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.
June 21, 2024
-
The Florida Bar
ROLAND SANCHEZ-MEDINA, JR., PRESIDENT OF THE FLORIDA BAR
The Florida Bar | Article | June 21, 2024
In 2005, as a member of the Cuban American Bar Association’s (CABA) board, new Florida Bar President Roland Sanchez-Medina, Jr., decided to become proactive when two positions opened on the U.S. Supreme Court. Alongside his CABA colleagues, Sanchez-Medina advocated for the consideration of qualified Hispanic jurists from South Florida by sending two letters to then President George W. Bush. Their appeal to President Bush fell short. It wasn’t until four years later that Sonia Sotomayor made history becoming the first and only Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice. Antonio Castro, president of CABA at the time, says a core principle for Sanchez-Medina is his commitment to involve and promote qualified individuals, regardless of their backgrounds. Ultimately, Sanchez-Medina wants to encourage more colleagues to commit to Bar service. “It’s really outreach,” Sanchez-Medina said regarding his main priority. “I would love to see more lawyers involved,” explaining that only 15-20% of Florida Bar members vote in Bar elections. Bar members who don’t participate may not realize the benefits; “the friendships, the communication. And if you want to look at it from a business-development perspective, there’s that as well.
-
Legal Discipline
‘I’M A CONSERVATIVE’: JUSTICES SIDE WITH FLORIDA JUDGE ON PARTISANSHIP BUT PUNISH HER FOR OTHER VIOLATION
Daily Business Review | Article | June 20, 2024
The Florida Supreme Court Thursday [June 20] decided on the fate of St. Johns Court Judge Casey Woolsey, who described herself as a conservative in a voicemail during an election campaign, and who misrepresented that she had raised $100,000 from donors. The justices disagreed with Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) that the judge violated a judicial canon when she described herself as conservative. But they did issue a public reprimand for a social media post that misrepresented her campaign fundraising. In doing so, the court clarified the use of the word “conservative” concerning judicial nonpartisanship and reelection campaigns. The court wrote that describing oneself as a “conservative” does not signal bias toward anyone or on any issue. Nor does it reasonably call into doubt the fairness of any future judicial proceeding involving the candidate. “In political and legal discourse, ‘conservative’ is an indeterminate word of many meanings and connotations,” the justices wrote.
-
Legal Discipline
SOUTH FLORIDA LAWYER IS ONE OF TWO DEFENDANTS CHARGED IN ALLEGED DEED FRAUD
Sun Sentinel | Article | June 20, 2024
South Florida attorney Ashley Morin has been charged with fraud, accused of helping a woman file fake documents so the woman could do away with her son’s stake in a home, court records show. The case began when a man accused his mother, Suzanne Corcoran, of filing a forged quit claim deed to remove his name from a Cooper City home they shared on paper since 2020. Broward County Property Appraiser’s fraud task force investigators allege that in May 2023, Morin helped Corcoran remove Corcoran’s son from a deed. The records say Morin picked Corcoran up “and took her to various post offices in an attempt to find someone to notarize a pre-stamped deed bearing (the victim’s) signature.” The son, who is a lawyer, told investigators his signature stamp was missing from his office, and that Morin worked in his office as an attorney but her last day was supposed to be May 8, 2023, the date the deed was forged and recorded, investigators said.
-
Criminal Justice Legal Discipline
TALLAHASSEE ATTORNEY COUPLE TAKES PLEA DEAL IN SEXUAL BATTERY CASE
Tallahassee Democrat | Article | June 21, 2024
Attorneys Gabriel and Sarah Warren, who were accused by a woman who worked in their home of sexual battering her, entered pleas to lesser charges as part of a deal with state prosecutors. The Warrens, who were arrested on March 12, each on a charge of sexual battery, a second-degree felony, pleaded no contest Thursday [June 20] to illegal use of a two-way communication device, a third-degree felony. Leon Circuit Judge Tiffany Baker-Carper withheld adjudication and sentenced both to 48 months of probation and 15 days in the county jail, with credit for two days served.
