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.
Feb. 1, 2010
--The Florida Bar--
BOARD CERTIFICATION FOR FLORIDA LAWYERS ON THE RISE-- Fort Meade Leader, http://www.fortmeadeleader.com, Jan. 30, 2010.
Board certification for Florida lawyers is increasing, according to new statistics released recently by The Florida Bar's Board of Legal Specialization & Education. While the voluntary certification program has grown steadily since its inception in 1982, total applications received in 2009 for certification in 2010 are up significantly — nearly 10 percent more than the previous year. Certified attorneys are the only Florida lawyers allowed to identify or advertise themselves as specialists or experts. Only five percent of the state's more than 87,000 lawyers — about 4,300 lawyers — are board certified. Florida's legal board certification program has distinguished itself as the specialization program that offers the greatest number of state-approved certification areas in the nation. For more information, visit www.floridabar.org/certification.
--Legal Profession--
CONVENIENT ACCESS TO HILLSBOROUGH COURTHOUSE WILL COST PRIVATE ATTORNEYS $75-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Jan. 30, 2010.
Private attorneys will soon need to pay for access to a Hillsborough County courthouse entrance they've always used for free — one still free to law enforcement, court employees, members of the State Attorney's and Public Defender's offices and the news media. The entrance into the courthouse annex building became a hot commodity last month after the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office shut it to the general public as part of new security screening. Now court regulars who want to avoid long lines at the main entrance need to show photo ID. Court employees already have court access cards. Reporters have their photos on press badges. Private attorneys currently show two IDs: Florida Bar membership cards to prove they're lawyers, and driver's licenses, which show their faces. Deputies don't want to wait for them to fumble for both. The answer: A court access photo ID card, issued by the Hillsborough County Bar Association. The price tag: A $75 check, payable to the association.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
APPELLATE COURT THROWS OUT DAMAGES AGAINST LAWYER-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Jan. 30, 2010.
Personal injury lawyer Bill Winters behaved badly — very badly — when he ditched Richard Mulholland's law firm in 2001 to set up his own shop, an appeals court said Friday [Jan. 29]. He copied client files and removed documents. He misled clients into thinking Mulholland was retiring. His paramour hacked into the firm's computer system and altered clients' information to make it harder for his ex-boss to contact them. Mulholland took his protege to court two years ago and proved theft occurred, appellate judges ruled. However, he failed to show that Winters' behavior, "loathsome as it might have been," caused clients to leave or any loss of money for the elder attorney's firm. As a result, the appeals court ruled that Winters does not have to pay his former boss the nearly $1.5 million civil theft judgment entered against him by Hillsborough Circuit Judge Richard Nielsen. Winters could still face disciplinary action by The Florida Bar.
ATTORNEY DISBARRED FOR MISHANDLING VETS' CASES-- Pensacola News Journal, http://www.pnj.com, Jan. 31, 2010.
A Pensacola attorney was disbarred by the Florida Supreme Court last month for mishandling several veterans' guardianship and probate cases. On Friday [Jan. 29], The Florida Bar announced that Mary McDowell Callaway was disbarred by the court Dec. 16. The court found that Callaway, who has practiced law in Florida since 1975, had engaged in gross misconduct. She was cited for failing or refusing to file timely financial accounting of veterans' assets and neglecting clients in numerous cases. She also was found in contempt of court or removed as guardian 22 times.
SOUTH FLORIDA LAWYERS DISCIPLINED BY STATE BAR-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Jan. 30, 2010. [Also: 8 SOUTH FLORIDA LAWYERS PUNISHED FOR BAR VIOLATIONS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Jan. 30, 2010].
From The Miami Herald: The Florida Bar announced Friday [Jan. 29] that 21 attorneys throughout the state had been disciplined, suspended, disbarred or placed on probation. Eight were from South Florida: Benjamin Raul Alvarez of Coral Gables was publicly reprimanded and placed on six months' probation; Linda Amy Ann Cahill of Boynton Beach was publicly reprimanded; Gerald John D'Ambrosio of Boca Raton was disbarred; Howard Seth Gaines, also of Boca Raton, was disbarred for five years; Christine Marie Horn, also of Boynton Beach, was suspended until further order; Randall Jeffrey Layman of Miami, also suspended until further order; Scott Henry Lebowitz, of Coral Springs, was disbarred for five years; and Robert Brian Roemer, of Palm Beach Gardens, was publicly reprimanded.
BAR SUSPENDS LAKELAND LAWYER FOR 91 DAYS-- The Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, Jan. 30, 2010.
A Lakeland lawyer has been suspended by the Florida Supreme Court, according to a Florida Bar release. Charles Daniel Akes was suspended for 91 days after the court found Akes in contempt for failing to comply with orders in two separate cases. According to court records, the previous cases related to Akes' need to seek treatment from Florida Lawyers Assistance, a nonprofit organization mandated by the court that helps lawyers with disorders and substance abuse or mental health problems.
--Judiciary--
CRIST WANTS COURT FUNDING INCREASE-- The Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, Jan. 31, 2010.
