MEDIA: MAY 6
SENTINEL
Laura Seidman Takes A Beating
Topix: Seidman
"Broward Politics Blog" (Broke Seidman Story)
Judge Shutter: Making A Difference
Jim Lewis Running, But Not For Judge
DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW
The "Name Game" In Broward and Miami Judicial Elections
HERALD
Our Opinion: Imprisoning Felons Comes At A High Cost
ORLANDO SENTINEL
DOT Targets Judge Who Threw Out 7,000 Transponder Tickets
Cantero Talks About Quitting High Court
JQC Gives Aleman Treatment To Seminole Judge
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT
Crist asks court for advice on judge
60 MINUTES
Dallas County DA Does The Right Thing (thanks to "Anonymous")
Laura Seidman Takes A Beating
Topix: Seidman
"Broward Politics Blog" (Broke Seidman Story)
Judge Shutter: Making A Difference
Jim Lewis Running, But Not For Judge
DAILY BUSINESS REVIEW
The "Name Game" In Broward and Miami Judicial Elections
HERALD
Our Opinion: Imprisoning Felons Comes At A High Cost
ORLANDO SENTINEL
DOT Targets Judge Who Threw Out 7,000 Transponder Tickets
Cantero Talks About Quitting High Court
JQC Gives Aleman Treatment To Seminole Judge
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT
Crist asks court for advice on judge
60 MINUTES
Dallas County DA Does The Right Thing (thanks to "Anonymous")
Congrats JAABlog, I hvae read on here many time in the last year how Laura Seidman was not showing up to work, her screw ups were costing the tax payers money etc and finally she gets brought down for it. You must really have some people in the know who post on here.
No insider trading double dipping.
Word is that she is taking the job at Boca Community Hospital as their general counsel while getting paid to do nothing from Broward Healther. What a scammer.
How did she get thew job at NBHD in the 1st place?
on her knees
Wonder if Laura Seidman used Ana's knee pads at NBHD
http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=48469
Judicial Elections
What’s in a name? A lot in Miami-Dade and Broward
Look at the ballot sheet for Miami-Dade judicial candidates, and five judges with English-sounding names have Hispanic challengers. Compare that to Broward, where three Hispanic judges have drawn opposition from people with Anglo names.
“That is of course a function of the fact that the voting dynamics are different. We’re organized here, and there aren’t as many Hispanics there,” said Hector Lombana, who is working on several Miami-Dade judicial campaigns.
The name game pops up when candidates try to match their background to the electorate, looking for a race where a judge appears vulnerable based on ethnicity alone.
It’s been a way of life in Miami-Dade for years, where Hispanic names almost serve as a talisman to ward off opposition. In Broward this sort of political gamesmanship was considered beyond the pale until recently, Fort Lauderdale attorney Bill Gelin said.
“You’d have to come to the conclusion that this was inevitable. But I don’t know if anybody thought it would happen this quickly,” said Gelin, who runs the JAABlog legal Web log focusing on Broward County courts.
In stark contrast to Miami, the few Hispanic judges in Broward frequently find themselves defending their seats come election time.
The election logic isn’t a function of demographics. Almost a quarter of the county is Hispanic, according to the latest census figures. Broward’s Hispanic populace isn’t as politically organized as in Miami-Dade, Lombana said.
Since Miami-Dade has a Hispanic majority, black or Anglo candidates are often considered weaker at the polls.
One black judge who already was defeated at the polls once and was reappointed to the bench was spared a challenge after heavy lobbying by members of the Cuban American Bar Association to get the Hispanic lawyer who had filed to run for that seat to pick another race, according to sources.
Miami-Dade County Judge Eric Hendon found himself re-elected without opposition after challenger Denise Martinez-Scanziani pulled out at the last second to run against Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bernard S. Shapiro.
Several CABA leaders had also endorsed Hendon and contributed to his campaign.
“I think she got into the Hendon race not realizing what a very fine judge he is,” said Bob Levy, a judicial campaign consultant. “It’s always better for the community if we don’t get those ethnic races.”
