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.
Sept. 2, 2010
GOV. CRIST APPOINTS MEMBERS TO JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSIONS-- Governor's Press Office, http://www.flgov.com, Sept. 1, 2010.
Gov. Charlie Crist on Wednesday [Sept. 1] announced several reappointments and appointments to the state Judicial Nominating Commissions. The appointments include Past Florida Bar President Alan Bookman of Pensacola to the First District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth to the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission.
KENNEDY TO RETIRE FROM BENCH-- Daytona Beach News-Journal, http://www.news-journalonline.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
An opening for a 7th circuit court judge has been created with Wednesday's [Sept. 1] announcement of the retirement of Judge Patrick Kennedy, set for Dec. 31. The 7th Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission will accept applications until Sept. 22. [See the news release.]
NICHOLAS LOPANE TO REPLACE RETIRING JUDGE FRUSCIANTE-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Sept. 1, 2010.
Gov. Charlie Crist announced Wednesday [Sept. 1] the appointment of General Magistrate Nicholas Lopane to replace retiring 17th Circuit Judge John Frusciante. Lopane has been a general magistrate since 1999 and serves in the family division. Frusciante is departing Oct. 29 as administrative chief of the dependency and juvenile delinquency divisions in family court.
--Legal Profession--
LEGAL SUPPORT JOB PROSPECTS BRIGHT-- South Florida Business Journal, http://southflorida.bizjournals.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
The article first ran in Business First of Buffalo. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says jobs for paralegals and legal assistants are projected to grow 28 percent between 2008 and 2018. But who lands those jobs? Requirements for doing so depend on the law firm looking to hire. That’s because while a college degree is important, experience is still valued highly.
--Lawyer Ethics/Legal Discipline--
NAPLES ATTORNEY REPRIMANDED FOR JAIL ROMANCE WITH CLIENT-- Naples Daily News, http://www.naplesdailynews.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
The novice public defender’s frequent visits to the Lee County jail inmate made jail staff realize something was going on. That was after they discovered the assistant public defender, using a fake name, had penned a romantic postcard to the female inmate. When Nirav Jamindar was confronted last year by his supervisor, he denied a romantic relationship with the inmate, whom he represented in a drunken driving case. He tried to mislead his bosses, but later admitted it was true. Now, the Supreme Court of Florida has publicly reprimanded Jamindar, who was charged with violating Bar rules, but consented to the reprimand and entered a conditional guilty plea in June to conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
LAUDERDALE ATTORNEY DISBARRED AFTER LYING TO SEC ON STOCK FRAUD CASE-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Sept. 1, 2010.
A Fort Lauderdale attorney has been disbarred for failing to report stock fraud and lying to the Securities and Exchange Commission, The Florida Bar announced. L. Daniel Ferrer lost his law license after being convicted of misprision of a felony on the stock fraud and lying to the SEC about stock trading in Fort Lauderdale-based Weida Communications. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison. Seven other South Florida attorneys were disciplined, including Esteban Anderson Jr. of North Miami, who was disbarred after a Bar investigation found client funds had been misappropriated from his trust accounts.
--Civil Justice Issues--
FIRED WOMAN TO GET $8.1 MILLION-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
A federal jury on Wednesday [Sept. 1] awarded a 47-year-old Delray Beach woman $8.1 million in a lawsuit in which she claimed Michaels Stores Inc. violated employment laws. Jurors determined that Kara Jorud was unjustly fired on Oct. 16, 2008, from her manager's position at a Boca Raton store after she claimed she was forced to work while undergoing chemotherapy, was harassed and accused of stealing from the arts and crafts store. After a five-day trial, jurors deliberated for about five hours over two days before awarding Jorud $4 million for pain and suffering, $4 million for punitive damages and $100,000 for lost wages. The judge reserved the right to increase the award for lost wages up to $1 million, said Jorud's attorney, Brian McPherson.
FOURTH DCA KILLS CANE CUTTERS' APPEAL OVER WAGES-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
A group of sugar cane cutters' 21-year effort to sue for back wages hit another roadblock Wednesday [Sept. 1] when the 4th District Court of Appeal upheld a decision requiring each worker to post a $100 bond to sue in small claims court. A split three-judge panel ruled a Palm Beach Circuit appellate panel acted within its discretion when workers challenged a section of the 1838 state Constitution requiring nonresidents to post the bond when filing lawsuits. The decision is just the latest setback for farmworkers trying to sue for back wages since 1989. About 1,500 workers, mostly residents of Jamaica and other Caribbean countries, originally sued in a class action, which was subsequently decertified.
THE MEASURE OF A MAN-- Orlando Weekly, http://www.orlandoweekly.com, Sept. 2, 2010.
Benoit Glazer, a trumpeter, is a Canadian citizen who moved to Orlando in 1998 and has stayed in the country on an annual performer’s visa he has through Cirque du Soleil. U.S. immigration officials said in a letter that while they recognize Glazer’s musical talents, "his accomplishments have not had a significant or sustained impact with [sic] their field." And with that, Glazer was denied his request for a green card, which would have allowed him to live and work in the states on a permanent basis, which means he must string together temporary visas year after year. Glazer is not the typical face of immigration problems in the United States: He is white, well-off and well connected. He represents a faction of U.S. residents who are here legally but whose status is not secure – residents who own property, pay taxes and hold legal jobs but who know all too well that, although they’re allowed to live in the United States, there is no guarantee that they’ll get to stay here legally, unless they can get a coveted green card.
[Revised: 09-03-2010]
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