Via: Daily KOS

As Daily Kos put it: What story are they talking about? And who are they going to smear “researching”?

Jaablog-

Jack Luzzo is replacing Marina Garcia-Wood in Family in July, with Luzzo to be replaced by Vic Tobin’s successor.  A Senior Judge covers Luzzo’s division until the appointment is made some months from now.  We’re hearing it’s Joel Lazarus.

It’s getting interesting …

Excerpt from the email:

Judge Marina Garcia-Wood has graciously offered to take over the foreclosure division in July. Recognizing the disruption that could occur in placing all of the pending foreclosure cases back into division, and after consulting with Judge Tuter, we have decided to maintain a separate foreclosure division. This will be done despite the lack of additional resources such as that appropriates through this fiscal year ending June 30th.

continue reading [JAABLOG]

BPB NewsTimes-

If you’re a foreclosure defense lawyer doing work in Broward County, there are lots of reasons to think Chief Judge Victor Tobin doesn’t side with homeowners. In his tenure at the top of the county’s legal system, he has instituted rules that make it tougher on homeowners to fight foreclosures and resisted changes that would protect them from cases being rushed through the system.

PBPost-

Broward County Chief Judge Victor Tobin is resigning from the bench to work for the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson, a South Florida firm that recently paid $2 million to settle a state investigation into its foreclosure practices.

Tobin, 64, announced late Tuesday in a four sentence e-mail to staff at the 17th Circuit Court that his last day will be June 30.

The news shocked foreclosure defense attorneys who said it is unusual for a judge with three years remaining in his term to leave the bench, and questioned the move to a so-called “foreclosure mill.”

According to JAABlog, Broward County Judge Victor Tobin wrote in an email notifying all judges, Gov. Scott that effective June 30, 2011 he will be resigning as Circuit Judge and that effective July 1, 2011 he will return to private practice with the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson.

If you recall last October, the Miami Herald published an article about the rocket docket called “Florida judges face avalanche”, where they quote Judge Tobin as saying, “Batter up,” as he finished signing one stack of uncontested foreclosure cases and eyed the next.

What is very puzzling here is exactly when and how discussions came about of possibly working together with a law firm who is under such scrutiny? Inquiring minds do want to know…how this all took place.

[ipaper docId=55730215 access_key=key-15gp30hxol73e7rlafgu height=600 width=600 /]

By DAN STRUMPF, AP

NEW YORK — E-mails released by a Senate committee investigating the financial crisis show top executives at Goldman Sachs Inc. boasting about money the firm was making as the housing market collapsed in 2007.

The documents suggest that Goldman benefited at least for a time from bets that subprime mortgage-backed securities would lose value. The e-mails appear to contradict previous statements by the investment bank that it lost money on such securities.

“Of course we didn’t dodge the mortgage mess,” CEO Lloyd Blankfein wrote in an e-mail dated Nov. 18, 2007, according to the documents released Saturday morning. “We lost money, then made more than we lost because of shorts.”

Short positions, in contrast to long positions, are bets that a financial security will lose value. Goldman is also the target of a civil fraud lawsuit brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which alleges that the firm misled investors about how a subprime mortgage-backed security was created. Goldman has denied the charges.

The e-mails were released by Sen. Carl Levin’s office, who is presiding over an investigation into the financial crisis. Blankfein, along with other Goldman personnel, are scheduled to testify during a Senate hearing into the crisis on Tuesday.

In another e-mail, Goldman Chief Financial Officer David Viniar says that in one day the firm made more than $50 million on bets that the housing market would collapse, according to a statement from Levin’s office.

“Tells you what might be happening to people who don’t have the big short,” Viniar writes in the message dated July 25, 2007. Viniar is also scheduled to testify on Tuesday.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed