VOLUSIA EXPOSED.COM
                   



GUBERNATORIAL JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
ARE THEY IN THE PUBLIC'S BEST INTEREST?


The Local Judicial Nominating Commission Forwards
Six (6) Nominees To Governor Rick Scott

January 17, 2018
UPDATED
February 11, 2018
"It is the spirit and not the form of law that keeps justice alive." - Earl Warren
UPDATE February 10, 2018 -- Read Media Release - Governor Rick Scott appoints two local assistant state attorneys (ASA) to the Volusia County Court. Read (see below) our January 17, 2018 article outlining our concerns attached to the nomination of ASA David Cromartie and ASA Arthur Miller.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
STARTS HERE
OTHER UPDATES ARE INCLUSIVE AND ARE NOTED WITHIN THIS ARTICLE


On January 12, 2018, VolusiaExposed.Com attended the vetting / interview process of Florida's 7th Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC).

The 7th JNC is one of twenty-six (26) JNCs within the State Of Florida that send recommendations (nominees) to the governor's office for judicial appointments.

The 7th JNC interviewed 22 candidates in order to fill the position left open due to Judge Henderson's appointment from county court to circuit court, via a gubernatorial appointment.

VolusiaExposed wishes to extend our thanks to all the 7th JNC members , they were all very approachable.

The JNC narrowed the list of judicial candidates to six (6) judicial nominees. These nominees' names were forwarded to the Governor for his final selection and appointment. (see right of web page) --->

Click On Image
To Download A PDF Copy


Based on what was heard, and what was discussed during the interview process, most* of the nominees are qualified to serve as a County Court judge. We invite our readers to review the video interviews and applications of the nominees (see bottom of this page). *VolusiaExposed.Com has concerns regarding the nominee - Mr. Cromartie - see below for details

This article will question and explore whether the public's interest is best served with gubernatorial appointments of county and circuit court judges? Would the public's interest be better served with ALL county and circuit court judges being elected by the citizenry?

Within Florida's twenty-six (26) JNCs - twenty (20) of them cover the twenty (20) judicial circuits and sixty-seven (67) county court jurisdictions - while five (5) JNCs are assigned to each of Florida's five (5) district courts of appeal (DCA) - the final JNC covers the Florida Supreme Court. These JNC commissions are required under Article V of the Florida Constitution, and therefore any changes to the current process would require a modification to the state's constitution.

Voter Disenfranchisement
"I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves." ~ Henry Kissinger, American Statesman


As is discussed in a recent Sun-Sentinel editorial - Florida already selects all of it's DCA judges and Supreme Court justices via the JNC / gubernatiorial appointment process - subject to subsequent merit retention elections. However, the Sun-Sentinel editorial further enlightens the public to the fact that the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission wishes to amend the Florida Constitution (via proposal 58) to allow ALL Florida judges (adding county court and circuit county judges) to be gubernatorial appointments, rather than being elected by the people of the State of Florida.

Currently - open county court and circuit county judicial positions can be filled by the JNC / gubernatorial appointment process - ONLY if the judicial opening transpires during a certain time frame from the next pending election cycle - absent that - the judicial opening is filled via the election process.

Here is the rub - there are members within the Florida power structure that hold the belief that the voting public can NOT be relied upon to properly select county and circuit court judges. An example of this - is how Volusia County Circuit Judge Joe Will manipulated his 2016 retirement - thus insuring that his seat would be fill by gubernatorial appointment.

In our April 22, 2016 article titled - "JUDICIAL DIRTY DEEDS - Done Dirt Cheap !- THE DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF THE LOCAL ELECTORATE we (VolusiaExposed.Com) provided the public with Judge Joe Will's internal email and resignation letter that plainly documents his "conspiracy" (our OPINION) with the governor's office to retire in a manner that would insure a gubernatorial appointment. Judge Will's April 8, 2016 internal email to his fellow judges clearly states - "Ultimately, I have decided to resign in such a manner that the seat known as Group 8 will be filled by appointment, not election".

