MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.Case closed? Not in the Philippines, where vampires are said to prey on unwary travelers and wealthy politicians consult fortune tellers and card readers. Mr. Floro, 54 years old, has become a media celebrity. He is now wielding his new clout to campaign for the return of his job -- and exact vengeance on the Supreme Court.
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
Mr. Floro has become a regular on Philippine television. Often he is asked to make predictions with the help of his invisible friends. "They say your show will be taken off the air if you don't feature me more often," was Mr. Floro's reply to one interviewer.
The day after Mr. Floro's first appearance on television last year, hundreds of people turned up at his house in a dusty Manila suburb hoping he could use his supernatural powers to heal their illnesses. Now Mr. Floro, who travels by bus, is regularly recognized on the street.
The Supreme Court says its medical clinic determined that Mr. Floro was suffering from psychosis. Even so, a series of disturbing incidents appear to have the nation's top jurists rattled. According to local newspaper reports, a mysterious fire in January destroyed the Supreme Court's crest in its session hall, and a number of members of the court and their close family members have developed serious illnesses or have fallen victim to car accidents.
Enough bizarre things have happened that in July, the Supreme Court issued an en banc resolution asking Mr. Floro to desist in his threats of "ungodly reprisal." The Supreme Court's spokesman declined to elaborate.
2 comments:
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
WSJ: In the Philippines, Judge Consults Three Wee Friends
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB118999288641229392-95G0Ue1f7TUZOJoD8v3ZgLndq0k_20080916.html?mod=rss_free
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118999288641229392.html?mod=psp_free_today
In the Philippines, Ex-Judge Consults Three Wee Friends
Mr. Floro Loses His Job
But Becomes a Celebrity;
Using a Little Elfin Magic
By JAMES HOOKWAY
September 17, 2007; Page A1
MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
Case closed? Not in the Philippines, where vampires are said to prey on unwary travelers and wealthy politicians consult fortune tellers and card readers. Mr. Floro, 54 years old, has become a media celebrity. He is now wielding his new clout to campaign for the return of his job -- and exact vengeance on the Supreme Court.
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
Mr. Floro has become a regular on Philippine television. Often he is asked to make predictions with the help of his invisible friends. "They say your show will be taken off the air if you don't feature me more often," was Mr. Floro's reply to one interviewer.
The day after Mr. Floro's first appearance on television last year, hundreds of people turned up at his house in a dusty Manila suburb hoping he could use his supernatural powers to heal their illnesses. Now Mr. Floro, who travels by bus, is regularly recognized on the street.
The Supreme Court says its medical clinic determined that Mr. Floro was suffering from psychosis. Even so, a series of disturbing incidents appear to have the nation's top jurists rattled. According to local newspaper reports, a mysterious fire in January destroyed the Supreme Court's crest in its session hall, and a number of members of the court and their close family members have developed serious illnesses or have fallen victim to car accidents.
Enough bizarre things have happened that in July, the Supreme Court issued an en banc resolution asking Mr. Floro to desist in his threats of "ungodly reprisal." The Supreme Court's spokesman declined to elaborate.
Mr. Floro says he is not suffering from psychosis, and that he's not to blame for the incidents. He points the finger squarely at "king of kings" elf Luis, who Mr. Floro says is bent on cleaning up what he says is the Philippines' corrupt legal system.
Mr. Floro says he never consulted the invisible elves over judicial decisions and the fact that he puts faith in them should make no difference to his career. "It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel," he says in an interview.
The Philippines has a long history of mixing organized religion with a deep belief in the supernatural. During the 1950s and 1960s, when the Southeast Asian nation was already an independent republic, the Central Intelligence Agency stoked fears of vampires and ghouls to help its preferred candidates win elections.
The elf, or "duwende," is one of a rich pantheon of supernatural beings that predate the Philippines' colonization by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Many Filipinos make pilgrimages to Mount Banahaw, just south of Manila, which is reputedly the country's capital for elves and other beings.
READ THE CASE
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/elf-floro-09172007.pdf
• Read the Philippines Supreme Court decision dismissing Mr. Floro from the service.Jaime Licauco, who teaches parapsychology at San Beda College in Manila, testified on behalf of Mr. Floro in a 2001 hearing. He argued Mr. Floro is mentally fit and argues the former judge's beliefs aren't so unusual in the Philippine context.
Like many others in the Philippines, Mr. Floro says he himself is a Roman Catholic, and once studied to be a priest. He recalls that he wasn't convinced that serving the church was necessarily the best way to serve other Filipinos. He says he thought he could improve more people's lives if he became a lawyer, and he handily passed the bar exams.
Mr. Floro says he first realized he had the power to perceive Armand, Angel and Luis in 1986. In 1998, he applied to switch from being a lawyer to becoming a judge. He passed a mandatory psychiatric evaluation applied to all prospective judges and was sworn in as a regional trial-court judge in November of that year, handling both civil and criminal cases in Malabon, a district in greater Manila.
In 1999, Mr. Floro invited officials from the Supreme Court's administration unit to inspect his small courtroom. What they found unnerved them, and the Supreme Court convened a hearing to determine whether Mr. Floro should be removed from the bench.
According to Supreme Court papers, the court investigators presenting evidence at the hearing said they found Mr. Floro wearing blue robes instead of the normal black. Mr. Floro's own witnesses testified that he wore black on Fridays to "recharge his psychic powers."
The court investigators also reported that Mr. Floro began court proceedings with readings from the Book of Revelation and conducted hands-on psychic healing sessions for members of the public in his chambers during recesses. The investigators said Mr. Floro would sometimes enter a trance to write his rulings.
During the hearing, Mr. Floro revealed his contact with his elves. He also shared with the judges that Luis predicted that then-Philippine President Joseph Estrada would be ousted from office; Mr. Estrada was forced from power by a popular revolt two years later in 2001 and was sentenced last week to life in prison for corruption.
In March 2006, after lengthy delays, the Supreme Court finally dismissed Mr. Floro from the court service, largely because of his belief in the supernatural. Even though Mr. Floro says the elves played no part in his judicial decisions, the Supreme Court justices said his broad faith in mysticism and supernatural phenomena had affected his work. "Lest we be misconstrued, we do not denigrate such a belief system," Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario wrote in the Supreme Court's verdict. "However, such beliefs, especially since Judge Floro acted on them, are at odds with the critical and impartial thinking required of a judge under our judicial system."
Mr. Floro dissents. He has filed three appeals of the Supreme Court's decision since then and is continuing his campaign on local television and on the Internet. The Supreme Court hasn't reversed any of his decisions after suspending and later removing him from the bench.
Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@awsj.com
Judge Floro's Blog:
http://angelofdeathluisarmandandangel.blogspot.com/
Judge Floro's 27 Philippine TV documentaries on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=judge+floro
Judge Floro's Auto / Article User Page on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florentino_Floro
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Florentino_floro
Judge Floro's 27 pages, 34, 000 views, 1, 400 replies Legendary thread on RUSH Counterparts Message Board:
http://www.rushmessageboard.com/cpmb/index.php?showtopic=2112&st=1300&start=1300
Judge Floro's email and yahoo messenger:
judge_florentino_v_floro@yahoo.com
judgefloro@yahoo.com
Judge Floro's contact numbers:
Celphone No. secretary Belen:
0927-3440957
digitel Philippines land line
(044) 662-8203
http://city-of-dis.livejournal.com/477684.html
Marc-Anthony Macon
When elves take the law into their own hands...
Florentino V. Floro Jr. is was a trial judge in Manila, Philippines. Things were going fine for Florentino until he saw fit to inform the public that he has three tiny little friends - elves that only he can see and hear.
