Posted on 06/19/2007 12:24:16 PM PDT by SkyPilot
MIAMI - Larry Seidlin, the wisecracking judge who presided in the dispute over Anna Nicole Smith's remains and was lampooned for his sobbing announcement of the verdict, will resign next month, a court spokesman said Tuesday.
Broward County Circuit Court Judge Larry Seidlin gestures during a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in this Feb. 14, 2007, file photo. Seidlin, the wise-cracking presider over the fight over Anna Nicole Smith's remains, whose sobbing announcement of the verdict became fodder for late-night television, will resign in July, a court spokesman confirmed Tuesday June 19, 2007. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)
The circuit judge's letter to Gov. Charlie Crist says, "it is now time for me to devote more of my daily life to my own young family and to pursue the many opportunities that have been offered to me outside the judicial system and I have disregarded until now."
Seidlin gave no specifics on his plans after his July 31 resignation, though rumors have swirled for months that he was considering a deal for a television court show.
"He won't say," said Chris Stotz, a spokesman for the 17th Judicial Circuit. "He's not commenting on what his future plans are."
A phone message left for Seidlin at his Fort Lauderdale chambers was not immediately returned.
His resignation letter said his opportunities are varied but "all share in common a further commitment to helping my fellow citizens through roles in the educational system, the media and non-profit organizations."
The former New York cab driver — 56 years old and on the bench nearly 29 years — helped make the hard-fought dispute over the fate of Smith's body a national obsession.
He opened his chambers to television cameras and quickly made clear he was no ordinary judge. On the opening day of the case in February, he declared: "This body belongs to me right now."
Seidlin addressed an endless lineup of attorneys as "my good lawyer," sometimes calling them "California" or "Texas." He divulged the minutiae of his days, from his morning swim to the tuna sandwich he was having when assigned the case.
Proceedings at times became such a cacophonous free-for-all — one attorney once broke into song — that the case was being called a circus, a description Seidlin, in one of his rare serious moments, sternly rejected.
"There's no circus here, my friend," he shot back.
The judge has countless admirers, too, who claim his tearful announcement that Smith would be buried next to her son in the Bahamas gave a glimpse of how much he cares about those who step into his courtroom.
There are plenty of terrible judges out there (Judge Vanessa Gilmore is another - she likes to through her heavy set of keys at attorneys and acts like an arrogant moron in the courtroom).
No one can ever do anything about them though.
through = throw
Some folks are willing to lose all their dignity if it will "make them a star".
Danny DeVito has offered him a hack job.
It could have been an act. Now he will become a millionaire. Kinda worth being looked at like a jerk for that kind of money. After all Anna’s life was a circus...why not her afterlife on Earth.
..speaking of some people being willing to lose all dignity if it will make them a star, I often wonder what happened to Judge Ito..
What an embarrassing putz this guy is.
He know better than to show his face. I heard people in LA restaurants have gone up to him and told him what they think of him to his face.
By accounts, he didn't enjoy it.
The Crying Judge
Jeeze. What a jerk. Not smart enough to drive a cab, so they make him a judge. Something similar happened locally. An elderly minister became too senile and befuddled to keep his church job, so he was appointed a municipal judge.
And this is Judge Sideshow!
Plenty of worthless, welfare sucking fools to watch this bozo on daytime TV. If you're ever stuck watching this 'litigation therapy' pay attention to all the ads sponsoring it from shyster lawyers. The ambulance chasers are looking for suckers to find someone to 'blame' for the fact that they're sitting on their duffs at home, watching someone even more pathetic.
Attorney: So are we granted to two hour recess? Or not?
I give Judge Seidlen’s TV show a month, before it goes off the air.
Looking forward to seeing the Judge again. Destined to be some of the best entertainment on television—in my home, at least. Thanks for the ping.
ping
This judge was NUTS!!! An EMBARRASSMENT!! Anyone who can’t say he’s nuts is nuts!!
Watching the circus in ITO’s court, the flowers, etc., I KNEW our Judicial system was GONE!
I know—i liked him even though most people didn’t.
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