Blasted As “Rude” and “Discourteous” In Court, Circuit Judge Matt Destry Gets A Challenger

 

 

BY BUDDY NEVINS

 

 

In what may be one of the most watched campaigns for judge this year, criminal defense attorney Brian Greenwald is challenging incumbent Circuit Judge Matthew Destry.

Browardbeat.com outlined previously what many Broward Courthouse habitués say about Destry: He is periodically late to court, which is rude and discourteous to judges, jurors and defendants and everybody else in his courtroom. That piece is linked here. 

 

brian greenwald

Brian Greenwald 

 

Greenwald has a more serious problem with Destry.

Last year, Destry sentenced one of Greenwald’s clients who was on probation to 60 years in prison for driving on a suspended license and having ammo in the car — violations of his probation. Prosecutors recommended 13 years.

A petition complaining about Destry’s sentence was circulated and 23,000 signed it.  Destry then backed down and let the 23-year-old go home, handing him 15 years probation.

A South Florida native, Greenwald was a Broward County public defender for eight years. Since 2013, he has been in private practice.

Throughout his career,  Greenwald was lead counsel on more than 150 jury trials.

Destry also had beaucoup courtroom experience before becoming a judge.

A former prosecutor in Pasco and Pinellas counties in the Tampa Bay area, Destry had a solo practice in Fort Lauderdale for seven years.  He then joined the Florida Attorney General’s Office, where he largely handled racketeering and white-collar fraud cases.

Charlie Crist was attorney general and Destry’s boss.  Crist became governor in 2006 and appointed Destry to the bench in November 2007.

Destry easily beat Robert Abraham Jakovich in the 2010 primary, receiving just over 64% of the vote.

Greenwald’s campaign has scheduled its first meeting for Wednesday. It should be interesting to see who shows up.

Below is an e-mail from Greenwald’s treasure, downtown Fort Lauderdale attorney Matt Glassman, announcing the meeting:

 

Friends,

Please join us at :       828 W.Las Olas Blvd

                                     Ft. Lauderdale Fl. 33312

When:                           2/10/16 @5pm

Brian Greenwald is running for Judge in the 17th Circuit of Broward County Group 15!  He is running against Judge Matthew Destry. Most of you have read the recent articles and have seen Judge Destry in the paper for all of the wrong reasons. Some of you have felt his wrath and seen first hand how he treats his Court staff, the lawyers and the defendants that appear in front of him. Brian and I believe that change in necessary.

To further Brian’s cause, we are looking for volunteers to help get Brian’s message out to the community. We know that most of you lead busy lives’ mixed between spending time at work and with family etc. We greatly value your time. We are asking that you spare whatever time you can give us to help spread the word about Brian Greenwald the judicial candidate.

We want you to join us for our INITIAL MEETING to seek volunteers for Brian’s campaign. There are a myriad of ways that you can help Brian’s cause without contributing any money. We are very cognizant of the financial strain that campaigns often place on close friends and supporters. This meeting is not about money, it is about donating your time and effort to help Brian Greenwald get elected as the Circuit Court Judge for Group 15.

We will explain to you how you can get and stay involved with Brian’s campaign. Whether it is making phone calls or working the poll on election day, EVERY OUNCE OF YOUR SUPPORT AND HELP IS APPRECIATED AND NEEDED.

If you know anyone willing and interested to help volunteer, please forward this email. We greatly appreciate all of your help!

For those of you looking to make a difference, now is your chance. Please RSVP if you can attend our initial volunteers meeting to mattglassman@hotmail.com or call me (Glassman) at 954-882-2702. We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday! Thank you for all of your support!

Sincerely Yours,

Matt

XXXXX

 

In the worst kept secret in local politics, Former Dania Beach Commissioner Walter Duke III told Browardbeat.com that he will definitely run for the Fort Lauderdale City Commission.

In an e-mail, Duke said he bought a home in Fort Lauderdale and will be moving in soon.

“I plan to file for the open seat in District 4 soon,” Duke wrote Browardbeat.com

The seat is currently occupied by Romney Rogers, who can’t hold it after the March 2018 election because of term limits.

Duke e-mailed that “Lisa and I closed on our home in Fort Lauderdale last Friday and have begun minor renovations. Our Dania Beach home is listed for sale and we will be moving in a few weeks once work is done on our new home.  My resignation from the Dania Beach City Commission is effective this Friday, February 5th.

