Judge Gerber and Spencer Levine Selected by Gov to 4th DCA Posts

Spencer Levine

Governor Charlie Crist today announced the appointment of Circuit Court Judge Jonathan Gerber of Hollywood and Spencer Levine of Fort Lauderdale to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

“Judge Gerber’s civil and criminal court experience have prepared him well to serve on the appellate court,” Governor Crist said. “His commitment to public service, along with his strong work ethic, will serve the people of the Fourth District well."

Judge Gerber, 40, has served on the 15th Judicial Circuit since 2004. Previously, he served on the Palm Beach County Court from 2002 to 2004. He practiced with Shutts and Bowen, and with Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and graduated from the University of Florida College of Law.

“Spencer brings to the bench a unique perspective from his diverse experience, including investigating Medicaid fraud, reviewing legal matters for a local law enforcement agency, and practicing as both a private attorney and a prosecutor,” Governor Crist said. “His broad knowledge of civil, regulatory, administrative and criminal law will be especially important to the court.”

Levine, 48, is the senior vice president and chief operating officer of Broward Health, where he previously held the position of senior vice president and chief compliance and ethics officer and chief administrative officer. From 2002 to 2006, he served in the Office of the Attorney General in the Florida Medicaid Fraud Unit, rising from senior chief assistant attorney general to director of the unit in 2003.

Previously, he practiced with Adorno and Zeder, in the Office of the Guardian ad Litem, as general counsel with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, as assistant state attorney with the 15th Judicial Circuit, and with Entin, Schwartz et al and as a sole practitioner. He earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University College of Arts and Sciences and graduated from the University of Miami School of Law. He is married to Judith Levine, counsel for the Broward Sheriff's Office.

Gerber and Levine will fill the vacancies created by the retirement of Judge Larry Klein and the elevation of Justice Jorge Labarga to the Florida Supreme Court.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-172598935.html

President Visits Fort Myers

President Obama kicking off the town hall meeting in Fort Myers: "Now, I’m not going to tell you that this plan is perfect. I mean it was produced in Washington. No plan is perfect. I also can’t tell you with one hundred percent certainty that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope. But I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act in the face of this crisis will bring only deepening disaster. Doing nothing is not an option. You didn't send me to Washington to do nothing."

"So we’ve had a good debate, that's part of what Democracy is all about, but the time for talking is over. Folks here in Fort Myers and across America need help, and the time for action is now."

Here is a nice piece by Marina Asbury off the Daily Kos:

'When A Nation Loves its President'

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/2/10/231921/228/656/695983

Briefs, Names and Notes in the News

This is a weekly feature that will periodically be updated with more notes as we discover items worthy of some press but not a singular post…

---The picture at the top of the blog that you see is of Amy Brian, discharged from the Kansas National Guard after serving a year of combat duty in Iraq. Her crime? Promise not to ask or tell? Being gay, of course. Caught kissing a friend , hey that's some serious stuff !!! Read the travesty here…. http://cjonline.com/stories/020809/kan_385832549.shtml

…. Terry Schiavo, anyone? In Rome, the Italian government on Friday passed an emergency decree to keep a woman in a vegetative state alive on a feeding tube, circumventing a high court decision and ignoring a warning from the Italian president that he would refuse to sign the decree. Read it in the NY Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/world/europe/07italy.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y…

--From previous posts…we have updated the story about the AP suing Shephard Fairey, the Obama poster artist, as he got arrested in Boston for painting graffiti on the walls of bridges; yes, really----http://browardlawblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/ap-sues-over-popular-obama-poster.html….