After being fired, Floro latched on to the gullibility of an already superstitious public, became a media celebrity and has now vowed to exact revenge on the Supreme Court, using the talents of his invisible buds:
"It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel"
Angel, Armand and Luis are the elves' names, in case you're interested. Floro calls Luis "the king of kings". Plenty of people are lining up and defending Floro, saying that his beliefs should be just as valid as those who pray to Jesus for help. I agree with that, but I think that I would go a bit further and say that if a judge talks to someone who isn't there, whether he has pointy ears or wears sandals, perhaps he's really more suited to be a weird, vengeful media personality than to help decide the fate of the accused.
Just sayin'.
M-A
http://www.abajournal.com/news/fired_judge_blames_elf_for_court_mishaps/
Fired Judge Blames Elf for Court Mishaps
Posted Sep 17, 2007, 01:50 pm CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
The Philippines Supreme Court has asked a fired judge who claims he is assisted by three elves to stop making threats of “ungodly reprisal.”
The court kicked Florentino Floro Jr. off the bench largely because of his belief in the supernatural, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A medical clinic determined that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
Since then Floro has battled to get his job back, appearing on TV and winning converts who seek his healing powers. At the same time, a series of unfortunate incidents have befallen the supreme court justices or their families, including serious illnesses and car accidents.
Floro says the person to blame for the mishaps is one of the elves, "Luis," a "king of kings" who is an avenger. He told the newspaper that the elves help him predict the future, but he has never consulted them when issuing judicial decisions.
The Supreme Court has not reversed any of Floro’s decisions since firing him.
http://www.newpersonalinjury.info/controversial/judge-blames-elves/
Judge Blames Elves
Filed under:Controversial — posted by Tom on September 17, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
The Philippines Supreme Court who fired a judge for claiming he had elves who assisted him, has asked that judge to stop with the threats of “ungodly reprisal”.
Judge Florentino Floro Jr. was removed fromt he bench mostly because he believed in the supernatural. A clinic has diagnosed him with psychosis.
Floro is fighting to get his job back, he has been on television, and converts people who believe in his healing powers. Meanwhile, a string of tragic happening are occuring for the supreme court justices and their families… Things like serious illnesses and terrible car accidents.
Floro claims the one to blame is one of the elves, “Luis” a “king of kings” who is quite vengeful. Floro has said that the elves help him predict he future, but has never consulted with the elves on judicial matters.
The Supreme court has not reversed any of Floro’s decisions.
http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/2007/09/the_right_to_trialby_elves.php
The Right to Trial...By Elves
Category: Wasting your time
Posted on: September 17, 2007 2:23 PM, by Chris H
The Journal's James Hookway informs us that a trial court judge in Manila, Judge Floro, has an interesting set of consultants: three elves, only visible to the judge himself! Belief in this trio has caused the country's supreme court to intervene and fire the judge.
...Mr. Floro, 54 years old, has become a media celebrity. He is now wielding his new clout to campaign for the return of his job -- and exact vengeance on the Supreme Court.
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
Mr. Floro has become a regular on Philippine television. Often he is asked to make predictions with the help of his invisible friends. "They say your show will be taken off the air if you don't feature me more often," was Mr. Floro's reply to one interviewer.
The full article is worth a read for a giggle; here's just a snippet:
Mr. Floro says he never consulted the invisible elves over judicial decisions and the fact that he puts faith in them should make no difference to his career. "It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel," he says in an interview.
http://tri-blog.livejournal.com/95005.html
Fired Philippine judge gets advice from "elves"
Ugh. This news is disgusting. I'm originally Chinese from the Philippines. Knowing my relatives, I feel that the widespread religious (mainly Catholic) and superstitious views there are what help keep the Philippines backward, ignorant, poor, and corrupt. People from there (including my family) believe in all sorts of ridiculous crap. They are ignorant and cynical about science, but they pony up to faith healers and fortune tellers. The lack of critical thought hurts them big time.
In the Philippines, Ex-Judge Consults Three Wee Friends (Wall St. Journal): Mr. Floro Loses His Job But Becomes a Celebrity; Using a Little Elfin Magic
http://bradley.chattablogs.com/archives/060640.html
The Institute
Discussions For Da Fellas, 2-3 Times Per Week--postings by Anthony Bradley
September 17, 2007
Judge Confesses To Consulting Elves Fights To Get Job Back
(Snap, Crackle, Pop)
Gentlemen, this is a true story (from the Wall Street Journal)
MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
Case closed? Not in the Philippines, where vampires are said to prey on unwary travelers and wealthy politicians consult fortune tellers and card readers. Mr. Floro, 54 years old, has become a media celebrity. He is now wielding his new clout to campaign for the return of his job -- and exact vengeance on the Supreme Court.
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
Aight, homies, elves. Fellas, elves???? Wow.
Three elves. What else is there to say? This guy may have some problems or maybe he really believes it. I dunno.
http://shatteredprayer.com/210/looking-back-fondly-on-the-psychic-judge/
Apr 22 - Looking back fondly on the Psychic Judge
In the comments of the last post the issue of whether or not I should write a book on the Tarot arose. I mentioned that I’d like to, but wasn’t sure whether I could add anything fresh to the subject.
At which point, for whatever reason, R the P googled my name. He said in the comments that someone had mentioned me as ‘prestigious’. Ahem, yes. So they have.
That was Judge Florentino Floro, the psychic judge, whose case drew quite a bit of interest a year or so ago. I even wrote an article about him in Noumenal.net.
The Judge was kind enough to respond to my article in comments, and also sent me a few emails. Later he sent me a copy of his 3rd addendum to his Supreme Court appeal, which mentioned me and the ‘prestigious’ Noumenal.net. Calling Noumenal.net ‘prestigious’ is kind of like calling RPBE pie ‘gourmet’. I mean, its good, but it ain’t gourmet.
I followed some of the links that R the P googled, and found one that belonged to a lawyer who was also mentioned in the Judge’s appeal. Said lawyer mentions me on his blog, Lowering the Bar, takes my words all out of context and makes me sound a bit daffy. I think I was the punchline of his joke, actually. But what can we expect from a lawyer?
I quote:
I think it is fair to say that people were quite interested in the matter, although there is probably not much we can do from halfway around the world.
Or at least that’s what I thought. In a third supplemental pleading that Judge Floro forwarded me last night, I was a little surprised, but proud, to see that he had cited me as one of a number of worldwide authorities on his case. The pleading starts by reprinting most of an article on the case by Justice William Bedsworth, an associate justice in California’s 4th District Court of Appeals, who has his own blog and who frequently publishes articles in the legal papers here as well. Judge Floro also cites (among others) another California attorney, Lester Hardy; David Pannick, a British attorney; Ken Blanchard, a management and business writer (The One Minute Manager); a French blogger; and Che, a tarot reader and clairvoyant who shares her home with "a couple of spirits, some shadow people, some black blobs, one homunculus and a cat."
The actual appeal quotes my article pretty much verbatim, but unless you understand the context of the black blobs and homunculi, then you’re probably going to think I’m a nut.
Well I am kind of a nut but not because I see dead people. Well… I don’t see them much. Once in a while maybe. I hear them more often than see them. Anyway, tangent. I don’t really feel the need to defend myself to some hyper-materialist lawyer dude. I see what I see, I do what I do, and I probably enjoy life more than him. Well, maybe not these days…
Anyway, I know the judge lost his appeal, and I’d like to know how he’s doing these days so Judge, if you see this, could you drop a comment and let us know what you’re up to? I hope you are well and have found new outlets for your gifts.
And for those who don’t remember the original article that I wrote on the matter, it can be found here.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1898489/posts
In the Philippines, Ex-Judge Consults Three Wee Friends (Gets help from Invisible Elves)
Wall Street Journal ^ | 09/17/2007 | JAMES HOOKWAY
Posted on 09/18/2007 11:56:22 AM PDT by SirLinksalot
MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
Case closed? Not in the
He doesn't look so sinister to me :
http://sarsfieldsghost.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!8DE1B51827CB3E54!150.entry
August 20
WTF !!
