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 27, 2020
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The Florida Bar
SPECIAL COMMITTEE STUDYING THE PRACTICE EXPECTS ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE MODEST
The Florida Bar | Article | July 27, 2020
The Daily News Summary features Florida Bar News articles on falling revenue for the Clerk of Courts, volunteer proctors needed for the online Bar exam and findings from the Special Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. While the Special Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services’ mission is to find innovative ways to provide more and affordable legal services for Floridians, Chair John Stewart says, “the priority is that they are met by Florida lawyers.” Stewart said the committee will be making quarterly reports to both the Board of Governors and the Supreme Court. The committee is set to provide its final report to the Supreme Court by July 1, 2021.
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Judiciary
COVID-19 SPIKE CAUSES ‘NEAR-SHUTDOWN’ OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Florida Today | Article | July 27, 2020
The decision to cancel all jury trials and take the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit back to phase one in the wake of rising COVID-19 numbers is putting a strain on an already backlogged criminal court docket. The backlogged docket means many poor defendants are stuck in county jail and the prosecutor-defense deals that keep the criminal justice system moving are harder to reach without in-person meetings. Not to mention traffic court is facing a 1,000-case backlog and court staff have faced layoffs and soon might be handed furloughs. The right to a speedy trial remains suspended by order of the Florida Supreme Court.
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Judiciary
CONGRATULATE THIS MIAMI JUDGE ON HIS NEW POSITION
Daily Business Review | Article | July 24, 2020
Gov. Ron DeSantis selected Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Alexander S. Bokor to sit on the Third District Court of Appeal. Bokor will replace Judge Vance E. Salter, who’s retiring Aug. 31. Bokor has served in the Miami-Dade Circuit’s civil division since 2018, after two years in Miami-County Court’s criminal and civil divisions. He is a former county attorney and has worked as a litigator at Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton in Coral Gables and at Jones Day in New York.
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Civil Justice
ADA AT 30: HOW AN ATTORNEY DENIED DOCUMENTS HE CAN READ IMPROVED ACCESSIBILITY IN COURT
News 13 | Article | July 26, 2020
This year marks the 30th anniversary since the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2014 now-retired attorney Tom Ross who was blinded years earlier was denied access to legal documents by opposing counsel, the city of Windermere, the judge presiding over the case and the clerk of courts in Orange County. Ross contacted the Department of Justice civil rights division and the DOJ sent an order to the Orange County Clerk of Courts, ordering them to provide the requested documents for Ross, allowing him to move forward in court and eventually win his case.
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Legal Profession
FOWLER WHITE SHAREHOLDER ERIC ROSEN APPOINTED TO FLORIDA BAR COVID BUSINESS RECOVERY TASK FORCE
South Florida City Biz List | Article | July 27, 2020
Eric Rosen has been appointed to the COVID Business Recovery Task Force formed by the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar. Rosen chairs the Fowler White Burnett, P.A. Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights & Business Restructuring Practice Group. He also has extensive experience representing publicly held and privately-owned companies, as well as individuals, as debtors and debtors-in-possession in all phases of liquidation and reorganization cases under Chapters 7 and 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.