Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Scope of Non-Final Review!

First off, congrats to Judge Thomas for his nomination as a federal judge in the SD FL.

A great pick!

And here's Senator Leahy on the clogged federal judicial nomination process:

If we do not find a solution to both the vacancy crisis and the threat to judicial resources, it will be harder for Americans to obtain justice in our Federal courts.  Our courts are already overburdened, and the sequester will result in cuts that will force courts to hear fewer cases, which means that court proceedings will be delayed even longer.  This will be especially damaging in civil cases, where there are already over 40,000 cases that have been pending for more than three years.  Sequestration cuts could even result in the suspension of civil jury trials.  Even more alarming, is what is at stake in the criminal context.  If probation and pretrial services offices are downsized or closed, Federal courts and their staff will be unable to properly supervise thousands of persons under pretrial release and convicted felons released from Federal prisons.  It is critical, then, that we work together.

Gee, who in general benefits from delay?

(h/t Glenn Sugameli)

In other news, the Florida Supreme Court again seeks to clarify the scope of appellate court review of non-final orders, this time in a case involving a claim of immunity by Citizens Property Insurance:

With this backdrop, we address the use of extraordinary writs to review non-final orders not designated as appealable under rule 9.130(a)(3). We first decide the certified conflict issue involving the propriety of utilizing a petition for writ of prohibition to seek interlocutory review of a non-final order denying Citizens’ motion to dismiss. We next address whether a writ of certiorari is appropriately used under these circumstances. Finally, consistent with how this Court has proceeded when this type of issue is presented, we consider whether we should amend rule 9.130(a) to create a new exception to allow for review of a non-final order denying a motion to dismiss based on a claim of immunity asserted by a state-created entity.

Don't you love the textbook way Judge Pariente framed the issues?

Finally, we have a bunch of happy lawyers in South Florida.

(For now.)

Hey, It's Just "Bad Luck" My Penis Got Amputated!

 
I have a feeling it's going to be a good day.

Why?

Because the blogger gods have blessed us with this:

An unusual medical malpractice trial opens in a Miami court Monday, one in which a jury will have to decide whether an anesthesiologist can be held liable for a patient losing his penis.

The plaintiff, former Miami resident Enrique Milla, will be testifying at the trial via Skype because American authorities deported him and his family back to Peru last year.

“Mr. Milla lived in Miami for 40 years and worked in the medical supply business and paid taxes,” said Spencer Aronfeld, Milla’s Coral Gables attorney. “It shouldn’t make a difference that he was deported.

“At the end of the day, he has to sit down to pee through a tube.”

In Peru.

He has to sit down to pee through a tube, it's just now he has to do that in Peru.

Oy veh, a deported client testifying by Skype about his amputated penis.

But he did have his penis amputated, for goodness sake!

Still, defense attorney Jay Chimpoulis says bad luck just happens to unlucky people:

“What happened to Mr. Milla was just bad luck,” said Boeru’s attorney, Jay Chimpoulis. “But filing frivolous lawsuits won’t change his bad luck.”

I agree!

BTW, what's "frivolous" about the lawsuit, specifically?

In other news, your wait time to evict that deadbeat tenant is about to get longer:

“It’s awful. They only answer the telephone now a couple of days a week; things take a week or more to get into the official records; judges don’t get files for hearings; the whole thing is a mess,” said Miami civil attorney Michael Feiler. “Overall service has declined drastically — not because of the clerks, who work hard — but because of the lack of staff and the ridiculous workload.”

On the other hand, the cafecito at the courthouse coffee shop is delicious, so it all kinda balances out, right?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/12/2796705/online-hed.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/12/2796705/online-hed.html#storylink=cpy

They Still Write Editorials?

I'm pretty sure that's what the interwebs need more of -- opinions.

Even so, this is a rare burst of clear-eyed advocacy from a Miami Herald editorial page often devoid of opinions worth discussing:

The commission should make smooth functioning of the court system a priority when it examines in detail the budget approved by the Legislature and sees what funds are available after the governor’s budget vetoes.

This, though, would be just a temporary patch. The bigger job is to put funding for the court clerks on a rational basis, one that complies with public expectation of good customer service at each court clerk’s office, litigants’ need for efficient handling of cases, and the constitution’s requirement of adequate financing. 

