Shadows and Light.

Sheesh, what to talk about this morning?

I'm reminded of Joni's Shadows and Light:

Every picture has its shadows
And it has some source of light
Blindness, blindness and sight
The perils of benefactors
The blessings of parasites
Blindness, blindness and sight
Threatened by all things
Devil of cruelty
Drawn to all things
Devil of delight
Mythical devil of the ever-present laws
Governing blindness, blindness and sight

Pacenti writes up an ugly lawyer divorce drama that has been percolating for years but which now sweeps up our endless judicial fundraiser system and potential conflicts of interest :

 A Miami-Dade circuit judge won’t step out of a custody battle between two well-known South Florida lawyers even though the ex-wife’s attorney’s firm co-sponsored a political fundraiser for the judge’s re-election.

Carlton Fields partner Paul Calli is appealing Miami-Dade Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis’ decision to stay in the case. She is up for re-election this year.

Calli claims the fundraiser was within 48 hours of a scheduled hearing in the dispute with his ex-wife, Sarah Mourer, a University of Miami professor of clinical legal education and director of UM’s Death Penalty Clinic and co-director of the Innocence Clinic.

This will be very interesting when the 3d DCA rules.

Personally, I'd rather focus on this nice story about Richard Milstein and the issues LGBT couples face as they near retirement:

This is certainly a concern for Richard Milstein, a Miami attorney. He and his partner of 10 years, Eric Hankin, a public school teacher, have made sure their estate planning is in order. But if Milstein, who has two adult children with his ex-wife, were to die first, Hankin won’t be eligible for Social Security spousal benefits — though the couple married in Iowa two years ago.

“My siblings have children and there’s a certain expectation that these children will take care of them,” Hankin says. “I don’t have any children, but I’m fortunate to have stepchildren and we have a good relationship.”

But even that kind of relationship can be tenuous, whether or not the survivor is gay or straight.

Milstein says that’s one of his concerns if he outlives Hankin.

“I’m older so my thought is I will go first,” he says. “In that case, I worry if he will be able to continue that relationship” with Milstein’s children and a new grandchild.

 Here's another real-life consequence of our antiquated prohibition on same-sex marriages -- let's treat them like every other married couple.

Time to cue Joni:

Critics of all expression
Judges in black and white
Saying it's wrong, saying it's right
Compelled by prescribed standards
Or some ideals we fight
For wrong, wrong and right
Threatened by all things
Man of cruelty-mark of Cain
Drawn to all things
Man of delight-born again, born again
Man of the laws, the ever-broken laws
Governing wrong, wrong and right
Governing wrong, wrong and right
Wrong and right

Let's finish with Gabby D on The Daily Show!

Love the clip!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/31/v-fullstory/2615925/golden-years.html#storylink=cpy

"Thank God Almighty I'm Free At Last!!"

That joyful cry emanating from 73 West Flagler could only be the sound of one fax machine clapping:

The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has decided not to file criminal charges against Circuit Judge David Miller, closing its investigation into a complaint by Circuit Judge Maria Dennis that Miller had shoved her.

The two judges were arguing over a fax machine Oct. 7 when Miller allegedly shoved Dennis. Assistant State Attorney Joe Centorino wrote in his close-out memo that similar allegations made by someone who was not a judge would not result in criminal charges. Dennis had asked that Miller be charged with battery.

''While it may have involved inappropriate behavior by a sitting Miami-Dade Circuit judge, the type of incident is more properly a matter for review by the state of Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission than the subject of a criminal proceeding,'' Centorino wrote this week.

So is the JQC investigating, or is this issue as dead as the rest of the equipment our judges have to deal with over at the courthouse?

Steel Cage Texas Glove Judicial Death Match?

Let me tell you, I'm gonna miss Joan Fleischman. She was one of the most enjoyable parts of the Herald (I know that's not saying much), and she always found offbeat, interesting stories that gave texture and dimension to the crazy goings-on here in South Florida.

Joan, if you're listening, come write for us!

Still, I can't believe she scooped me again with this remarkable tale of life inside 73 West Flagler:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis says she was battered at the courthouse -- by fellow Circuit Judge David Miller. She says Miller was bent out of shape because the fax machine at her office, which his staff sometimes used, was broken.

Dennis, 52, and Miller, 54, both work at 73 W. Flagler St. They had adjacent offices on the fourth floor. Miller initially spoke to Dennis' bailiff and judicial assistant about the fax machine, then asked to see her.

When she repeated that the machine was out of order, Miller became ''confrontational and told [Dennis] that he felt that he wasn't getting the full story,'' the Oct. 7 police report says. Miller then ``charged toward [Dennis], grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her toward her office in an attempt to close the door behind them.''

Dennis' bailiff, Ivan Nahmias, 41, ''intervened.'' He ''jumped in between'' the two jurists and ''escorted'' Miller out of her chambers.

Miami-Dade cops assigned to the courthouse say they were summoned to her office after someone hit a ``panic alarm.''

Miller denied pushing Dennis. He told officers that he ``only squeezed by [her] to enter her office and talk with her.''

Chief Judge Joseph P. Farina said ''both parties were to leave the courthouse and have no further contact with each other,'' the report says.

Police turned the matter over to the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office. Public corruption prosecutor Joe Centorino is reviewing the Fax-gate case.

Miller's attorney, Milton Hirsch, sent a letter to Centorino, calling it an ''unfortunate incident'' and an ``overreaction.''

''He did not act willfully or maliciously to touch, batter, or come into contact with Judge Dennis,'' Hirsch wrote.

Dennis' attorney is David Young, the former circuit judge-turned-TV judge. His client did not overreact, he says. ``Judge Dennis is a victim in this case -- and we are exploring all legal remedies.''

Miller has a new office -- on the fifth floor.

You know who's to blame in all this? There are two responsible parties.

First, you can blame our dopey state legislators, who so drastically cut funding for the courts that two judges have to duke it out over a broken fax machine. Pathetic.

More importantly, dear readers, I blame you. Yes, you heard me -- all you hotshot tipsters who send me story ideas, none of you guys caught this one and passed it along to your humble gin-sipping, "10"-obsessed law blogger? So now Fleischman showed me up yet again?

Sheesh, you guys need to step it up.