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.
October 16, 2025
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The Florida Bar
BAR PRESIDENT BAKER-BARNES ADDRESSES COURT PIOS ON ‘OUR SHARED MISSION’
The Florida Bar | Article | October 16, 2025
Florida Bar President Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes addressed members of the Florida Courts Public Information Officers on October 15 at the group’s annual conference in St. Augustine. She emphasized the symbiotic relationship between attorneys and public information officers for the state court system in her remarks, titled “Our Shared Mission.” “When we talk about our shared mission, you are the bridges to the people we serve,” Barker-Barnes said to 30 members gathered for the conference. “Transparency, trust, civility – these are the pillars that uphold what we do as lawyers and those are the same things you do to uphold the work of the courts.”
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Legal Discipline
HOW IGNORING CLIENTS WORKED OUT FOR A BROWARD IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY
Miami Herald | Article | October 15, 2025
The Florida Supreme Court disbarred Don Gonzalez, an immigration attorney in July for being delinquent with client work and for ignoring The Florida Bar when those clients complained. Gonzalez, a member of the Bar since 1993, had been suspended by the state Supreme Court since May 22, 2024, for giving the Bar the silent treatment on his grievances. Gonzalez didn’t answer when the Bar asked for information related to Gaby Gisella Solari Montoya, who hired Gonzalez in January 2022 to work on her mother’s estate. Richard Donahue paid Gonzalez $7,700 to handle his wife and stepdaughter’s change in immigration status to permanent resident in 2020, but Gonzalez didn’t keep them reasonably updated on what was happening. Donahue fired Gonzalez via Oct. 2, 2020, letter, and demanded a refund. Money for nothing Gonzalez’s non-work ways resurfaced with Ramona Watson who paid Gonzalez $2,100 to handle probate issues around an aunt’s estate in March 2022.
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Criminal Justice
CONDEMNED KILLER OF EAST MILTON WOMAN WAIVES LEGAL FIGHT AHEAD OF EXECUTION
News Service of Florida | Article | October 15, 2025
In an unusual move, Norman Grim, an inmate scheduled to be executed this month in the 1998 sexual assault and murder of Cynthia Chapman, has decided not to fight in court. During an Oct. 1 hearing before Judge Clifton Drake in Santa Rosa County Circuit Court, Grim waived his right to appeal, according to court documents. “Defendant indicated that his wish was to forego all warrant (legal) proceedings and allow execution to proceed,” Judge Drake wrote in an order after the hearing. “Defendant was advised of his right to appeal as well as his right to waive the appeal and defendant stated, ‘No appeals.’” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Sept. 26 signed a death warrant to execute Grim for the murder of Chapman, an attorney who was his neighbor in Santa Rosa County.
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Civil Justice
COPS DIDN’T BELIEVE TEEN WAS RAPED UNTIL SHE FILMED EVIDENCE IN FLORIDA, SUIT SAYS
Miami Herald | Article | October 15, 2025
According to a new federal lawsuit, authorities in Florida did not believe Taylor Cadle when she reported Henry Cadle, her great-uncle and adoptive parent, had been sexually abusing her for about three years. Cadle was 12 years old when she reported him. Now an adult, Cadle is suing over the investigation that led to her being wrongfully prosecuted instead of her uncle, before he was criminally charged and sentenced. The lawsuit filed Oct. 10 states at age 13, Cadle was charged with lying to law enforcement about the rapes at the insistence of Polk County Sheriff’s Detective Melissa Turnage, who was tasked with investigating Cadle’s case. In a Dec. 14, 2016 police report, Turnage concluded she found no evidence that implicated her uncle but that there was “enough probable cause to establish Cadle lied,” the complaint says.
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Civil Justice
$9.5 MILLION: MERRILL LYNCH SETTLES FRAUD SUIT WITH EX-NFL STAR
Daily Business Review | Article | October 15, 2025
Merrill Lynch in August agreed to pay former Miami Dolphins safety Reshad Jones $9.5 million to settle claims that Isaiah Thomas Williams Jr., a financial adviser exploited his trust and stole millions of dollars from the two-time Pro Bowler’s accounts, according to records from the financial industry regulatory authority’s BrokerCheck database. The settlement, finalized in August but not publicly reported until Friday [Oct. 10], resolves Jones’ arbitration claim against the Bank of America subsidiary after his former adviser, allegedly misappropriated $2.59 million through unauthorized transactions and a complex money laundering scheme. Jones’ attorneys—Chase Carlson of Carlson Law and Jeff Sonn of Sonn Law Group —had issued a statement calling the case, “Yet another troubling example of a professional athlete being exploited by a wealth management firm he trusted.”
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Civil Justice
APPEALS COURT SIDES WITH ALACHUA COUNTY COMMISSION, REVERSING AT-LARGE DISTRICTS RULING
WCJB | Article | October 15, 2025
On Wednesday [Oct. 15], Florida’s First District Court of Appeal sided with Alachua County in the legal fight over single-member versus at-large county commission districts. In 2024, 70 percent of voters approved a referendum to return Alachua County Commission races to at-large districts, meaning everyone in the county votes for all five commissioners. The referendum came just two years after another ballot measure passed, shifting the commission to single-member districts, where voters cast ballots for only the commission seat representing the district they live. The lower court ruled that the ballot language in 2024 was unlawful because it wasn’t worded the same way as the 2022 referendum. However, the appellate court determined that state law supports the wording of the most recent referendum.
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Civil Justice
WILL DATA CENTERS DRIVE UP FLORIDA ELECTRIC BILLS? THIS CASE COULD DECIDE.
Tampa Bay Times | Article | October 16, 2025
For the first time in Florida, utility regulators are mulling how to handle data centers — the energy-guzzling facilities that house computer equipment needed to power artificial intelligence and other tech programs. Data centers in other parts of the country have already skyrocketed some Americans’ electric bills, as utilities must rapidly build more power plants and transmission lines to compensate for the soaring demand. The issue has come up as part of the complex rate case of Florida Power & Light, giving state utility regulators the chance to set guardrails that could set a precedent for Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric.
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Legal Education
SCHOOL OF LAW TO HOST ACCLAIMED CIVIL DISCOURSE PROGRAM FOR ALL FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS
News@TheU | Article | October 14, 2025
On Oct. 24, all first-year students at the University of Miami School of Law will participate in the “Civil Discourse & Difficult Decisions” program, a cornerstone of the school’s professionalism initiative. This immersive experience aims to prepare students for the challenges of a legal career by focusing on the importance of civility, engagement, and effective communication. “Students will step into the courtroom as advocates and jurors, sharpening their skills in deliberation and respectful dialogue while building professional connections that extend beyond the classroom,” said Camila Souza, assistant dean of Engagement & Student Leadership. The program is a national initiative of the federal courts that brings students into courthouses for proceedings based on real-life situations.