The Wake up Call for Friday: Retired Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh on Activist Judges, Mental Illness, and Frivolous, go-nowhere Lawsuits

Today on the wake-up call live on WPNN 103.7 we welcomed to the show Retired Circuit Court Judge Gary Bergosh.  He was featured in a WEAR Channel 3 story Thursday night about individuals in the community who commit crimes, vandalism, battery, etc., but who are deemed incompetent to stand trial.  I asked the judge about what can be done about such individuals.  We also discussed the activist Federal Judges who are attempting to handcuff the President with their injunctions all around the country.  Then, of course, I asked for his take on several aspects of the movement afoot by Clerk of the Court Pam Childers in her quest to get me to pay legal fees.  A very interesting conversation you don’t want to miss

In addition to this, we discussed:

-local news—Escambia Schools going technology free for a day on March 7^th, “Thick Neck” the rapper gets arrested in Georgia and new mugshots are coming out, Santa Rosa County looking to do a land swap with the Navy similar to what Escambia County did and completed in 2019.

-Liberals on CNN attempting to shut off a conservative guest they invited

-James Comer having to nearly remove Representative Frost of Florida from a committee meeting

-Trump and Starmer on Ukraine Aid and security assurances

-New information on the death of Gene Hackman, his wife, and his dog

-an additional 10% tariff hitting China starting March 4th

--and much more

You can hear a complete recording of today’s live show here.

We are live each weekday morning from 6:00AM-8:00AM on WPNN-Pensacola's Information Station, where local, conservative morning-drive talk radio is ALIVE and Well and where we give you the most powerful hour(s) in local morning drive talk radio.

News, weather, traffic, humor, and educated, intelligent discourse with no PC filters....

The Wakeup Call with Jeff Bergosh on WPNN FM 103.7:  Radio UNRESTRAINED.

Will Gary Bergosh Run For State Attorney?

A recent poll conducted over the 2nd and 3rd of February shows that in a hypothetical matchup between Gary Bergosh and Greg Marcile for the State Attorney position, Gary Bergosh has 65-35 support among all party respondents, and a commanding 75-25 advantage with Republicans Only.  Will he run for this office though?

More and more people are asking me this question.  Will he run?

Why wouldn't he run?  is another question I frequently get.

I discussed a lot of this in a previous post early last month.

First of all--the answer to the question of if he will run is entirely up to him.  I know he has considered it in the past, and I know he would do a hell of a great job if he sought the position and won it.

But the answer really is up to him.  I don't know what he will do, I do not presume to speak for him nor do I know his plans.  It is up to God,  him, and his family, --as I know he would pray on this if he even thought there was a chance he would run.

To the question of why wouldn't he run?  Well, again, that's up to him.  But the first consideration is that he has a job already, an important job, an all-consuming job, and a meaningful, worthwhile job as a Circuit Court Judge.

It is a job of prestige and honor that pays a good wage--one Gary worked very hard to win in an expensive, hard-fought race 14 years ago.

And he would have to voluntarily resign that job on the spot---- before he could even sign up to run in a partisan State Attorney's  race.  That's number one.  And that would mean he would not get a paycheck for up to a year during the campaign.

Number two is the risk factor.  It would be tremendously risky (and borderline financially irresponsible and reckless) to leave a set, secure job that pays well to run in a contested race (which will be hotly contested).

But here comes the wild card that throws all these considerations into the wind.  Numbers.

The numbers look good for Gary Bergosh in this race.

According to a recent poll of which I am aware, in the hypothetical race between Gary Bergosh and Greg Marcile for State Attorney--- among those who expressed a choice Gary came out ahead by a margin of 65-35 among registered voters of all parties.  Among Republicans only--the number is even wider  75-25 Bergosh among voters who were not "undecided."

So we get back to the original question of will Gary Bergosh run for State Attorney?

As his brother and someone that loves him--my advice to him is to stay where he is and wait a few years.  This would prudent, this would be intelligent.  This would be the path of least resistance.

But Gary is his own man, he's a Marine, and I know he has often times rejected the path of least resistance and instead taken the path of Maximum Resistance. 

And this has worked out well for him thus far.

So we shall see what he chooses to do on this issue...........meanwhile, to all those who have asked me if he will run---the answer is I don't know.

Smooth Baton-Handoff Coming for First Judicial Circuit State Attorney--or Could it Be a Contested Election?

Will the upcoming contest for Florida's first judicial circuit State Attorney be a one-candidate, uncontested baton hand-off--------or will there be more than one viable candidate in this race to make it a real election? 

It appears as if there will be at least one new candidate for State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit this year come election time on the ballots--as a rumor is circulating that current State Attorney Bill Eddins is retiring and will not seek another term in the 2020 election.