Ok, I guess it's still kinda milquetoast but remember, we are talking about the Herald editorial page.  

In other news, can you believe an undocumented immigrant actually wants to practice law in Florida?

The horrors:

Can an immigrant without a green card get a Florida Bar card?

Aspiring lawyer Jose Godinez-Samperio, 25, a Tampa-area resident, is hoping the answer is yes.

A native of Mexico who entered the United States legally with his parents 16 years ago on a tourist visa, Godinez-Samperio is a graduate of the Florida State University College of Law, the valedictorian of the Armwood High School class of 2004, an Eagle Scout — and an undocumented immigrant.

That last quality may keep him from achieving his dream.

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners, which grants membership to the Bar, has asked the state Supreme Court to determine whether it can accept someone who is not in the country legally. The Supreme Court flagged the case as "high profile" last week.

Certified Legal Legend Sandy D'Alemberte says yes:

"It is unfair to deny him the credentials he's earned," said D'Alemberte, noting that there's nothing in the "Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Florida Bar" that requires applicants to prove their immigration status.

In fact, D'Alemberte said, Godinez-Samperio has been candid about his status at every opportunity, disclosing it on college and law school applications (his application to law school included an essay titled "The Consequences of my Criminal Childhood," although being in the country illegally is a civil infraction, not a crime).

Sandy is joined by former ABA Presidents Martha Barnett and Steve Zack.

Other the other hand, there are these guys:

"No one who has shown this guy's level of contempt for American law should be practicing law," said William Gheen, president of Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee that opposes amnesty for undocumented immigrants.

Tom Fitton, president of the conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, agreed.

"He can't practice as a lawyer," Fitton said. "He is not legally able to work in the United States. … It seems to me that it would be an absurdity to give him a Bar card at this point."

Hmm, if "contempt for American law" was the standard I could think of quite a few lawyers and maybe a Supreme Court Justice or two that might fall afoul of that one.

But maybe I'm wrong.

As the old saying goes -- which side are you on?

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/15/2751284/the-price-of-justice.html#storylink=cpy

Your Case is Next - Right After the First 368,000!

How's your civil action going in state court?

According to this DBR story, not too well:

As attorneys across South Florida absorb the news of yet another budget cut to clerks of the court by the Legislature, they foresee business costs rising and securing justice for clients getting harder.

The Legislature surprised the state's elected clerks during last-minute House-Senate conference talks by whacking their budget 7 percent, or nearly $31 million.

If the county clerks responded with layoffs alone, about 900 employees statewide would be out of work July 1.

This will be the fourth consecutive fiscal year clerks have taken a hit. Since 2009, their budgets have shrunk by just over a quarter.

This is causing anger among trial attorneys, particularly attorneys who specialize in civil litigation. Clerks must give priority to criminal proceedings, so resources shift at the expense of civil courts.

Has it occurred to Governor Scott that a conducive business environment requires an operational civil justice system?  You know, so businesses can settle legal disputes without resort to swords and direwolves?

Meanwhile, David Stern explains the tactful way he broke the bad news to his employees:

"There's nothing left for you here. There's nothing left for me here. We're done. And that's the end of the story,"

"Also, Liz left some awesome home-baked cookies in the kitchen -- yum!" 

Too bad so sad about all those cases languishing in the court system:

And the 368,000-case backlog in the state's foreclosure courts has grown as the Stern firm's wayward files added to the logjam, some attorneys said.

"Let's face it : Florida was struggling with foreclosures in the first place," said Sylvia Ayalon, a former analyst at the Consumer Mortgage Audit Center in Fort Lauderdale, who now works for Fembi Mortgage in Miami. "That combined with a defective process, the large footprint of the Stern firm, and the backlog just continues to grow."

"Did I mention the awesome cookies -- yum!  Thanks again, Liz.  

Liz???"

Mars Needs More Judges!

Did I say Mars?

I meant South Florida.

