A parent complained that an insipid children’s book, part of a series of picture books on nations and cultures of the world, was too pro-Cuban. The two local committees that reviewed the book said it should not be banned. The head of the school system said it should not be banned. But the Miami-Dade school board — led by a man who’s about to run for State Senate — decided to ban it anyway.
Lawsuits to ensue.
Tropical Depression One, that is.
From the look of the projected path, not coming near here, but the 2006 hurricane season sure hasn’t wasted much time getting started.
Our network at the law school is down due to a failure of the so-called Uninterruptible Power Supply. Mail to me at my non-UM address will reach me.
Miami is #1. No, not basketball. Miami Motorists Rated Rudest:
Stressed Miami drivers speed, tailgate and cut off other drivers so frequently that the city earned the title of worst road rage in a survey released Tuesday.
It’s true that Miami roads are populated by dangerous maniacs. But their behavior isn’t always simple rudeness because, as Dave Barry once explained, “Miami is a place where everyone drives according to the rules of his home country.”
That said, I will admit that it’s pretty surprising how many parents dropping off their kids at school in the morning can’t be bothered to pull over, but just stop their (large) SUVs in the middle of the small side street. Then have a little chat with someone. And how many Mercedes I’ve seen this week alone parked on the line to take two spaces in a crowded parking lot.
[Update (5/11): As noted by a commentator, Rumpole retracts!
THE FOLLOWING POST IS INCORRECT. RUMPOLE BLEW IT. SEE THE POST ON 511/06. JUDGE FARINA HAS NOT ORDERED ANY INTERPRETER NOT TO INTERPRET FOR A DEFENDANT’S FAMILY. SORRY. WE BLEW IT.
Maybe I should change the title to “Rumpole Loses a Cause”? (Although as the comments to the later story make clear, the incident really happened; seems it was just a misunderstanding of some kind.)]
“Rumpole” of the Justice Building Blog, now quite the talk of Miami-Dade litigators, has found a Cause, and it’s a good one:
JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG: NO HABLA INGLES….EVER
Here is the scene:
A lawyer is in court.
The Defendant is in custody.
There are sensitive plea negotiations at sidebar.
The case gets reset.
The defendant has to surrender his passport, pay a large fine and restitution before the case gets settled and he can get out of jail.
The new court date is two weeks away.The interpreter does her job in court and on the way out the attorney wants to tell his client’s family the new court date and what needs to be done.
The attorney signals to the interpreter, who walks over and in Spanish asks the people if they are defendants.
They politely tell the interpreter that no, they are the family of the defendant who was just in court and they ask her what happened and when they have to be back in court.The Interpreter reaches into her pocket, pulls out her reading glasses, clears her throat (ahhem) and loudly says for all to hear:
HEAR YE HEAR YE, BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF JUDGE OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND FOR DADE COUNTY, I CANNOT ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS.
FURTHERMORE, BY ORDER OF THE CHIEF JUDGE, I CANNOT TRANSLATE ANY INSTRUCTIONS FROM YOUR ATTORNEY.
YOU MAY NOT BE TOLD THE NEXT COURT DATE.
YOU MAY NOT BE TOLD WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
WELCOME TO THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF DADE COUNTY.
I AM AUTHORIZED TO CONVEY TO YOU THAT THE CHIEF JUDGE, ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE JUDGES OF THE ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT,
WISHES YOU A VERY NICE DAY.
This is not the rule elsewhere, not even in nearby Broward, which is not perhaps the watchword for sensitivity to non-English speakers and minorities. As Rumpole says, “WHEN BROWARD TAKES THE LEAD IN RACIAL OR ETHNIC SENSITIVITY, THEN YOU KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG.”
Who knew that Alienware was in Miami? A fact I only just discovered from AOL News – Alienware Racks Up Video Gamers, Big Bucks.
Of course if you think about it, it makes perfect sense.
Now I just have to figure out how to get them to give me a machine to, um, review for a few years. Which is probably less likely now that they have been acquired by Dell…
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