Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Joe Garcia May Be Cool, But He Can Also Be Tough

Posted on July 24, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

If you understand Spanish, you will probably enjoy these video clips unearthed by a writer at Daily Kos in which Democratic Congressional Candidate Joe Garcia (FL-25) faces off with Frank Calzon of the Center for Free Cuba on the issue of what his Center is doing with taxpayer money. Eventually Mr. Calzon storms off the set…except he can't bear to stop shouting…

Incidentally, Congress subsequently began asking the same question about where the money went. It smells a rat.

(Politics in South Florida is heavily bilingual.)

Posted in Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | Comments Off on Joe Garcia May Be Cool, But He Can Also Be Tough

Makes Sense to Me

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

At the Watchdog Blog (asst proprietor, Dan Froomkin), Saul Friedman has a great suggestion: Assign a Police Reporter to the White House.

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | 1 Comment

TSA Follies

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

CBS, Fliers Complain About X-Rated Security Screenings

Horror stories, plus a statistic:

out of 2 billion passengers screened nationwide since 9-11, there have been only 110,000 abuse complaints.

Only?

Let's see. 110,000 complaints per 2bn passengers. 110 per 2m. 1.1 for every 20,000, or one per 18,181. What's that per day, per airport?

MIA runs 2.8m passengers per month. If it has average TSA staff, that would generate about five complaints of abuse every day at MIA alone. Doesn't sound like “only” to me!

Posted in Law: Right to Travel | 2 Comments

National Dems to Buy $1.4 Million of Local Congressional Ads

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

According to a Washington Post blog, The Fix, House Democratic Campaign Arm Broadens TV Buy, the DCC is buying $1.4 million in local ads to boost the chances of Joe Garcia, Raul Martinez, and Annette Taddeo.

This is what comes of overturning the GOP's traditional edge in fundraising. And AFAIK these are genuinely uncoordinated expenditures (as the law requires) because (at least in my presence) le tout of Democratic political South Florida has been on tenterhooks wondering if, when, if, the DCCC would make a local move.

Posted in Politics: FL-18, Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | 1 Comment

Paul Verkuil to Be Interim Dean at U. Miami Law

Posted on July 21, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Paul Verkuil, Professor (and former Dean) at Cardozo, will be the Interim Dean at UM for a one-year period. Here's the official bio from Cardozo:

Professor Verkuil was dean of Cardozo from 1997 to 2001. After practice at two leading law firms in New York, he served on the law faculty of University of North Carolina, as dean of Tulane Law School, and as president of the College of William and Mary. From 1992 to 1995 he was president and CEO of the American Automobile Association. Professor Verkuil was a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania and served as Special Master in the case of New Jersey v. New York involving the sovereignty of Ellis Island. He is a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation and of the American Law Institute. Professor Verkuil is coauthor of Administrative Law and Process (4th ed. 2004) and Regulation and Deregulation (2nd ed. 2004). He is a leading scholar of law and regulation and has published more than 60 articles in this field

Dean Verkuil's tenure will start officially on August 1, coincidentally the day I'll be getting back to Miami from a trip starting tomorrow.

Posted in Law School | 6 Comments

Zealous Advocacy

Posted on July 20, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

This may epitomize zealous advocacy: Covington Partner Demonstrates Treatment of Detainees.

These are not normal times, and they call for unusual responses.

Posted in Guantanamo | Comments Off on Zealous Advocacy