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.
Dec. 23, 2008
--Judiciary--
GOV. CRIST'S CALLS FOR DIVERSE JUDICIAL PICKS MIGHT LEAD TO LAWSUIT-- Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com, Dec. 23, 2008. [Also: CRIST ACCELERATES HIGH COURT INTERVIEWS AS LAWSUIT LOOMS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Dec. 23, 2008; JIMENEZ HAS STERLING COURT CREDENTIALS-- St. Petersburg Times, column, http://www.tampabay.com, Dec. 23, 2008; FLORIDA HIGH COURT POLITICS NOW OFFICIALLY OUT OF CONTROL-- The Palm Beach Post, editorial, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Dec. 23, 2008; NOMINATION OF MIAMI LAWYER TO LIST FOR STATE HIGH COURT CRITICIZED AS TOO POLITICAL AND POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Dec. 23, 2008].
From the Orlando Sentinel: A "broad and diverse" group of Florida lawyers is weighing a lawsuit over Gov. Charlie Crist's efforts to force two judicial nominating panels to send him more-diverse judicial picks. In a letter, the group wrote Monday [Dec. 22] that a judicial nominating panel's decision last week to reconsider its list of submitted Florida Supreme Court candidates "ran afoul of Florida law, and . . . tainted the integrity of the nominating process." Twice in recent weeks, the governor has rejected lists of judicial nominees sent by the panels charged by law with vetting applicants for open judge jobs. Crist has asked them both times to resubmit lists of nominees with more-diverse candidates, riling many lawyers who feel the governor doesn't have the authority to handcuff the review process of the panels.
A JUDGE'S ACT OF COURAGE-- St. Petersburg Times, editorial, http://www.tampabay.com, Dec. 23, 2008.
The editorial states: ". . . The decision by Hillsborough Circuit Judge William Fuente to order a new trial for a defendant accused of murder was right and courageous. . . . The law allows a judge to act if he or she believes a defendant did not receive the constitutional guarantee of competent legal assistance. Fuente's finding that [David] Rolon did not receive a fair trial shocked some attorneys, but the move was in keeping with a jurist who has been a go-to judge for his colleagues in Hillsborough."
--Legal Profession--
CHARGE AGAINST MIAMI ATTORNEY DISMISSED-- The Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com, Dec. 23, 2008.
A federal judge on Monday [Dec. 22] shattered the foundation of the government's criminal case against South Florida lawyer Ben Kuehne, who faces trial next month on charges of laundering drug-trafficking profits for legal fees. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke threw out the central money-laundering conspiracy charge against Kuehne, calling the government's legal reasoning for the count "flawed.''
TURNOVER WORSENS, 'CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS' LOOMS-- Daily Business Review, http://www.dailybusinessreview.com, Dec. 23, 2008.
The Miami-Dade public defender is warning that a "constitutional crisis" is brewing as budget cuts and staff attrition exacerbate an already bad lawyer shortage, preventing the office from adequately representing many indigent defendants. In a letter to Miami-Dade Chief Judge Joseph Farina, Public Defender Bennett Brummer and Public Defender-elect Carlos Martinez said they plan to file notices with judges and clients about the deteriorating situation and suggest clients look for other legal counsel. Brummer won a court order in September allowing the office to withdraw from minor felony cases, but there has been no relief because the order was stayed by the 3rd District Court of Appeal. The departures of many staff attorneys and lower starting salaries because of state budget cuts mean the office will be "unable to fulfill our statutory, ethical and constitutional obligations" to the court and its clients, the letter said.
LETTERS, BLOGS ATTACKING LAWYER GAIN DELAY FOR DRIVE-BY SHOOTING CONVICT-- Naples Daily News, http://www.naplesnews.com, Dec. 23, 2008.
In an unusual move, 20th Circuit Judge Fred Hardt postponed a sentencing Monday [Dec. 22] after an emotional defense attorney said she'd received hostile letters from the defendant's family and blogs attacking her on the Naples Daily News Web site. Defense attorney Rebecca Acosta Cortés of Bonita Springs told Hardt that Isaac Delgado, who was facing up to life in prison for a drive-by shooting, had written "pages and pages," disagreeing with recommendations for sentencing in a report by the state Department of Corrections. Hardt asked Cortés if she wanted to withdraw, but she refused, saying Delgado needed an attorney. So Hardt said he could appoint a public defender. Cortés then told the judge she wanted to withdraw and Hardt granted her motion.
--Civil Justice Issues--
MIAMI NONPROFIT JOINS EFFORT TO MAKE DEPORTATIONS HARDER-- The Palm Beach Post, http://www.palmbeachpost.com, Dec. 23, 2008.
A legal services center that represents many immigrants throughout South Florida has entered a U.S. Supreme Court case on behalf of a Baltimore man who wants to make it harder for immigration officials to deport some individuals seeking political asylum. The Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, a Miami nonprofit, has prepared a "friend of the court" brief on behalf of Jean Marc Nken, who is battling deportation to Camaroon. His case is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court on Jan. 21. That case could result in national standards for the treatment of individuals who have been denied asylum by regional immigration courts, but who have appealed to U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
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[Revised:
07-01-2005
]