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.
Aug. 29, 2008
--Judiciary--
SOUTH FLORIDA COURTS BREATHE SIGH OF RELIEF-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Aug.28, 2008.
State legislators and court officials reached agreement Thursday [Aug. 28] to cancel plans to lay off approximately 240 court workers statewide, Broward Chief Circuit Judge Victor Tobin said. The latest cuts were set to be announced in the state's 20 judicial circuits next week and take effect Oct. 1. It would have been the second round of cuts in three months. The cuts were intended to save about $14 million statewide, said Lisa Goodner, director of the Office of State Courts Administrator in Tallahassee.
CRIST NAMES CANADY TO FLORIDA SUPREME COURT-- Florida Capital News, http://www.floridacapitalnews.com, Aug. 29, 2008. [Also: CANADY CHOSEN FOR HIGH COURT-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Aug. 29, 2008; GOV. CHARLIE CRIST PICKS HIS FIRST SUPREME COURT JUSTICE-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Aug. 29, 2008; LAKELAND JUDGE FILLS SUPREME COURT SEAT-- The Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Aug. 29, 2008; CRIST TAPS CANADY AS FIRST STATE SUPREME COURT APPOINTMENT-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Aug. 29, 2008; CRIST'S COURT PICK FALLS SHORT-- St. Petersburg Times, editorial, http://www.tampabay.com, Aug. 29, 2008].
From Florida Capital News: Florida's newest Supreme Court justice, former congressman and state legislator Charles Canady, made his first proclamation Thursday [Aug. 28]: He's going to stick around for a while. Gov. Charlie Crist announced that Canady will replace Justice Raoul Cantero, who startled the legal community earlier this year when he announced he was stepping down to return to Miami and private practice. Canady, a 1979 Yale Law School graduate and a judge on the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Lakeland, told reporters this morning that he will move his family to Tallahassee and plans to serve until the Supreme Court's mandatory retirement age of 70.
--Legal Profession--
OUTSIDE ADVICE FROM CLIENT'S FORMER LAWYER RUFFLES COURT-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Aug. 29, 2008.
Tonya Michelle Adams was not quite ready to go to prison. She was arrested last year and accused of breaking into homes and mailboxes in Dade City and Zephyrhills and engaging in massive identity theft two years ago. She wasn't ready to go, even though she had agreed to spend 15 years behind bars for 31 charges including burglary, grand theft, forgery and criminal use of personal identification. She was supposed to plead guilty on Thursday [Aug. 28]. She didn't. Adams said that while in jail she called her old lawyer, who told her more could be done with her case. That raised the eyebrows of Circuit Judge Pat Siracusa and her court-appointed attorney, Jorge Angulo.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
LAWYERS, JUDGES SPAR OVER WAGE SUITS-- National Law Journal, http://www.law.com, Sept. 1, 2008.
Facing sanctions from federal judges, a lawyer at one of the two law firms handling the majority of overtime violation lawsuits in Florida has promised to scale down the practice, while the other firm is beefing up, opening offices throughout the country. The two law firms — the Pantas Law Firm and Morgan & Morgan, both in Orlando — face sanctions from the entire Middle District of Florida federal bench for allegedly filing hundreds of wage-and-hour cases and frequently missing scheduling deadlines. They could be barred from filing any more overtime cases in the district, which could make it harder for a worker to secure representation in that region.
--Civil Justice Issues--
COURT MOVES UP TAX HEARING-- Sun-Sentinel, http://www.sun-sentinel.com, Aug. 29, 2008.
The Florida Supreme Court has bumped up its hearing on the Amendment 5 tax case to next Wednesday [Sept. 3] — a move to ensure a ruling is issued before counties starting printing their Nov. 4 ballots. The high court had set arguments in the case for a week later, but agreed Wednesday [Aug. 28] to move up the hearing so elections officials have a decision on whether to include the tax plan on ballots before the Secretary of State's Sept. 5 ballot-approval deadline.
--Criminal Justice Issues--
JOHN GOTTI PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO RACKETEERING CHARGES-- The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tbo.com, Aug. 29, 2008. [Also: SISTER: GOTTI TRIAL IS GOVERNMENT VENDETTA-- St. Petersburg Times, http://www.tampabay.com, Aug. 29, 2008.
From The Tampa Tribune: John "Junior" Gotti "is definitely not a mobster," his sister, Victoria Gotti, told reporters after his arraignment Thursday in U.S. District Court. Gotti's attorney, Charles Carnesi, said his client walked away from that life 10 years ago. Moments earlier, Gotti had entered a not guilty plea to racketeering and conspiracy charges handed up by a federal grand jury in Tampa. The indictment also accuses Gotti of participating in Gambino family-related slayings of three men in New York.
--Other--
PUBLIC MONEY: APPELLATE COURT DENIES PENSIONS BASED ON CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Aug. 28, 2008.
Former state Senate President W.D. Childers and a former Hollywood police officer are out of the running for public pensions due to criminal convictions, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday [Aug. 27] in separate cases. The court upheld a state decision yanking Childers’ pension based on his 2002 bribery and unlawful compensation conviction for crimes committed while serving as an Escambia County commissioner. The court also ruled former Hollywood officer Thomas Simcox may not recoup his retirement benefits. He resigned last year after he was charged in a heroin distribution conspiracy; he pleaded guilty in federal court shortly afterward. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
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