We (VolusiaExposed.Com) agree with the Daytona Beach News Journal's April 17, 2016 editorial which stated - "You don’t have to read anything into the timing of Circuit Judge Joseph G. Will’s resignation to understand its intent. He has admitted he doesn’t trust voters to choose his replacement, and is willing to game the system to ensure he gets his way"..

Apparently, within proposal 58 - the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (FLCRC) is attempting to concrete in Judge Will's desire that ALL judicial seats be filled by gubernatorial appointments.

VolusiaExposed.Com has examined both the Florida Constitution Revision Commission & the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission - the body that allegedly ensures judicial ethics - and we found both government bodies lacking. In fact these two governmental bodies, in our OPINION are two of the biggest frauds being placed upon the citizenry of Florida. VolusiaExposed.Com has published previous articles in which we detail our particular concerns regarding these two government entities - and we invite you to review them from our web links listed at the bottom of this page.

Concerns With Nominee David Cromartie
His High Tolerance Level Regarding
False Information By Law Enforcement Officers


Back on February 24, 2016 - Mr. Cromartie, a local assistant state attorney - interviewed with the JNC. During this interview the JNC expressed a concern that Mr. Cromartie had an apparent tolerance level for false testimony by law enforcement officers. They (JNC) did not forward Mr. Cromartie name to the governor's office for consideration for judicial appointment.

Last October (2017) - Mr. Cromartie also applied for Judge Kellie Miles' open circuit court seat. Judge Miles died last summer leaving a vacancy in the circuit court.

VolusiaExposed.Com via an August 30, 2017 letter to JNC Commissioner Chris Greene reminded the JNC of their February 2016 concern regarding Mr. Cromartie.

Our concerns are further outlined within our March 20, 2017 article.

During Mr. Cromartie's October 5, 2017 interview - the JNC did question Mr. Cromartie regarding our concerns (see minute 5.00 of the 10-5-2017 interview - see right of page).

In preparation for the JNC's December 11, 2017 interviews - VolusiaExposed.Com sent JNC Commissioner Mr. Greene our November 27, 2017 letter in which we repeated our concerns regarding Mr. Cromartie - and in addition - we documented concerns attached to applicants J. Ryan Will and Steven de Laroche.

During the December 11, 2017 interviews - the JNC addressed the concerns attached to Mr. Will and Mr. de Laroche - but did not re-address our concerns attached to Mr. Cromartie. Mr. Will and Mr. de Laroche did NOT make the nominee list that was forwarded to the governor's office for the judicial appointment. Mr. Cromartie did make the December 2017 nomination list. (see our December 13, 2017 article for particulars)

Further, Mr. Cromartie also made the January 12, 2018 (see above right) nomination list that was forwarded to the governor's office. We opine that Mr. Cromartie's tolerance for law enforcement false reporting should preclude his judicial appointment. With that said - we suspect that his high tolerance level for police misconduct will serve him well with the power brokers - and with his scheduled interview in the governor's office.

David Cromartie
2-24-2016 Interview



Judicial Nominating Commission Meeting
February 24, 2016
David Cromartie

In February 2016 - Prosecutor David Cromartie interviewed in front of the local Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC). The JNC was tasked with forwarding the (6) six best candidates to Governor Rick Scott - so he could appoint our next circuit court judge. The local JNC opted NOT to forward Cromartie's name to the governor's office. VolusiaExposed.Com suspects that the rationale for the JNC's decision not to forward his name - can be found within minutes 6:55 and 8:50 - 11:45 of the above video recording of his JNC interview.

David Cromartie
10-05-2017 Interview

Concerns With Possible JNC Bias / Conflict Of Interest
The Secretive Nature Of JNC Deliberations & Voting


At the bottom of this page - our readers can watch and listen to the videos VolusiaExposed.Com secured of JNC interviews of the judicial nominees. While the JNC interview process is open to the public - the deliberations and voting portions of the JNC process are NOT open to the public / media.

We (VolusiaExposed.Com) forward the OPINION that the secretive deliberations and voting aspects of the JNC can easily cause the public / media to question whether certain biases and conflicts of interest have infected the overall veracity of the JNC process. VolusiaExposed.Com developed such concerns attached to the JNC meetings of December 11, 2017 and January 12, 2018.

