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. 3, 2012
FORT PIERCE LAWYER HONORED POSTHUMOUSLY WITH PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD-- Treasure Coast Newspapers, http://www.tcpalm.com, Feb. 2, 2012. [Also: PRO BONO ATTORNEY OF THE MONTH SUZANNE JUDAS RECEIVES THE FLORIDA BAR PRESIDENT'S PRO BONO SERVICE AWARD-- Jacksonville Daily Record, http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com, Jan. 23, 2012; NONPROFIT HONORS ATTORNEY-- Daytona Beach News-Journal, http://www.news-journalonline.com, Feb. 1, 2012; THUMBS UP-- Florida Today, editorial, http://www.floridatoday.com, Feb. 1, 2012].
The articles highlight local recipients of The Florida Bar Pro Bono Service Awards who were honored at a Jan. 26 ceremony at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee. The honorees included Fort Pierce attorney Norman Paxton, who was honored posthumously as the 19th Circuit recipient. Paxton, who died in October at age 63, was honored for donating hundreds of hours of free legal services. Carolyn Fabrizio, of Florida Rural Legal Services, was in the process of nominating Paxton before he died. When requesting The Florida Bar consider him for the prestigious award, Fabrizio wrote of Paxton's generous spirit.
--Legal Profession--
FLORIDA'S BUSINESS COURTS-- Florida Trend, http://www.floridatrend.com, Feb. 3, 2012. [Also: FLORIDA LAW STATS & FACTS-- Florida Trend, http://www.floridatrend.com, Feb. 3, 2012].
The February issue features a "Sector Portrait" of the legal profession, including articles on Florida's business courts and the judges who preside in them and the proliferation of electronic communication, a list of Florida's top 25 law firms and statistics on Bar membership from two Florida Bar surveys.
HURT? READ THIS BEFORE YOU PICK UP THE PHONE-- Daytona Beach News-Journal, http://www.news-journalonline.com, Feb. 3, 2012.
A "proliferation" of websites and billboards advertising referral services for lawyers, doctors and pain clinics is under attack, as some lawmakers seek to regulate the practice. Throughout Volusia and Flagler counties and beyond, advertisements shout out for "PAIN," "LAW" and "HURT" in increasingly aggressive efforts to hook customers for law firms and chiropractors. While no one claims any specific company advertising such services has done anything wrong, the practice as a whole is now under attack by consumer protection advocates and large law firms, experts say. Two months ago, state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater commended The Florida Bar Board of Governors for creating a special committee to look into lawyer referral services. Atwater said he was especially concerned with certain referral services that "prey on society." He called for a "permanent ban against lawyer referral services."
--Judiciary--
STATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE TEACHES KIDS ABOUT LAW-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Feb. 3, 2012.
In a packed courtroom at the North Dade Justice Center on Monday [Jan. 30], Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis handed out search warrants to 75 high school students. A few minutes later, the justice presided over a mock trial to decide the fate of a fictitious teen found with drugs, cash and a gun in his back pack. "Our Constitution is not just some namby-pamby stuff on paper," said Lewis, who drove down from Tallahassee to drill students from Alonzo and Tracy Mourning High School's Law Academy about the court system. The Justice Teaching program, founded by Lewis, is a partnership between Florida schools and 3,900 judges and attorneys that explains the legal system to students. Lewis started the program in 2006 after becoming frustrated with national surveys that show most citizens know little about government structure, the justice system and the Constitution.
COURT COSTS ALTERNATIVE COULD SAVE COUNTY MONEY-- Hometown News, http://www.hometownnews.net, Feb. 3, 2012.
Every year, police officers in Volusia County stop about 4,000 people for minor offenses like disorderly conduct or public intoxication and give them tickets instead of taking them to jail. Those folks then get notices by mail telling them when to appear at court to face the charges. Simple enough - except for the homeless, who can't get mail. About 80 percent of those who are ticketed for minor infractions don't make it to court, often because they're homeless. When these people fail to appear, judges have little choice but to issue warrants for their arrests, Volusia County Judge Belle B. Schumann said. Bench warrants take police off streets to transport people to jail, which adds police costs to cities, she said. Schumann recently spoke to the Volusia County Council about a proposed program that would solve these problems, the Sentencing Alternatives for Volusia Enforcement - or SAVE - docket.
FESTIVAL TO PREMIERE FILM ON JUDGE-- Fernandina Beach News Leader, http://www.fbnewsleader.com, Feb. 3, 2012.
The world premiere of "Conversations on Catfish, Courtrooms and Change: The Life and Times of Henry Lee Adams, Jr." will be shown at the 2012 Amelia Island Film Festival later this month. This documentary tracks the life and career of Adams, who was the first African-American circuit court judge in the Fourth Circuit. Produced by documentary filmmaker Lang Sheppard, the film will be shown Feb. 24 at the Nassau County Courthouse in Fernandina Beach, where Adams once presided.
--Civil Justice Issues--
COURT COMPLICATES FORECLOSURE INQUIRY-- The Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, Feb. 3, 2012.
An appellate court has denied a request from Florida's attorney general to allow further appeal of a decision that could have helped the state continue investigating fraudulent foreclosures. The 4th District Court of Appeal on Thursday ruled on its own previous decision in April. The court had said Attorney General Pam Bondi's office couldn't subpoena records of the now-closed Plantation-based Law Offices of David J. Stern to see whether false or improper affidavits in foreclosures were filed and whether employees signed documents without reading them. A spokeswoman said Bondi now will review all seven pending investigations into law firms to determine how else to pursue foreclosure-related misconduct.
--Criminal Justice Issues--
11 COUNTS TOSSED AGAINST EX-DIXIE ATTORNEY-- The Gainesville Sun, http://www.gainesville.com, Feb. 3, 2012.
A federal appeals court has thrown out mail fraud and money laundering convictions against Dixie County's former attorney, Joseph T. Lander. Lander, 42, was convicted in 2009 on 11 felony counts of money laundering and six felony counts of mail fraud in a case involving a start-up vitamin company and two land developments. The crimes occurred in 2005 and 2006 while Lander was in the official position as Dixie County attorney. In a ruling Thursday [Feb. 2], the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out 11 counts and ordered that he be re-sentenced on the remaining six counts. Lander was disbarred in August 2010.
# # # |
 Feb. 2, 2012 Daily News Summary |
| Feb. 1, 2012 Daily News Summary |
| Jan. 31, 2012 Daily News Summary |
| Jan. 30, 2012 Daily News Summary |
| Jan. 27, 2012 Daily News Summary |
| Jan. 26, 2012 Daily News Summary |
[Revised: 02-03-2012]
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