Here's some of the bad news affecting civil:

Workload associated with the residential mortgage foreclosure crisis continues to impede disposition times and rates in our circuit civil division. The Court is grateful to the Legislature for funding the Foreclosure and Economic Recovery Initiative, which terminated on June 30, 2011. The case managers and senior judges used in the Foreclosure and Economic Recovery Initiative made a significant difference in reducing backlog throughout the state. Unfortunately, due to the severity and protracted nature of the crisis, our trial courts continue to struggle with heavy pending caseloads and the slow resurgence of foreclosure filings. The absence of additional case processing resources, such as case managers and senior judges, will continue to delay case processing times and pending caseloads in our civil divisions for the foreseeable future. Moreover, this crisis has a ripple effect on the workload of other court divisions as chief judges and administrative judges allocate limited court resources to address demand.

It's a disgrace that the courts have to go hat in hand every year and pretend to be servile and deferential to what is supposed to be a co-equal branch of government.

Indeed, there is no need for the Supremes to be overly "grateful" the Legislature decided to help with the foreclosure crisis in this State, given how large a crisis it is and how many Florida homeowners are affected.

But hey, thanks for providing minimal assistance and then terminating the program in the middle of the year, leaving everybody in a lurch.

Judge Cooke Goes to the 11th Circuit!

Did you know the judiciary is now the "feeblest branch"?

(Shh, don't tell some of our judicial brethren).

But yes, apparently there can be a problem with equal access to the courts when you gut funding and fail to fill judicial vacancies:

This means that the courts are limiting access just when Americans need more adjudication. The recession left a vast legacy of foreclosures, personal and business bankruptcies, debt-collection and credit-card disputes. In Florida in 2009, according to the Washington Economics Group, the backlog in civil courts is costing the state some $9.8 billion in GDP a year, a staggering achievement for a court system that costs just $1.2 billion in its entirety. To make up the funding shortfall, courts are imposing higher filing fees on litigants. This threatens the idea of the equal right to justice, says Rebecca Love Kourlis of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System.

Oh well -- I'm sure the Florida legislature will do the right thing.

In other news, Judge Cooke pays a visit to the 11th Circuit and sits on a very interesting securities fraud case:

We hold that the securities laws prohibit corporate representatives from knowingly peddling material misrepresentations to the public -- regardless of whether the statements introduce a new falsehood to the market or merely confirm misinformation already in the marketplace. In other words, a defendant may be liable for fraudulent statements intentionally made that have the purpose and effect of propping up an already inflated stock price in an efficient market.

Now good luck finding a judge to hear your case -- or just pay Paul Siegal to adjudicate the darn thing.

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.

My Baby Steve Zack, He Wrote Me A Letter!

Not one to simply let Chief Judge Moreno hog all the spotlight, ABA Prez Steve Zack (captured mid-phone above) has jumped in with his own letter about all those darn federal judicial vacancies, and why can't the Senate just get along pre-recess and confirm a few of these folks so that whole system of laws thing doesn't break down, don'tcha know:

Thirty-eight of the present vacancies have existed for so long and created such untenable workloads for the remaining judges on the courts that the seats have been declared judicial emergencies by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. As lawyers who practice in federal courts across this nation, ABA members know firsthand that long-standing vacancies on courts with staggering caseloads impede access to the courts and create strains that will of the courts to vindicate constitutional rights or render fair and timely decisions. In Arizona, for example, the Speedy Trial Act has been temporarily waived, and criminal defendants wait up to 6 months for a trial, while businesses and individuals wait up to 2 years before their cases are heard.

So far so good (I mean bad).

But then Steve continues:

We realize that the aging of our federal judiciary has contributed to the growing vacancy crisis.

 Hey now!

Being the silver-tongued devil that he is, Steve politely refers to the nationwide decaying judge issue as "attrition":

According to Department of Justice estimates, 60 new vacancies will be created through attrition each year for the next decade. Obviously, progress toward reducing vacancies requires a confirmation rate that outpaces the attrition rate; at present, it is barely keeping abreast of it.

So I believe what Steve is saying is we either need to develop new methods of preserving and extending the lives of our aging federal judges -- perhaps through alien intervention, cloning, cryonics, or sophisticated and groundbreaking time-travel technologies that are currently beyond our scientific capabilities -- or we just need to confirm some of these nominees.

Hard to tell which is a more realistic and practical course of action given what's happening in DC at the moment.

Senator Leahy Speaks Out on Behalf of Stalled SD FL Judicial Nominations

As David noted the other day, Chief Judge Moreno has started writing letters in hopes of getting Kathy Williams and Bob Scola confirmed as judges sometime this century.

