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.
August 09, 2022
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The Florida Bar
UPDATED FLORIDA BAR GUIDE TO REMOTE COURT PROCEEDINGS POSTED
The Florida Bar | Article | August 09, 2022
Florida lawyers now have access to the latest version of the Florida Bar’s guide to remote court proceedings. At their July 29 meeting in Palm Beach, The Florida Bar Board of Governors approved updates to “The Florida Bar Recommended Best Practices for Remote Court Proceedings.” The guide was developed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by the Board Technology Committee, with input from judicial conferences, Bar sections, committees, and other stakeholders. The Technology Committee just updated the guide as part of a “busy and fast start” to the new Bar year, Chair Gordon Glover told the board. The recommendations are non-binding and not meant to supersede Florida Statutes, court procedural rules, or judicial instructions, but they are comprehensive and have generated a lot of positive feedback, according to immediate past President Michael Tanner.
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Legal Discipline
‘THIS SHOULD SEND CHILLS TO ALL LAWYERS’: JUDGES EYE PUNISHMENT FOR MIAMI ATTORNEY
Daily Business Review | Article | August 08, 2022
Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal entered four consolidated orders to show cause against Miami foreclosure attorney Bruce Jacobs as to why it should not impose sanctions on him for violating the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure and Rules Regulating the Florida Bar. Jacobs must pay up to $5,000 in attorney fees in each of the seven consolidated proceedings, with a total maximum amount of $35,000. The judges wrote the ruling was necessary. Otherwise, they said, “Any attorney could engage in such frivolous and malicious attacks, secure in the knowledge that their steadfast belief in the righteousness of their cause will provide safe harbor, escaping accountability for subverting the very integrity of our justice system and flouting the rules and code of conduct every Florida attorney has sworn to uphold and abide by.”
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Judiciary
FEDERAL JUDGE QUESTIONS WORKER TRAINING IN DESANTIS’ ‘STOP WOKE ACT
News Service of Florida | Article | August 08, 2022
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Monday [Aug. 8] questioned part of a new Florida law, dubbed the Stop WOKE Act, that restricts the way businesses can address race-related concepts in employee training, as he weighed a request to block the measure. Monday’s hearing concerned a challenge filed in June by a group of businesses and a consultant, all of whom require or provide diversity training for their employees. The plaintiffs argue that the law violates the First Amendment and are seeking a preliminary injunction to block its enforcement. Judge Walker did not rule Monday, pledging to “move swiftly” on issuing a written order. But he appeared to favor arguments that the measure targets speech that DeSantis and state leaders find objectionable. Judge Walker pointed to DeSantis’ Stop WOKE moniker for the law. “We are attacking and going after a particular construct,” he said of the law.
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Civil Justice
SURFSIDE JUDGE GRANTS $800,000 IN TAX BREAKS TO CONDO OWNERS AFTER SOME COMPLAINED ABOUT BILLS
Miami Herald | Article | August 08, 2022
On Monday, [Aug. 8], Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman said the 136 unit owners at a Surfside condominium tower that was destroyed in a deadly collapse won’t have to pay their tax bills, averaging $5,785 each on the nearly two-acre oceanfront property. Initially, the receiver for the Champlain Towers South condo association was going to subtract each unit owner’s share of the property’s total tax tab of $787,000 from their $96 million property-loss settlement approved in a class action dispute over the building’s collapse — a plan that provoked an immediate outcry. But in his order, Judge Hanzman, who is overseeing the case, said that the property taxes would have to be paid out of the excess funds from the recent $120 million sale of the vacant land.