Imaginary dwarves cost judge job
Friday, August 18, 2006 METRO London.
A judge has lost his job in the Phillipines, on the grounds that he regularly consulted with imaginary mystical dwarves who would join him in 'healing' sessions.
Judge Florentino Floro, from Manila, was originally removed from his post in April, after it emerged that he believed himself to be psychic, and that he would begin his court session with readings from the Book of Revelation.
In appealing that decision, Judge Floro mounted a staunch defence of the existence of his three dwarf friends - who were named Armand, Luis and Angel - telling the court in a letter that they had made a covenant together.
'From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal,' he added.
In addition to the mystical dwarves, Judge Floro also reportedly believed that he was able to forsee the future, that he could inflict pain on others, and that he was the angel of death. He would change his judicial robes from blue to black every Friday to recharge his psychic powers.
The court found that he was unable to carry out his duties due to 'mental unfitness', adding that this could 'erode the public's acceptance of the judiciary as the rational guardian of the law.'
Armand, Luis and Angel were unavailable for comment.
http://soundsofthecinema.blogspirit.com/archive/2007/09/18/were-frodo-sam-and-pippin-not-available.html
18 September 2007
Were Frodo, Sam and Pippin not available?
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
http://roychoco.multiply.com/journal/item/123/Going_International
Random Thoughts
Going International
Sep 19, '07 2:21 AM
for everyone
I had a post about former Judge Floro a while back, he even left a comment on the story and I told him that I would write a follow up post on his story when I had the time. Obviously, I was not able to do that. Then, picking up a free copy of the Asian Wall Street Journal, I came upon this story.
Former Judge Florentino Floro has hit the big time. When I first read about him, his story was featured in Reuters. Now he is in the Wall Street Journal story which was picked up by one of my favorite blogs.
Then and now, his claim is that he should not have been relieved of his position because
"It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel,"
On the face of it, he is absolutely correct, it does not matter what he believes in, as long as he does his duties as a Judge fairly and honestly. And the Philippine Supreme Court resolution that relieved him of his position actually states this fact
"There is no indication that Judge Floro is anything but an honorable man. And, in fact, in our disposition of the 13 charges against him, we have not found him guilty of gross misconduct or acts or corruption"
But he was not relieved of his position because of what he believed in, he was relieved of his position because of
"the findings of psychosis by the mental health professionals assigned to his case indicate gross deficiency in competence and independence."
In the WSJ article, it states that
"He passed a mandatory psychiatric evaluation applied to all prospective judges and was sworn in as a regional trial-court judge in November of that year, handling both civil and criminal cases in Malabon, a district in greater Manila."
What is not stated in the article, that he failed two previous psychiatric tests in 1995 and 1998 because as stated by the evaluating psychologists in 1995
"evidences of developing psychotic process"
and in 1998
"he is at present not intellectually and emotionally equipped to hurdle the responsibilities of a judge and he may decompensate when exposed to anxiety-provoking and stress-laden situation"
but
Because of his impressive academic background, however, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) allowed Atty. Floro to seek a second opinion from private practitioners. The second opinion appeared favorable thus paving the way to Atty. Floro’s appointment as Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge of Branch 73, Malabon City, on 4 November 1998.
The Supreme Court came to regret this decision by the JBC because despite all the psychoilogical findings against former Judge Floro, the SC states
"It goes without saying that Judge Floro’s appointment as RTC judge is fait accompli. What awaits us now is the seemingly overwhelming task of finding the PROPER, JUST AND EQUITABLE solution to Judge Floro’s almost seven years of suspension in the light of the fact that the penalty imposed herein does not merit a suspension of seven years."
The Philippine Supreme Court tried to do the just and equitable thing, and judging by Judge Floro's actions after his relief, I say the Philippine Supreme court succeeded.
p.s.
Links to Judge Flortentino Floro's actions after being relieved of his position.
His blog
A thread he started in badscience.net
Blog post from Lowering the Bar on Judge Floro
"http://www.acriminalwasteofspace.com/journal_beds.asp?blogId=58"Blog post from A Criminal Waste of Space
http://legalsoapbox.wordpress.com/2006/12/06/luis-armand-and-angel-2/
Wednesday, December 6th, 2006...3:55 pm
Luis, Armand and Angel
It is fitting that my 100th post is on the subject of bizarre lawyers (I freely confess to being one of that species). However, I don’t think I’m quite as odd as the people mentioned in this article. At least, I hope not.
http://legalsoapbox.wordpress.com/2007/09/19/supernatural-suing/
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007...10:11 am
Supernatural suing
I was talking to a friend, and we both feel a bit sick of all the political jockeying in the news at the moment. So, let’s look at some different news.
1. Luis, Armand and Angel
I wrote a post about bizarre lawyers last year. One was Philipino judge Florentino V. Flores Jr, a trial judge who believed he was assisted by three elves, Luis, Armand and Angel. As this article in the Wall Street Journal explains, the story doesn’t end there. Apparently, belief in elves (or "duwende") is common in the Philippines, and Mr Floro has become a cause celebre.
Apparently it’s all down to Luis, the "king of kings" and avenger elf, rather than Mr. Floro personally.
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=65006
ShortNews.com, Germany
09/18/2007 10:48 AM ID: 65006
Filipino Justice Consulted 3 Dwarfs
Dismissed Filipino Judge Florentino Floro lost 3 appeals to the Philippine Supreme Court and is jobless. But he, nonetheless, remains a world celebrity. As gifted, he predicted on 1998 the 2001 downfall of former Philippine President Joseph Estrada.
Assisting him in court proceedings are his 3 invisible guides: "Angel," neutral force; "Armand," a benign influence; and "Luis," the "king of kings," the avenger. These elves, or "duwendes," helped Floro to heal patients by supernatural powers.
Floro wrote dire prophecies on the judiciary. On January, 2007, a fire destroyed the court's session hall while justices and their loved ones died or had been ill. Ergo, on July, the Court cited the dwarf judge in contempt for "ungodly reprisal."
Source: online.wsj.com WebReporter: dwendeling
http://www.legalreader.com/archives/003846.html
The Legal Reader™
A daily dose of links to interesting legal news and Other Fancy Stuff, live from San Francisco.
September 17, 2007
Fired Judge Blames Elf for Court Mishaps
The Philippines Supreme Court has asked a fired judge who claims he is assisted by three elves to stop making threats of "ungodly reprisal."
The court kicked Florentino Floro Jr. off the bench largely because of his belief in the supernatural, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A medical clinic determined that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
Since then Floro has battled to get his job back, appearing on TV and winning converts who seek his healing powers. At the same time, a series of unfortunate incidents have befallen the supreme court justices or their families, including serious illnesses and car accidents.
Floro says the person to blame for the mishaps is one of the elves, "Luis," a "king of kings" who is an avenger. He told the newspaper that the elves help him predict the future, but he has never consulted them when issuing judicial decisions.
http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/a-veritable-bench/
18 September, 2007
A Veritable Bench
Opening para of the day, from a WSJ report from Manila:
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
Well, some people turn to God, so what’s wrong with elves?
Floro Jr, by the way, is a celebrity in the Philippines now. His elves are named Angel, Armand and Luis. No chicas?
(Link via email from Shruti.)
"Posted at 11:51 PM by Amit Varma in Miscellaneous
http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/2007/09/are_imaginary_friends_a_prima.php
Are imaginary friends a prima facie disqualification for a judge?
Posted on: September 18, 2007 1:39 PM, by Janet D. Stemwedel
Via Ed Cone I found one of those stories that makes me love the Wall Street Journal: "In the Philippines, Ex-Judge Consults Three Wee Friends":
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year. ...
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
Oh my.
