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.
July 27, 2010
--Legal Profession--
PRO BONO ATTORNEYS NEEDED AND SUPPORTED IN FORECLOSURE DEFENSE-- Jacksonville Daily Record, column, http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com, July 26, 2010.
The column by Jacksonville Bar Association Pro Bono Committee Chair Kathy Para states: "We've all seen the numbers. The shocking reality is that the foreclosure filings continue and actually hit a record high in Jacksonville in May . . . . With each filing, the homeowner receives a notice that he or she should consider legal assistance and if the homeowner can't afford an attorney, he should seek help at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA). Dozens of homeowners take that suggestion and contact JALA for assistance each month. . . . A very valuable support for foreclosure defense attorneys is "The Foreclosure Prevention and Defense Listserv" network. . . . The listserv has developed into a collaboration of more than 1,000 Florida lawyers."
THE PRACTICE OF LAW: THEN AND NOW-- Jacksonville Daily Record, column, http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com, July 26, 2010.
The guest column is the second of four by Jacksonville attorney James C. Rinaman Jr., a past president of both the Jacksonville Bar Association and The Florida Bar, about his experiences in the practice of law. It states: "No one kept time sheets. Civil cases were billed at the conclusion of the matter, for insurance defense work at $35 an hour. If the case went on for several years and the file was three feet thick, you would reorganize the correspondence and pleadings and dictate a long narrative series of events which might go on for two or three pages, estimate the number of hours, and multiply by $35, which might produce a bottom line of $3,500 or $35,000."
--Judiciary--
JURORS' WILLING SERVICE IS CRUCIAL FOR JUSTICE-- Daytona Beach News-Journal, column, http://www.news-journalonline.com, July 27, 2010.
The guest column by 7th Circuit Chief Judge J. David Walsh, who currently presides over criminal cases in Daytona Beach, states: "For some, being summoned to jury duty sounds daunting. Others are eager to fulfill their civic duty and cannot wait for the day to come. Whatever your feelings about jury duty, there is one thing I can say for certain -- it is an important and necessary part of the American justice system."
JUDGING THE JUDGES A CONFUSING TASK FOR VOTERS-- Sun-Sentinel, column, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, July 27, 2010.
The column by Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo deals with Broward's upcoming judicial races. It states: "Armed with scant information other than candidates' names, Broward voters will decide 20 judicial races in the Aug. 24 elections. Even courthouse insiders are having a tough time keeping track of the onslaught, with an unprecedented 15 incumbents facing challengers. . . . If you're not called for jury duty, accused of a crime, involved in a lawsuit or embroiled in a rancorous family matter, then you probably wouldn't know a Broward judge if you fell over one. . . . But it matters who wears the robes."
SIX RECOMMENDED BY COMMISSION TO REPLACE RETIRING PALM BEACH JUDGE-- The Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, July 27, 2010.
A sitting county court judge and five attorneys are in line to replace retiring 15th Circuit Judge Edward Garrison. Out of 22 who applied, the local Judicial Nominating Commission on Monday [July 26] recommended the following names to Gov. Charlie Crist: County Judge James Martz and attorneys Gregory Keyser, Elizabeth McBride, Marshall Osofsky, Louis Williams and Wendy Zoberman.
--Criminal Justice Issues--
DNA EVIDENCE MAY FREE MAN AFTER 17 YEARS-- Sarasota Herald-Tribune, http://www.heraldtribune.com, July 27, 2010. [Also: LAWYERS: DNA TESTS EXONERATE MANATEE MAN-- The Bradenton Herald, http://www.bradenton.com, July 27, 2010].
From the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: The same gray T-shirt that helped put Derrick Williams of Palmetto in prison for life on a rape conviction in 1993 has resurfaced as the piece of evidence that may exonerate him. A woman escaped from the rape with her attacker's gray T-shirt, and she identified Williams in court as the man who took off his shirt to cover her face during the attack. Williams' girlfriend also told the jury that he left home that day wearing a gray shirt but returned with a red one. On Monday [July 26], Williams' attorneys revealed that new DNA tests of sweat and skin cells on the inside of the shirt collar did not come from Williams. They say the results prove Williams is innocent, and that he has spent the past 17 years in prison on a wrongful conviction.
COLLIER MAN FREED AFTER FOUR YEARS IN JAIL WHEN EVIDENCE SHOWS HE DIDN'T COMMIT VEHICULAR HOMICIDE-- Naples Daily News, http://www.naplesnews.com, July 27, 2010.
Kevin Shinsky sat in the Collier County jail for nearly four years, proclaiming his innocence from the day he was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with death. Soon after the fatal crash on Nov. 4, 2006, the 39-year-old East Naples father of two faced a new charge, vehicular homicide in the death of Michelle Sommers. Since his arrest, Shinsky waited years for a trial while going through three attorneys. As he waited, he wrote to the State Attorney’s Office to demand a speedy trial, the Supreme Court, judges, his lawyers — anyone who would listen to his pleas for help. It wasn't until his fourth attorney, David Agoston, his colleague, attorney Jamie Chandler, and paralegal Lissette Perez began working with John Hisler and Associates investigations that the evidence came together to show Shinsky was telling the truth: He was innocent.
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
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