SIGNED FINAL JUDGMENT · SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
A judge’s signed ruling: Mary Estimé-Irvin “violated Section 19” of the North Miami Charter.
“BASED ON ALL OF THE FOREGOING, the Court finds the Defendant Councilmembers KASSANDRA TIMOTHE, MARY ESTIMÉ-IRVIN, and PIERRE FRANTZ CHARLES violated Section 19 of the of the North Miami Charter…”
Final Judgment After Non-Jury Trial, page 4. Bicaba v. Timothe, Estimé-Irvin and Charles. Miami-Dade Circuit Court No. 2024-010788-CA-01. Judge Beatrice Butchko Sanchez signed it on September 18, 2026. The original says “of the of the.”Verified: court record
What the judge found
The judge relied on what two people said in court. One was City Manager Rasha Cameau. The other was community leader Ringo Cayard. The ruling finds that the three council members, “through intermediaries, conveyed a threat to the City Manager, that she would be terminated if she disciplined or terminated the Public Works Director.” That broke Section 19 of the City Charter (page 2).
Section 19 keeps the council out of staff matters. The City Manager runs city workers. Council members may not tell the manager who to hire or fire.
What the ruling did not find
- The judge found “insufficient evidence that the three defendants colluded behind closed doors to terminate the City Manager” (page 2). So the open-meetings claim failed.
- This was a civil case. No one has been charged with a crime. No one has lost a seat.
- The rest of the request for a court order was “DENIED AS MOOT,” and the case is closed. Whether the three will appeal is not yet public.
Share the ruling
Three days before the ruling was signed, the same council passed a $238.9 million city budget. Read what it does to the council’s own offices.
Mary Estimé-Irvin is on the ballot for District 3 on November 3, 2026. The full record, with every source linked, is at knowyournorthmiami.org.