Florida

Ex-prosecutor gets 2-year suspension over 100s of calls and texts with judge in death-penalty case

A referee recommended that a former Florida assistant state attorney be suspended from practicing law for one year due to the more than 1,400 ex parte calls and text messages he admittedly exchanged with the judge presiding over a death-penalty case he was prosecuting and the Florida Bar agreed this…

Jun 25, 2013 1:00 PM CDT

Fla. lawyer who disappeared turns himself in; feds say up to $8M in client funds is missing

A South Florida real estate lawyer who reportedly disappeared in early April along with between $3 million and $8 million in client escrow funds has turned himself in to the feds. FBI officials in Miami say Timothy P. McCabe surrendered Thursday morning in West Palm Beach, CBS Miami reports, relying…

Jun 20, 2013 4:45 PM CDT

Partner pay holdback of 20 percent at Becker & Poliakoff is not popular

A new policy at Becker & Poliakoff of holding back 20 percent of partners’ pay is not popular, managing shareholder Gary Rosen admits. However, he said such measures are a standard business procedure at law firms today in order to maintain a cash reserve and insisted that the holdback is…

Jun 18, 2013 7:20 PM CDT

Ex-NFL star Chad Johnson apologizes for pat on lawyer’s posterior, wins release from jail

Updated: A former NFL star who angered a South Florida judge by playfully slapping his lawyer’s backside in court last week and wound up in jail has apologized and been released, after serving seven days, according to the Associated Press and CBS Miami. Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh originally…

Jun 17, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Could NSA surveillance help an accused bank robbery conspirator? His lawyer thinks so

The lawyer for a Florida man accused in a series of bank robbery attempts says phone records collected by the National Security Agency could prove his client wasn’t at one of the crime sites. The lawyer, Marshall Dore Louis, has filed a motion for NSA records on phones used by…

Jun 13, 2013 1:49 PM CDT

Law grad, 70, who celebrated 50th wedding anniversary June 1, is now studying for bar exam

Unlike some younger classmates, Sandra Wilson didn’t go to law school for the money. Nor is she worried about balancing a fledgling legal career with marriage and children—at 70, she just celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary June 1 and is a grandmother, the News Herald reports. Now, after earning her…

Jun 12, 2013 10:35 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Money in Rothstein law firm accounts can’t be forfeited to feds

In a decision that may benefit ordinary creditors of a defunct Florida law firm and cost those swindled by its imprisoned former managing partner, Scott Rothstein, a federal appeals court has ruled that funds in Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler bank accounts are not subject to forfeiture by the feds. That means…

Jun 12, 2013 9:25 PM CDT

Lawyer calls ex-NFL client’s backside pat a gesture of respect, seeks reduction of 30-day jail term

Updated: Former NFL player Chad Johnson should not have to do time for his playful tap on his lawyer’s backside during a court hearing in Florida on Monday, the attorney says in a motion seeking a reduction of the jail term that resulted. “Mr. Johnson has been a professional football…

Jun 12, 2013 3:30 PM CDT

Helping wife of Ponzi-scheming lawyer in plot to hide jewelry leads to disbarment for attorney

A Florida lawyer who represented the wife of convicted Ponzi-schemer lawyer Scott Rothstein has consented to disbarment in Arizona after pleading guilty to helping her hide more than $1 million in jewelry from the government. Lawyer Scott Saidel consented to disbarment, according to a June 3 order (PDF) accepting the…

Jun 11, 2013 2:15 PM CDT

As libel trial losers battle $1M legal bill, FBI probes claimed mid-trial DUI set-up of their lawyer

The trial in a defamation case between two radio shock jocks in Florida has been over for months. But there’s no end in sight to continuing issues involving the law firms for both sides, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The losing plaintiffs in the libel case, disc jockey Todd “MJ”…

Jun 10, 2013 10:09 PM CDT

After ex-NFL star pats his lawyer’s backside, judge nixes his no-jail plea deal

Playfully swatting a teammate on the backside is a common move on the football field. But when former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson patted his lawyer, Adam Swickle, on the posterior Monday, in response to a question from the judge about whether he was satisfied with his attorney, the gesture…

Jun 10, 2013 4:55 PM CDT

In Trayvon Martin slaying trial, jurors will be anonymous but not sequestered, judge rules

A Florida judge has nixed a defense lawyer’s request to sequester the entire jury pool in the high-profile second-degree murder case over the slaying of Trayvon Martin but agreed that the jurors’ names should be kept confidential. Jury selection is expected to begin Monday in Sanford in the controversial case…

Jun 5, 2013 5:20 PM CDT

Disbarred lawyer gets 30 years in attempted prosecutor hit, plus 8 in racketeering case plea

A disbarred Florida lawyer had a busy day in court on Monday. First James Tipler, 62, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after his conviction last month by an Okaloosa County jury on two counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, according to WJHG and the Pensacola News Journal.…

Jun 4, 2013 10:10 PM CDT

Woman’s pause before agreeing to release conditions keeps her behind bars

Ivory Jordan was moments from being released from custody on Thursday, after her mother attended a court hearing for the 21-year-old and promised to keep an eye on her daughter. Circuit Judge James L. Martz told Jordan he was going to give her a “huge break” by releasing her, under…

Jun 3, 2013 2:44 PM CDT

Teen arrested in exploding water bottle experiment will return to regular high school next year

There’s more good news for a Florida teen arrested in an exploding water bottle incident. Kiera Wilmot, 16, was arrested in April and sent to an alternative school after she mixed household products in a water bottle, causing a small explosion on the grounds of Bartow High School. The felony…

May 31, 2013 10:34 AM CDT