While it's not common in these parts for adults to claim that they're in regular contact with invisible elves, apparently, in the Philippines, an elf (or "duwende") is as plausible a critter as a vampire -- which is to say, lots of folks believe in them. Still, it would seem that it was an unusual enough thing for a trial-court judge to claim that it made judicial officials uncomfortable. That their medical clinic determined Mr. Floro suffers from psychosis can't have helped, either.
In 1999, Mr. Floro invited officials from the Supreme Court's administration unit to inspect his small courtroom. What they found unnerved them, and the Supreme Court convened a hearing to determine whether Mr. Floro should be removed from the bench.
According to Supreme Court papers, the court investigators presenting evidence at the hearing said they found Mr. Floro wearing blue robes instead of the normal black. Mr. Floro's own witnesses testified that he wore black on Fridays to "recharge his psychic powers."
The court investigators also reported that Mr. Floro began court proceedings with readings from the Book of Revelation and conducted hands-on psychic healing sessions for members of the public in his chambers during recesses. The investigators said Mr. Floro would sometimes enter a trance to write his rulings.
During the hearing, Mr. Floro revealed his contact with his elves.
As I read it, this seems to be saying that there were worries about Mr. Floro's performance prior to the revelation that Angel, Armand, and Luis were in the picture. (Who knew that blue robes would be an issue?) But it doesn't sound like this additional information about the elves counted as a positive for his competence on the bench.
Should they be counted against his competence? If Mr. Floro hadn't been performing psychic surgery on the job, reading from the Book of Revelations in the courtroom, and wearing those non-regulation blue judicial robes, would his belief in the elves be reason enough to remove him from the bench? Mr. Floro argues that it would not:
Mr. Floro says he never consulted the invisible elves over judicial decisions and the fact that he puts faith in them should make no difference to his career. "It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel," he says in an interview.
In other words, Mr. Floro is arguing that his faith in the elves is a personal matter, and something quite distinct from his job performance as a trial judge. In the case that he really was making his rulings on the basis of sound principles of jurisprudence, would it be possible to count his elfin inclinations as idiosyncratic but irrelevant?
Or is the belief in elves necessarily a sign of a state of mind incompatible with sound judicial reasoning in the real world we all share?*
In March 2006, after lengthy delays, the Supreme Court finally dismissed Mr. Floro from the court service, largely because of his belief in the supernatural. Even though Mr. Floro says the elves played no part in his judicial decisions, the Supreme Court justices said his broad faith in mysticism and supernatural phenomena had affected his work. "Lest we be misconstrued, we do not denigrate such a belief system," Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario wrote in the Supreme Court's verdict. "However, such beliefs, especially since Judge Floro acted on them, are at odds with the critical and impartial thinking required of a judge under our judicial system."
If I'm reading this right, the Supreme Court's verdict seems to indicate that Mr. Floro was acting on his belief in the three invisible elves in the course of his duties as a trial judge. Does this mean that they weren't influencing his rulings but, say, he acknowledged their presence in the courtroom? (I'm guessing that might wig out defendants.) Surely, there are more components of the job performance of a trial judge than the authorities he consults when writing his decisions.
But if Mr. Floro had better compartmentalized his work life and his personal life, would we (or the Supreme Court of the Philippines) be OK with his continued service as a trial judge?
It strikes me that there's a tension here not unlike that in the Marcus Ross case. On the one hand, our confidence in a particular methodology for decision making (whether scientific or judicial) makes us inclined to say that deploying that methodology will get us reasonably objective and impartial results that have relatively little to do with the details of which particular people are using that method. On the other hand, there are some beliefs that strike us as pretty likely to compromise objectivity and impartiality.
It would be nice to have some empirical data on how compatible elf-belief is with competent exercise of jurisprudence, or of the scientific method. As well, getting some independent confirmation of Mr. Floro's psychosis (to make sure there were other indicators besides elf-belief) would be useful. Otherwise, our inclination to take elf-belief as a disqualification from being a judge (or a scientist) looks like an attractive hypothesis without a whole lot of support.
_____
*I suspect some folks would want to make an appeal to community standards here (where Mr. Floro lives in a community in which his belief in the elves is not so outrageous), and others will respond that judges and others with significant authority in society must rise above community standards and try to latch onto something more truth-like. I see the intuitive appeal of each of these positions.
Comments
It was clearly an elf and safety matter.
Posted by: MartinC | September 18, 2007 2:23 PM
There long was and may yet be a sign in a hot dog emporium in Berkeley near the campus: "No Talking to Invisible People."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/10_october/06/bush.shtml
Posted by: Hank Roberts | September 18, 2007 2:39 PM
I don't think there's any way you can defend a standard whereby believing in and consulting with elves is "necessarily a sign of a state of mind incompatible with sound judicial reasoning in the real world we all share", but believing in and consulting with God isn't.
The psychosis thing, though. That probably should be considered a showstopper.
Posted by: Coin | September 18, 2007 3:04 PM
A little extra data: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060914095347.htm
Posted by: GeoffreySmart | September 18, 2007 4:03 PM
That hot dog stand would of course be Top Dog, the libertarian hot dog vendor.
If the judge really does compartmentalize the elf beliefs, then I'd be inclined to say that they shouldn't disqualify him. I would guess that a very large proportion of people who are in such positions have some set of beliefs or other that are equally ludicrous, and we don't want to disqualify all of them. Of course, we'd want very good evidence that the beliefs really are compartmentalized once we find out about them.
Posted by: Kenny Easwaran | September 18, 2007 9:44 PM
I observed, as did an attorney with which I was associated, a Superior Court Judge in California state on the record that he refused to read a 100+ page document in the day's hearing "because it was filed yesterday."
The fact was, according to the document itself and the clerk's date stamp, that it was filed 9 days earlier, not "yesterday."
Plaintiff filed a Motion for Reconsideration, and paid the attorney to appear again on the same matter.
"Your honor," began the attorney in the Motion to Reconsider, "The Court believed..."
The Judge interrupted. "I believed?"
"You are the Court.." continued the attorney, and was cut off again.
"There being no new facts, this motion for reconsideration is denied," said the Judge. And he banged his gavel, ending the hearing.
In the Minute Order, this was described as" Counsel argue. There being no new facts, this motion for reconsideration was denied."
I asked a clerk in another department. "Does Judge Xxxxxx sometimes not know what day it is?"
The clerk rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty new here, but even I know about him. Poor man."
Is this better or worse than belief in elves?
The tragic irony is that this was a lawsuit about Legal Malpractice, where Plaintiff's attorney was fairly good, until more and more frequent lapses of memory.
On my suggestion, Plaintiff filed another Motion for Reconsideration, deeming the old, un-read document, to constitute New Information, the Court not having considered it before. Plaintiff also explicitly pointed out the appearance of bias, where it seemed that a judge with memory or cognitive problems was in abuse of discretion to protect a defendant with memory or cognitive problems -- who just happened to have gone to the same law school. "I would prefer to deral with this here," wrote Plaintiff, "but if this motion is denied, I will have no choice but to take this matter before the Appellate Court for more public analysis."
The case is now in Appellate Court.
I've read about more egregious Judge misbehavior, but this is what I SAW with my own eyes, so I give it greater weight of evidence.
Again, Is this better or worse than belief in elves?
Posted by: Jonathan Vos Post | September 19, 2007 1:19 AM
Vampires are more plausible than elves in the US?
Oh my.....
Posted by: Schlupp | September 19, 2007 1:47 AM
My wording wasn't clear enough -- elves are as plausible in the Philippines as vampires are in the Philippines, and apparently there are a fair number of vampire reports in the Philippines.
Possibly, though, the effect of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and the declining status of the Keebler elves and Snap, Crackle, and Pop) is such that more Americans believe in vampires than elves.
Kids these days ...
