Let's Do the Time Warp Again!

Does anyone else read this and think 1992:

ADVISORY
U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

Any attorneys who need to bring in a laptop, cell phone, or electronic equipment of any kind should email Catherine_Wade@flsd.uscourts.gov no later than one week prior to the hearing date. Please ensure the email contains the name of the attorney(s) and the type of electronic equipment they will be bringing into the Courthouse. If the US Marshals Service does not receive this information in advance of the hearing, the attorney(s) will not be permitted to enter the Courthouse with their equipment until the necessary clearance is obtained. [Attorneys who are members of The Florida Bar are permitted to bring electronic equipment into the Courthouse upon presentation of their Florida Bar card.] Please note, members of the public, including non-attorney parties, are not permitted to bring in electronic equipment of any kind absent a Court order.

Listen, I'm for judicial security as much as anyone.  But how does that rationale extend to attorneys with cell phones or tablets?

Why do attorneys from, say, New York need to email Catherine a week in advance in order to bring in their phone while local counsel in Fort Lauderdale can waltz in with her laptop?

Does this make sense?

Check Out This Cool WH Infographic!

How boring are judicial confirmations to the general public?

It's amazing to me that Democrats continue to be stuck with horrible branding on issues of tremendous importance, like "the mandate," "entitlements," or "Harry Reid."

Still, they keep trying.

In yet another effort to spiff up the exciting "judicial confirmation crisis" the WH has released the above nearly impossible to read infographic (actually, you need to click on the image or click here to expand), which sets forth in neat flow charts how disastrous the current situation is with our federal judiciary.

Here's some of the rosy news:

Unfortunately, the delays these nominees are encountering on Capitol Hill are equally unprecedented: earlier this month, the Senate left for its August recess without considering 20 eminently qualified candidates, 16 of whom had passed through the bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee completely unopposed, a development the Washington Post called “not only frustrating but also destructive” in an editorial published yesterday.

The victims of these delays, of course, are the American citizens who are being denied the fair and timely judicial proceedings they deserve because of the chronic shortage of federal judges on the bench.  Stephen Zack, president of the American Bar Association, told Senate leaders in a recent letter that the abundance of vacant federal judgeships “create strains that will inevitably reduce the quality of our justice system and erode public confidence in the ability of the courts to vindicate constitutional rights or render fair and timely decisions.”

I know I know -- your anecdotes about how slow things seem at the federal courthouse and one time you saw a judge leave work early trump all these stupid "statistics" and "data" so problem solved.

But question -- is there any reason to delay Judge Jordan's confirmation to the 11th?  Would it be good if he didn't make it?

If the answer is no maybe we should try to help accelerate this process.

The SD FL Has A Fancy New Website!

They even have an RSS feed:

 The new website focuses on user-friendly navigation including the addition of a search function.  Some of the new features are:

Alphabetized phone directory
Searchable press releases and public notices
Link to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator
Media information page
US Courts Library page
About the US Courts
Obtaining records page
Section pages for Magistrate, Court Interpreters, Financial and Procurement
RSS feed option (this allows you to sign up to get notices for certain items on our website)
Mobile version (you can view the site via your cell phone)

RSS feed and mobile version -- I guess we're all bloggers now.

The best part is they put up a picture of a swanky new downtown hotel, complete with swaying palm trees -- take a look:

See you all poolside!

(unfortunately, contract documents specify that "Olympic-sized" swimming pool depicted in marketing materials actually oversized bathtub)

I'll Have A Moreno on Rye!

David notes that the cafeteria in the new federal courthouse has opened for business.

This calls to mind the old joke about the Catskills:

“The food is terrible here.”

“Yes, and such small portions..."

I kid I kid.

Seriously, I'd like to see the judges come in and make their favorite sandwiches which would then be named after them, like they do at New York's famous Stage Deli.

Wouldn't it be cool to order a Huck on wheat -- to go, of course.

(BTW, if I were to construct a Moreno sandwich it would be corned beef, swiss, with a nice slice of tongue.)