy's general counsel, was nominated for the seat Wednesday after a long and contentious JNC meeting called in response to Gov. Charlie Crist's request for more ''diversity'' in the list of prospective justices. Amid frequent 5-4 votes, the commission suspended its rules at times as some members questioned what they were doing and what Crist's motives were.

''We are very concerned that the integrity of the process with respect to the nomination and selection of justices and judges may be tainted in the eyes of the public,'' said the letter to JNC chairman Robert Hackleman.

17 SIGNATURES

It was signed by 17 attorneys, including former Florida Bar President Kelly Overstreet-Johnson, constitutional expert Wayne Hogan, two former Fifth District Court of Appeal judges and state Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, and his father, José.

The signatories said they would like a delegation of theirs to meet with Hackleman and others to prevent a repeat of Wednesday's meeting, which was held by conference call. They said the JNC's actions ''may very well run afoul of the letter and spirit'' of the law when it changed its rules during the conference call and when it cast voice votes rather than secret ballots.

Hackleman could not be reached for comment Monday. Nor could Jimenez, an attorney in the administrations of both former Gov. Jeb Bush and President George W. Bush.

Wait a minute -- Frank didn't return the phone call?

No way!

EVEN LATER UPDATE:

Thanks to a friend of the blog, you can review the entire letter here.

Rebekah Poston and Alvin Davis: Frank Jimenez Was A Good Worker.

I mean why all the contretemps, what more do you need:

Rebekah Poston, Jimenez's former boss at the law firm Steel Hector Davis in Miami, said that based on the work he did for her, Jimenez would be an excellent choice for the Supreme Court. ''He was a superb writer, superb researcher and his ethics were beyond reproach,'' she said. ``He was able to look at both sides of issues.''

Rebekah, that's nice and all, but stop reading old associate review files.

Alvin Davis has more:

Alvin Davis, also formerly of Steel Hector Davis, agreed. ''He has strong views, which I think people should have, but he does not let those views interfere with what he is called upon to do,'' he said. ``We disagreed politically on just about everything. We had vigorous political debates, and it did not interfere with his work for me one bit.''

Davis continued:

"For example, Frank thought there was no way I should wear a burnt orange shirt with a black vest to be photographed by the DBR. I disagreed and said it was the perfect look for me. Anyway, we fought over this for hours but eventually Frank said he understood my position and would defer to my sartorial tastes. Personally, I think that shows excellent judgment."

Meanwhile, some "critics" (read: SORE LOSERS) are apparently concerned about some ancient concept dreamed up by old Englishmen called "the process." This is a corker of a story by Jordana Mishory:

The commission destroyed public confidence in the JNC, critics said.

“We are a constitutional body created precisely, precisely, to restrain the governor’s power of appointment,” said JNC member Arturo Alvarez during the Wednesday night meeting.

“I believe that it is extremely important that we avoid even the appearance of impropriety or that choices are somehow influenced by the governor’s wishes regardless of the motivation of the governor.”

Alvarez, who sources say was an outspoken opponent of Jimenez, was in the minority of JNC members who advocated not sending the governor additional names.

Tony Alfieri, the director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami, said the process that led to Jimenez’s nomination will have lasting damage on the commission’s credibility.

“Although the JNCs are political bodies and the appointment and selection process is highly politicized, this particular moment demonstrates the high water mark of political interference by the governor’s office,” Alfieri said. “Given this blunt interference by the governor, it is very unlikely that the JNC would be able to rebuild the integrity of the selection process.”

The JNC sent five names to the governor on Dec. 8 out of a batch of 18 candidates to replace retiring Justice Harry Lee Anstead. But, two days later, Crist appointed the lone Hispanic finalist to the 4th District Court of Appeal and called for the JNC to reconvene to provide him with a more diverse list.

Critics contend that sidelining the only Hispanic finalist was the first move in an elaborate, last-ditch effort to get Jimenez nominated using the guise of diversity.

