Former Broward GOP’s Chief Lawyer Says Sotomayor “A Great Pick”

BY BUDDY NEVINS

There is one influential Broward Republican who is ecstatic about Sonia Sotomayor.

 

 

The Sotomayor fan is Al Entin, a veteran Republican activist and once general counsel for the Miami-Dade and Broward GOP organizations.

Alvin Entin

Entin says: “She’s a great judge.  I’m enthusiastic about her. She’s a great pick.

The Pembroke Pines defense attorney knows Barack Obama’s U. S. Supreme Court nominee first hand.

He had a piece of the wild and wooly Jose “Joey Habie divorce case in the 1990s.  One series of dozens of hearings ended up in Sotomayor’s Southern District of New York court.

Habie was a one of the world’s textile kings, operating a $500 million business from Guatemala.  He was in the midst of a divorce from his wife Amy.  The couple, in their 30s at the time of the divorce, fell in love at the University of Florida. 

As in many divorces involving that much money, the litigation multiplied and involved many separate issues custody, alimony, child support and all kinds of other allegations. High priced investigators, slick public relations firms and a bevy of lawyers worked on the case, which lasted a decade.    

Judges from Miami to Palm Beach to New York held hearings.  At one point it became an international custody fight when Joey Habie was accused of kidnapping the couple’s two toddlers and hiding them in Guatemala behind a ring of Uzi-armed guards.

“We had a number of hearings in Habie in front of her, Entin recalls.  “There were rulings back and forth.  It was a wild case. An emotional case.

She kept her calm. She kept her cool. She was a great judge.

Although he was from South Florida and literally unknown in New York’s federal courthouse, he says, “We were treated fairly. It was like I was a member of the Southern District (of New York).

“What can I tell you?  I got to see this judge under tremendous, tense litigation with lots of issues flying around, he says. “She handled it perfectly.  She’ll make a great justice.

Although no longer general council, Entin, 63, remains a Broward Republican committee member. He was Broward general council in the 1990s and also was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush to the state boxing commission.   

Entin pointed out that what makes his wholehearted support of Sotomayor more unusual was her ruling in his case:

“She ruled against my client. . .fairly.  She knew the law.

 



3 Responses to “Former Broward GOP’s Chief Lawyer Says Sotomayor “A Great Pick””

  1. A Refreshing Choice says:

    Judge Sotomayor is a respected legal scholar and jurist who had to struggle through life to reach her current status. Along the way, she learned many life lessons that form an important backdrop against which to interpret the Constitution. She has felt the lash of racism and poverty. She knows what being a victim of crime is about. She knows how to separate issues and apply the law, but her experiences are part of who she has become. Her viewpoints are different than the usual point of view at the Supreme Court. I think that kind of diversity is good for America and that’s why I find her to be a refreshing choice for associate justice.

  2. Democrat says:

    This is probably the only time that the GOP chief lawyer and I agree: She is a great pick.
    It is about time that the Hispanic population be represented on the Supreme Court. Now if we just had a few more Hispanics on the Broward judiciary we would be getting somewhere.

  3. Not Sold on Sotomayor says:

    It remains to be seen how good of a judge she will be on the Supreme Court. She has made some troubling public statements not the least of which is a very racist comment that a hispanic woman would make a better decision than a white man. She also admitted to “law-making” as opposed to “law-interpreting”. Despite her knowledge of the law those comments show a gross misunderstanding of the role of the Judicial Branch as designed in the Constitution. I would like her to answer to those comments and receive a fair but thorough vetting. The cry is, Republicans will muck this up with partisanship. However, these are legitimite issues and the Dems are not interested in hearing her answers. They have already categorized the Republicans’ intentions and the process has not yet started. And lest any Dem on a high horse accuse the Republicans of allowing policy to block a fair and impartial process should we replay the footage of Justice Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Bork? I have not decided what I think of this pick but if she doesn’t explain her comments I will absolutely be against her nomination to the Supreme Court. President Obama voted against Justice Roberts and he is not as controversial as Judge Sotomayer. The whole process is partisan and the media needs to stop accusing the GOP of running a one horse show. It takes two to tango and the Dems footprints are all over the trampling of our Constitution.