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 19, 2025
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The Florida Bar
PAUL LIPTON TALKS MENTORSHIP, MINDSET, AND THE MODERN LEGAL LANDSCAPE ON THE LATEST ON CIVILITY
The Florida Bar | Article | May 19, 2025
In the latest episode of On Civility, Paul Lipton, an author and attorney with a career spanning more than 50 years, discusses with podcast host Magie Ozarowski the value and process of defining oneself and developing a personal code, as well as his thoughts about how to live “agelessly.” A South Florida trial attorney and shareholder with Greenberg Traurig for over 40 years, before assuming his current role as director of professionalism, career, and skill development for Rumberger Kirk, where he mentors associates, helping them to find balance, avoid the pitfalls of the profession, and sharpen their business development skills. He says practicing law can be exciting and fulfilling, but it also demands skills and composure that take time and experience to develop. Yet, new lawyers are often “thrown right into it” and expected to know more than they’ve had a chance to learn — which can be discouraging.
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Legal Discipline
FLORIDA LAWYER FINED FOR TRYING TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN GEORGIA RACE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Article | May 18, 2025
The Georgia State Election Board on Tuesday, May 12 imposed a $3500 fine on Florida lawyer Bill Price after he attempted to register to vote in Georgia and encouraged other Republicans to follow his lead. Price, a Panama City attorney, submitted an application to register at his brother’s house in Paulding County so he could vote in the U.S. Senate runoffs in early 2021. Price posted a Facebook video on Nov. 7, 2020, instructing Bay County Republican Party members how they could do the same thing, which is illegal. Georgia law requires voters to be residents of the state. Price, who deleted the Facebook video days after it was posted in 2020, agreed to the fine in a consent order approved unanimously by the board.
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Judicial Discipline
HILLSBOROUGH JUDGE NANCY JACOBS TO RESIGN AFTER PANEL RECOMMENDS REMOVAL
Tampa Bay Times | Article | May 16, 2025
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Nancy Jacobs will resign from the bench at the end of May, she announced Friday [May 16], weeks after a state disciplinary panel recommended she be removed from office. The panel of the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission found that Jacobs violated judicial canons — ethical rules that govern the conduct of judges and those running for the bench — in her bitterly contested 2022 campaign against Judge Jared Smith. The race featured hints of political partisanship, which is unusual for a Florida judicial contest. The panel concluded that Jacobs’ conduct made her unfit for office. Her resignation comes as the Florida Supreme Court weighed whether to adopt the panel’s recommendations. Jacobs admitted to some of the allegations against her and apologized. But the panel found that she lacked remorse.
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Criminal Justice
PINELLAS JUDGE DENIES STAND YOUR GROUND DEFENSE IN HOWARD FRANKLAND STABBING
Tampa Bay Times | Article | May 16, 2025
Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Keith Meyer, on Friday [May 16], rejected a stand your ground claim from former federal prosecutor Patrick Scruggs, who says he acted in self-defense when he stabbed another driver after a traffic crash on the Howard Frankland Bridge. Scruggs smashed the man’s window and stabbed him about seven times in the arm because he feared for his safety, he testified earlier this month. After hearing from Scruggs, the victim and several witnesses, Judge Meyer determined that Scruggs was “acting out of anger and frustration, not in fear” and set a trial for Sept. 9. Scruggs’ lawyers had sought to dismiss the case under Florida’s controversial stand your ground law, which extended self-defense in Florida by removing what’s known as the “duty to retreat” when a person is faced with the threat of a violent confrontation. If a judge determines a case meets the criteria of the law, the defendant will be declared immune from prosecution.
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United States Supreme Court
NRA APPEALS TO U.S. SUPREME COURT ON FLORIDA BAN OF PURCHASES OF LONG GUNS BY UNDER-21-YEAR-OLDS
WLRN Public Media | Article | May 18, 2025
The National Rifle Association (NRA) on Friday [May 16] asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its challenge to Florida’s ban on firearm purchases by adults under 21. It’s the latest move by the gun-rights group in its four-year-battle to override the 2018 Florida law that bans 18-to-20-year-olds from purchasing long guns. The full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit denied the legal challenge by the NRA in March, two years after a three-judge panel similarly ruled against the organization. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said after that ruling that his office would not defend the law if in fact the NRA filed an appeal with the high court. The NRA’s petition for certiorari calls upon the justices to review the split among federal circuit courts over whether adults under 21 enjoy Second Amendment rights. The Third, Fifth, and Eighth Circuits have ruled that they do, while the Tenth and Eleventh circuits have upheld laws banning firearm purchases by adults under 21.
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Civil Justice
EX-INTERN AT U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE GETS 11TH CIRCUIT REVIVAL OF SUIT AGAINST PROSECUTOR
Daily Business Review | Article | May 16, 2025
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a case regarding Jonathan Mullane, a former intern of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida who alleged he was unlawfully terminated and that his superior spread defamatory statements about him to media outlets. In 2018, Mullane interned at the USAO for the Southern District of Florida. According to Mullane, he disclosed to Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Lehr two potential conflicts of interest for which he was involved, including one in which he helped his father, a criminal defense attorney, translate confidential documents for a case. Lehr assigned Mullane to the same case despite allegedly knowing the conflict and Mullane claimed Lehr had committed misconduct. The U.S. Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s finding that Lehr was within her rights to terminated Mullane but disagreed with their finding that sending Mullane’s hearing transcript to members of the press was within the scope of her employment.
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Legal Profession
JWLA NAMES ASHLEA EDWARDS 2025 WOMAN LAWYER OF THE YEAR
Jacksonville Daily Record | Article | May 19, 2025
The Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association presented its 2025 Woman Lawyer of the Year and Ally awards May 8. Ashlea Edwards, a shareholder at GrayRobinson and 2024-25 president of The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, received the Woman Lawyer of the Year Award. The annual award is intended to promote a woman lawyer who has made meaningful contributions in her community through her legal service or volunteer activities and who has been a positive role model for JWLA members. Fourth Circuit Chief Judge Lance Day received the JWLA Ally Award. JWLA President Brittany Ford said the award is presented in extraordinary circumstances in recognition of the recipient’s outstanding support and contribution to promoting women and gender equality in the legal community. She described Day as “a staunch defender of equality for all even in the face of adversity.”