11th Circuit Court

US Supreme Court to Review Voting Rights Act Case Out of Shelby County, Ala.

The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it will review the constitutionality of a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. Under Section 5 of the statute, which was first enacted in 1965 and last extended by Congress in 2006, state and local government entities with a history of discrimination…

Nov 9, 2012 9:52 PM CST

Legal Secretary Accused of Embezzling $830K From Retired Partner Gets 3 Years in Federal Prison

Assigned by an unidentified Atlanta law firm to help a retired partner pay personal bills, a Georgia legal secretary took the opportunity to use his funds to cover $830,000 of her own expenses, authorities say. After pleading guilty earlier this year to one count of mail fraud, Francine Fonger, 50,…

Oct 29, 2012 9:25 PM CDT

New Stay Granted for Inmate Claiming ‘Grandiose Delusion’ Bars His Execution

A federal appeals court granted a temporary stay of execution on Tuesday for a Florida inmate who believes he is the “prince of God.” The U.S. Supreme Court refused to vacate the stay delaying the execution of John Errol Ferguson by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, report…

Oct 24, 2012 12:17 PM CDT

11th Circuit Lifts Execution Stay for Mass Murderer; ABA Prez Calls for Review of Insanity Claims

Updated: A federal appeals court has vacated a stay of execution for a Florida inmate who believes he is the “prince of God” and he will return to earth after his lethal injection. In a 2-1 decision (PDF), the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a federal judge…

Oct 23, 2012 5:40 PM CDT

11th Circuit OKs Sanction for Brief Calling Judge’s Findings ‘Half Baked’ and Wine Peace Offering

A federal appeals court has ruled the First Amendment doesn’t protect a Florida lawyer who wrote a brief calling a judge’s findings “half-baked” and then sent a bottle of wine to his chambers in an attempt to make up. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sanction,…

Oct 17, 2012 12:23 PM CDT

Don’t Want Toll Booth Delay? Don’t Pay with Big Bills, Says 11th Circuit

A Florida policy which mandates that a car must wait while toll booth operators collect driver information when someone pays with large bills does not amount to improper detention, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week. To discourage drivers from paying tolls with large bills, when the…

Sep 21, 2012 4:35 PM CDT

11th Circuit Upholds Death Sentence Despite Jurors’ Bawdy Chocolate Gifts

An Atlanta-based federal appeals court has upheld a death sentence for a Georgia man despite the jurors’ chocolate gag gifts to the judge and bailiff. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to grant a new trial for Marcus Wellons, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. In a unanimous opinion, the…

Sep 20, 2012 1:06 PM CDT

11th Circuit Judges Split on Decision Length; Concurrence Quotes Mark Twain

Two judges on the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have joined (PDF) to uphold a murder conviction despite the defense lawyer’s quart-a-day drinking habit, but one of the judges concurred only in the judgment because he thought his colleague too wordy. Judge Ed Carnes wrote a 105-page opinion…

Sep 18, 2012 10:29 AM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Steven Lippman Gets 3 Years, Says Ex-Partner Scott Rothstein ‘Played Me Like a Fool’

A newly disbarred South Florida lawyer was sentenced Friday to three years in federal prison, in the latest fallout from the implosion of the Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler law firm operated by convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein, who is also disbarred and serving a 50-year federal prison term. Although Steven Lippman,…

Sep 14, 2012 6:19 PM CDT

Ex-Banker Birkenfeld Gets $104M for UBS Case Cooperation; May Be Biggest US Whistleblower Award

Sentenced to a 40-month federal prison term in 2009 for his role in a tax evasion conspiracy involving offshore American accounts, former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld elicited sympathetic comments from some observers who said the hefty sentence was likely to discourage other whistleblowers from cooperating with the government. But the…

Sep 11, 2012 4:22 PM CDT

Federal Judge OKs Suit Against SEC re Alleged 12-Year Delay Alerting SIPC of Allen Stanford Fraud

Rejecting a claim that the judicial branch lacks jurisdiction to tell the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission what to do when fraud is suspected, a federal judge in Miami has given the green light to a lawsuit brought against the SEC by investors who say they lost millions in the…

Sep 10, 2012 5:24 PM CDT

2 Florida Attorneys Take Plea in Federal Mortgage Fraud Case

Two lawyers from Orange County, Fla., have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud charges in a federal mortgage fraud case in Orlando. Court documents say Daniel Hoskins, 42, and Alexander Zouzoulas, 56, worked for the Nate Hoskins firm, which had exclusive closing rights at three condominium…

Sep 10, 2012 4:35 PM CDT

Disbarred Lawyer Scott Rothstein’s Wife Charged with Trying to Keep Feds From Seizing $1M in Jewelry

Kimberly Wendell Rothstein had nothing to do with the $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme orchestrated by her husband, disbarred Florida attorney Scott Rothstein, her lawyer says. But the 38-year-old does take “full responsibility,” states attorney David K. Tucker, for her actions related to the federal obstruction conspiracy case announced last week…

Sep 10, 2012 4:10 PM CDT

3rd Lawyer from Shuttered Rothstein Law Firm Is Disbarred After Criminal Conviction

A third attorney from Scott Rothstein’s former South Florida law firm has been disbarred after the implosion of a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme several years ago. Steven Lippman was not accused of any role in the Ponzi scheme for which Rothstein, who is now disbarred, is serving a 50-year sentence…

Sep 4, 2012 8:53 PM CDT

Appeals Court Blocks Removal of Ten Commandments Monument From Courthouse Steps

A federal appeals court has blocked the removal of a Ten Commandments monument from the steps outside of a Florida courthouse for the time being. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in a ruling (PDF) Wednesday, sent the case back to a lower court for an evidentiary hearing…

Aug 17, 2012 7:36 PM CDT