News and Events
Daily News Summary
An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today's edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.
Nov. 3, 2009
--Legal Profession--
FLORIDA LAW FIRM SEEKS DISSOLUTION AS LAWYER PROBED-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Nov. 3, 2009. [Also: SCOTT ROTHSTEIN'S INVESTMENT DEALS SEEMED TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE-- Sun-Sentinel. http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Nov. 3, 2009; ROTHSTEIN WIELDED POLITICAL INFLUENCE-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Nov. 3, 2009; FUNDRAISER OF CRIST, SINK ACCUSED OF OPERATING PONZI SCHEME-- St, Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Nov. 3, 2009; KEY DATES IN THE LIFE OF ATTORNEY SCOTT ROTHSTEIN-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Nov. 3, 2009; AMID PROBE, BROWARD LAWYER SCOTT ROTHSTEIN AND HIS FIRM HIRE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS-- The Miami Herald, http://miamiherald.com, Nov. 2, 2009].
A prominent and politically connected South Florida attorney was being investigated by his own firm for financial irregularities in an investment business that led his law partner to seek dissolution Monday [Nov. 2]. The attorney, Scott Rothstein, and partner Stuart Rosenfeldt founded the firm Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler in 2002. Now Rosenfeldt is seeking to dissolve their partnership and have the 70-lawyer firm placed into court-supervised receivership "to minimize any further damage caused by Mr. Rothstein," according to court documents.
PROGRAM HELPS COMMUNITY 'ASK A LAWYER'-- Jacksonville Daily Record, http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
With the need for legal counsel far outweighing the resources available to provide it these days, The Jacksonville Bar Association teamed up with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid and City Council recently to reach out to the Jacksonville community. The "Ask-A-Lawyer" pro bono project was created to provide free legal advice for people that may not need to hire an attorney, but just need to be pointed in the right direction to help solve their problems.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS ATTORNEY DISBARRED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER CONVICTION-- Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred Altamonte Springs attorney Madonna Whittaker. She's in state prison for attempted murder. Whittaker, 48, tried to kill her apartment manager, according to court records. Several months after her arrest, Whittaker was found mentally incompetent to stand trial. She was sent to one state mental hospital in Chattahoochee then another in Florida City. She was returned to the Seminole County Jail in March and in June, she pleaded no contest in exchange for a seven-year prison term. She is now at Lowell Correctional Institution, a women's prison near Ocala. The Florida Supreme Court disbarred her Sept. 17.
--Civil Justice Issues--
DILLON AND MAN WHO ACCUSED HIM OF MURDER TESTIFY AT COMPENSATION HEARING-- Florida Capital News, http://www.floridacapitalnews.com, Nov. 3, 2009. [Also: TRAVESTIES OF JUSTICE-- Florida Today, editorial, http://www.floridatoday.com, Nov. 3, 2009].
From Florida Capital News: The man who sought to save himself from prison by falsely testifying that William Dillon told him about a Brevard County murder in 1981 apologized and shook hands today with Dillon -- who publicly forgave him. Dillon and the man, Roger Dean Chapman, testified at a four-hour session at the Division of Administrative Hearings, where lawyers for the Florida Legislature are considering compensation for the 27 years Dillon spent in prison before his exoneration by DNA evidence last year. Dillon is seeking $1.35 million under a bill filed by state Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, and state Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, in the 2010 legislative session. DOAH hearing officer Bram Caster, representing the Senate, and House attorney Tom Thomas will make recommendations on the level of compensation Dillon should receive.
NOTED CAPE DUI CASE FIZZLES-- The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
Cape Coral police are reviewing procedures used at checkpoints after James Tallo's DUI case was dismissed by prosecutors last week. State lab test results last week showed that Tallo, 72, of Cape Coral, had no drugs in his system when he was charged with DUI at a Sept. 4 checkpoint. An onsite test given by officers indicated he had taken a tranquilizer. A breath test he took that night showed he had no alcohol in his system. Deputy Chief Bart Connelly said the department is "conducting a thorough review of the case to determine if a change in protocol and/or testing methods will prevent such a discrepancy in test results in the future." Connelly said the department also is concerned about "the field test giving a positive indication and the lab test giving a negative result."
--Criminal Justice Issues--
FORMER MIAMI-DADE JUDGE ON TRIAL AGAIN-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
Sixteen years after tearfully testifying in his Operation Court Broom bribery case, former Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Phillip Davis on Monday [Nov. 2] took the stand again, this time to deny charges that he pilfered grant money intended to help the poor. Unlike his dramatic and contrite 1993 admission that he had snorted cocaine in his chambers -- a confession widely seen as helping him win an acquittal -- Davis, 55, delivered a primarily staid, professorial performance, complete with wooden pointer. Davis helped found the nonprofit Miami-Dade Resident College in the late 1990s to teach impoverished inner-city residents parenting, life and vocational skills. Davis, the college's executive director, also created a "pretrial intervention'' program for young defendants to complete classes in lieu of jail. According to investigators, Davis and administrative assistant Joan Headley inflated employee salaries by submitting bogus invoices to get extra grant money, which they pocketed for themselves.
--Other--
FORMER STATE REP. MARSHALL HARRIS DIES-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Nov. 3, 2009.
Marshall Stanton Harris, a powerful Democratic legislator from Miami-Dade County in the 1960s and '70s — running mate of then-Attorney General Jim Smith in an unsuccessful 1986 bid for governor — died Monday [Nov. 2] of cancer at his Coral Gables home, said his son, Andrew. He was 77. Harris, who served in the House from 1966 to 1974, was known for his mastery of state budgets. He practiced real property law until he left the Legislature, then joined Harris Travel Service, the South Miami agency that his wife, Harriet, founded and still runs with son Andrew.
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
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