During Wednesday’s contentious meeting, the JNC voted 5-to-4 to consider sending additional names and convened a second closed meeting to deliberate on who to add to the nomination list.

JNC Chairman Robert Hackleman originally intended to have both meetings closed, but after opposition from the Daily Business Review, which contended that such a meeting would violate the state constitution, the panel held two meetings: one open discussion to decide how to respond to the governor and a second to choose any nominees if the commissioners decided to do so.

A minority of the JNC consisting of Miami-area attorneys Alvarez, Candace Duff and Katherine Ezell, and Jacksonville lawyer Howard Coker complained that adding more names to the nomination list could diminish the commission’s credibility and violate its rules.

“If we agree to re-deliberate, nominate someone else and they’re appointed by the governor, the whole world will know that person did not have the support of the majority of the JNC last week,” Alvarez said. “That is grossly unfair to the extraordinarily well-qualified nominees.”

Jimenez was the only person nominated by the deeply divided commission after the Wednesday night meeting.

Jimenez did not return calls for comment by deadline.

A number of commissioners voiced concerns that Crist’s request for new nominees was a move to appoint a specific person. Commissioners said they had been approached by people who felt the selection process had become very political.

“We have an obligation to protect the integrity of the process,” Alvarez said. “People are talking all over this town: ‘Why is that happening? What is taking place? You said only five, how can there be six?’ ” He said it was the JNC’s job to restrict the governor’s appointment power.

Political? Why would anyone suggest that? Well, there is this:

In 1999, the St. Petersburg Times reported Jimenez helped hatch a plan to recruit judicial applicants who were “ideologically compatible” with Bush.

And also this, from the glorious days of that entirely nonpolitical 2000 Florida recount:

Bush officially recused himself on Nov. 8. Before he did, sometime early that morning, probably around 3 a.m., either the governor or “someone speaking to the governor” phoned Clay Roberts, head of the state’s election division, and asked, “How does the recount work?” Roberts recalled Thursday.

Roberts said that was his last contact with Gov. Jeb Bush. But it was not his last contact with Bush’s staff.

Frank Jimenez, an attorney on Jeb Bush’s staff, has phoned Roberts several times since the recount effort began. Jimenez has been on leave since Nov. 8.

Roberts said Jimenez called him Sunday, asking whether he had yet received a written request from the chairman of the Palm Beach County canvassing board for an opinion on whether a hand recount could be conducted if the mistakes on the ballots were caused by voter confusion, not machine malfunction.

Roberts said he told Jimenez that the Florida secretary of state’s legal staff had already begun working on such an opinion after hearing the Palm Beach chairman say on television that he wanted one. But Roberts said he told Jimenez he had not yet received a written request from the chairman for it. Jimenez then told him that “we” were going to request one instead.

It wasn’t until Roberts got a fax from the Republican Party of Florida seeking the opinion that he knew for sure who Jimenez was working for. “When he said he was going to request an opinion, I assumed he was on leave because I knew he couldn’t do it for the governor’s office,” Roberts said.

“He’s called me a couple more times with technical questions: ‘How do absentee ballots work?’ ” he said.

Jimenez did not return a phone call on Thursday.

Sheesh Frank, do you ever pick up your phone?

If you're intensive on all of this, here are few more links:

Frank's Facebook page is here (sorry Arturo, you have to be his friend!).

Jake Tapper has more on Frank's role in the 2000 recount here.

And according to the AP, Crist claims to have something up his sleeve besides satisfying the Bushies and getting ready for 2012:

Crist said he was grateful the commission expanded the pool and that critics "are going to be surprised."

"Those who are making those prejudgments are making prejudgments, and they're premature," Crist said.

"One more thing -- the key word here is 'pre,'" the Governor added.

Oy -- who knows? I guess we better stay tuned.

Judge Cortiñas Channels His Inner Tears For Fears

Rules shmules, who the hail cares -- the Gov says to find somebody else:

In a tense and prickly telephone meeting Wednesday night, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission fiercely debated whether to consider sending the name of a Miami-based appeals court judge to Gov. Charlie Crist for consideration as his third pick to the high court.