Posted by: Janet D. Stemwedel | September 19, 2007 2:01 AM
http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2007/09/cant-make-this-.html
Can't Make This Stuff Up: Law Edition
Former Philippines trial court judge Florentino v. Floro Jr. was fired from his seat on the bench last year after acknowledging that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. You might have thought that would have ended his judicial career for good, but Floro is fighting back, waging a campaign to return to the bench. And advising him along the way, he says, are those same three elves. The Wall Street Journal has the full story.
Meanwhile, far from the Philippines, a Nebraska state senator has filed a lawsuit against God, accusing the deity of causing untold death and horror. According to Associated Press, Sen. Ernie Chambers filed the suit to make a point: that anybody can file a lawsuit against anybody. As for Nebraska's jurisdiction over God, Chambers notes that God clearly has sufficient contacts with the state given that the Almighty is everywhere.
Finally, in Indiana, prosecutors are investigating whether a convicted forger tried to stay out of prison by forging her own obituary. Just before the woman was to be sentenced, the local newspaper published the phony obituary reporting her death and cremation. Someone faxed a copy to the sentencing judge, to no avail. Authorities found the woman at her home, very much alive, and the judge sentenced her to four years in prison. She said she had no idea who placed the obituary. Associated Press has the story.
Posted by Robert J. Ambrogi on September 18, 2007 at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=2168
Liberal Values
Defending Liberty and Enlightened Thought
Elves and God in Court
Two courts in different parts of the world are involved in situations involving entities who are difficult to verify the presence of. The Wall Street Journal reports on the Supreme Court in the Philippines had to rule on whether a judge who consults with three elves is competent:
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year…
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
While he may have lost his position on the court, it sounds like he’s become a cult hero and television celebrity. There’s no word as to whether Floro has an exclusive source for cookies baked in ovens inside a hollow tree.
http://www.newpersonalinjury.info/controversial/judge-blames-elves/
New Legal News
The Latest Legal News
Judge Blames Elves
Filed under:Controversial — posted by Tom on September 17, 2007 @ 10:22 pm
The Philippines Supreme Court who fired a judge for claiming he had elves who assisted him, has asked that judge to stop with the threats of "ungodly reprisal".
Judge Florentino Floro Jr. was removed fromt he bench mostly because he believed in the supernatural. A clinic has diagnosed him with psychosis.
Floro is fighting to get his job back, he has been on television, and converts people who believe in his healing powers. Meanwhile, a string of tragic happening are occuring for the supreme court justices and their families… Things like serious illnesses and terrible car accidents.
Floro claims the one to blame is one of the elves, "Luis" a "king of kings" who is quite vengeful. Floro has said that the elves help him predict he future, but has never consulted with the elves on judicial matters.
The Supreme court has not reversed any of Floro’s decisions.
http://acrossdifficultcountry.blogspot.com/2007/09/rarest-of-coconuts.html
http://acrossdifficultcountry.blogspot.com/search?q=floro
17 September 2007
The rarest of coconuts
Across Difficult Country's legal counsel Judge Florentino Floro Jr. is in the news again, this time on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
As readers surely remember, Judge Floro was declared psychotic and removed from the bench for being in psychic contact with three invisible "mystic dwarves" 1 named Armand, Luis and Angel. Angel, Judge Floro tells the Wall Street Journal, "is the neutral force", Armand "is a benign influence", and Luis,"whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger."
Now the Supreme Court which fired him is persecuting him again, issuing an "en banc resolution asking Mr. Floro to desist in his threats of 'ungodly reprisal.'"
While not stating explicitly, the Court appears to be blaming Judge Floro for a series of unfortunate events, including a "mysterious" fire which "destroyed the Supreme Court's crest in its session hall", and a string of accidents and illnesses numerous members of the court and their family members have recently suffered from.
It escapes me how Judge Floro could possibly cause these things to happen. It’s true the judge is a man of many talents, including the power to heal, but he’s not a warlock. To have the same people who declared the debonair Judge Floro mentally unstable merely because a few of his friends were invisible now essentially accuse him of casting spells on them is not only slanderous but also hypocrisy of the grossest sort.
The judge himself thinks the plague of misfortune is the handiwork of Luis. Given what we know about Luis that seems the most plausible explanation.
1The author of the WSJ article repeatedly refers to the beings, which Filipinos call dwendes, as elves. This is incorrect. For one thing elves don’t live in the tropics. For more, see one man’s story about his grandmother and the dwende, illustrated with a picture of naked ladies.
Posted by C. Van Carter on 17.9.07
http://inhoramortis.blogspot.com/2006/06/dwende.html
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Dwende
My grandmother believed in dwende. Not Lorca's variation, but more of the Tolkien genus (our dwende are a sort of cross between Tolkien's dwerrows - or dwarves as most people misname them - and hobbits). She told me that alot of people made the mistake of thinking that dwende lived in earth mounds or punso. "No," she said. "How could people live in such small things? Its unrealistic and stupid." I go, riiiiiiiiight. We're talking about creatures no more than 2 feet tall, caucasoid with flowing white beards and pointy hats, and gramma wants to be realistic. However, seeing as how I was only a little over 5 years old at the time, I kept quiet. So she continued with her explanation.
Dwende, she said used earth mounds only as gateways to their cities which were underground. These cities were supposed to have been above ground a long time ago, but the movements of the earth eventually subsided them to where they are now; and they've been their for a little less than a million years. This, according to my gramma, was why many people still see dwende
above ground: they miss the sky.
Dwende cities do not have a sky, as you might imagine. Instead they have very high ceilings of intertwined plant roots, including tree roots and grass roots. These ceilings were painstakingly grown on by the dwende starting from when they learned that their cities were slowly sinking. It took each city a thousand years to grow their ceilings, my gramma said, explaining why dwende hated people who destroyed trees and why we had to always say "tabi tabi po" - a kind of warning combined with a plea for forgiveness for the intrusion - before we stomped around gardens or pulled up particularly ancient looking clumps of weed.
Being an aspiring archaeologist at that age, I looked at her askance. If there are dwende cities underground, why haven't they been dug up yet? I demanded to know. She smiled at me and patiently explained a little more.
No one has ever dug that deep, she said. Dwende ceilings begin about half a mile under the surface, and the tops of the highest buildings in the dwende cities are about another mile farther down. "So it's hot down there because of the m-m-magma?" I said, struggling with the word but terribly proud to show off that I knew how to use it in a sentence.
"It would be," she said, "but before you get to the magma (big smile at me to show that she noticed my use of the word) there are many big rivers buried deep in the rock."As my gramma explained it, the water of these rivers came from sinkholes near the north and south poles, starting their journey under the earth as chunks of ice. As the ice from the north flowed down to the south pole and vice-versa, the ice melted, taking most of the magma's heat. Not all of it, though, so the dwende cities had warmer climates.
Did they have a sun? I asked. My gramma shook her head firmly: no. That's ridiculous, she said. The dwende didn't have a sun, but the tree-root ceiling has many plants and animals that give off light light fireflies. I nodded sagely. I had discovered fireflies just the night before, so I understood what she was talking about. Animals - and plants - like fireflies, she said, followed a biological clock that told them when to switch their lights on and off. So imagine a million million million of these animals, she told me, all slowly turning their lights on and just as slowly turning their lights off, with some forgetting to do it when everything else has gone dark. That, she said, is biological night and day.
I pestered her for more details, but she said she was tired and that she would continue explaining things to me in the morning. I went to bed that night wondering if I wasn't in some underground city, watching stars that were really just lit up mushrooms and bugs. It made me feel real small and - even at that young age - helped me understand perspective.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62563656&blogID=311205553
My brother sent me this article yesterday. At first, it struck me as very unusual. After I thought about it for a little while, though, I realized it's no more unfathomable to me that someone might believe in such a thing as guiding elves as opposed to, say, guardian angels, or what have you.
