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.
Oct. 30, 2009
--Judiciary--
JUSTICES REVISE RULES FOR DEATH PENALTY-- The Ledger, http://www.theledger.com, Oct. 30, 2009. [Also: JURIES TO GET NEW INSTRUCTIONS IN DEATH PENALTY CASES-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Oct. 30, 2009].
The article from The Ledgeris by The Associated Press and was printed in several Florida newspapers. The Florida Supreme Court revised standard jury instructions for death penalty cases Thursday [Oct. 29] in ways the justices hope will reduce widespread confusion among jurors disclosed by an American Bar Association survey. An ABA team studying Florida's death penalty process three years ago found large percentages of jurors misunderstood the law and their role in deciding death cases. The justices wrote in an unsigned unanimous opinion that such confusion was "a cause for concern." The high court accepted recommendations from its steering and criminal jury instructions committees, including some also suggested by the ABA team.
JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS PILE UP, AND PARTIES BLAME EACH OTHER-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
The article is from McClatchy Newspapers. Hiring a federal judge requires an act of Congress, but Congress hasn't been in much of a hiring mode lately. As judicial nominations pile up on Capitol Hill, the Senate is at loggerheads, with Democrats and Republicans busy blaming each other for the delays. Since President Barack Obama took office, the Senate has confirmed only four of his nominees for circuit and district courts. Thirty-five states now have 96 judicial vacancies, and another 24 are soon expected.
--Legal Profession--
$11 MILLION BONUS REQUEST LEAVES JUDGE, SEC SURPRISED-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
When Chief U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno first read the final fee request for the Mutual Benefits fraud receivership, he thought lawyers were seeking $1.1 million, not $11 million. Then he realized there was no decimal point, the judge recounted Thursday [Oct. 29] at a hearing in Miami. It is up to Moreno to resolve a simmering dispute over how richly to compensate lawyers for five years of work on one of the largest scams in South Florida history. Roberto Martinez, the court-appointed receiver, is seeking the $11 million bonus to split between his law firm, Colson Hicks Eidson, and primary counsel Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton. To date, the two Coral Gables firms have jointly collected about $4 million. Robert Levenson, regional trial counsel for the Securities and Exchange Commission, argued against any fee enhancement, saying it would reduce payments to bilked investors and award lawyers a windfall equivalent to more than $800 per hour. In his fee request, Martinez, a former Miami U.S. attorney, acknowledged an “inherent tension” between maximizing the payout to victims and compensating professionals for their work on the case. He said awarding the bonus would barely dent the investors’ recovery, decreasing payments by 1 percent to 4 percent.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
TWO SOUTHWEST FLORIDA ATTORNEYS DISCIPLINED-- The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
Two attorneys from Southwest Florida were among 19 attorneys disciplined by The Florida Bar, including eight disbarred, six suspended, and two placed on probation. Pamela Joan Steed of Bonita Springs was publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 3 court order. John Michael Rooney of Punta Gorda also was publicly reprimanded following a Sept. 3 court order.
ST. AUGUSTINE ATTORNEY GETS DISBARRED-- St. Augustine Record, http://staugustine.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
A St. Augustine attorney who reportedly admitted misusing payments to several clients has been disbarred for five years. The Florida Bar announced the action Thursday [Oct. 29] against Jay Charles Floyd, who entered a "conditional guilty plea" to misusing the funds of four clients, according to the report filed by a referee to the Supreme Court of Florida. In addition to the disbarment, Floyd was ordered to make restitution to those clients for $4,833, $40,000, $18,000 and $14,000.
--Criminal Justice Issues--
JUDGES SET BONDS ON VARIETY OF FACTORS-- Pensacola News Journal, http://www.pnj.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
Christian Woods, charged this month with manslaughter and child neglect in the death of her 18-month-old daughter, sits in the Escambia County Jail with a $1 million bond. In 2007, Shannon Owens was charged with manslaughter after she was accused of stabbing her boyfriend to death in their Pensacola home. She walked out of jail on pretrial release. Why did one woman walk out of jail and another, charged under the same statute, remain in jail on a bond she likely could never pay? The answer, according to local lawyers, depends on a lot of things.
JUSTICES WILL SCRUTINIZE LIFE SENTENCES FOR YOUTHS-- The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com, Oct. 29, 2009.
It did not take long for the judge to determine that the convicted rapist in front of him was irredeemable. "He is beyond help," Judge Nicholas Geeker said of Joe Harris Sullivan. Then Geeker sentenced Sullivan to life in prison without the possibility of parole. At the time, Sullivan was 13 years old. Now, 20 years after that sentencing in a Pensacola courtroom, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether Sullivan's prison term violates the Constitution's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. The case -- which has drawn widespread notice and briefs from former Sen. Alan Simpson and others describing their own youthful crimes -- is likely to be a cardinal criminal justice decision for the court this term. Across the country, 111 people are serving life sentences without parole for crimes they committed as juveniles that did not result in a death, according to one report; 77 of them are locked up in Florida, for crimes including armed robbery and carjacking.
FIGHTING CRIME-- Florida Today, editorial, http://www.floridatoday.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
The editorial states: "Brevard police chiefs see the damage wrought when violent offenders who rack up numerous arrests go through a revolving door in the judicial system and end up quickly back on the streets. . . . The chiefs rightly want tougher penalties that keep dangerous criminals behind bars. So do victims and their families and many Brevard County residents concerned about rising crime. County commissioners took a small step in that direction Tuesday [Oct. 27] when they met with justice system leaders, including representatives from the judiciary, prosecutors, public defenders and police, with the goal of finding ways to fight violent crime."
--Other--
BUTTERWORTH TO HELP FPL FIGURE OUT WHY RATE CASE HIT BUMPS-- St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald, http://www.tampabay.com, Oct. 30, 2009.
Bob Butterworth forged a reputation as a troubleshooter cleaning up after government scandals. Now, the former state attorney general is working for Florida Power & Light, hoping to repair a corporate image tarnished over the utility's bid for a $1.3 billion rate increase. FPL said Thursday [Oct. 29] that it hired Butterworth for his "advice and feedback'' on the rate case. A Democrat viewed as consumer-friendly in his 16 years as attorney general, Butterworth said he would investigate how FPL's petition to raise base rates 30 percent alienated consumer groups and resulted in widespread critical news coverage. Butterworth described FPL as "one of the most outstanding companies I dealt with as attorney general." However, one high-profile senator isn't sold on Butterworth's involvement in the issue.
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
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