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.
May 08, 2025
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The Florida Bar
GOV. DESANTIS MAKES TWO JUDICIAL APPOINTMENTS
The Florida Bar | Article | May 08, 2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 7 made two judicial appointments. DeSantis appointed Lauren Blocker of Ponte Vedra to serve as judge on the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court. Blocker has served as a county court judge for St. Johns County since 2021. Previously, she was corporate counsel for Fidelity Information Services. Blocker fills the judicial vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Matthew Foxman. DeSantis also appointed Michele Simonsen of New Smyrna Beach to serve as judge on the Volusia County Court. Simonsen has served as an assistant state attorney for the Seventh Judicial Circuit since 1998. Previously, she served as an assistant federal public defender. Simonsen fills the judicial vacancy created by the elevation of Judge A. Christian Miller.
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Legal Discipline
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT DISCIPLINES 8 ATTORNEYS FROM WEST PALM, MIAMI, FORT LAUDERDALE AND MORE
Palm Beach Post | Article | May 07, 2025
The Florida Supreme Court recently disciplined eight attorneys — disbarring one, revoking the licenses of three, suspending two and reprimanding two. The attorneys represent law practices from across the state. Fort Lauderdale attorney Thomas Grant Neusom was disbarred in recent orders after failing to respond to multiple Bar inquiries and an order to show cause by the Florida Supreme Court. The attorneys whose licenses were revoked in recent orders include Patricia Anne Bronson of Tampa, David Jay Bernstein of Coconut Creek and Gregory F. Pillon of Miami. The lawyers suspended in recent orders are Suzanne Mandich of West Palm Beach and Xenia Hernández of Miami. Leesburg attorney John J. Vasti received a public reprimand and was ordered to attend Ethics School.
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Judicial Discipline
BROWARD JUDGE AGREES TO 10-DAY SUSPENSION WITHOUT PAY
News Service of Florida | Article | May 07, 2025
After the Florida Supreme Court rejected less-severe punishment, Broward County Circuit Judge Stefanie Moon and an investigative panel of the state Judicial Qualifications Commission have agreed she should receive a 10-day suspension without pay in a case that includes allegations she improperly made political contributions. Judge Moon and the panel on Wednesday [May 7] filed a revised agreement, known as a stipulation, that went along with disciplinary measures suggested last week by the Supreme Court. The Judicial Qualifications Commission in April recommended that Moon receive a public reprimand and pay a fine of $2,115, the amount of the political contributions. But the Supreme Court last week rejected that recommendation and said she should receive a suspension, along with being reprimanded and paying the fine.
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Judicial Discipline
BROWARD JUDGE URGES SUPREME COURT TO REJECT RECOMMENDATION TO SUSPEND HIM
News Service of Florida | Article | May 07, 2025
Arguing he has “learned his lesson,” Broward County Circuit Judge Gary Farmer, a former Senate Democratic leader, this week urged the Florida Supreme Court to reject a recommendation that he be immediately suspended after an investigative panel accused him of “pervasive and extensive” behavior demonstrating “unfitness to hold office.” Farmer was elected as a judge in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit in 2022 after six years in the Senate. He served as Senate minority leader during the 2021 legislative session but was ousted after a vote of no confidence by fellow Democrats. An investigative panel of the state Judicial Qualifications Commission in March filed a notice of formal charges against Farmer accusing him of repeatedly making inappropriate comments. t recommended that he be immediately suspended without pay pending the outcome of the proceedings. The commission makes recommendations about judicial conduct to the Florida Supreme Court, which has ultimate disciplinary authority.
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Civil Justice
FLORIDA ASKS COURT TO OVERTURN RULING AGAINST PARENTS IN SCHOOL GENDER IDENTITY CASE
News Service of Florida | Article | May 07, 2025
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Republican leaders in 19 other states are calling for the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear arguments consider a decision that backed the Leon County school system in a dispute about a student wanting to express a gender identity and use pronouns the child's parents didn't support. A three-judge panel of the appeals court in March ruled against the parents, January and Jeffrey Littlejohn, in the lawsuit against the Leon County School Board, Superintendent Rocky Hanna and other school officials. The state officials’ brief described the panel ruling as “disastrous for parents everywhere.” But the panel’s ruling said the case involved a challenge to government executive actions and, as a result, the legal test under court precedents was whether school officials’ actions “shocked the conscience.” The panel, in a 2-1 ruling, concluded the actions did not rise to that level.
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Criminal Justice
JURY RECOMMENDS DEATH FOR 2 CONVICTED IN DELTONA 'XBOX MURDERS' CASE AFTER JUDGE ORDERS RESENTENCING
Spectrum News | Article | May 07, 2025
A Volusia County jury voted in favor of recommending the death penalty Wednesday [May 7] for Troy Victorino and Jerone Hunter, who were convicted of the 2004 so-called Xbox murders. Considered by many to be the deadliest mass murder in the history of Volusia County, Victorino and Hunter were convicted of beating six people and a dog to death in 2004. Both were sentenced to death in 2006 for their roles in the killings, but their sentences were nullified in 2018 after Florida courts began requiring unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty. In 2023, on the same day that Gov. DeSantis signed a bill authorizing a new non-unanimous sentencing standard in capital cases, a jury was seated for the resentencing of the defendants, which led to a mistrial. Last month, a jury was seated again to sentence Victorino and Hunter under the new law.