“The warm welcome from friends, neighbors and associates in Fort Lauderdale has been nothing short of amazing and I look forward to the opportunity to serve my local constituents in Fort Lauderdale in the future.”

The Duke family has had a real estate appraisal firm in Fort Lauderdale since 1975.

 



10 Responses to “Blasted As “Rude” and “Discourteous” In Court, Circuit Judge Matt Destry Gets A Challenger”

  1. spell cheker says:

    Buddy:

    appointed Destroy to the bench in November 2007.

    Spell check or a juvenile antic on your part?

    FROM BUDDY:

    Thanks for pointing out this error caused by spell check.

  2. 6 of one...half dozen of another says:

    So trading Rude, Obnoxious, and Offensive Matt Destry for equally Rude, Obnoxious and Offensive Brian Greenbald isn’t an improvement.

    Yes, bad judges should have opposition. No, electing someone new who’s just as bad because you don’t like what you’ve already got up there isn’t an improvement.

    Hacky-See, Hacky-Do. They both fit the bill. It’s like choosing between Donald Trump and balder Donald Trump. No matter who wins, we all lose.

  3. Count LF Chodkiewicz Chudzikiewicz says:

    1. I think Fort Lauderdale residents arw sick n tired of outsiders using elected positions inside the City of Fort Lauderdale to pad their resumes and bank accounts. DOEs ANYONE THINK THE REAL ESTATE LOBBY NEEDS MORE POWER IN THE CITY??? I will contribute to whoever runs against thus opportunist!
    2. Judge Destry’s first sentence was INHUMANE N NUTS! I hope Mr Greenwald runs n wins.

  4. Talks like a politician says:

    The voters in District 4 in Fort Lauderdale are encouraged to do their homework about the opportunist, Duke, who resigned as a city commissioner in Dania to campaign for a like seat in Fort Lauderdale.
    As a Dania Beach commission member, Duke put himself first, developers second, and select residents third. Everyone else was treated with total disrespect, including fellow commission members.
    Duke and his wife, of 400 absentee ballots including some from felons and dead people fame, professed to “live, work, and play” in Dania Beach forever.
    Now, the playground is Fort Lauderdale. Beware of playground bullies, District 4.

  5. Chaz Stevens, Genius says:

    Count Chocoholic.

    Boo! Seems that you see hobgoblins everywhere.

    If you bothered to pay attention (pun!) to what happened down in Dania Beach, and that’s assuming you weren’t sucking at the teat of one Al C. Jones, you’d have noted that Mortimer Duke was the lone voice of reason in that hell hole.

    Duke business, it seems, is to value real estate. That’s honorable, ethical, and community building. Also, if you tour his website, you’ll notice he, and his wife, give back to the community.

    Tell me, when you’re not commenting here on the InterTubes, how do you give back to the community?

    Hopefully, given your advanced aged, you’ll be around in two years, and witness to watching Dania Beach return back to the Land of Swamp Creatures.

    Lauderdale will be well served to have Duke on the dais. If, for no other reason, than he’ll bring a seasoned professional understanding to the real estate business.

    Development is inevitable, you know the law of entropy and what not, so why not have an expert lending a guiding hand?

  6. Howard the Moron says:

    I can’t wait for Trump to win. Long overdue. Get the squatter out of the WH.

  7. I smell dookie says:

    That guy has lived in Ft Lauderdale a hot second and he is filing to run for office?
    Tacky.

  8. Count LF Chodkiewicz Chudzikiewicz says:

    For those of us in numismatics philatelics bibliophiles n historians who collect antiquities tge destruction of the once thriving antique centre of Dania Beach over the last decade plus tells us what blockheads ran Dania Beach.
    The voters in Commissioner Romney Rogers are educated cultured intelligent and I hope come up with a decent candidate to succeed Commissioner Romney not a tacky carpetbagger.

  9. What's With Destry says:

    Destry is the ultimate Law and Order and the Constitution be damned judge appointed by Rick “The Robber Baron” Scott. The county would be better off with him in private practice again.

    FROM BUDDY: Judge Destry was appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist, as indicated in the story.

  10. Scowl says:

    To #9:

    Destry was appointed by Charlie Crist who, by the way, most Broward citizens voted for. Governor Scott’s judicial appointments, with one exception, have been excellent.