Buchanan Ingersoll acquires a 90-attorney Florida firm

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is acquiring a 90-lawyer Florida law firm, increasing its attorney roster in the state and adding four new Florida offices. Partners of Pittsburgh-based Buchanan Ingersoll and Fowler White Boggs voted Thursday to approve a merger that takes effect Friday, according to a press release. Together, they…

Mar 13, 2014 7:53 PM CDT

Med-mal damages cap violates Florida Constitution, state supreme court says

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-2 opinion that the state’s cap on noneconomic damages in wrongful death cases violates the right to equal protection under the state constitution. In a plurality opinion (PDF), Justice R. Fred Lewis also said the damages cap did not bear a rational…

Mar 13, 2014 7:39 PM CDT

Former law firm name partner will plead guilty in election-law case, his attorney says

A plea of not guilty to a federal election-law violation was entered Thursday by a former name partner of the now-shuttered South Florida law firm headed by convicted Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein. However, Russell Adler is already scheduled to plead guilty early next month in the election-law case, the Sun…

Mar 13, 2014 6:00 PM CDT

Bill to protect schoolchildren from discipline over gun-shaped toaster pastries moves ahead in Fla.

A child who chews a toaster pastry into the shape of a gun would be protected from severe repercussions by elementary or high school authorities under a proposed bill moving forward in Florida that is intended to prevent excessive discipline under zero-tolerance policies concerning weapons. The so-called Toaster Pastry Gun…

Mar 7, 2014 9:15 PM CST

Elderly woman is jailed once again after food is discovered in her yard

An 81-year-old Florida woman was jailed this week after wildlife officials said they discovered food in her backyard—evidence that she had violated a court order not to feed wild animals. Mary Musselman of Sebring was accused of violating the terms of her probation, report My Fox Tampa Bay, the News-Sun…

Mar 7, 2014 8:14 PM CST

Name partner of shuttered Fla. law firm faces criminal case, wants to ‘get on with his life’

A name partner of the shuttered Florida law firm led by imprisoned swindler Scott Rothstein has been criminally charged with conspiracy to violate federal election laws. Russell Adler was charged in a criminal information filed by federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale, which usually signifies that the defendant is cooperating with…

Mar 7, 2014 7:55 PM CST

Florida warning-shot bill advances in state senate

A Florida bill that would make it legal to fire a warning shot at an attacker has advanced in the Florida legislature. The bill, designed to expand the state’s “stand your ground” law, was approved by Florida’s Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, the…

Mar 7, 2014 11:45 AM CST

Want a backyard shooting range? Florida law makes it easy

To put an addition on your home or install an in-ground swimming pool in the Florida town of Sunrise requires cooperating with code enforcement and zoning officials. But those who want to set up a backyard shooting range there—or anywhere else in the state—can simply do so, Reuters reports. Under…

Mar 6, 2014 11:40 PM CST

Immigrants living in US illegally can’t be lawyers, top Florida court says

Immigrants living in the U.S. illegally cannot practice law in Florida, the state’s top court ruled in a unanimous Thursday opinion. FlascBlog provided an early alert about the 11-page advisory opinion (PDF) by the Florida Supreme Court to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. Authored by Chief Justice Ricky Polston,…

Mar 6, 2014 8:45 PM CST

Man shot to death in courthouse standoff with law enforcement was armed with toy airsoft gun

A 51-year-old man shot to death after a three-hour standoff with law enforcement outside a Florida courthouse last week was armed with a $15.99 airsoft pistol that shoots plastic BB pellets, the Brevard County sheriff says. Officers from his SWAT team and a Palm Bay negotiator who was at the…

Mar 5, 2014 9:10 PM CST

Appeals court orders bail for 70-year-old former juror jailed for 6 months in contempt case

A 70-year-old Florida man who has spent more than a month in jail after being sentenced to nearly six months for contempt over his jury service in a high-profile drunken-driving and manslaughter case may not be there much longer. A state appeals court Monday ordered that Dennis DeMartin be allowed…

Mar 3, 2014 11:30 PM CST

ACLU of Florida says police department used cellphone tracking device 200 times without warrants

Police in Tallahassee, Fla., have used a so-called stingray device 200 times to track suspects through their cellphones—not only without getting warrants but without telling the suspects or the courts adjudicating the cases about the electronic surveillance. So, citing a First District Court of Appeal opinion (PDF) last year that…

Mar 3, 2014 7:55 PM CST

After courthouse is condemned for mold, temporary digs pose logistical problems

The infestation at the courthouse in Washington County, Fla., was revealed after an 800-pound chunk of stone fell from the top of the building. An inspection turned up rotten wood, water damage and mold—at least 12 different strains of it, the Panama City News Herald reports. Five strains were deemed…

Mar 3, 2014 12:15 PM CST

Firm challenges Florida Bar over website ad limits

Mar 1, 2014 9:49 AM CST

Juror, 70, who is serving 6-month contempt sentence must stay in the slammer during appeal

By the time Dennis DeMartin’s appeal of his six-month contempt term is heard, the 70-year-old Florida man will have served it, his lawyer points out. But, so far, there’s been little court sympathy for the argument that DeMartin should be freed while he appeals the five-month, 29-day jail sentence he…

Feb 28, 2014 10:10 PM CST