--Also redone the story on the flag desecration case arrests of Fred Phelps band of fundamentalists. I hate him, but I think Fred’s minions are getting screwed http://browardlawblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/flag-and-first-amendment-burn-in.html--

---the Public Defender’s Office lost a champion in the passing of Ron Dallas yesterday after a series of kidney related ailments over the past few years; there's a page on Jaablog to express your thoughts..

http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/2009/02/07/courthouse-loss.aspx?ref=rss

A Bronx Tale comes to Broadway Across America on Tuesday night at the Parker Playhouse, for only a week, and believe it or not, it appears that Rosenfeldt, Rothstein and Adler are now sponsors of the theatrical group event. Unsure whether Scott will be in the starring role..

http://www.broadwayacrossamerica.com/BAA.Web/Pages/BAACity.aspx?city=Fort-Lauderdale&SeriesShowId=6720&showId=1599&name=A-Bronx-Tale

City elections also Tuesday, with lawyers Jack Seiler and Dean Trantalis arguably frontrunners and squaring off for Mayor of Fort Lauderdale. Good Sentinel blog piece by Anthony Man suggests Seiler will be stung by the gay community for getting Jim Naugle’s support even though Jack has always been supportive of the gay community. Dean has a very organized campaign that has only been positive and proactive. I expect a close race and a March run off, but my guess is that the personable defense lawyer Steve Rossi, despite all those bus benches, does not have the broad-based community support to get the votes he needs, nor does Mr. Reynerson, who owns a wonderful business, Claad Tile, but is running as Lieutenant Colonel Reynerson. I don't see that as a winning move. I am not sure which race Jim Lewis is going to lose this time. It's hard to keep track. Calm down, he's a good guy, but there is no Bar rule which requires you to run for office everytime we hold an election.

http://weblogs.sunsentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2009/02/does_support_from_fort_lauderd.html

…

--A feature in today’s paper shows the profligacy and extravagance of the Lieutenant Governor in using the State’s private planes to fly back and forth around the state. Charley, the gov, should fire his ass. The way it looks now Kottkamp should be nominated for a cabinet post in the Obama administration.http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/sfl-flfkottkamp0208sbfeb08,0,7399045.story..

By the way, I never heard the word ‘vetting’ until it was used to describe the way Obama was going to cull out the best and the brightest for his administration. After seeing the job he did, maybe they should go back to good old fashion ‘screening.’....

An appeals court says imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan may keep part of the state pension that was canceled after his conviction on racketeering and fraud charges. That should be encouraging for Rod Blagoyevich’s future and Ken Jenne’s past…http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/us/07brfs-RULINGFOREXG_BRF.html?emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

JNC: Six Names to Gov for County Court

Brenda Di Ioia, from her promo shot with Fox, on tv show, 'Speeders Fight Back,' now a finalist for a county court seat vacancy.

The Judicial Nominating Commission has selected six finalists for an opening on the Broward County Court.

The remaining finalists include well respected litigators, in alphabetical order, have had thier names submitted to the Governor: Melissa Brown, Brenda DiIoia, (pictured), Jorge Hurtado, Ed Merrigan, Christopher Pole, and Michael Robinson.

Governor Christ, who has been insisting on more diversity on the bench, should make an appointment in the next week. It is to fill a position created by Judge Robert Zack's resignation. He will vacate his seat on May 1, 2009. Not known yet if the former restauranteur will reopen a new Tony Roma's but if he does, you can bet Chris Roberts won't be drinking at the bar.

Review Report: New County Judges Selected

A report in the Daily Business Review by Jordana Mishory details the background of the newest judicial selections by Governor Crist:

Fort Lauderdale solo practitioner Carlos Rodriguez has been appointed to the Broward bench, which saw three Hispanics unseated in the last election cycle. Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Rodriguez and General Magistrate Barbara McCarthy as the county’s newest Broward Circuit judges Tuesday.

McCarthy and Rodriguez will fill vacancies left by the October deaths of Judges Howard Zeidwig and Charlie Kaplan. The two new judges interviewed with Crist on Tuesday. Rodriguez was born in Cuba and came to Florida with his family when he was 6. He said in an interview that if his father hadn’t been smart enough to get out of Cuba after Fidel Castro took over, he would have been cutting sugar cane instead of practicing law.

