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 08, 2021
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The Florida Bar
FLORIDA COURT PIOS RECOGNIZE MEMBERS, OTHERS FOR ‘EXCELLENCE IN COMMUNICATIONS’
The Florida Bar | Article | April 08, 2021
The Florida Court Public Information Officers (FCPIO) held a virtual awards ceremony April 7. The FCPIO board recognized members for outstanding public service and work above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a public information officer or court communications professional. FCPIO also recognized other groups and individuals who have made significant contributions that further FCPIO’s mission and court communications in Florida. Among the winners were the Communications Teams of Florida Courts, The Florida Bar, and Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers. This joint effort created the Know Your Courts Safe Steps public service announcement video message campaign, and Francine Andia Walker, public information officer, The Florida Bar who won the Outstanding Leadership Award for her support of FCPIO’s mission and her four-year service as secretary of the FCPIO.
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Judiciary
THREE CHIEF JUDGES, THREE APPROACHES: HOW SOUTH FLORIDA COURTS PLAN TO HANDLE REOPENINGS
Daily Business Review | Article | April 07, 2021
As South Florida residents become increasingly immunized with one of the coronavirus vaccines, Florida circuit court chief judges from Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties have conflicting views about each court’s path moving forward. Among the three counties, Circuit Court Chief Judge Krista Marx is perhaps the most insistent in moving the Palm Beach court past the coronavirus pandemic and taking the steps to completely reopen the county’s courthouses based on the Phase 3 requirements. Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles T. Canady has generally allowed chief circuit judges to modify their respective court operations, based on local public health data.
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Legislative
FLORIDA’S LEGISLATURE TAKES GIGANTIC DETOUR IN PRIVACY LAW
JDSupra | Article | April 07, 2021
On April 6 the Senate Committee on Commerce and Tourism proposed replacing everything in a new consumer privacy bill after the enacting clause. The new language removes the private right of action and reduces the applicability of the law to for-profit businesses that “annually buy, sell or share the personal information [defined broadly in the statute] of 100,000 or more consumers, households or devices.” Alternatively, the law would also apply to a for-profit business that “derives 50 percent or more of global annual revenues from selling or sharing personal information about consumers.”
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Judiciary
JUDGE OKS LAWSUIT AGAINST FLORIDA STUDENT HOUSING COMPLEX OVER DENIED COVID-19 PANDEMIC REFUNDS
WFTS | Article | April 07, 2021
Tallahassee Community College student Justin Lawrence filed a case in federal court last summer against a Florida student housing complex over denied COVD-19 pandemic refunds. If class-action status is granted by the court, the lawsuit would include thousands of college students who lived in the defendants’ student housing complexes around Florida in 2020. The property owner FPA Villa Del Lago, LLC, filed a motion for dismissal, but a federal judge ruled the case can move forward.
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Civil Justice
FLORIDA NEEDS TO ENSURE THAT ALL FOSTER CHILDREN HAVE LEGAL REPRESENTATION | COLUMN
Tampa Bay Times | Column | April 08, 2021
Christopher Fellerhoff, a longtime foster parent in Hillsborough County writes: “The Legislature is considering a bill that would help reform how foster children’s legal needs are met. Florida’s Guardian ad Litem volunteers are wonderful, well-intentioned people; many who have served our children have been fierce advocates and remain present in our children’s lives after their cases are resolved. But Florida’s decades of experience show that a volunteer-driven system is incapable of achieving even 70 percent representation.”