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.
August 08, 2025
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The Florida Bar
INAUGURAL FLORIDA BAR PARALEGAL CONFERENCE SET FOR MARCH 6 IN ORLANDO
The Florida Bar | Article | August 08, 2025
Paralegals from across the state will have a new opportunity to connect, learn, and advance their careers when The Florida Bar hosts its inaugural Paralegal Conference on Friday, March 6, at the Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando. Organized by The Florida Bar’s Programs Division, the one-day event is expected to draw a strong turnout of paralegals and other legal support professionals. Attendees can earn up to 6.5 hours of continuing education credit, with anticipated sessions focusing on civil rules of procedure updates, ethics, discovery, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in the legal profession.
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Legal Issues
HOA OR BIG BROTHER? SUNCOAST NEIGHBORHOODS USE CONTROVERSIAL TECHNOLOGY TO FINE SPEEDERS
Bradenton Herald | Article | August 08, 2025
A motorist turned into the Laurel Oak neighborhood in Sarasota County on an afternoon in late February. As the driver made his way through the community entrance, a camera inside the private subdivision captured the car going 39 mph. The speed limit was only 25 mph. Within a month, an unusual citation arrived in the mail demanding $125 — issued not from police or the sheriff’s office, but from the neighborhood HOA that controls the street. The Laurel Oak Estates and Country Club homeowners’ association has begun issuing speeding fines using automated license-plate readers and speed-capturing cameras, penalizing not only residents but anyone who drives through the neighborhood. This HOA’s practice — part of a growing national trend encouraged by private technology companies like Flock and Traffic Logix — raises questions about privacy, the delegation of law enforcement powers to private entities and the broader implications of surveillance technology in everyday life.
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Judicial Issues
LEON COURT CLERK’S LAWYER DENIES ‘NEGLECT OF DUTY’ CLAIMS AFTER JUDGE’S COMPLAINT
Tallahassee Democrat | Article | August 08, 2025
A month after she was accused by the chief circuit judge of “neglect of duty” for a litany of reported problems in her office, Leon County Clerk of Court Gwen Marshall Knight denied it in a formal response. On June 27, Chief Judge Frank Allman of the 2nd Judicial Circuit wrote Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz to complain about “systemic failure” in the clerk’s office, including excessive delays and errors that he said threatened the “prompt and efficient administration of justice.” Allman, in a strongly worded letter that he sent first to Knight, said he was required under court rules to refer the clerk to the chief justice, who in turn may report her to the governor’s office. But Knight’s private attorney, Mohammad Jazil, countered in a July 23 letter to Muñiz, saying there was no “failure” under court rules. Jazil wrote that the clerk’s office “took seriously” Allman’s concerns and that the problems have been “reviewed, addressed and resolved.” He said new training and procedures are in place “to ensure such issues” don’t happen again.
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Criminal Justice
SENTENCING POSTPONED FOR EX-MIAMI-DADE COMMISSIONER JOE MARTINEZ
CBS News Miami | Article | August 07, 2025
Former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Joe Martinez, convicted last year on corruption charges, was expected to be sentenced Thursday, but it has been delayed until Sept. 15. (Video)
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Legal Profession
THESE 2 ATTORNEYS WERE JUST TAPPED TO PICK JUDGES
Daily Business Review | Article | August 06, 2025
Gov. Ron DeSantis has called on two South Florida attorneys to fill posts on Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commissions: Michael Pineiro and Joseph "John" Farnia—one from Miami-Dade, the other from Palm Beach County. Chosen for the 11th Judicial Circuit JNC, Pineiro, of Coral Gables, is a partner at Marcus, Rashbaum, Pineiro & Meyers. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and his juris doctor from Columbia Law School. Pineiro was appointed from a list of nominees recommended by the Florida Bar for a term ending July 1, 2028. In the 15th Judicial Circuit Nominating Commission, DeSantis chose Joseph Farina, of Palm Beach Gardens, who is a partner at Boyes, Farina & Matwiczyk. Farina earned his bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and his juris doctor from Suffolk University. He was appointed from a list of nominees recommended by the Florida Bar for a term ending July 1, 2027.
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Obituary
'GIANT' OF A FLORIDA REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY DIES AT 59
Daily Business Review | Article | August 06, 2025
An attorney and developer known as the guiding force behind Arbor Coconut Grove and founder of Ark Capital Group, a Pembroke Pines-based real estate investment firm, Isaac Kodsi has died. He was 59. "He was my big brother. He was great," said Royal Palm Companies CEO Daniel Kodsi about his larger-than-life hero of a brother. "He was not only my big brother, but he was actually big. He ended up being six feet eight." Admitted to the Florida Bar in 1993, Isaac Kodsi's good nature and legal prowess honed at his practice as managing partner of Kodsi Law Firm in Pembroke Pines earned him the moniker "gentle giant."