During the unorthodox, 90-minute conference call, the nine commission members made the unusual decision, by a 5-4 vote, to officially ''diverge'' from rules governing how they meet -- just in case they happened to be already breaking those rules by meeting over the phone.

But then it gets weirder:

Then they voted 5-4 to break their rules again and consider a new applicant to the Supreme Court: Angel A. Cortiñas, a judge on the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami-Dade. Cortiñas has not gone through the same interview and vetting process that 18 other applicants went through a week ago.

''You can interview me now,'' shouted Cortiñas, who was listening to the conference call.

The Judge continued:

"These are the things I could do without. Come on, I'm talking to you -- come on!"

Anyways, here's what happened next:

The commission voted down, 5-4, a motion to reopen the entire 30-day application process but then voted to consider Cortiñas, who had not previously applied for the opening, in the name of diversity. Cortiñas had applied in the summer for other vacancies on the court.

Ok, I'm not a betting man, but based solely on the foregoing I would say Judge Cortiñas has a very good shot of becoming our next Florida Supreme Court Justice.

LATE UPDATE:

A dear reader and good friend relates that only the hunky and reliably Hispanic Frank Jimenez has made it out of committee. For prior coverage of Frank see here and here.

EVEN LATER UPDATE:

The DBR confirms the news about Jimenez we broke earlier today.

The Dreamy and Always "Ideologically Compatible" Frank Jimenez.

My fast-talking street urchin buddy and DCBA Prez Timmy Ravitch sent me only his 14th email this hour, and for some strange reason I decided to throw caution to the wind and actually open it.

After recalling the terrible plight of the former comptroller of Nigeria who managed to procure $26.2 million in stolen oil department funds before his untimely death, and whose widow now desires a "solicitor of renown" to assist in transferring the money to my personal bank account, I also learned that a few folks from South Florida are in the running for the latest vacant spot on the Florida Supreme Court:

Because 7 of the 18 candidates are from Miami, however, I feel a special privilege and responsibility as DCBA President to express support for our local candidates. In addition, I urge our legal community to voice its support for our own local judges and practitioners in this election process. Miami is one of the most diverse metropolises in the nation and it is appropriate that the state judiciary reflect a commitment to diversity by drawing from the rich variation in viewpoints, talents, and backgrounds that are the hallmarks of the bench and bar here in Miami.

The candidates are listed alphabetically as follows:

Perry Adair
Judge Kevin Emas
H. Scott Fingerhut
Judge Gill Freeman
Edward G. Guedes
Frank R. Jimenez
Judge Leslie Rothenberg

HAHAHAHAHA -- Timmy sure knows how to make me laugh!

Actually, I agree with him -- this is a pretty strong list. However, we are all aware of the pressure on Crist to select an Hispanic judge this time around, particularly after he picked two deeply conservative white guys already.

So my eyes were irresistibly drawn to only one smoldering hunk of a name: Frank Jimenez.

You may recall the DBR back in August had this on The Frankitude:

Florida Supreme Court candidate will spend this afternoon being interviewed by the same state panel he attempted to circumvent while serving as a top aide to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Frank Jimenez, who served as Bush’s assistant general counsel, is one of 50 attorneys being interviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission to fill two openings created by the resignations of Bush appointees Raoul Cantero III and Kenneth B. Bell.

In 1999, the St. Petersburg Times reported Jimenez helped hatch a plan to recruit judicial applicants who were “ideologically compatible” with Bush.

The plan to ramp up the role of politics in the judicial selection process called for a “shadow system of ‘unofficial regional panels’ ” made up of Bush supporters to recruit people interested in becoming judges.

Recruits were not guaranteed a judicial post, but they had to be ideologically in line with Bush. The Times reported Bush seemed to like the idea and sent Jimenez a one-sentence e-mail in response: “Come by and visit with me on this.”

