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.
April 29, 2025
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The Florida Bar
APPLICANTS SOUGHT FOR STATEWIDE PROSECUTOR
The Florida Bar | Article | April 29, 2025
On behalf of the Attorney General, the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission is seeking applicants for the statewide prosecutor position. Applications must be submitted electronically in both original and redacted PDF formats to all commission members by 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 16, 2025. Late submissions will not be accepted. The commission prefers searchable (non-scanned) PDFs. After the deadline, selected applicants will be contacted for interviews. Current commission members include Chair Fred Karlinsky (Weston), Vice Chair Jesse M. Panuccio (Palm Beach Gardens), Daniel Nordby (Tallahassee), Heather Stearns (Tallahassee), Jeanne T. Tate (Tampa), Harout Samra (Coral Gables), Tim Cerio (Tallahassee), and Charbel Barakat (Tampa).
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Florida Supreme Court
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT AGAIN REFUSES TO HALT EXECUTION OF VETERAN FOR MURDERING 3 CHILDREN
News Service of Florida | Article | April 28, 2025
On Friday [April 26], the Florida Supreme Court rejected two final appeals from Jeffrey Hutchinson, who is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Thursday [May 1] at Florida State Prison. Hutchinson was convicted of the 1998 murders of his girlfriend Renee Flaherty and her children Geoffrey, Amanda, and Logan, in their Crestview home. He was sentenced to death for the children’s murders and life in prison for Renee’s. The court’s 6-1 ruling followed another denial on Monday [April 28]. A panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also refused to halt the execution. Hutchinson’s attorneys argued he has brain damage from Gulf War Illness, but Judge Lacey Powell Clark and the court majority, including Chief Justice Carlos Muniz, rejected the claims. Justice Jorge Labarga dissented, citing inadequate review time. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant on March 31. The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops urged clemency. Hutchinson would be the fourth Florida inmate executed this year.
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Florida Supreme Court
FORMER FLORIDA SUPREME COURT JUSTICE DETAILS JOURNEY TOWARD BREAKING BARRIERS
Wesh NBC 2 | Article | April 29, 2025
Having served as the 85th justice of the Florida Supreme Court, James E.C. Perry joins WESH 2’s Jason Guy to outline his journey of overcoming a segregated South to breaking barriers and serving on the state’s top judicial bench. In “Benchmarked,” Perry penned his early stand against injustice that prompted reforms to help end discriminatory testing practices in Georgia. The memoir follows Perry’s pursuit of justice to 2024, with the grand opening of the Justice James E.C. Perry Courthouse Annex in Seminole County. Perry’s first book signing will be held at Colling, Gilbert & Wright on Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at 3 p.m.: 801 N. Orange Ave., Suite 830, Orlando, FL 32801.
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Legal Profession
FORMER MIAMI U.S. ATTORNEY REJOINS LAW FIRM WHERE HE HAD BEEN PARTNER
Miami Herald | Article | April 28, 2025
Markenzy Lapointe, resigned as Miami U.S. Attorney on January 17 and has rejoined Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, where he was previously a partner from 2017 to 2022. A Haitian American and the first Black U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Florida, Lapointe was nominated by President Joe Biden and began serving in January 2023. During his two-year term, he oversaw prosecutions involving Medicare fraud, Ponzi schemes, and a murder-for-hire plot by developer Sergio Pino. He also handled the case against suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse: five pleaded guilty, and the remaining five face trial in September. Lapointe was replaced by Hayden O’Byrne. Donald Trump’s nominee for the position, Jason A. Reding Quiñones, a Miami-Dade judge and Air Force Reserve lieutenant colonel, awaits Senate confirmation. Reding reportedly received poor evaluations as a former prosecutor and changed his name in 2023 before applying for judgeship.
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Civil Justice
JUDGE CALLS FOR REJECTING PERMIT TO DRILL FOR OIL NEAR FLORIDA RIVER
News Service of Florida | Article | April 28, 2025
On Monday, [April 28], Administrative Law Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson recommended the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) reject a permit allowing Clearwater Land & Minerals Fla. to drill for oil in Calhoun County near the Apalachicola River. The challenge was filed in 2023 by environmental group Apalachicola Riverkeeper. Stevenson criticized DEP and Clearwater for narrowly assessing only the immediate drilling pad, despite the site being in a floodplain near swamplands and water sources hydrologically tied to the river. He warned that an oil spill could have “catastrophic consequences.” The site lies within the Apalachicola River basin, part of a vital river system stretching from Georgia to Florida’s Apalachicola Bay. A 2019 permit for the same site was unused. Stevenson also said Clearwater failed to prove oil was likely present in commercially viable quantities and criticized DEP for not independently assessing the project’s profitability. The recommended order now returns to DEP for final review.