And Glenn Sugameli, a DC wonk who has done great work on this issue, passed along this floor statement by Senator Leahy in which the Senator quotes Judge Moreno's letter and highlights the larger context in which very qualified nominees are being held up for no good reason:

Recently, Chief Judge Moreno of the Southern District of Florida wrote to the Senate leaders urging that they expedite action on two nominations to fill judicial emergency vacancies in that district. Both Kathleen Williams and Robert Scola are among the many judicial nominees who were reported unanimously by the Judiciary Committee, yet both are being delayed for no good reason.

Chief Judge Moreno writes:

 [T]he judicial shortage with three vacancies in our district is becoming acute. For this reason, I ask your assistance in expediting both confirmations. The Judiciary Committee has found the nominees qualified and the people of South Florida eagerly await their service. 

Both of these nominees have the support of their home State Senators— Senator NELSON, a Democrat, and Senator RUBIO, a Republican. The two Senators have set aside partisan actions, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has set aside partisan actions by voting for the nominees unanimously. Why should they be held up because of partisan actions on this floor?

 Good question -- anyone have an answer?

Federal JNC Applicant List.

Who is Brian Gilchrist and why is on all three applicant lists to be a federal judge for the SD FL, MD FL, and ND FL?

And how come he didn't apply to be U.S. Marshall?

That and more, revealed below......

JNC APPLICANTS NOTICE

Yawn -- Judicial Crisis Rolls On.

All those empty federal judicial seats keep piling up, leading to new and interesting ways to restate the same dismal state of affairs:

[T]he Senate confirmed fewer of [Obama's] district and circuit nominees than every president back to Jimmy Carter, and the lowest percentage of nominees – 58% – than any president in American history at this point in a President’s first term. By comparison, Presidents George W. Bush, Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Reagan and Carter had 77%, 90%, 96%, 98%, and 97% of their nominees confirmed after two years, respectively.

HOORAY -- we beat Carter!

But it's not all the Senate's fault:

The White House has increased its focus on getting as many judges as possible through ahead of next year after criticism from Obama's liberal backers that the administration did not make it a big enough priority.

"The amount of resources the administration put into judicial selection is nowhere near what (President George W.) Bush put in," said Elliot Slotnick, a political science professor at Ohio State University.

Although Obama had enough Democrats to overcome procedural hurdles during the first two years of his presidency, the Senate approved just 60 appellate and district court nominees, the smallest number in 35 years.

This rings true.

Consider the 11th Circuit, which has two vacancies including one dating back to August 2010 but no nominees awaiting confirmation.

In the SD FL, we have three vacancies (all considered judicial emergencies), with Kathy Williams awaiting confirmation for a seat vacated in February 2009(!).

Judge Scola was nominated in May for a seat vacated back in August 2010, and the third vacancy has been pending since January 2011 with no nomination in sight.

You can read Kathy and Judge Robert a/k/a "Bobby" Scola's questionnaires here and here, respectively.

3d DCA and 2d DCA in Conflict -- Who Shall Prevail?

Everyone loves a good conflict.  Especially a "direct conflict."

And that's just what happened when the 2d DCA got right in the grill house of the 3d, challenging the 3d's determination that you can't get fees in a wrongful death case under section 768.26 unless you file a case first.

Let's see what the Florida Supreme Court said:

Thank you, Governor Scott!  Please sir, can I have another?

Oops, that was how the Supremes groveled their way into functioning at half-staff for another couple weeks.

Boy that Scott sure is one nice fellow!

Here's how they actually ruled on the fee issue:

[W]e agree with the Second District that section 768.26 applies even in those circumstances where a wrongful death claim is settled pre-suit and disapprove the Third District’s decision in Perez to the extent that it holds that the statute does not apply where no action for wrongful death has been filed or litigated.

 Kaboom!

And here's their reasoning:

This application of the statute is consistent with the stated legislative intent that the Act be “liberally construed.” § 768.17, Fla. Stat. (2005). Additionally, this furthers the public policy favoring settlement of disputes without litigation where possible.

Who knew?

I sense heightened, nay furious activity in the gym/mechanical room as news filters down to the bunker.  Good thing those toilets are bolted down tight.

And people, please -- don't fight over the freshly donated, pre-owned Thighmaster!

