Nova Southeastern Law Should Stay Out Of Judicial Races
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Why does Nova Southeastern Law appear to have sponsored a fund raisers for a judicial candidate?
Notice the e-mail address. It is clearly the Nova school that is being used in a campaign.
Illegal? I don’t know.
Unethical? Definitely. Nova should stay out of judicial races.
Remember what your alumni money is being used for the next time Nova comes around for a contribution.
This leads me to question how impartial this event next month will be:
Here is the e-mail:
From: nsulaw@nova.edu [mailto:nsulaw@nova.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 12:07 PM
To: Nova Alumni
Subject: You Are Invited
9801 N.W. 35th Street
Hollywood, FL 33024
Show Your Support for Melissa Minsk Donoho for Broward County Court Judge!
Please join us to eat and drink at a meet and greet where you can get to know Melissa and show your support.
Please RSVP to britzkeb@nsu.law.nova.edu
June 25th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Buddy,
That e-mail is from an event a month and a half ago. Nothing like being right on top of things.
More importantly, you continue to show a bias towwards Ms Minsk’s opponent and against Ms Minsk. Is it because of you ties to Seiler/Ahearn.
Melissa Minsk is a highly competent attorney who would make a wonderful county court judge.
By the way, what is the unethical conduct you are alleging and by whom?
FROM BUDDY:
It was just sent to me by a Nova alumni who is very upset. I believe it is unethical to use the alumni association and its lists to promote the campaign of a judicial candidate. It is a misuse of the role of the alumni association. Did they do a poll to determine how many alumni are supporting Donoho’s opponent, incumbent Judge Jay Hurley?
I have not hidden my view that incumbent Judge Hurley is one of Broward’s best judges and deserves to be re-elected. This is not a knock on Melissa Minsk Donoho. I just believe she is in the wrong race.
June 25th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
It’s a good way for the Law School to lose potential donations and support in the future.
June 25th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
This really won’t matter because Hurley will smoke her.
As a Nova Alum it is a bit disturbing that a private institution which is not-for-profit gets into political fund raising. The real fall out will be with her husband and the others who signed on to this when a cursory investigation shows it was sanctioned by the Dean et. al.
Can you say adios non-profit status and a tenured professorship?
Badabing!
p.s. good money says Hurley gets mugged in the parking lot at the Nova reception
FROM BUDDY:
If the university is really organized as a non-profit, they shouldn’t be involved in fund raising. Is it a violation of the IRS Rules?
I will rely on some of the smart readers out there to tell me the answer to that one.
June 25th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I don’t think Judge Hurley is one of Broward’s best judges.
Why don’t you take a good look at Judge Hurley’s enormous war chest? You will find it’s made up of mostly bondsman that make money from the bonds he sets and attorneys that get favorable rulings on the bonds he sets.
Additionally, Judge Hurley has been going around on the campaign trail telling people they can sleep safe at night because he is their magistrate judge and he locks up all the violent bad guys.
Gee! I thought defendnats were presumed innocent. Gee! Since when do judges act like prosecutors/
June 25th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
FYI:
Nova Law school DENIED a request for the alumni email list stating privacy reasons by at least one CURRENT judge running for re-election and one candidate who are both Nova Alums!!!!!!!!
FROM BUDDY: If this is true, nothing more needs to be said.
June 25th, 2010 at 7:02 pm
The printed invitation is for an entirely different event than that described in the email.
I’m guessing that the event for Donoho is not an official NSU event and the host just used his NSU email account to send out the invites.
Did you check with NSU (or Harbaugh) before running with this?
June 26th, 2010 at 7:31 am
Sorry Buddy, love your stuff, but I think you’ve got your wires crossed on this.
The invitation you attached is an Nova Law invitation to ALL the candidates to attend a meet and greet at a NSU Alum event at YOLO. It isn’t a fundraiser for a candidate, it’s an Alum event where all the candidates running for office can mingle with these alumni. Nothing wrong or inappropriate.
As for the email, I don’t have an issue with the former dean of the law school and another professor hosting an event for one candidate at a private home, which is what the invitation is. Whether one likes or doesn’t like that the sender sent it from a work email account is an issue people can debtate, but I don’t have an issue.
I’m sure that Hurley and candidates that went to other schools are using their email lists of alumni from their alma maters to send invites and raise funds too.
June 26th, 2010 at 11:45 am
The fund-raising email for the May 16 event clearly originated from nsulaw@nove.edu.
This seems to violate 501 (c)(3).
Check out this link:http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-29982.html
This blog will be sent to the IRS on Monday.
June 27th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
If someone comes before Hurley charged with a violent crime, I for one am ecstatic he doesn’t easily release them. Course to others of you they may be your friends, so I can see your reason for being upset.