In the Philippines, Ex-Judge Consults Three Wee Friends
Mr. Floro Loses His Job But Becomes a Celebrity; Using a Little Elfin Magic
By JAMES HOOKWAY September 17, 2007; Page A1
http://www.badthinking.com/blog/index.php?title=psychic_judge_ordered_to_stop_bothering_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
Friday July 27th, 2007
Psychic judge ordered to stop bothering the Supreme Court in the
Philippines
This guy would make a fine candidate for Dubya's Supreme Court, and the good news is that he's available now that he's been sacked for good in the Philippines. Meet (former) Judge Florentino Floro, Jr.:
UNDAUNTED by his threats of "ungodly reprisals," Supreme Court (SC) magistrates on Wednesday ordered a dismissed Malabon judge to stop badgering them with phone calls and pleadings seeking a review of his case.
...
The SC said Floro failed to present convincing arguments and substantial evidence to warrant a modification or reversal of its March 31, 2006 decision that ordered his relief as judge of Branch 73 of the Malabon Regional Trial Court (RTC) due to a "medically disabling condition of the mind that renders him unfit to discharge the functions of his office."
...
In the assailed decision of the SC, penned by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario, Floro was separated from service due to his "delusional" tendencies, citing his admissions in several occasions that he decides his case with the guidance of his three dwarf friends whom he named Armand, Luis and Angel.
As a matter of equity, the Court resolved to award Floro back salaries, allowances and other economic benefits corresponding to three year.
...
Floro was sued by the Office of the Court Administrator which investigated about 13 administrative cases lodged against him by his own judicial staff. The SC found him guilty of seven out of 13 administrative charges and ordered him to pay the amount of P40,000 as penalty.
In a motion for reconsideration, in which pages of stories about himself were interspersed, Floro alleged that the six government doctors who examined him counterfeited his intelligence quotient and wrongfully declared him as mentally impaired.
He asked that an impartial panel of doctors who are experts who are likewise gifted to assess his psychic powers should be commissioned to examine him to determine his true mental state.
The beleaguered judge said that the amended Rule 140 in the Rules of Court never included weirdness, healing, psychic phenomena and the like as grounds for discipline.
"Insanity is, but respondent has never been declared insane," he said, noting that his gift "dwell in the realm of both religious and religious belief, free exercise and expression or parapsychology, and beyond the four corners of medicine, psychiatry and psychology."
Floro - who has repeatedly cited in his motion that was the brightest in his class and graduated with honors from Ateneo de Manila and even landed 12th in the 1983 Bar exams - said the SC should not allow itself to be dictated upon by in a proceeding to remove judges based on the medical incapacity of doctors, whose claims are mere hearsay evidence and thus inadmissible.
Dr. Celeste Vista in her report to the SC cited that despite Floros impressive educational background, there is "impairment in reality testing which is an indicator of a psychotic process, such that, cultural beliefs in dwarfs, psychic and paranormal phenomena and divine gifts of healing have become incorporated in a delusional system, that it has interfered and tainted his occupational and social functioning."
But Floro said he said he could not be held liable for Vista's emotional incapability to accept his "gift" with empirical certainty.
Among the "phenomena" that he supposedly predicted were the failure of former President Joseph Estrada to finish his term, the 2001 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center in the US and the July 2001 fire that gutted the Malabon Hall of Justice, except his own sala, which he predicted on July 18, 1999.
He also mentioned his ability to inflict pain via energy transfer or to prevent forthcoming pains on a specific person during Fridays, on the condition that the person should alter his ways, lest they be punished, and his ability to see his little friends."
Source: "SC tells sacked psychic magistrate to stop bothering court," Sun.Star Manila, July 19, 2007
Technorati tags: bad thinking • dwarfs • paranormal • parapsychology • Philippines • psychic • Supreme Court
http://kimit-howtoinsultapolitician.blogspot.com/2007/08/censor-and-censorship.html
How To Insult A Politician
Musings On Politics, Culture, History and Stuff.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Censor and Censorship
I subscribe to the theory that those who call the loudest for censorship are usually hiding the most. Confirmation came recently when the British parliament declassified the proposed "talking points" intended to justify the government’s attempt to stop Penguin Books from publishing the unabridged "Lady Chatterley’s Lover", in 1960. D.H. Laurence had written the book in 1928 but because it used "that word" (the word was ****), and because it was about a working class lad "****" an upper class lady, it offended a lot of people who thought they should determine what obscene. In his closing the prosecutor asked the jury if this was the kind of book they wanted their "wives and servants" to read. There hours later the jury delivered their verdict, the equivalent of, "****, yeah. Why not?"
*
And if an established faith won’t sell you the uncensored truth you can always invent your own, as did Manila Judge Florentino Floro. The judge opened his court each day with a reading from the Book of Revelation. Every Friday he changed from his black robes to blue ones, because they recharged his psychic powers with which he could foretell the future, heal or inflict pain upon others, and transform himself into the Angel of Death. Florentino knew this was all true because he and his loyal sidekicks, three invisible dwarfs named Armand, Luis and Angel, had a covenant together. He told a superior court that "From obscurity, my name and the three mystic dwarves became immortal." Immortal, perhaps, but Florentino is no longer a judge. The higher court deemed him unable to carry out his duties because of "mental unfitness."
*
http://city-of-dis.livejournal.com/477684.html
Marc-Anthony Macon
better living via bitter pills
Florentino V. Floro Jr. is was a trial judge in Manila, Philippines. Things were going fine for Florentino until he saw fit to inform the public that he has three tiny little friends - elves that only he can see and hear.
When elves take the law into their own hands...
After being fired, Floro latched on to the gullibility of an already superstitious public, became a media celebrity and has now vowed to exact revenge on the Supreme Court, using the talents of his invisible buds:
"It shouldn't matter what I believe in, whether it's Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand and Angel"
Angel, Armand and Luis are the elves' names, in case you're interested. Floro calls Luis "the king of kings". Plenty of people are lining up and defending Floro, saying that his beliefs should be just as valid as those who pray to Jesus for help. I agree with that, but I think that I would go a bit further and say that if a judge talks to someone who isn't there, whether he has pointy ears or wears sandals, perhaps he's really more suited to be a weird, vengeful media personality than to help decide the fate of the accused.
Just sayin'.
==
http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/resolutions/2006/nov/am_2006_24_sc.htm
A.M. No. 2006-24-SC. November 14, 2006
JUDGE FLORENTINO V. FLORO, JR. v. MRS. MARILYN PUNO SANTIAGO AND JASMIN MATEO
En Banc
Sirs/Mesdames:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated NOV. 14, 2006.
A.M. No. 2006-24-SC (Judge Florentino V. Floro, Jr. v. Mrs. Marilyn Puno Santiago and Jasmin Mateo)
x -------------------------------------------------------------------------- x
For consideration are the Verified Complaint/Letter-Affidavit dated August 25, 2006 and Verified Another/Supplemental Complaint/Letter-Affidavit (sic) dated September 1, 2006 filed by former Judge Florentino V. Floro, Jr. against two court personnel from the Office of Senior Associate Justice Reynato S. Puno of this Court.
While this Court, in cases of this nature, would normally have proceeded to a statement of relevant facts and allegations, it bears noting early on that the complaint is couched in such obscure language as to render that task very difficult, if not impossible.
