Florida

Too Much Evidence Cited as Reason for Dropping Drug Charges Against Fugitive Doctor

A federal judge in Iowa has dropped charges against a fugitive doctor because it’s become too costly for federal officials to maintain evidence in the massive online pharmacy case. The case against Miami doctor Armando Angulo, the nation’s largest prosecution of online pharmacies, involves more than 400,000 documents, computers, servers…

Aug 17, 2012 1:03 PM CDT

Federal Judge in Florida OKs Red-Light Ticket Info Release, Says Legal Proceeding Record Is Public

A federal judge in Florida says a contractor hired by the city of Tallahassee must disclose red-light-camera traffic ticket information to a newspaper that requested it, despite an arguable conflict between state public records law and a federal statute that protects the privacy of drivers. Fearing potential penalties for violating…

Aug 14, 2012 5:00 PM CDT

Zimmerman Lawyer Says Team to Back Off ‘Stand Your Ground’ Defense

An attorney for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed Florida teen Trayvon Martin in February, has indicated the defense team is looking to pursue a more traditional self-defense claim. ‘”The facts don’t seem to support a ‘stand your ground’ defense,” Zimmerman’s lawyer Mark O’Mara is quoted…

Aug 14, 2012 12:58 PM CDT

Lawyer Gets 18 Months in Claimed Scheme to Steal and Sell Corporate Identities

One of two Texas lawyers convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a federal jury in Florida concerning a claimed scheme to steal the identities of dormant publicly traded companies has been sentenced to prison time. Roger Lee Schoss, 68, got 18 months followed by 36 months of home…

Aug 13, 2012 8:09 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Who Ignored Federal Court Order to Pay Big Bucks to Abandoned Client Is Now Jailed

Two lawyers found to have abandoned a client after his sentencing in a federal criminal case were not only ordered to disgorge all of the $275,000 paid in legal fees but cover the cost of his new defense counsel. However, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Turnoff is still trying to figure…

Aug 10, 2012 6:57 PM CDT

Sued for Malpractice, Law Firm Fires Back with Fraud Claim, Seeks Freeze on Former Client Assets

As a Chicago law firm tells the story, it got stuck with a client from hell. Kenneth and Wendy Brown were difficult to reach and rejected legal advice when James Koch of Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona represented them in a Securities and Exchange Commission matter, Koch says in a…

Aug 7, 2012 4:52 PM CDT

Federal Judge Sanctions Law Firm and Client re Withheld Docs, Finds TD Bank Knew of Rothstein Fraud

Saying that a well-known law firm and its client bank had often handled a major case “in an Inspector Clouseau-like fashion,” a federal judge in Miami has sanctioned both for what she called a “pattern of discovery abuses before, during, and after trial.” U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke declined, however,…

Aug 6, 2012 11:02 AM CDT

Jury Pool Gossip Likely Will Cause a Year’s Delay in Murder Trial; Fla. Judge Dismisses All Members

Members of a jury pool who ignored a court order and gossiped amongst themselves about the high-profile defendant in a first-degree murder case created a situation in which a Florida judge said he felt he had no choice but to dismiss everyone, given the risk of an appeal that could…

Aug 2, 2012 11:15 AM CDT

Stand-Your-Ground Cited with ‘Unexpected Frequency’; Will It Be Used in Death of Visiting Salesman?

A lawyer for a Florida man accused of killing a door-to-door salesman says it’s too early to say whether the state’s stand-your-ground law will be part of the defense. The defendant, Kenneth Bailey Roop of Cape Coral, was accused last week of killing a door-to-door salesman selling frozen lobster and…

Aug 1, 2012 11:45 AM CDT

Angry Judge May Start Jury Selection Anew Due to Gossip About Defendant Among 200-Member Pool

The judge warned prospective jurors not to talk about the defendant. But many did, and soon gossip spread about other cases in which Dontae Morris is also accused of murder. It is now a real possibility that all 200 members of the jury pool for his Florida first-degree murder trial…

Jul 31, 2012 11:09 PM CDT

2 Docs Who Worked at Fla. Pain Clinic Charged in Deaths of 9 Patients, Could Get Life If Convicted

Two physicians who worked at South Florida pain clinics have been charged in a federal indictment with crimes related to the alleged oxycodone-caused deaths of nine patients. Cynthia Cadet, 42, is charged in the deaths of seven patients and Joseph Castronuovo, 72, is charged in the deaths of two. They…

Jul 23, 2012 9:38 PM CDT

Man Is Briefly Jailed for Blowing Raspberry; Cop Says Spit Hit Face of Tenant Manager

A resident of a Florida apartment complex was charged with battery and briefly jailed this week after police said he blew a raspberry at a tenant manager during an angry dispute over an unknown issue. Dominick L. Verducci was booked into the Alachua County jail Wednesday and released on his…

Jul 20, 2012 5:26 PM CDT

Judge OKs $10K Bond for Jailed Millionaire Appealing 180-Day Contempt Term re Teen Son’s Marriage

Jailed last week for 180 days for criminal contempt because he allowed his 16-year-old son to marry, a Florida millionaire has been granted $10,000 bond by another judge while he appeals, the Miami Herald reports. Dan Rotta, 65, had been ordered by a state court judge to take his son…

Jul 19, 2012 6:31 PM CDT

Defense Lawyers Say They Get Less Than Minimum Wage for ‘Token Representation’ Under New Fla. Law

A new Florida law that went into effect on July 1 is intended to cut the cost to the state of court-appointed public defenders. But the new flat fees it imposes for all cases except first-degree murder and racketeering means that defense attorneys can get less than less than the…

Jul 16, 2012 3:44 PM CDT

Fla. Millionaire Gets 180 Days for Contempt in Divorce Case for Permitting Vegas Wedding of Son, 16

A judge overseeing a Florida millionaire’s contentious divorce case has jailed millionaire Dan Rotta for 180 days for contempt because he gave permission for the couple’s troubled 16-year-old son to get married in Las Vegas rather than enrolling him in a Utah boarding school as the court had ordered. Rotta,…

Jul 12, 2012 3:38 PM CDT