When All Else Fails, Pray!

That's about all that is left, according to Chief Justice Canady:

Canady also described the relationship between courts and children, saying, “The needs are just overwhelming, and we see tragedy on a recurring basis.”

In Fiscal Year 2009-10, he said, there were 9,380 new dependency petitions filed, 2,543 new terminations of parental rights filed and 57,605 new juvenile delinquency petitions filed; there were also 58,835 new domestic violence filings. As of February 2011, there were 18,327 children in foster care and relative placements in Florida.

“Those numbers represent children whose lives are affected by what happens in court, children whose lives may be moved along in the right direction or moved drastically in the wrong direction because of decisions that are made in the courts,” Canady said.

The former state representative, U.S. Congressman and general counsel to Gov. Jeb Bush is a rare public official with experience in all three branches of government.

“For those of you who pray,” he said, “pray for the judiciary.”

Added Canady, "and for those of you who are into crystals, divining sticks, or voodoo, go for it.  If you think the CIA has implanted a microchip into your teeth, please ask them for help.  To my friends who have ever toyed with the notion of self-immolation, I don't want to tell you what to do, but let's just say at this point we'll take all the help we can get."

Time To Donate More Old Gym Equipment!

I agree with Fifth DCA Chief Judge Monaco, this is simply too stunning for words:

The state House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee has targeted state judges for an 8 percent salary cut and plans to reduce their judicial assistant staffing by one-quarter.

“They did not cut salaries to any other elected officials,” said Circuit Judge John Laurent, chairman of the state court’s Trial Court Budget Commission.

Laurent, a Polk Circuit probate judge, said the subcommittee chaired by state Rep. Richard Glorioso, R-Plant City, offered no justification for the salary cut proposal other than a general comment that they had to cut somewhere.

Why stop there?

Maybe we should hold a fundraiser for the court system, though I thought that was what our taxes were for.

Or firms can start sponsoring judges, and we can put our logos on their robes so everyone can see who we're supporting when they come out on the bench.  Then we can have the judges box each other and we can raise some more money that way!

Note to Florida legislature -- I'm not really suggesting the above as a revenue source (you really can't be too sure nowadays with some of these facacta proposals).

Novel Solution to Judicial Funding Crisis -- Pay Judges to Work Faster!

I swear this year's legislative proposals affecting the judiciary are among the most bone-headed in memory.

Take this doozy:

Republican Sen. J.D. Alexander, the influential budget chairman from Lake Wales, wants to pay trial court judges up to an additional $12,000 a year if they meet specific numerical quarterly performance goals. The extra money would be dished out in $3,000 increments.

“I’m very serious about it,” Alexander said. “What we’re trying to do is create some incentives for the courts that are fair and reasonable and save us a lot of money.”

Alexander’s so-called Judicial Workload Incentive Plan is expected to be part of the proposed Senate budget to be considered next week, but it’s already receiving a mostly hostile reception among senators who directly oversee the judicial branch’s budget.

Despite Alexander’s unmatched clout when it comes to legislative spending, senators aren’t shy about openly lampooning his idea.

“Judges don’t need this,” said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton. “I think they like to claim they’re professionals. I don’t think they need to be rewarded for managing their dockets.”

What is this, Glengarry Glen Ross?

I find the details interesting:

Every time a judge denies a continuance, we shtup them a hundred bucks.

If a judge grants an sj we give them a nice flat-screen TV.

Our motto:  Justice is fine, but a ruling is quicker!

Here's a suggestion -- how about instead of paying judges more to move cases faster, we simply hire more judges?

Florida Legislature To Strip Courts of Rule-Making Ability?

We've certainly seen our share of lame-brained, reactionary, and just plain arse-inine proposals out of Tally, but this has to be one of the dumbest to come down the high speed train pike in a long time:

A constitutional amendment that would take court procedural rulemaking authority away from the Supreme Court and give it to the Legislature has been introduced in a House subcommittee that has been studying the issue.

PCB CVJS 11-01 would amend Art. V, Sec. 2, of the constitution. A second bill, PCB CVJS 11-02 would create legislation implementing the amendment, if it eventually passes the Legislature and is approved by voters.