Early word has it that Eddins' hand selected, chosen successor for the office (the individual whom Eddins will endorse) will be current Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcile.

Qualifying for this multi-county office occurs in the Spring, just a few months from now.

Odds appear to be 50-50 that instead of what appears to be a smooth, relay-race style handoff from Eddins to Marcile for this job---there may actually be a contested election.

This would be a first in decades, as I'm told the previous, long-serving (since the 1970's) State Attorney, Curtis Golden, essentially "handed the office off" to the current State Attorney Bill Eddins 16 years ago.

I am always of the belief that electors prefer choices------ and having two very well-qualified persons vying for this job would be a great thing for the voters!

Obviously I don't speak for him, but I know my brother Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh has often expressed a desire to seek the State Attorney Office, when and if the timing was ever right.

He and I have discussed this, privately, over the years and on multiple occasions since 2004 when I moved back to Pensacola from San Diego.  I've been contacted multiple times recently by folks in the profession and out of it that would LOVE it if Gary ran!

He has expressed to me often that if he were ever able to seek and subsequently win such an office--he would be especially focused on investigating and uncovering cases involving public corruption.  This has resonated with me with acutely----as I have seen some terrible issues go by the wayside that I feel deserved a much closer look as it pertained to the ugly spectacle of the Newpoint Schools fiasco.

But If Gary Bergosh chose to do this--to run against Greg Marcile--It would certainly be, financially speaking, the path of maximum resistance for him; as a judge he would have to resign from the

Direct File of Juveniles in Escambia County, Part II: What are the Crimes Committed that Lead to This?

As I described in part I-there is a movement afoot to have the Board of County Commissioners step out of our lanes and support a proclamation urging the legislature to end the practice of "direct filing" certain youth offenders into the adult criminal court system.

The BCC will vote this proclamation up or down tomorrow night.

I have met with some community members that are urging us to support the proclamation against direct filing.

The city council recently voted 6-1 to support an end to direct filing.

I have done some significant research into this issue and have requested information from staff about the specific types of crimes committed by the last 20 Escambia County youth that have been direct filed to the adult system.

This isn't a 14 year old shoplifting an apple from Publix, this isn't two 15 year olds getting caught smoking weed, and These aren't 13 year olds stealing bikes from school..  Nope, these youth, the ones that are actually direct filed, have committed (allegedly) some very serious crimes.  In the photos below, you will see the last 20 youth direct filed into the Escambia County Jail, their ages and charges. (Although not required to do so, I have redacted their names.)  These are serious charges, and this does not include any previous offenses these individuals may have committed....

Direct File of Juveniles in Escambia County, Part I

On average, fewer than 20 juveniles per year are sent to Escambia County's Jail (from staff records request)

Tomorrow at the regular Board of County Commissioner's meeting, we have been asked to consider supporting a proclamation advocating an end to the practice of "Direct Filing" in Escambia County.

Direct Filing occurs when the State Attorney decides that a crime committed by a juvenile rises to the level that the perpetrator should  be sent directly to the adult criminal justice system.

There are guidelines that outline the type (s) of crime committed, along with the age of the perpetrator, that lead to a direct file to the adult system.

Some local civil rights/criminal justice activists believe the County Commission should send a proclamation to the legislature urging an end to this practice.

I have received multiple form-letter emails like this one:

"February 14, 2018

Jeff Bergosh

Escambia County Commissioner, District 1 FL

 Jeff Bergosh:

I am writing to thank you for considering a resolution that would affirm the county's support of treating children as children and keeping them out of the adult criminal justice system whenever possible. On Feb. 8th,  the Pensacola City Council voted "YES" to passing important reform to make our juvenile justice system more equitable, and I'm asking that you do the same on Feb. 15th.

Please follow the Pensacola City Councils’s lead and vote to end direct file.  Unlike the adult system, the juvenile justice system is designed to rehabilitate, and children are required to receive education services and remain close to their families. Children who remain in the juvenile court system are less likely to re-offend in the future, which keeps our communities safer and results in better outcomes for our youth. But it is bad for public safety and children's well-being to confine youth in adult jails, where they are far more likely to be physically and sexually assaulted or to commit suicide.

Our judicial district transfers more children to adult courts than any other in the state. It's time to make a change.

I hope you will vote "YES" on Feb. 15th on a direct-file resolution and support safer communities and better protections for our children.

Sincerely,

XXXXX  XXXXXXX"

Since this is coming tomorrow, I have spent some time looking into the issue and asking questions and I look forward to discussing this issue tomorrow with my peers.

Newpoint Public Records Request: State Attorney's Office Gives Definitive Opinion, Says Records Must Be Released