Parenthetically, it may be recalled that, earlier this year, this Court, in Office of the Court Administrator v. Floro,[1] relieved herein complainant of his duties as a trial judge. Cited among the grounds for his relief were complainant's unusual beliefs which were "at odds with the critical and impartial thinking required of a judge under our judicial system." Thus, this Court noted:
Moreover, Judge Floro himself admitted that he believes in "psychic visions," of foreseeing the future because of his power in "psychic phenomenon." He believes in "duwendes" and of a covenant with his "dwarf friends Luis, Armand and Angel." He believes that he can write while on trance and that he had been seen by several people to have been in two places at the same time. . . .[2] (Emphasis supplied)
Regrettably, the complaint displays vagueness of expression and want of logical thought that it may be described as bearing a trance-like character. Consider, inter alia, the following statement in the complaint:
"Respondents Jasmin Mateo's and Marilyn Puno Santiago's formidable Lust for Power and Glory --- brought them not to the Land of Fantasy, not to Never Land, not to the Island of the Fairies, but to the Enchanted Kingdom of the 3 Mystic and Healing Dwarves --- They would try anything just to . . . They wanted to look inside the CRYSTAL BALL of Luis Armand and Angel[.]"[3] (Underscoring, emphasis, and ellipsis in the original)
The surreal frame in which the complaint was crafted is heightened by the several pictures, printed in full color, interspersed therein, none of which contributes to clearing the obscurity. In one page of the complaint, for instance, there are three pictures: two appear to be logos or seals bearing the Latin word "veritas," while the other seems to be a cover of a foreign religious comic book bearing the title "Veritas".[4] While they almost fill up an entire page, the pictures appear to have no relevance other than complainant's mention of the word "veritas" somewhere in the complaint.
Add to these pictures of clouds and flowers, icons of Mary and St. Peter, pictures of Mahatma Gandhi, Edu Manzano and Justice Sabino de Leon, the logo of a restaurant, a cartoon character, etc., and one would look at the complaint as more reminiscent of a dream-like stream of consciousness than a seriously drafted pleading for the Supreme Court, or any court of justice for that matter.
To consider the complaint any further would only waste precious time which this Court can more fruitfully devote to cases of significance and more pressing urgency.
The complaint must thus be dismissed outright.
WHEREFORE, the Verified Complaint/Letter-Affidavit dated August 25, 2006 and Verified Another/Supplemental Complaint/Letter-Affidavit dated September 1, 2006 are DISMISSED.
Puno, J., no part.
Very truly yours,
(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA
http://www.quizlaw.com/blog/the_elven_supremacy.php
The Elven Supremacy
Florentino Floro Jr. used to be a judge down in the Philippines. But not anymore, because it seems that the country’s Supreme Court was a bit tired of Floro being, uhm, crazy. Specifically, a medical clinic tested Floro and determined that he was actually suffering from psychosis, which explains this whole elf thing.
Floro has been on a campaign to get his job back, claiming that he has magical healing powers and that he will take “ungodly reprisal” against the Philippine Supremes if they don’t let him back. The Supremes have asked him to kindly stop making these threats, as they’re not amused by any of this. They’re particularly not amused by the fact that, get this, “a series of unfortunate incidents have befallen the supreme court justices or their families, including serious illnesses and car accidents.”
Floro refuses to man up and take full credit for these incidents however, instead blaming three elves, including “Luis,” who’s an avenging elf. Floro says that Luis and the other two help him predict the future, and they’re the ones responsible for whatever mishaps have befallen the country’s Supremes.
Oh, and just to clear the air, Roco says “he has never consulted [the elves] when issuing judicial decisions.” Cause that would be crazy.
(Hat tip to The Legal Reader.)
Posted by Seth on September 19, 2007 | Comments (0)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2007/09/24/oped/g.h..arinday.jr..sunfare.html
Monday, September 24, 2007
Arinday: Self-cherishing, psychosis & other oddities
By G.H. Arinday, Jr.
Sunfare
N LIFE, we encounter a lot of oddities and beg for the sublime task to render the same into linguistic idioms.
If we say that he is an “odd man out,” the interpretation is as varied as the hues of the rainbow jealously misted by the dark nimbus cloud.
Can you recall of a former regional trial court judge in Bulacan who was eased out of his office because he was said to be suffering from psychosis according to Supreme Court magistrates?
Well, former RTC judge Florentino V. Floro Jr., who confessed cavorting with his three elfin friends (Luis, the “neutral force; Armand, a “benign influence”; and Angel, as the “king of kings” and as an “avenger” in the penning of his decisions), has become a sort of an international media celebrity.
No less than “The Wall Street Journal,” in its September 17, 2007 issue and bylined by James Hookway, featured the dismissed judge who claimed in an interview that: “It shouldn’t matter what I believed in, whether it’s Jesus, Muhammad, or Luis, Armand, and Angel.”
What the former judge said is equivalent to “self-cherishing” as the fundamental concept of the Buddhist’s philosophy on “how to enhance cherishing love.”
In writing the verdict dismissing the judge, considering him as suffering from psychosis largely because of his belief in the supernatural, Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario said he has “his broad faith in mysticism and supernatural phenomena.”
“Lest we be misconstrued, we do not denigrate such a belief system...However, such beliefs, especially since Judge Floro acted on them, are at odds with the critical and impartial thinking required of a judge under our judicial system.”
It is not the first time that former Judge Floro attracted those engaged in human interest stories. He has been featured in English newspapers, international or regional, before “The Wall Street Journal” gave him some kind of prominence.
The world of mystics has intrigued me a lot like the paranormal analysis of psychic Jaime Lichauco and the so-called “supernatural” and extra-sensory perceptions.
Accordingly, “there is no accepted explanation of mysticism and few psychologists have interested themselves in its practice,” says The Columbia Encyclopedia.
Philosophers William James gave up after failing finding the answer. On the other hand, Henri Bergson made a significant philosophical evaluation.
Bergson, whose psychological or philosophical lectures were attended by “fashionable ladies” of his time surpassing that of Thomas Carlyle’s thought of mysticism as “subjective meditation” or a “vitalist philosophy” akin to romanticism.
The notion of Bergson’s philosophy is the strands of continuity in probing deeper into the mysteries of life like the growth of the folk-soul or beliefs on something outside of empiricism.
But former Judge Floro’s venture into the supernatural is overshadowed by the lawsuit filed by self-proclaimed agnostics of Nebraska, Senator Ernie Chambers of Omaha, seeking a permanent injunction against God as reported by foreign news agencies.
And lo, behold, the injunction suit was answered by “God” who was charged with “human oppression and suffering misses an important matter.”
As it was written, the answer was “signed by God,” citing St. Michael the Archangel as a witness,” and “God” was quoted that “I created man and woman with free will and next to the promise of immortal life, free will is my greatest gift to you.”
Ho-hum! Such strange things are component of life’s existence. How would we treat the Nebraskan state senator? Consign him to limbo? But the place is exclusively for those “under probation” or inmates in the purgatory.
Definitely, we cannot classify him on the same level with former Judge Floro, the latter being a firm believer in mystical matters, but Chambers is a class by himself.
http://www.mysitevote.com/story/9895
In the Philippines, Judge Consults 3 Wee Friends
MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year. Case closed? ...
http://usuallystephanie.blogspot.com/2007/09/court-elves.html
Friday, September 21, 2007
Court Elves....
....are they anything like the house elves found in the Harry Potter series?
Instead of law clerks, for instance, a Philippine trial court judge sought counsel from "three elves only he could see" in, I assume, rendering his legal decisions. Who knows if Judge Florentino V. Floro, Jr., used the elves for guidance in other aspects of his life.
Links: Wall Street Journal article, Sept. 17, 2007 (may later require a subscription)
ABA Journal article, Sept. 17, 2007
http://rosmarinlaw.blogspot.com/2007/09/we-get-by-with-little-help-from-our.html
21 September 2007
We Get By with a Little Help from Our Friends
A Filipino judge, unconscionably fired from his bench for hiring invisible (at least to the less perceptive among us) elves as court clerks, wants his job back. Florentino Floro Jr. says that if he is re-elevated to the bench (judges must be elevated to the bench because it's a few steps up) he'll call off the king of the elves, who's turned hit man, inflicting illness and car accidents on Floro's former bosses, the Supreme Court.