Currently, Art. V, Sec. 2, provides that the Supreme Court has the authority to adopt practice and procedure rules for the court, and the Legislature may repeal any rule by a two-thirds vote of both chambers. It also includes some technical language about the court and the district courts of appeal submitting questions on military law for an advisory opinion to a special military appellate court.

The amendment repeals all of that, and instead specifies: “No court shall have the power, express or implied, to adopt rules for practice and procedure in any court. Court rules of practice and procedure may be recommended by the Supreme Court to be adopted, amended or rejected by the legislature in a manner prescribed by general law. If there is a conflict between general law and a court rule, the general law supersedes the court rule.”

So a court cannot issue procedural rules for proceeding before a court?  We're talking things like summary judgment time periods, discovery methods, offers of judgment etc.?

That's like Congress passing a law that pilots cannot decide how to fly a plane.

To paraphrase Barry Richard, this is f$%*ing stupid and totally unnecessary:

He also addressed whether the federal model of having Congress review procedural rules would work in Florida — something some committee members have suggested. Richard said the country’s founders assumed that virtually all cases would be resolved in state courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court was the only federal court expressly created by the Constitution. Congress, however, was given the power to create lesser courts, and hence those courts are the creatures of Congress.

Florida’s courts are created in the state Constitution, not by the Legislature, he said.

Further, he said, the jurisdiction of federal courts was much more limited than it is currently.

Richard also said in practice, even though Congress has a review, the federal procedural rules systems works much like Florida’s, with the court’s proposing rules that are rarely altered by Congress.

 Seriously, what's next?

With Governor Scott's proposed budget crippling already overburdened courts, and with the courts soon lacking the ability to even advise litigants of how many days they have to respond to an interrogatory, maybe we should just give the whole thing up and revert to duels in the street, sword fights, and other forms of self-help.

Or is that the idea?

RIP Chief Judge John Roll

District of Arizona Chief Judge John Roll was among the victims of the horrific Arizona shootings over the weekend.

I'm saddened and depressed over all the lives lost in this senseless tragedy.

The motives behind the shooting are not yet known, though some cautionary lessons are starting to emerge.

We know there are mentally unstable people in the world, some of whom are prone to violence.

We also know there are politicians and pundits who employ violent rhetoric to scare people, to cause fear, to create uncertainty, in order to obtain, maintain, or increase their political or economic power.

Indeed, before being killed on Saturday, Judge Roll was himself the victim of this violent rhetoric:

In February, when U.S. District Judge John Roll presided over a $32 million civil-rights lawsuit filed by illegal immigrants against an Arizona rancher, the Marshals Service was anticipating the fallout.

When Roll ruled the case could go forward, Gonzales said talk-radio shows cranked up the controversy and spurred audiences into making threats.

In one afternoon, Roll logged more than 200 phone calls. Callers threatened the judge and his family. They posted personal information about Roll online.

"They said, 'We should kill him. He should be dead,' " Gonzales said.

Roll, who is the chief federal judge in Arizona, said both he and his wife were given a protection detail for about a month.

"It was unnerving and invasive. . . . By its nature it has to be," Roll said, adding that they were encouraged to live their lives as normally as possible. "It was handled very professionally by the Marshals Service."

At the end of the month, Roll said four key men had been identified as threat makers.

The Marshals Service left to him the decision to press charges but recommended against it. Roll said he had no qualms about following their advice.

The recommendation was based on the intent of those making the threats.

"I have a very strong belief that there is nothing wrong with criticizing a judicial decision," he said. "But when it comes to threats, that is an entirely different matter."

That's not to suggest the Judge was targeted; it appears tragically to have been unrelated.

Still, I've been disappointed in the MSM's reflexive "both sides do it" calculus in the wake of the shootings.

There have indeed been left-wing excesses over the last decade, but they just are not precisely equal.

Matt Bai blames both sides; Dave Frum thinks pot is to blame; Ross Douthat predictably blames everyone (and therefore no one).

Yawn.

We went over this false equivalence back in October when discussing the Jon Stewart rally.  Sorry but I don't hear prominent liberals threatening to use their "First Amendment remedies" if the government doesn't go back to the gold standard.

And for gosh sakes, let's stop Rachel Maddow from buying another gun!

And which talk show hosts fanned the furor over Judge Rolle's illegal immigrant decision in the first place?

