The purpose of this summary provided by the Communications Department of The Florida Bar is to present media coverage that may be of interest to members. Opinions expressed in the articles are attributable solely to the authors. The Florida Bar does not adopt or endorse any opinions expressed below. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.
June 13, 2025
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The Florida Bar
NEW CORPORATE COUNSEL COMMITTEE LAUNCHES STRONG AT ANNUAL FLORIDA BAR CONVENTION
The Florida Bar | Article | June 13, 2025
The Florida Bar’s new “Corporate Counsel Committee,” launched by President-elect Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes, will hold its first formal meeting on Wednesday, June 25, during the Annual Florida Bar Convention in Boca Raton. Chaired by Michel Morgan, General Counsel for Operations at Universal Property & Casualty, the committee was created to better serve corporate and in-house counsel, a group Baker-Barnes said has been overlooked. Morgan stated in April that the committee aims to foster idea-sharing and develop relevant programming. The committee’s first CLE, titled “So, You Want to be Corporate Counsel?” is fully booked. It begins at 8:30 a.m. and covers topics such as career strategies, corporate finance, litigation management, and boardroom operations. A legislative “Policy Pulse” update is also included. A program guide highlights the in-house counsel role as demanding, requiring expertise in transactions, litigation, finance, and strategic operations. Baker-Barnes begins her tenure as Bar president at the convention.
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Florida Supreme Court
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT TAKES UP CASE OF EX-DEPUTY CONVICTED OF PLANTING DRUGS ON DRIVERS
Tallahassee Democrat | Article | June 12, 2025
On Thursday, June 12, the Florida Supreme Court accepted jurisdiction in the case of Zach Wester, a former Jackson County deputy convicted in May 2021 for planting drugs during fake traffic stops. Wester was sentenced to 12.5 years for racketeering, official misconduct, fabricating evidence, and false imprisonment. In November, the 1st District Court of Appeal vacated the racketeering conviction, ruling prosecutors failed to prove involvement of at least two people, as required by Florida’s RICO statute. The appellate panel certified a “question of great importance” to the Florida Supreme Court: whether the state must prove two or more people worked toward an illegal objective under the RICO Act. Wester was arrested in 2018 after more than a dozen false arrests, including a June 2018 stop of Chris Fears, were uncovered. Nearly 120 cases tied to Wester were later dropped. The Florida Supreme Court set briefing deadlines and will notify counsel 60 days before oral arguments.
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Civil Justice
APPEALS COURT BLOCKS PUNITIVE DAMAGES IN GLYPHOSATE CANCER CASE AGAINST MONSANTO
Daily Business Review | Article | June 12, 2025
The Third District Court of Appeal in Miami reversed a ruling allowing Lawrence J. Behar to amend his complaint against Monsanto Co. to seek punitive damages. Behar, represented by Christina H. Martinez of Podhurst Orseck, alleged Monsanto’s Roundup caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Monsanto, represented by Shook Hardy & Bacon and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, argued Behar failed to meet the legal standard under Florida Statute § 768.72. Chief Judge Thomas Logue and Judges Fleur Lobree and Kansas Gooden held Behar’s evidence—alleging ghostwriting and disinformation—did not show Monsanto acted with intentional misconduct or gross negligence. The court noted Monsanto relied on decades of scientific reviews and that regulatory bodies, including the EPA, found no human carcinogenicity. The panel concluded the trial court erred in granting Behar’s amendment, emphasizing punitive damages require “truly culpable and egregious behavior,” which Behar’s evidence did not show. The case was remanded.
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Criminal Justice
MENTAL ILLNESS ARGUED IN ATTEMPT TO STOP EXECUTION OF MAN CONVICTED OF 1994 ORLANDO RAPE, MURDER
News Service of Florida | Article | June 12, 2025
Thomas Gudinas’ attorneys filed briefs on Sunday [June 8] and Wednesday [June 11] urging the Florida Supreme Court to halt his June 24 execution, arguing his “severe mental illness” makes execution unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Gudinas was convicted of the May 1994 rape and murder of Michelle McGrath in downtown Orlando. Then-Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr. stated in a 1995 sentencing order that McGrath was “savagely raped and severely beaten.” Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Gudinas’ death warrant on May 23. On Tuesday [June 10], the Attorney General’s Office filed a response rejecting the mental health claims, saying the issue has been litigated since trial. Gudinas’ team referenced a May 29 neuropsychological evaluation and cited U.S. Supreme Court precedents Atkins v. Virginia and Roper v. Simmons. They are requesting an evidentiary hearing. The Attorney General argued that a last-minute favorable opinion does not warrant relief, and that the lower court, Orange County Circuit Judge John Jordan, correctly denied the request.
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United States Supreme Court
SUPREME COURT SAYS FAMILY CAN SUE OVER WRONG-HOUSE RAID
WUSF | Article | June 12, 2025
On Thursday [June 12], the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Trina Martin, her son Gabe, and her partner Toi Cliatt can sue over a wrong-house FBI and SWAT raid in Atlanta in 2017. The agents were executing an arrest warrant for a neighbor involved in gang activity but raided Martin’s home instead. In 2019, the family sued the FBI and individual agents. The federal government, typically protected by sovereign immunity, argued it shouldn’t be liable since agents were instructed to raid the correct address. The dispute centered on the Federal Tort Claims Act, amended in 1974 after prior FBI wrong-house raids, which permits some lawsuits against the federal government. The government claimed liability shouldn’t apply when officers make mistakes. Martin and Cliatt argued the law was intended to cover exactly these scenarios. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the opinion for the Court, rejecting the government’s argument and allowing the lawsuit to proceed.