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 19, 2024
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The Florida Bar
FLORIDA ADOPTS NEXTGEN BAR EXAM WITH FLORIDA LAW COMPONENT FOR JULY 2028 BAR EXAM
The Florida Bar | Article | July 18, 2024
Florida is set to join approximately 20 other jurisdictions that are adopting a new bar exam test format from the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) known as the NextGen Bar Exam. The first administration of the NextGen Bar Exam in Florida will be in July 2028. The Florida Supreme Court approved the recommendation from the Florida Board of Bar Examiners (FBBE) to replace the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) with the NextGen Bar Exam and to retain a Florida-specific component on the exam. The current Florida General Bar Examination consists of two parts, the MBE, which is produced by the NCBE, and a Florida-specific portion of the exam. The NCBE is discontinuing the MBE and will no longer offer it after February 2028. Although the Bar Examiners are still determining the precise format of the Florida-specific portion, the FBBE and Supreme Court have announced the decision to adopt NextGen early in an effort to provide as much notice as possible to current law students.
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Criminal Justice
APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS $3.6 MILLION JUDGMENT AGAINST MIRAMAR IN CASE OF MAN WRONGLY IMPRISONED FOR 26 YEARS
Sun Sentinel | Article | July 18, 2024
Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeal on Wednesday [July 17] overturned a Broward judge’s order that the city of Miramar owed $3.6 million to Anthony Caravella, a man who was exonerated in 2010 after spending over two decades in prison for a murder and rape he did not commit. Broward Circuit Judge Carlos Rodriguez late last year ordered Miramar to pay compensatory damages, interest and attorneys’ fees after Caravella won a federal lawsuit in 2013 against two now-retired Miramar officers who he argued coerced him into confessing to the 1983 murder of Ada Jankowski. A federal jury found the officers intentionally violated Caravella’s civil rights under three separate constitutional amendments and awarded him $7.5 million, of which $4.5 million was against the officers personally. Caravella’s successfully sued Miramar for the rest of the judgment in Broward Circuit Court, but the appellate court overturned this decision, citing a Florida law that says a city can’t be required to pay a judgment where an officer was determined “to have caused the harm intentionally.”
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Criminal Justice
NEARLY 15 YEARS AFTER HIS SON WAS KILLED, A DAVIE FATHER WAITS FOR JUSTICE
Sun Sentinel | Article | July 18, 2024
Jeffrey Chidsey has already faced trial twice for the shooting death of Cameron Fritzon. Chidsey is scheduled to go in front of a new jury in September. Until then, he is free on a $50,000 bond, a freedom he only surrendered for a few months in 2018 when he was arrested on a drunk driving charge. The case first went to jury selection in late 2015, but the judge was forced to declare a mistrial when jurors openly worried that their addresses would be available to the public, the defendant and his family. The following year, a jury of six listened to the evidence and was unable to agree on the central question of the case — was Chidsey a hothead who escalated a 2009 fight, by leaving the bar and getting a gun from his car? Or was he acting in self-defense against Fritzson, a larger, stronger man who all but dared him to use deadly force?
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Legal Education
ARE LAW SCHOOLS NOW TEACHING STUDENTS HOW TO PRACTICE LAW?
Daily Business Review | Column | July 18, 2024
Jill Backer, the associate dean for professional development and alumni affairs at Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, writes: “The legal academy prides itself on teaching the ubiquitous skill of ‘thinking like a lawyer.’ Thinking like a lawyer is a necessary skill but far from the only skill required to be an effective and ethical lawyer. The ABA finally made a move to round out legal education with the required teaching of soft skills beyond the basic rules of Professional Responsibility and memorization of doctrinal law . . . Professional identity formation (PIF) is the process of integrating a profession’s knowledge, skills, values, and behaviors with one’s preexisting identity and values . . . Traditional skill building of knowledge of legal doctrine, legal research skills and excellent written and oral communication skills are still tantamount to becoming a good and ethical lawyer. However, just as important are strong work ethic, client responsiveness and effective communication, grit and organization among other skills. This latter group is all part of the professional identity formation.”