All I know is if this was a school shooting, the girl who put up the cross-hairs map (and then tried to erase the entire Internet) would have at least been taken in for questioning.

Or consider if a prominent Muslim cleric put 20 politicians on a map with cross-hairs surveyor's symbols and one got shot, would that cleric later be on Facebook erasing his posts and piously lamenting the tragedy?

It's also silly to pretend this was not a political act -- at minimum it was an avowed attempted assassination of a POLITICIAN by an unhinged man who had strong if inchoate political views.

The Pima County Sheriff hit it on the head; compare this law enforcement officer to the guy in Maricopa County who stops brownies to check their "papers" and forces prisoners to wear pink underwear. 

George Packer makes an excellent point -- words like "socialist," "communist," "tyranny" and the like have deep historical resonance in America.

In fact, for most of the 20th Century we were prepared to (and did in fact) take up arms and fight to the death against Communism and the Red Menace.

Thus these words by their very nature are violent dogwhistles because they arrive embedded with the cultural and historical baggage of war, armed conflict, and bloody national self-defense.

Time for another rally, Jon.

Judicial Appointments Crisis -- Yawn.

As power begins to shift in Congress, judicial appointments continue to lag, with little to no public attention or even interest.

Who's to blame?

Some say Obama is too slow on his nominations, others that a partisan Congress is holding the nominations hostage.

At this point I'm sick of excuses and just want some action.  The Economist takes a hard look and pretty much agrees:

Wherever the fault lies, the backlog is a serious problem. The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body of the federal court system, ranks 50 of the vacancies as “emergencies”. These include district judgeships with 600 or more cases filed and moving nowhere, or 700 or more filings for a circuit panel. The eastern district of California has a thousand-case pile-up. Border courts in Texas, dealing with drugs and immigration cases, are overwhelmed. The small but important district of Delaware, where many companies are incorporated, is making do with just two federal judges, causing havoc in the various commercial cases. Bill Robinson, the incoming president of the American Bar Association, says that the quality of justice inevitably suffers: “Witnesses die, memories fade.”

But the issue fails to exercise the general public—or at least, the general Democratic public. After judges seemed to get too uppity in the 1960s and 1970s, Republicans successfully turned “activist judges” into bogeymen, creating bodies like the Federalist Society to nurture conservative legal talent. And Mr Bush effectively used the bully pulpit to call for an “up-or-down” vote on all his nominees at once, leading to a confrontation but ultimately a compromise with Democratic senators in 2005. Dozens of Mr Obama’s nominees are still waiting for something similar. 

 Sure, all of a sudden Obama's going to develop a backbone and push the GOP to brinkmanship on this issue?

I'm not holding my breath.

They Write Letters, Old Judges Edition.

What do cranky retired federal judges do for fun?

They write letters denouncing the judicial appointment crisis, of course:

But the use of secret holds and filibusters undermine the credibility of the judiciary and, by contributing to lengthy vacancies on the courts, impede the courts’ ability to ensure that cases can be heard and adjudicated in a timely fashion. At this moment, our courts are overburdened and increasingly certain vacancies are being designated as “emergencies” by the Administrative Office of the Courts because of the length of time the court has been without a judge. This situation is untenable for a country that believes in rule of law.

"Rule of law" -- how deliciously quaint.

Given the myriad and pressing problems facing our nation, to say there is an "enthusiasm gap" among the electorate regarding judicial nominations is an understatement.

But we're grown-ups.

We're supposed to help focus attention on things that matter, and by that I mean Koran-burning nutjobs and enforcing "no-Mosque" zones in culturally significant spots like Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

The sad irony is, as Dahlia Lithwick noted recently in Slate, that the issue is truly bipartisan:

Whether you support Obama's legislative agenda or abhor it, having properly functioning courts should matter, because today in America every single legislative action has an equal and opposite legal reaction.

I know I know, Bork payback trumps all.......

Florida Supreme Court: Justice System Pretty Much Broke!

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created at TagCrowd.com

If you're in a good mood you do not want to read this gloom-and-doom certification report from the Florida Supreme Court on how broke down and busted Florida's justice system is.



To make it easy, I've put together a "word cloud" so you can get a feel for the report without actually having to read the whole dreary thing.



Enjoy(?)