Observers worried Hendon was vulnerable, particularly to a well funded Hispanic challenger.
After being appointed by then-Gov. Jeb Bush, Hendon lost his seat in 2002 to Miami-Dade County Judge Jacqueline Schwartz who campaigned to replace him after just a few years on the bench. Bush reappointed him in March 2006.
Martinez-Scanziani didn’t say much about her last-minute change of heart, chalking up the switch to a change in “personal goals.” The local Justice Building Blog raked the candidate over the coals after she filed to oppose Hendon, questioning whether she is in fact Hispanic as she listed on her election form.
“I don’t want to make this about ethnicity. It’s a judicial election, and I’m above all that,” she said. She added that candidates for any office should reflect the community.
A last-minute scratch: Roniel Rodriguez IV dropped out of a race against Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Spencer Eig, one of many attorneys who represented the Miami family of young Cuban Elian Gonzalez in his international custody saga.
Rodriguez would not comment on his decision, but sources said he also bowed out under pressure from CABA leaders.
According to an e-mail obtained by the Daily Business Review addressed to Roland Sanchez-Medina Jr., president-elect of the Cuban American Bar Association, Rodriguez dropped out after talking to Sanchez-Medina and CABA president Marlene Quintana.
“A race against a well-respected, accomplished judge like Spencer Eig who has done so much for this community was not the right race at the right time,” Sanchez-Medina said in a written statement.
A call to Quintana was not returned before deadline.
One race to watch will be Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jeri Beth Cohen versus solo practitioner Abbie Cuellar. Cohen presided over a highly publicized custody trial involving another Cuban child. Lombana, who works on her campaign, said she drew an opponent because of the perception of vulnerability within the Cuban community.
This is the first time Cohen is up for re-election since controversy erupted over a comment she made in open court during a juvenile hearing six years ago. At the hearing she said that deporting more Cubans “could empty our jails,” enraging Cuban-American lawyers, who clamored for sensitivity training among the Miami judiciary.
Cohen profusely apologized for the remark, and CABA formally forgave Cohen.
Cohen was out of her office Monday and unavailable for comment.
Cuellar did not return calls seeking comment before deadline.
Gelin said recent events in Broward, like the election of a new chief judge, have caused the judicial establishment to be challenged more than ever before.
But he ranked the death of the old court-appointed counsel system as a major contributor to a shift in judicial politics. Gelin said the system of appointing private lawyers for indigent defendants kept down election rivalries.
“That was a pretty powerful shield for incumbent judges to ward off opposition,” Gelin said. “They can’t do that any more.”
Excesses of the indigent counsel appointment system awarding cases to favored attorneys caused the Florida Legislature to create the Regional Conflict Counsel Office last year, all but eliminating such appointments.
None of the judges facing challengers in Broward in the Aug. 26 primary election were involved in any of that circuit’s recent judicial controversies.
Broward Circuit Judge Pedro Dijols and Broward County Judges Catalina Avalos and Julio E. Gonzalez drew opponents by Friday’s filing deadline.
Palm Beach campaign consultant Andre Fladell noted this is one of the unfortunate flaws of the judicial elections, and it becomes acute when the economy turns south and lawyers look for a stable income and prestigious promotion, he said.
“The people who challenge are often thinking they can outmarket the person they’re challenging as opposed to some moral issue created by the incumbent,” he said. “You would like to see a challenge based on some ‘high crime or misdemeanor.’”
Billy Shields can be reached at bshields@alm.com or at (305) 347-6649.
How many times does Broward County have to suffer Lewis running for an office that he'll never win? Any guesses?
arreaza's trying to tie jimbo's loss record
What's up with Arreaza's demand for equal time? Is Channel 7 biting?
IS HOWIE ACTUALLY TRYING TO STOP THIS WITH ARREAZA? NOT FAIR HOWIE, BUT EVERYONE HAS KNOWN THIS ABOUT YOU, IT WILL FINALLY BE OUT THERE.
who is going to be up in 2012?
The spaceship will land soon..big press conference at the start of the month.
Which un-oppossed candidates will win re-election?
how did that school board election work out for Alexth?