Jimenez, now general counsel to the U.S. Navy, did not return a call for comment by deadline. He is among the high-profile applicants for the openings as Bush’s former deputy chief of staff and brother of former Miami U.S. Attorney Marcos Jimenez, a Miami partner with Kenny Nachwalter.

At the time, Frank Jimenez said the plan was not designed to influence the JNCs.

“This was merely an attempt to bring qualified candidates to the attention of the JNCs,” Jimenez told the St. Petersburg Times in 1999. “There was never any discussion of trying to influence the JNC members.”

Of course not! Why would anyone think that? A "shadow system of 'unofficial regional panels'" -- a "people's panel," if you will. How could anyone not see the obvious benefits?

And the 2000 Florida recount! Who could forget Frank's alleged role in that whimsical, carefree adventure -- see here, here and here for those who -- like me -- long to relive those proud days when being a "Florida citizen" really meant something to the world.

Great Minds Etc.

Hey it's weird how great minds sometimes come up with great ideas around the same time, isn't it? Like whoever independently came up with the idea of a lovable monster family sitcom, hence we had both The Munsters and The Addams Family.

Reading today's paper brought to mind those wacky 1950s monsters with hearts of gold:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey conceded Tuesday that high-ranking Justice Department officials failed to stop illegal hiring practices that favored conservatives over liberals because of what he described as a ''systemic'' problem within the department.

Two recent Justice Department watchdog reports found that department officials under Mukasey's predecessor, Alberto Gonzales, intentionally weeded out liberal-leaning applicants in favor of conservative ones for various jobs ranging from internships to prosecutor slots and immigration judgeships.

Here's a bit more detail on that lovely tale:

An internal investigation concluded last month that for nearly two years, top advisers to Gonzales discriminated against applicants for career jobs who weren't Republican or conservative loyalists.

The federal government makes a distinction between "career" and "political" appointees, and it's a violation of civil service laws and Justice Department policy to hire career employees on the basis of political affiliation or allegiance.

Yet Monica Goodling, who served as Gonzales' counselor and White House liaison, routinely asked career job applicants about politics, the report concluded.

Now Mr. Peabody, let's go back in the WABAC time machine:

A Florida Supreme Court candidate will spend this afternoon being interviewed by the same state panel he attempted to circumvent while serving as a top aide to Gov. Jeb Bush.

Frank Jimenez, who served as Bush’s assistant general counsel, is one of 50 attorneys being interviewed by the Judicial Nominating Commission to fill two openings created by the resignations of Bush appointees Raoul Cantero III and Kenneth B. Bell.

In 1999, the St. Petersburg Times reported Jimenez helped hatch a plan to recruit judicial applicants who were “ideologically compatible” with Bush.

The plan to ramp up the role of politics in the judicial selection process called for a “shadow system of ‘unofficial regional panels’ ” made up of Bush supporters to recruit people interested in becoming judges.

Recruits were not guaranteed a judicial post, but they had to be ideologically in line with Bush. The Times reported Bush seemed to like the idea and sent Jimenez a one-sentence e-mail in response: “Come by and visit with me on this.”

Jimenez, now general counsel to the U.S. Navy, did not return a call for comment by deadline. He is among the high-profile applicants for the openings as Bush’s former deputy chief of staff and brother of former Miami U.S. Attorney Marcos Jimenez, a Miami partner with Kenny Nachwalter.

At the time, Frank Jimenez said the plan was not designed to influence the JNCs.

“This was merely an attempt to bring qualified candidates to the attention of the JNCs,” Jimenez told the St. Petersburg Times in 1999. “There was never any discussion of trying to influence the JNC members.”

Naaah! What kind of idiot would think that?

Well, to be fair, it looks like maybe Frank had the idea first. And one dealt with judicial nominees, the other with Justice Department employees. So they are totally different, really.

You can read more about other great ideas attributed to Frank during the 2000 election here, here and here.