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.
July 26, 2019
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The Florida Bar
PROGRAM PROMOTES PROFESSIONALISM TO LAW STUDENTS
The Florida Bar | Article | July 26, 2019
Being a professional means more than thorough preparation and knowledge of the law, a Henry Latimer Center for Professionalism panel of experts told a group of Jacksonville law students at a recent luncheon forum. Appearing July 23 at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, the panel included a U.S. district judge; a county judge; an administrative law judge; a top Pentagon lawyer; a former human resources executive turned lawyer and workplace violence prevention advocate; solo and small-firm practitioners; and a newly minted associate at one of Florida’s largest firms.
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Judiciary
FLORIDA COURTS E-FILING AUTHORITY EXPLORES ENHANCED, FOR-PAY SERVICES
The Florida Bar | Article | July 25, 2019
The agency that runs the state courts system’s statewide electronic filing portal and The Florida Bar are going to work together to find — for a price — “value added” services for lawyers. At its recent meeting, Clay County Clerk of Court Tara Green, secretary/treasurer of the Florida Courts E-Filing Authority, reported on efforts of the authority’s Funding Work Group to lay the groundwork for offering additional services. She said the work group has spoken with Bar President John Stewart who has agreed to establish a joint focus group to look at potential offerings.
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Judiciary
LOCAL JUDGE TAKES OVER FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGESHIP
Florida Times-Union | Article | July 25, 2019
Wendy Berger, a First Coast judge on Florida’s 5th District Court of Appeal since 2012, was confirmed this week by the U.S. Senate to serve as a federal district judge. The Senate voted 54-37 Wednesday [July 24] to confirm Berger as a judge in the Middle District of Florida, which covers a massive area, stretching from Fort Myers to Jacksonville and including Tampa and Orlando. U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., issued a statement praising the confirmation of Berger, who was nominated for the post last year by President Donald Trump. Berger was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott to her seat on the 5th District Court of Appeal, which is based in Daytona Beach and hears cases from a huge swath of Central Florida, stretching from Brevard County to Hernando County.
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Legal Profession
ORLANDO’S LITIGATION GIANTS: 5 TOP ATTORNEYS SHARE LESSONS LEARNED AND MORE
Orlando Business Journal | Article | July 25, 2019
Orlando has an abundance of experienced litigation lawyers. Orlando Business Journal spoke with five such individuals, who boast decades of experience and success in the field. Their insight offers a look into common mistakes businesses make as well as lessons they’ve learned along the way. Participants were chosen from some of the region’s largest law firms, and selected based on the total number of years practicing, as well as the Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings and client ratings.
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Legal Profession
DON’T HIRE A BILLBOARD. HIRE AN ATTORNEY.
Daily Business Review | Column | July 26, 2019
Howard J. Weitzner, an attorney with Cutler Rader in South Florida, writes: “While many lawyers who implement paid advertising campaigns are excellent at what they do, you should not retain them simply because they have the most impressive self-promotion techniques. Teaching the public that hiring an attorney is among the most important decisions that they will make in their lives, that they only have one chance with their case, and that they should take the time to meet with prospective counsel and interview them will, in part, negate the effect of ‘big advertising.’”
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Criminal Justice Issues
FLORIDA JUDGE WARNS AGAINST USING CASE LAW, NOT STATUTES, TO SUPPORT HEARSAY EXCEPTIONS
Daily Business Review | Article | July 25, 2019
Fourth District Court of Appeal Judge Robert M. Gross highlighted what he said was a recurring problem in criminal cases, thanks to confusion around hearsay and Confrontation-Clause analysis. Gross wrote that he often sees broad considerations of case-by-case examples, when instead arguments and decisions should be based on the actual language in Florida Statutes 90.803, 90.804 and 90.805, which lay out the rules on hearsay exceptions. This issue crops up often, according to Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington, who teaches Florida constitutional law at the University of Miami. He said that’s because the many exceptions to the hearsay rule mean case law can develop a life of its own.
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Civil Justice Issues
JUDGE REJECTS MOTION TO DISMISS LAWSUIT OVER MDX
Miami Herald | Article | July 25, 2019
A Tallahassee judge is allowing a lawsuit over the abolishment of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority (MDX) to proceed, saying that a bill passed this spring to replace the county agency with a new organization might have violated the county’s “home rule” charter. Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper rejected a motion to dismiss the case Thursday [July 25] brought by the Florida House, which had argued in part that MDX is not protected by the county’s unique “home rule” authority in the state Constitution because it was created under statutory law. MDX, which controls five toll road expressways in the county, has long drawn criticism from some local officials for expanding tolling along parts of its roads. A bill to dissolve the agency was passed by the Florida Legislature, with sponsors casting the bill as needed “reform” to how the area’s toll roads are run. But opponents to the bill, which replaces MDX with a new agency, said the law unconstitutionally applied only to Miami-Dade and violated the county’s “home rule” protections that shield Miami-Dade’s local authority under the state Constitution.
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Legislative
FLORIDA’S NEW REMOTE NOTARIZATION LAW TO BENEFIT FOREIGN INVESTORS
Daily Business Review | Article | July 25, 2019
On June 7, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law permitting remote online notarization adding Florida to the growing list of states that permit notaries to perform notarizations online for clients anywhere in the world. The law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020, will benefit Floridians in many ways, but has the potential to significantly encourage foreign direct investment in Florida. When the law takes effect, foreign visitors to Florida who negotiate business contracts, form companies, or purchase real estate will be able to close on their deal from the comfort of home, without a second visit to Florida.
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Criminal Justice Issues
PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF OPENS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO JEFFREY EPSTEIN’S WORK RELEASE
South Florida Sun-Sentinel | Article | July 25, 2019
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has opened a criminal investigation into how his deputies handled wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein’s work release about a decade ago, an agency spokeswoman said Thursday [July 25]. The sheriff launched an internal investigation on Friday [July 19] and then broadened it to a criminal probe on Tuesday [July 23], spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. Bradshaw, who was sheriff when Epstein was at the jail, has been under mounting pressure to agree to an outside, independent investigation of how the agency handled the matter. State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, sent a letter Monday [July 22] to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to order a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation into Epstein’s work-release agreement.