The article is by the News Service of Florida. The state's court system could see an $8 million increase under a budget proposed by Gov. Charlie Crist. That would be a major boost to the state's judiciary, which has been overburdened with budget cuts and an increased caseloads in the past few years. The governor Friday [Jan. 29] included $5.2 billion for public safety in his proposed budget, including $2.4 billion for corrections, $608 million for juvenile justice and $459.8 million for the state court system. The court system, along with The Florida Bar and members of the business community, have been lobbying lawmakers hard over the past year to fund the court system more thoroughly. According to the Office of State Trial Court Administrator, the trial courts saw 4.6 million cases last year, an increase of 13 percent from two years ago. The courts were largely spared in last year's budget, but the growing caseload has been particularly hard for the courts to manage.
DON'T DENY JUSTICE-- Orlando Sentinel, editorial, http://www.orlandosentinel.com, Feb. 1, 2010.
The editorial states: ". . . . Unlike other targets of budget cuts, the court system is a separate, equal branch of government. Yet since 2007, legislators have slashed funding for courts by more than 10 percent and eliminated almost 300 jobs. Even as the court system's budget has been shrinking, its case load has been surging. Last year's total of 4.6 million cases in trial courts represented a jump of 13 percent from two years earlier. Cases related to the recession — especially foreclosures — accounted for much of the increase. . . . A year ago, legislators created a trust fund to help finance the court system with fines and fees. That fund is covering $315 million of the system's $450 million budget this year. Because of fees associated with the flood of foreclosures, the fund is projected to grow to $368 million in the next budget year, adding more than $50 million to the money available to run the courts. . . . Court leaders also should embrace reasonable proposals that would lead to more cases without merit being dismissed to ease the burden on the system. Legislators, in turn, need to make sure the court trust fund is off limits for anything other than its intended purpose. They must not treat it as a piggy bank to fill other gaps in the budget."
COURTS OFFER HELP TO VETERANS IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, http://www.heraldtribune.com, Jan. 31, 2010.
Former Army Spc. Travis Pendergrass cannot forget what happened in Iraq, when he and other soldiers fired on a car speeding toward their roadside checkpoint. Instead of an attacker, it turned out to be a father rushing his family home before curfew. The man's 8-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were killed. Although Pendergrass never saw the dead children, he is haunted by what happened; since returning to the U.S., he has been unable to keep a job and was even arrested. Post-traumatic stress disorder or brain injuries can cause some returning veterans like Pendergrass to have trouble controlling impulses or holding down a job, which can lead to run-ins with the law, experts say. A new project in Manatee and Sarasota county courts will identify veterans from the latest Iraq war and the Afghanistan war when they are arrested, then link them to social programs that can help them avoid legal trouble in the future. Getting the veterans the help they need can prevent them from becoming repeat offenders on minor charges like DUI, substance abuse or in conflicts that lead to assault or battery, 12th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth said.
JUDGES HANG UP ROBES, THANK COLLEAGUES-- The Gainesville Sun, http://www.gainesville.com, Feb. 1, 2010.
Two area judges, whose terms on the bench together total more than 50 years, said goodbye last week to careers on the circuit bench. Before a crowd of more than 100 people who gave each a standing ovation Friday [Jan. 29], Circuit Judges Frederick Smith and Stan Morris stepped down from their judgeships and into retirement. Smith, 67, served as chief judge for the six-county 8th Judicial Circuit from 2005 through mid-2009 and was the public face on area issues involving the court such as overcrowding at the Alachua County Jail and the impact of budget cuts on the circuit court. Morris, 62, probably was best known to the local public as one of the judges who routinely heard criminal cases. Nationally, Morris was the judge who sentenced convicted serial killer Danny Rolling to death for the 1990 slayings of five Gainesville college students.
JUDGE TO RETIRE EARLY-- Venice Gondolier Sun, http://www.sunnewspapers.net, Jan. 30, 2010.
A judge's decision to retire from the bench months before his term ends next year essentially has ended the race to succeed him. Instead, a replacement will be appointed by Gov. Charlie Crist to serve the remainder of Charlotte County Judge W. Wayne Woodard's current term and an additional two-year period. Woodard, 64, submitted a letter of resignation to the governor's office last week. Seven days before that date, voters head to the polls for the 2010 primary election. Woodard's seat was among the races appearing on the Aug. 24 ballot. Now, because the resignation of the judge comes after the primary, the governor will make the appointment.
COURTS FOR HOMELESS SAVE MONEY, HELP NEEDY-- St. Petersburg Times, editorial, http://www.tampabay.com, Jan. 31, 2010.
The editorial states: "Even in times of tight budgets, the 6th Judicial Circuit along with the local public defender and state attorney offices are working toward innovative approaches to criminal justice and social problems. The circuit, which includes Pinellas and Pasco counties, has a proud history of cooperation. It was the first to adopt a unified family court that has been replicated throughout the state; it has a highly regarded specialized drug court to divert addicts into treatment, and numerous diversion programs for young offenders. Now add to that a court for the homeless — satellite court sessions that bring hearings to the places where the homeless live."
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
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