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Criminal Justice
NEW HILLSBOROUGH STATE ATTORNEY REVERSES ANDREW WARREN, SEEKS DEATH PENALTY IN TEACHER SLAYING
Tampa Bay Times | Article | August 08, 2022
In one of her first acts in office, newly appointed Hillsborough State Attorney Susan Lopez reversed a decision by the man she replaced, former top prosecutor Andrew Warren, and will seek the death penalty against Matthew Terry, the suspect in a killing of a Hillsborough elementary school teacher. Florida court rules require prosecutors to file a notice of intent to seek the death penalty within 45 days of a defendant’s arraignment. Prosecutors filed their death penalty notice on Friday [Aug. 5], exactly 45 days after Terry’s arraignment. The decision was one of the first moves by Lopez, who was appointed the day before to take over for Warren, the elected state attorney who was ousted by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Civil Justice
TAMPA RELIGIOUS SCHOOL TO RECEIVE FEDERAL LUNCH FUNDS AFTER ALL
Tampa Bay Times | Article | August 08, 2022
Lawyers for Grant Park Christian Academy said on Monday [Aug. 8] that state officials have informed the Tampa private school that they will not have to follow new federal laws regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in order to continue receiving federal school lunch dollars. This announcement followed a federal lawsuit filed on July 27 against President Joe Biden and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, claiming the defendants were effectively taking food from the low-income children who attend the school. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the National School Lunch Program, had previously stated schools would need to comply with the changes to continue receiving money. However, according to a new filing in the lawsuit, the school received confirmation on Friday [Aug. 5] from federal officials stating it qualified for a religious exemption.
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Judiciary
LAKELAND LAWYER SEEKS RECORDS ON ‘ZUCK BUCKS’
Lakeland Ledger | Article | August 09, 2022
Lakeland lawyer Hardam H. Tripathi has accused Hillsborough County’s elections office of potentially partisan activity favoring Democrats in the weeks before the 2020 election. In May, Tripathi filed a civil complaint with the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Tampa seeking to force a contractor to provide records related to a $2.6 million contract for a voter-education campaign it received from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office. The legal action centers on money provided to elections offices nationwide through a nonprofit largely funded by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook’s parent company. Tripathi’s initial complaint claimed that both the Supervisor of Elections office and their contractor, Vistra Communications, have failed to provide detailed information, asserting that the responses violate Florida’s public-records laws. Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer strongly rejected the accusation of partisan favoritism, and a lawyer representing his office has asked to have the complaint dismissed.
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Judiciary
MEDIA OUTLETS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ENTER TRIAL OF FORMER HOLLYWOOD POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF ROUGH ARREST
7 News Miami | Article | August 08, 2022
In a last-minute ruling, media outlets were kicked out of a trial on Monday [Aug. 8] for former Hollywood Police Officer Matthew Barbieri, who is accused of using excessive force during the 2019 arrest of Raymond Schachner. The trial came to a halt for several hours just as Schachner was set to undergo cross examination by defense attorneys. State attorneys said they wanted the media to be removed, claiming Schachner may reveal sensitive information that they didn’t want to be made public. The attorney representing the media told the judge he can’t have the media removed. “There is no right to privacy when you participate in a public trial,” said Karen Kammer. The decision on whether media outlets will be allowed back in the courtroom will be made by the judge today [Aug. 9].
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Legal Profession
LOCAL NONPROFIT PAIRS FOSTER CARE KIDS WITH PRO-BONO ATTORNEYS
Sarasota Herald-Tribune | Article | August 09, 2022
The Legal Aid of Manasota launched “Legal Lifeline for Youth” in 2019 to help foster kids in the 12th Judicial Circuit Florida retain a lawyer. Florida is one of 14 states that doesn’t guarantee foster children a lawyer during legal proceedings — putting the costs of retaining a lawyer on the shoulders of kids or their foster families. The initiative bridges this gap by pairing an attorney with a foster child to represent them during dependency court proceedings, facilitate conflict resolution, and coordinate placement plans. More than 75 children have been assisted so far — at no cost — with the program also assisting other local foster children in attaining their driver’s license or finding mental health support.
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Tech Tip
QUICKLY OPEN UP PREVIOUSLY SAVED DOCUMENTS
The Florida Bar | Tech Tip | August 09, 2022
Windows 10 provides quick access to frequently used apps and documents by allowing you to pin any app to the taskbar. It also allows you to open recent documents by hovering over the pinned app’s icon and right-clicking to reveal a list of your most recent and previously saved documents. Select the desired document and it will open for use in a new window. Other documents can be pinned to this recent list, which is useful for templates or regularly referenced documents.