-
Judiciary
SUMMARIZING PROPOSED CHANGES TO FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
JD Supra | Article | June 20, 2024
The Florida Supreme Court has taken steps to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of civil litigation, and it has issued two separate per curiam opinions introducing proposed substantial amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Rules”) in order to expedite what has proven to be a backlog of cases (recently, a judge in Miami-Dade County stated that he was overseeing over 1,100 cases). The proposed rules are set to take effect on January 1, 2025, and these changes are designed to streamline case management, encourage cooperation among parties, expedite the resolution of civil disputes and include a new rule imposing discovery meet and conferral requirements. The Court’s amendments respond to the recommendations of the Workgroup on Improved Resolution of Civil Cases which was formed in 2019. The Workgroup’s primary objective was to examine existing laws, rules, and practices related to civil procedure and case management, and propose changes that could enhance civil cases’ timely, cost-effective, and fair resolution.
-
Florida Supreme Court
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT SAYS PEACEFUL PROTESTERS OK UNDER DESANTIS ANTI-RIOT LAW
News Service of Florida | Article | June 20, 2024
Rejecting arguments that the law is ambiguous, the Florida Supreme Court said Thursday [June 20] that peaceful protesters are not threatened by a measure that Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature passed in 2021 to crack down on violent demonstrations. Civil rights groups filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the measure, contending it could lead to peaceful protesters facing charges when demonstrations turn violent. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in 2021 issued a preliminary injunction against the law, describing it as unconstitutionally “vague and overbroad.” The state appealed, but the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took a somewhat unusual step of requesting help from the Florida Supreme Court with what it called a “novel” issue — how to determine the meaning of the word “riot” in the law. Thursday’s main opinion agreed with DeSantis and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, another defendant in the lawsuit, that a “peaceful protester, under the most natural reading of the statute, is no rioter.”
-
Civil Justice
FORMER TOP STAFFER SUES ORANGE-OSCEOLA STATE ATTORNEY BAIN FOR MATERNITY-LEAVE FIRING
Orlando Sentinel | Article | June 20, 2024
A former top staffer is suing Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain, alleging he sought to force her to work while on maternity leave and fired her when she wouldn’t. Keisha Mulfort served as chief of staff and spokesperson to then-State Attorney Monique Worrell from Jan. 2021 until Aug. 2023, when she was fired the day after Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended Worrell and appointed Bain as her replacement. Mulfort, whose firing and allegations became public at the time, contends Bain’s actions violated her protected leave rights under federal and state law. She sees the firing as an act of retaliation, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Bain’s office dismissed Mulfort’s suit Thursday [June 20]. “We take compliance with state and federal employment laws very seriously and are prepared to vigorously defend the claims asserted as non-actionable,” said a spokesman for the State Attorney’s Office.
-
Civil Justice
HAVING LOST ROUND ONE IN HER COURT BATTLE WITH THE CITY, MILTON MAYOR SEEKS LEGAL HELP
Pensacola News Journal | Article | June 21, 2024
Faced with having her phone records reviewed as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit filed against her by the city she was elected to serve, Milton Mayor Heather Lindsay has asked Circuit Court Judge J. Scott Duncan to give her a month to find an attorney to represent her interests. The lawsuit, filed May 15 by City Attorney Alex Andrade on behalf of the City Council, alleges that as far back as July 22 of last year Andrade began seeking documents from Lindsay that under Florida’s Sunshine Law are considered public records. It claims the mayor has delayed producing the requested records and that the city believes some records have illegally been withheld. Earlier this week Judge Duncan ruled that Andrade had “sufficiently established” at a June 13 hearing that Lindsay had indeed failed to produce some requested public records in a timely fashion. The judge also noted that Andrade had provided evidence to show some records sought on behalf of the city might not yet have been produced.