During these hearings - Attorney Arthur Miller interviewed and made both JNC nomination lists that were forwarded to the governor's office.

Our concern centers on the fact that JNC Commissioner Katherine Miller is the spouse of Nominee Arthur Miller - and whether this relationship influenced his inclusion on the nomination lists?

While Commissioner Miller did recuse herself during both (Dec 11, 2017 & Jan 12, 2018) interviews - we (VolusiaExposed.Com) can NOT* confirm whether she recused herself from the deliberations or voting portions of the JNC process regarding her spouse's eventual placement on both judicial nomination lists.
(* the deliberations and voting sections of the JNC interview process are not open to public participation or inspection)


While Mr. Miller is qualified for his placements on the nomination lists - our concerns are amplified given our OPINION that other judicial applicants, that did not make the nominations lists, legal qualifications appear to be superior to that of Mr. Miller's qualifications.
The Dog & Pony Show
Aspect Of Becoming A Judge
Are Local Power Brokers Too Influential?


VolusiaExposed.Com came into existence on March 1, 2010. Shortly after that - we started to develop concerns that the Volusia County judiciary was being manipulated by the influences of local power brokers.

In 2010 - then assistant county attorney Nancye Jones put in an application with the local 7th JNC. Jones secured a spot on the nomination list that was sent to the governor's office. It was no surprise that Jones' name made the nomination list - after all her fellow assistant county attorney Mary Jolley was a commissioner on the local JNC.

As is detailed in our December 21, 2015 article - Commissioner Jolley was determined that her peer Jones was going to secure a position within Volusia's judiciary - so much so that she sent a November 4, 2010 email to the attorney of a local power broker requesting the power broker's support and influence with the governor's office.

It was (is) our (VolusiaExposed.Com) OPINION that Jolley violated JNC's ethics rules by using her position as a JNC commissioner - in seeking the local power broker's influence with the governor. The then JNC Chairman - Bill Voges did conduct an investigation into whether Jolley had violated JNC ethic rules - but his investigation determined that the complaint was "legally insufficient".

Was the complaint "legally insufficient" - in our opinion NO - but we understand that it was easier for Mr. Voges to attack the complaint - than it was to deal with ethics violations lodged in that complaint.

So in October 2015 - it came as no surprise to anyone here at VolusiaExposed.Com - when Governor Rick Scott appointed Mary Jolley to a judicial seat within the seventh (7th) judicial circuit. (see above linked December 21, 2015 VolusiaExposed article)

In MaryEllen Osterndorf's recent JNC interview - Osterndorf openly admitted that she had sought out those influential individuals (power brokers) for their contacts with the governor, or his office - something she called "the dog and pony show". (see minutes 2:15 of attached video ---------------------->)

You see there is a hard truth that must be faced (spoken in the voice of actor Morgan Freeman from the movie - Shawshank Redemption)... it's not the JNC - nor the governor - MaryEllen Osterndorf is correct - it's all really nothing more than a dog and pony show - the local power brokers are the real "judge makers". Knowing this - it's time to either get busy living (doing the dog and pony show) or get busy dying (not making the nomination list). A judicial candidate's chances of being appointed to the bench lives or dies on whether the candidate has kissed the rings of these power brokers (OPINION).

If we (VolusiaExposed.Com) are correct - and the local power brokers are the "real" king (judge) makers, the following question quickly arises - once these judges are on the bench - whom will have their (judges) allegiance? Will their allegiance be to the the public - to the law, or will their allegiance be to the power brokers - damning, if necessary, both the public's interest, and the law?
Mary Ellen Osterndorf
You Silly Rabbits
If They Own The Judiciary - Then They Own Florida


With that - maybe some citizens or groups that have filed lawsuits against the local power broker establishment, now have a better understanding of why their suits are rarely successful. Maybe - and it's just our OPINION - the Let Volusia Vote group should better appreciate that the power brokers - desire for the most part, to stop driving on the beach - regardless of the wants, needs and desires of the citizens / voters. You silly rabbits - don't you know - Trix are for kids - and power, at least within Florida, currently comes from the power brokers - and not from the ballot or jury boxes -- and if they own the judiciary - then they own Florida.

