Mayor Dan Gelber

01/28/2026

Boo Hoo!

01/27/2026

Shameless text to my kids....

01/19/2026

I believe in free speech, but also believe in the right of a community to drown out hate speech with condemnation and outrage (which is also free speech). I’m not sure how we returned to this point in history where this revolting conduct is becoming normalized, but I know that the only way to combat it is with a strong, unified and unapologetic cry of indignation.

The group was seen throwing up N**i salutes inside the Miami Beach nightclub.

11/03/2025

I wrote this oped harkening back to my days as a rookie federal prosecutor in the 1980's handling "boat cases." Seemed like due process meant something back then. After watching the missle strike on alleged drug crews, not sure it does today.
"....every constitutional right most of us take for granted — and that Americans have fought and died to preserve — fully evaporates in a summary ex*****on. Would Americans be so accepting if, instead of observing the detached remoteness of a missile from the clouds, we watched our servicemen board the vessels and simply execute everyone on board without asking a single question?"

Former federal prosecutor Dan Gelber recalls prosecuting “boat cases” in 1980s Miami | Opinion,

09/01/2025

My Dad was born the year before women received the right to vote. He served in a world war, was a prosecutor, professor, judge and mayor, a loving son and husband, and simply the best dad any kid could hope for. Miss you Dad and Happy Birthday. (at 4:00 he left his final and unmistakably Seymour farwell)

Seymour Gelber, soldier, prosecutor, judge and Mayor of Miami Beach led a life defined by devotion to his family and friends, and service to his community, S...

06/11/2025

Posse Comitatus - crime scene or war zone or just terrible idea?
The use of the National Guard and, potentially, the Marines to respond to California domestic unrest over the objection of the state’s Governor implicates a long-standing prohibition against giving our federal military a domestic law enforcement mission. The 150-year old Posse Comitatus Act (18 USC 1835) codified that prohibition by outlawing the use of federal forces in local law enforcement. The concern is entirely understandable. The U.S. military are not typically trained or practiced in protecting the civil liberties enshrined in our Constitution, namely search & seizure, arrest, interrogation and domestic surveillance, so we should rarely ever give them the responsibility to dispense duties that implicate those liberties. What are their rules of engagement? Have they been trained to arrest or in the use of force in a law enforcement context? Do they know the Miranda warnings? That’s why the exception to the PCA (the Insurrection Act 10 USC 251) is so rarely used. In the early 1990’s, I was the staff director/chief counsel of the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In the wake of the 1995 Murrah Building bombing, we issued multiple reports reviewing these very issues analyzing the intersection of a military versus a law enforcement mission. Our shorthand question was “is it a crime scene or a war scene.” Even a massive explosion that killed 168 people, like the Murrah bombing, was strictly a job for local and federal police with the Guard, at the request of the governor, given only traditional search and recovery type functions.

Because the Guard this weekend was activated by President Trump and not the California Governor, their use is governed by the PCA and whether it legally fits within then narrowly drawn Insurrection Act exceptions will likely soon be decided by the courts. But the wisdom of calling in the Guard or even the Marines over the objection of the Governor is not a close call as they will only inflame an already volatile situation. I remember 55 years ago when our Nation watched in horror when the National Guard was called to quell student protests at Kent State. While they were summoned by the Governor in that instance, the tragic outcome is impossible to forget. Guardsman, untrained in use of force, fired 67 rounds over 13 seconds into a crowd of 2000 students. Four young people died and nine were wounded. While the disorder in L.A. is real, there is no reason to believe a modern big-city police force the size of the LAPD lacks the resources to take appropriate action. And certainly, they are better equipped to treat the job as a police function rather than a military operation.
(ai photo)

05/17/2025

Child #1 has launched! Sophie graduated this weekend. Lots of joy and tears. She’ll be working at where she’ll be fighting to protect our rights and preserve the rule of law. And, yes, they played H-o-t-t-o-g-o.

04/18/2025

Thank you and for putting together the best PICKLEBALLCAM in the country. Now when I call the ball "out" there will be no dispute! Thanks Parks and Police (and Commissioner Alex Ferndandez) for creating a more accessible and safer environment for pickleball hacks like me!!!!
https://tinyurl.com/mbpickle 🥒

Pickleball Live stream cameras

04/13/2025

Preparing for second night. Max has come a long way, from starting as an entry charoset-chopper all the way to table settings....

01/17/2025

I could not have been any prouder, tonight, as hundreds from the legal and law enforcement community gathered to celebrate the incredible career of (my better half) Joan Silverstein who just completed her 32 years with the Department of Justice. As the Criminal Chief for the Southern District of Florida for 8 years and Chief and D.C. of Economic Crimes for the entire decade before, Joan supervised hundreds of attorneys and thousands of prosecutions. The admiration of her colleagues was obvious as agency heads from the FBI, DEA, Marshals Service, Homeland Security and U.S. Postal and, of course, the US Attorney’s Office praised and recognized her achievements. Max was there and our daughters Sophie and Hannah (both in law school) watched via Facetime. Joan’s next chapter will be as an attorney at Gelber Schachter & Greenberg.

10/24/2024

The author of this article was Governor DeSantis's hand-picked Surgeon General of Florida. His concern that our governor is elevating his politics over our health is entirely legitimate.

Putting the department in a position to actively block opposition to an abortion rights ballot amendment by having it issue cease and desist letters to media outlets running pro-choice advertisemen…

10/06/2024

I remember as a college student in 1979 when Iran kidnapped 50 American hostages. For 444 days, every media source started the morning and evening news with what day it was of the “Hostage Crisis.” No one ever forgot that 50 people were being held against their will by a terrorist state. One year after October 7, an estimated 100 hostages (including seven Americans, including women, children and seniors) remain in brutal captivity yet the world and, regrettably, too many in our own country, seem to have forgotten them. It pains me to watch so many rallies for Gaza where the groups uniformly demand a cease-fire but fail to demand a release of the hostages. As Jews we know that anti-Semitism is the oldest and most durable of hates, but the manner in which it came roaring headlong after October 7 was still surprising and heartbreaking. And the cavalier manner in which the hostages have become an afterthought if even a thought at all, is entirely tragic. I pray every day for the safe release of the hostages, but also that right-thinking people will see why they should as well. Am Yisrael Chai!