Rodriguez said he is most looking forward to giving back to the community in his new role as judge. “When I say I want to give back to the community, there’s some debts to it because of that experience,” Rodriguez said of the people who helped him succeed. Rodriguez worked at the Broward public defender’s office from 1980 to 1985 before joining Fazio Dawson for 2½ years. He has been a solo practitioner since, handling criminal and insurance defense work and personal injury and medical malpractice cases. He primarily represents plaintiffs. Rodriguez becomes a judge after being selected as a finalist five times by the Judicial Nominating Commission — three times in the late 1980s and twice last year.

In a written statement, Crist commended Rodriguez for his years working in both the civil and criminal arenas. “He is also very active and involved in the Broward County community, and I believe he will use those experiences to judge cases with restraint and balance,” Crist wrote.

McCarthy has served as a general magistrate for nearly five years. She has worked in the family, dependency and civil division. Currently she hears circuit and county civil cases, and also complex business cases. Prior to becoming a general magistrate, McCarthy practiced municipal law with the city of Fort Lauderdale. She also worked as a prosecutor with the Broward state attorney’s office and a 4th District Court of Appeal clerk for then Judge Barry Stone. McCarthy, who grew up in Long Island and went to college in Massachusetts, spent nearly eight years as a special education teacher before going to law school at St. Thomas.

McCarthy said being a judge was a “long-time dream” and said she was both honored and elated when she was appointed. Her interview with Crist on Tuesday, followed by her subsequent appointment, was the first time she met the governor. “Barbara McCarthy’s proven track record as an educator and as an attorney handling a variety of civil and criminal cases makes her an ideal choice for this post,” Gov. Crist said. “I am confident she will use her experiences in the classroom and the courtroom to rule from the bench with patience, humility and fairness.”

These two appointments come in the midst of a major push for diversity on the bench by the governor’s office. Crist has twice rejected a list of nominees for the 5th District Court of Appeal because it contained only white attorneys and judges. He has encouraged JNCs around the state to provide him with a diversified slate of finalists to choose from. But in Broward, judges with Hispanic names did not fair well at the polls in 2008. Many lawyers complained that the Hispanics were being unfairly targeted. All three Hispanic judges who drew challengers — Pedro Dijols, Catalina Avalos and Julio Gonzalez Jr. — lost during the August primary. Gonzalez was the highest-rated judge in a Broward County Bar poll of lawyers.

Death Row Inmate Seeks Judicial Vacancy

Congratulations to the Daily Business Review Blog for breaking an intriguing story this afternoon in their online update. It is worth the price of admission, just as the Review is an absolute must in your daily mailbox.

When Gov. Charlie Crist said he wanted a diverse slate of applicants for the state Supreme Court, he probably wasn’t thinking about the constituency behind bars. But Mike Lambrix, pictured in his orange jumpsuit to the right, wants the job.

In a letter Monday announcing his intent to apply for a vacancy on the court, a Florida death row inmate claimed the court should do a better job of representing its imprisoned citizens.

C. Michael Lambrix, who was sentenced to death in 1984 for a double murder in Glades County, wrote in his Jan. 16 letter to Judicial Nominating Commission chairman Robert Hackleman that he wanted to be considered to replace retiring Justice Charles T. Wells and considers his time behind bars as an asset instead of a liability.

Lambrix’s most compelling qualification? He would be the only applicant "that has been totally screwed by the so-called justice system."

"I do believe that our judiciary needs fresh blood and a conflicting perspective, and that my appointment would serve the interest of all Floridians," he wrote. "Arguably our judiciary could be served by incorporating a voice that can empathize and represent this significant percentage of our population."

Lambrix pointed to his 20-year experience as a "jailhouse lawyer" and argued the appointment process hinged more on rewarding political ideology than qualifications.
"I’m already a convicted felon, so at least the public will know what they are actually getting rather than a wolf in sheep’s clothing," he wrote.

If the public doesn’t like his appointment, Lambrix told the Governor, they could always vote him out six years later in a merit retention election- if he is around.

Hey — it’s quicker than judicial disciplinary actions.

http://dailybusinessreview.typepad.com/insidetrack/

Mike Lambrix's humble Story and website, asserting his innocence:

http://www.deathrow.at/mike/index.html