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.
December 06, 2024
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The Florida Bar
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT REVISES CIVIL CASE MANAGEMENT REFORMS BEFORE JANUARY 1 IMPLEMENTATION
The Florida Bar | Article | December 06, 2024
The Florida Supreme Court December 5 put the final touches on a framework for the active case management of civil cases with a focus on adhering to deadlines established early based on the complexity of the case, while providing room for customization by judicial circuits through administrative orders that will go into effect January 1. The court’s amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure also incorporated the proportionality language of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) into the Florida rules and required initial discovery disclosures and discovery supplementation like the federal rules. In a separate opinion issued the same day, the court further refined Rule 1.510 (Summary Judgment) and adopted new Rule 1.202 (Conferral Prior to Filing Motions).
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Legal Discipline
SUPREME COURT DISCIPLINES SIX ATTORNEYS
Florida Record | Article | December 05, 2024
The Florida Supreme Court in recent court orders disciplined six attorneys, revoking the license of two, suspending three and reprimanding one. The court revoked the licenses of Nina Tamar Beltran, of Dallas, Texas, and Jason Penrod of Lake Wales in court orders issued on Nov. 14. Suspended attorneys include Miami attorneys Maria C. Delgadillo and Leroy G. Lee, suspended for 18 months and 90 days, respectively, and Hee Bum Michael Kim, who is currently residing in Seoul South Korea and received a 91-day suspension. In recent orders, the court also publicly reprimand Illeana Maria Almeida of Fort Lauderdale and referred her to Florida Lawyers Assistance Inc.
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Florida Supreme Court
FLORIDA’S ATTORNEY GENERAL WANTS STATE SUPREME COURT TO REJECT VOTER FRAUD FIGHT
News Service of Florida | Article | December 05, 2024
Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office is urging the Florida Supreme Court to reject an appeal stemming from a series of voter fraud charges filed against convicted felons in 2022. Lawyers in Moody’s office filed a brief Wednesday [Dec. 4] arguing the Supreme Court should decline to take up an appeal by Terry Hubbard, who was one of 20 convicted felons accused of registering and voting when ineligible. The dispute centers on whether the statewide prosecutor’s office had authority to file charges against Hubbard. A Broward County circuit judge dismissed the case because he said the alleged wrongdoing occurred in one judicial circuit and that the statewide prosecutor only had jurisdiction in cases involving multiple circuits. But a panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in July overturned that ruling, and the full appeals court later declined a request for a rehearing.
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Florida Supreme Court
DEATH SENTENCE APPEAL DENIED IN 1988 FLORIDA MURDER
News Service of Florida | Article | December 05, 2024
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday [Dec. 5] rejected a Death Row inmate’s argument that his sentence in a 1988 murder should be reconsidered because of recently discovered information about his biological parents. Justices unanimously turned down the argument by Richard Barry Randolph, who was sentenced to death in the fatal beating and stabbing of Minnie Ruth McCollum, a manager of a Handy-Way store in Palatka. The appeal stemmed, at least in part, from expert testimony at Randolph’s trial that he suffered as a child from cruelty by adoptive parents, according to Thursday’s opinion written by Justice John Couriel. Randolph recently obtained his birth certificate and got information about his birth parents, which he argued would “show that he lacked a genetic predisposition to criminal violence, and that a significant contributing factor to his decision-making was the cruelty he suffered as a child from his adoptive parents.”
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Criminal Justice
‘COMING FOR Y’ALL.’ INMATE SIGNS THREAT TO PROSECUTOR, JUDGE, WITH FULL NAME, FEDS SAY
Miami Herald | Article | December 05, 2024
Inmate Taylor Ryan Hill, who was convicted of murder, mailed a threatening letter from prison to a Florida prosecutor who prosecuted his case — and signed the letter with his full name, federal officials said. In the letter, he threatened to have the assistant state attorney in Clay County and the judge who issued him his sentence killed, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The threats were sent in an envelope that had a return address with his name, inmate number and address of the prison in which Hill is incarcerated. Hill, of Jacksonville, has pleaded guilty to mailing threatening communications, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Dec. 4 news release. Hill is currently serving a life sentence and faces up to five years in prison in connection with the threats.
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Civil Justice
JURY AWARDS $310M TO PARENTS OF TEEN WHO FELL TO DEATH FROM ORLANDO PARK RIDE
Orlando Sentinel | Article | December 05, 2024
An Orange County jury decided Thursday evening [Dec. 5] that the manufacturer of the Orlando ride from which 14-year-old Tyre Sampson plunged to his death in 2022 should pay his parents $310 million. The quick trial and verdict — jury selection began only Thursday morning — put a strikingly high price tag on Sampson’s plummet from the Orlando FreeFall, a ride he was allowed to board despite exceeding its weight restrictions. The lawsuit was brought by Tyre’s parents, Nekia Dodd and Yarnell Sampson. The lawsuit named Funtime, the FreeFall’s Austrian-based manufacturer, and German company Gerstlauer Amusement Rides, which according to court filings was responsible for designing and inspecting the ride’s seats and harnesses.
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Judiciary
VETERANS TREATMENT COURT HELPS VETS IN LEGAL TROUBLE IN ORANGE AND OSCEOLA COUNTIES
My News 13 | Article | December 03, 2024
Florida has the third largest population of veterans in the United States with over 1.4 million military veterans, according to the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. However, mental health challenges like post-traumatic stress and substance abuse are not uncommon for veterans after combat. That’s why the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court in Central Florida offers veterans who land in legal trouble a different option. It’s called Veterans Treatment Court and falls under one of the four umbrellas of the Ninth Circuit’s Problem-Solving Court. Eligible veterans must suffer from a military-service related mental illness, traumatic brain injury, substance abuse disorder, or psychological problem and must not have a history of crimes against children, sex crimes, or first-degree felonies. The minimum length of stay in Veterans Treatment Court is six months for misdemeanors and 12 months for felonies, up to the statutory maximum.