Floro says the elves only help him predict the future on his personal time, and never used them to help him make judicial decisions. Of course not: that would be unethical.
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/newspapers/wall_street_journal_loosens_collar_covers_paranormal_67632.asp
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/original/0924keebler.jpg
Monday, Sep 24
Wall Street Journal Loosens Collar, Covers Paranormal
Thought the Wall Street Journal was square, unhip and afraid to take on any stories that reek of high weirdness? Uhm... no.
Maybe it's a creeping low-grade Rupertification over at the WSJ, but they recently did a piece on a Filipino judge who believes in elves:
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year. [...] Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
It's kind of great that with the Weekly World News gone, we can depend on the Wall Street Journal for our weird fix. Viva!
Posted by Neal | 08:53 AM | Newspapers
http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/462-Judge-Floro-the-mystic-dwarfs-an-update.html
http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/373-Dwarves-of-Law-revisited.html
http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/1056-Dwarves-of-Law-update.html
Monday, September 24. 2007
'Dwarves of Law' update
Last year, we brought you an interview with Florentino Floro Jr. - the Filipino ex-Judge who apparently has healing powers and is counselled by a trio of mystical dwarves. The Wall Street Journal has an update on Floro's attempts to be re-instated as a Supreme Court Judge and also how he has become a celebrity in the Phillipines, regularly appearing on TV chat shows. It also states that there have been a number of odd incidents since Floro's removal from the Court system:
[...] a series of disturbing incidents appear to have the
nation's top jurists rattled. According to local newspaper reports, a
mysterious fire in January destroyed the Supreme Court's crest in its
session hall, and a number of members of the court and their close
family members have developed serious illnesses or have fallen victim
to car accidents.
Enough bizarre things have happened that in July, the
Supreme Court issued an en banc resolution asking Mr. Floro to desist
in his threats of "ungodly reprisal." The Supreme Court's spokesman
declined to elaborate.
Mr. Floro says he is not suffering from psychosis, and
that he's not to blame for the incidents. He points the finger squarely
at "king of kings" elf Luis, who Mr. Floro says is bent on cleaning up
what he says is the Philippines' corrupt legal system
Hat-tip to The Anomalist
For further reading, check out Dwarves of Law revisited - the original Cabinet of Wonders interview with Florentino Floro Jr.. Also in our archives:
Dwarves of Law - the initial report
Judge Floro & The Mystic Dwarfs update
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=40764&ew_0_a_id=290137
Iceland Still Believes in Elves and Ghosts
According to a recent study on superstition in Iceland supervised by Terry Gunnell, associate folklore professor at the University of Iceland, a significant portion of participants would not rule out the existence of elves and ghosts.
The results of the study were similar to those of a study conducted in 1974 by Professor Erlendur Haraldsson, Fréttabladid reports.
“Icelanders seem much more open to phenomena like dreaming the future, forebodings, ghosts and elves than other nations,” Gunnell said.
Only 13 percent of participants in the study said it is impossible that elves exist, 19 percent found it unlikely, 37 percent said elves possibly exist, 17 percent found their existence likely and eight percent definite. Five percent did not have an opinion on the existence of elves.
More admitted to believing in ghosts. Only seven percent said their existence was impossible, 16 percent unlikely, 41 percent possible, 18 percent likely and 13 percent definite. Four percent had no opinion on the existence of ghosts.
Gunnell was surprised by the results because the Icelandic society has changed considerably since 1974 when Haraldsson revealed that more Icelanders believed in supernatural phenomena than other nations.
“Many factors could have affected these numbers,” Gunnell said. “A growing belief in haunting can be traced back to Hollywood movies. The city and its houses are also growing older and the countryside is becoming more mysterious.”
The study was undertaken in 2006 and 2007 by the University of Iceland’s Faculty of Social Sciences and supported by the university’s Research Fund. About 1,000 people participated in the questionnaires.
The results have not been fully assessed yet and interviews with some of the participants are scheduled in the near future. The final results of the study will be introduced in December.
http://fountain.blogspot.com/2007/09/mental-elfissues.html
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Mental Elf.Issues.
There are certainly problems with this Judge from the Philippines:
As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
But honestly can he really be any kookier than those we already have? In fact one of his Elves, Luis appears to have a sounder grip on reality than most British criminologists:
Helping him, he says, are his three invisible companions. "Angel" is the neutral force, he says. "Armand" is a benign influence. "Luis," whom Mr. Floro describes as the "king of kings," is an avenger.
.....
According to local newspaper reports, a mysterious fire in January destroyed the Supreme Court's crest in its session hall, and a number of members of the court and their close family members have developed serious illnesses or have fallen victim to car accidents.
Enough bizarre things have happened that in July, the Supreme Court issued an en banc resolution asking Mr. Floro to desist in his threats of "ungodly reprisal." The Supreme Court's spokesman declined to elaborate.
Mr. Floro says he is not suffering from psychosis, and that he's not to blame for the incidents. He points the finger squarely at "king of kings" elf Luis, who Mr. Floro says is bent on cleaning up what he says is the Philippines' corrupt legal system.
In other Elf related news only 13% of Icelanders rule out the possibility of the existence of Elves. I suppose if Bjork is your national icon it's understandable I guess.
Posted by Ross F at 1:45 AM
http://otherwiseaddled.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/fired-judge-blames-elf-for-court-mishaps/
Fired Judge Blames Elf for Court Mishaps
Posted by brexwfoldingham on September 24th, 2007
http://www.abajournal.com/news/fired_judge_blames_elf_for_court_mishaps
Complete story:
The Philippines Supreme Court has asked a fired judge who claims he is assisted by three elves to stop making threats of “ungodly reprisal.”
The court kicked Florentino Floro Jr. off the bench largely because of his belief in the supernatural, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A medical clinic determined that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
Since then Floro has battled to get his job back, appearing on TV and winning converts who seek his healing powers. At the same time, a series of unfortunate incidents have befallen the supreme court justices or their families, including serious illnesses and car accidents.
Floro says the person to blame for the mishaps is one of the elves, “Luis,” a “king of kings” who is an avenger. He told the newspaper that the elves help him predict the future, but he has never consulted them when issuing judicial decisions.
The Supreme Court has not reversed any of Floro’s decisions since firing him.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=Yjc3NTBlN2U1YzFhNmE0NzdmNzA2YzJkZWRhNjIwOWM=
Monday, September 24, 2007
The Elf Hex [Jonah Goldberg]
By Odin's Raven:
The Philippines Supreme Court has asked a fired judge who claims he is assisted by three elves to stop making threats of “ungodly reprisal.”
The court kicked Florentino Floro Jr. off the bench largely because of his belief in the supernatural, the Wall Street Journal reports (sub. req.). A medical clinic determined that the judge was suffering from psychosis.
Since then Floro has battled to get his job back, appearing on TV and winning converts who seek his healing powers. At the same time, a series of unfortunate incidents have befallen the supreme court justices or their families, including serious illnesses and car accidents.
Floro says the person to blame for the mishaps is one of the elves, "Luis," a "king of kings" who is an avenger. He told the newspaper that the elves help him predict the future, but he has never consulted them when issuing judicial decisions.
09/24 01:08 PM
http://www.badcopnews.com/2007/09/24/nutcase-philippines-judge-florentino-v-floro-jr-the-one-with-three-invisible-elves-heling-him-out-removed-from-bench-by-supreme-court-campaigns-to-return/
Nutcase Philippines Judge Florentino V. Floro Jr., The One With Three Invisible Elves Heling Him Out, Removed From Bench By Supreme Court, Campaigns To Return
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year.
posted by judgefloro | 10:04 PM | 0 comment
What's your point? Ya nutter!
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