UPDATE TO ARTICLE BEGINS HERE - Now with the February 9, 2018 gubernatorial appointments of ASAs Cromartie and Miller to the Volusia County Court - allow us (VolusiaExposed.Com) to make some predictions. According to Florida law - both Cromartie and Miller will need to defend their judicial appointments during the next election cycle. We (VolusiaExposed.Com) predict that neither will ACTUALLY need to defend their appointment - more than simply filing their paperwork to be on the ballot. There is an unwritten rule within the legal community that VERY few attorneys will violate. Very few attorneys will run a political campaign against a seated judge. We predict that both judges will be re-elected by default (no political challenger) - thereby denying the voting public a chance to reject these gubernatorial appointments. Listen to Mr. Steven Gosney's interview (see below attached video) - he touches upon this unwritten rule.

In 2016 - local attorney A. Kathleen McNeilly challenged this unwritten rule and ran against recently appointed Judge C. David Hood. Initially Judge Hood filed a lawsuit attempting to have McNeilly removed from the ballot - how dare she violate this unwritten rule. Fortunately - Hood's lawsuit failed - McNeilly went on to win the election.

Here is yet another VolusiaExposed prediction - within the next couple of years - Judge McNeilly has a high probability of being removed from office by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC). The local power brokers don't particularly like being robbed of one of their cherished judicial positions. Like Judge Joe Will - the power brokers - and many within the legal community - much prefer appointed judges over judges elected by the people. Why is that? Well in our OPINION appointed judges give their loyalties to the corrupt political machine that made their appointments possible - while elected judges are in tuned that their authority was granted to them by the people (voters).

We (VolusiaExposed.Com) have little to NO faith in the veracity of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC). Want to know more about our opinion of the JQC - read our earlier article on this subject. In short - our opinion of the JQC is that it is a tool of the power structure - to rid themselves of judges that will not tow the power structure line.

We (VolusiaExposed) are of the OPINION that the JQC operates outside the mandates of the United States Constitution - in particular, the U.S. Bill of Rights. We also believe that the JQC is very much aware of their unconstitutional operation - as is discussed in our November 2017 article.

We suspect that Volusia County Judge Shirley Green's recent and sudden retirement was caused by a JQC action against her because she would not tow the power structure's line. Judge Green's judicial position has now been filled with the appointment of Mr. Cromartie.

We suspect that Judge Cromartie's high tolerance for police falsifications - will be more to the liking of the status quo - then was elected Judge Green's concern for the public's welfare. Judge Green was known to hold local landlords more accountable than some other judges. Unfortunate for Judge Green - the landlord community had the ears of our local power brokers.

We highly suspect that the status quo encouraged the JQC to offer Judge Green the option to quietly retire - or have a heavily cooked up (our opinion) JQC complaint filed against her - in our OPINION a form of judicial blackmail. How is this possible? How can this be done without the public being able to confirm whether a JQC complaint had been filed against Judge Green? You silly rabbits - you are just citizens - you don't have the right to know whether there is (was) a JQC complaint or not - that is unless they (JQC) wish you to know. But hey - don't simply believe us (VolusiaExposed.Com) - the Daytona Beach News Journal also questioned whether Judge Green's sudden retirement was caused by a yet disclosed JQC action against her. With her (Judge Green's) quiet and sudden retirement - you silly rabbits (citizens) have no right to know if there was an actual judicial complaint filed - but the power structure does get to exercise it's option to replace an elected judge - with an appointed judge that will be more "understanding" regarding the power structure's positions (OUR OPINION).

END OF ARTICLE UPDATE


When Doing Your Job Becomes Too Confrontational To Be A JNC Nominee


Does our local JNC disqualify judicial applicants based on their (JNC) belief that the applicants are too confrontational with other members of the criminal justice system?

VolusiaExposed.Com came to know Mr. Steven Gosney due to his past assignment as a JNC commissioner. During his January 12, 2018 JNC interview - JNC Commissioner Katherine Miller questioned Gosney on whether his past demeanor with others within the justice system has caused him to have a disadvantage in having his name forwarded for gubernatorial appointment to the bench.

