Judiciary
Judge Accused of Bias for Dig About Cigar-Smoking, Latte-Drinking Lawyer
Posted Sep 2, 2009 11:21 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Florida judge accused of telling a bank lawyer he couldn’t sit in his office “smoking his Cohiba cigars and drinking his lattes" while the court does it work has recused himself from the case.
Judge John Doyle told the Daytona Beach News-Journal Online that the lawyer, Farzad Milani, had missed several hearings in a foreclosure case and wasn’t available by phone when the judge called.
Doyle said he was allowing bank lawyers to appear by telephone in the 3,000 pending foreclosure cases before him, but some lawyers weren’t answering the phone calls. That caused frustration for homeowners facing foreclosure, who often miss work to show up for court hearings that get continued.
Milani was “the fellow that broke the camel's back," Doyle told the publication. As a result, he no longer allows phone appearances.
Milani filed a motion for recusal alleging that Doyle threatened to make an example of Milani and get him disbarred. The court papers claim Doyle said he would not do his work while Milani “sits in his office in Fort Lauderdale smoking his Cohiba cigars and drinking his lattes," according to the story. Doyle also threatened to hold Milani in contempt of court.
The recusal motion said Doyle’s comments contained “inferences of a racial or ethnic bias.”
Doyle recused himself after lawyers for Milani asked a Florida appeals court to rule on the motion.
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Comments
J.D.
Sep 2, 2009 12:42 PM CST
If we’re a diverse nation, and anyone of any nationality might smoke a cuban cigar or sip a latte, how does it follow that a comment on such items is automatically “ethnic bias” when the person on the receiving end claims a certain heritage?
Is this guy both Cuban and Italian? If not, there’s flawed reasoning in this decision. His name appears Persian/Iranian.
So is it the “breaking the camel’s back” comment that is at issue? Seriously? Because there (presumably) are camels in Iran?
Good grief.
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ali
Sep 2, 2009 2:25 PM CST
I am glad he outed the guy who ruined the phone conferences for everyone else. Now everyone in FL knows what attorney to blame.
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Cynic
Sep 2, 2009 3:34 PM CST
Sigh, J.D.
1. Yes, people can be from two different backgrounds, or even more. This is because people have two (2) parents, each of whom may be from different backgrounds themselves. You should learn this next year in 10th grade biology class.
2. No one in this country can smoke a Cuban cigar. There is an embargo with Cuba. Has been since 1962. Cohibas are from the Dominican Republic.
3. To give credit where it is due, thanks for realizing that Iran is Persian, and not Arabic (although historically, Persia was larger than the present-day nation of Iran).
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stepheng
Sep 2, 2009 6:31 PM CST
In my neck of the woods, a latte drinking Cohiba smoker is an oxymoron.
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B. McLeod
Sep 2, 2009 10:27 PM CST
Believe me, Cynic, Cuban cigars are not difficult to come by. You might even check the Kennedy estate sale. Embargo, schmargo.
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KCE
Sep 3, 2009 3:00 PM CST
Latte-Drinking, Cohiba-Smoking Lawyers Unite!
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Volusia Judge
Sep 3, 2009 11:19 PM CST
If all there was to this was an errant young attorney who should have but didn’t know better ...fine.
But Judge Doyle has more than a little history and is no stranger to the news recently after he got demoted from circuit court to county and booted out of family court for “egregious conduct”
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Volusia Judge
Sep 3, 2009 11:20 PM CST
Here’s our take on this:
http://impeachjudgedoyle.wordpress.com/2009/09/04/cohibas-and-lattes-if-that-was-all-there-was-to-judge-doyle/
Enjoy!
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J.D.
Sep 9, 2009 9:00 AM CST
I ask again: WHERE’S the “ethnic bias”?
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