Steven Gosney
January 12, 2018

Gosney's Redacted Application

Public Defender
Andrew WeinStock
vs Judge John C. Murphy
Mr. Gosney works for the public defender's office - he is one of their appellant attorneys. Gosney is known for his aggressive defense of his clients. Gosney is also known within local legal circles for a rather loud and public disagreement with local State Attorney R.J. Larizza.

Gosney reminds us of former Brevard Assistant Public Defender (APD) Andrew Weinstock. In 2014 - while representing his clients in Judge John C. Murphy's Brevard County courtroom - APD Weinstock refused - for the convenience of Court and State Attorney's office - to waive his clients rights to their sixth amendment right to a speedy trial. This enraged Judge Murphy causing him to exit the bench to allegedly assault and batter Mr Weinstock just outside the view of the court's cameras. (see / listen to courtroom video - right of page)

As is covered in our August 26, 2014 and December 19, 2015 articles, the local court system, as well as the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) could NOT appreciate that Judge Murphy did NOT have the level of ethics to remain on the bench. It took the Florida Supreme Court to over ride the JQC's recommendation that Judge Murphy should remain on the bench.

In our OPINION APD Weinstock was both correct and righteous for defending his clients' U.S. Constitutional rights. We further opine that the assistant state attorneys present that day in Judge Murhpy's courtroom - became Judge Murphy's unethical co-conspirators when they continued their participation in hearings whereas the criminal defendants had no legal representation.

You see there is yet another hard fact that must be faced - the fact that some criminal justice practioners are of the belief that defense attorneys - with particular attention to public defenders - should not aggressively defend their clients.

Earlier we mentioned our conflict of interest concerns regarding JNC Commissioner Katherine Miller and her spouse's JNC judicial application. We (VolusiaExposed.Com) found it interesting that it was Commissioner Miller that was questioning Mr. Gosney over his alleged demeanor problems - given that at least one of Mr. Gosney's past difficulties was with her spouse's employer - State Attorney R.J. Larizza. (see video - upper right of page - minute 6:00)

There is an old adage - it goes something like this - "a friend will bail you out of jail - a very good friend will go to jail with you". We submit for your consideration that both Weinstock and Gosney are very good legal advocates - so much so - that they would NEVER qualify for a judicial appointment through the current politically charged and crippled JNC selection process.

The staff at VolusiaExposed.Com wishes the nominees the best of luck in the selection process. We will notify our readers of Governor Scott's choice, when that information becomes available. If you are so inclined, email Governor Scott with your suggestions and input regarding the nominees.

UPDATE TO ARTICLE BEGINS HERE

As noted earlier in this article - ASA David Cromartie and ASA Arthur Miller were appointed to the Volusia bench. We offer our congratulations to the two new judges and the corrupt power structure. We offer our sympathies to the citizens of Volusia County, Florida.

END OF ARTICLE UPDATE

If you found this article interesting and thought provoking - we invite you to review the below linked matters of interest. At the bottom of this page you will find the judicial nominees' interviews and judicial applications from the January 12, 2018 JNC hearing. Adios for now !

THE INTERVIEW VIDEOS & REDACTED APPLICATIONS OF
THE JNC NOMINEES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BELOW.


Alexander Alvarez

Alvarez's Redacted Application
Arthur Miller

Miller's Redacted Application
Mary Ellen Osterndorf

Osterndorf's Redacted Application


Mitchel Novas


Novas' Redacted Application
Wesley Heidt


Heidt's Redacted Application
David Cromartie
1-12-2018 Interview

Cromartie's Redacted Application


FULL DISCLOSURE: VolusiaExposed.Com has self-redacted some of the personal information contained in the above judicial applications. While the JNC advised the applicants to provide two copies of their application (one being a redacted copy) - some personal identifying information (home addresses, telephone numbers, DOBs, etc.) were identified by our staff - therefore, for safety and privacy reasons, we redacted this information. We make no assurances that we discovered and removed all redactable information - but it's better than how we received them.



We look forward to your comments on this situation.
Drop us a line to let us know what you think.

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