Florida

ACLU Sues Over Fla. District’s High School Graduation Rates

In what the American Civil Liberties Union is billing as a first-in-the-nation lawsuit, the civil rights organization has filed a complaint against a South Florida school district contending that it is violating the state constitution by not graduating enough of its students. Additionally, the lawsuit contends that what a press…

Mar 19, 2008 1:31 AM CDT

Best Friend’s Ex Charged in Florida Attorney’s Murder

An attorney whose body was found in a canal near her South Florida home March 7 was murdered by her best friend’s estranged husband, police say. They have charged Tony Villegas, 44, in the death of lawyer Melissa Lewis, 39, and he was arraigned today, according to the Miami Herald.…

Mar 18, 2008 2:15 AM CDT

Officials Say Killer May Have Known Murdered Florida Lawyer

Although authorities earlier said that a Florida lawyer found dead in a canal near her home last week might have been a random robbery and abduction target, they now believe she may have known her killer. However, there appears to have been no connection between the death of Melissa Lewis,…

Mar 13, 2008 11:52 PM CDT

Client to Real Estate Lawyer: Where’s My $2 Million?

A French client says he wired $3.8 million to a Miami Beach, Fla., real estate attorney’s trust account, with instructions to form six corporations and buy six condos by 2006. But then, when he changed his mind and wanted some $2 million of his money back, attorney Sally Sawh didn’t…

Mar 13, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

Pentagon Has 50 Interrogation Tapes of Two Enemy Combatants

Defense Department officials told the New York Times that a review has turned up 50 videotapes of interrogations at military facilities that show interrogations of two men held as enemy combatants. The suspects who were videotaped are Jose Padilla, recently convicted of plotting overseas attacks for al-Qaida, and Ali al-Marri,…

Mar 13, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Fights Charges He Hid Bank Losses

A government lawyer argued yesterday that a former partner at Greenberg Traurig covered up crimes at a Miami bank that was eventually shut down for fraud. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency is seeking a $250,000 fine and a cease-and-desist order against Carlos Loumiet to prevent him from giving…

Mar 12, 2008 5:18 PM CDT

Stripper Says Fla. Appeals Judge Shielded Her Assets

A stripper who is a longtime friend of a Florida appellate court judge says he helped her shield her assets from judgment creditors, but now owes her money. However, Judge Thomas E. Stringer Sr., 63, says he and 47-year-old Christy Yamanaka were business partners who purchased and sold a house…

Mar 11, 2008 10:00 PM CDT

Fla. Lawyer Willie Gary Wins Contempt Battle in Child Support Dispute

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that Florida trial lawyer Willie Gary isn’t responsible for $462,000 in back child support and he can’t be held in contempt for failing to pay it. At issue was whether Gary had agreed to pay $14,000 a month in support for both—or each—of two…

Mar 11, 2008 12:40 PM CDT

Dead Fla. Lawyer Apparently Robbed, Abducted

A Florida attorney whose body reportedly was found in a canal near her home last week may have been abducted from her own garage as she pulled in one night after a trip to a local supermarket. There were signs of a struggle in the garage of the Plantation home,…

Mar 10, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Body of Missing Fla. Partner Found

The body of Melissa Lewis has reportedly been found in a canal near her home in Plantation, Fla. The 39-year-old labor and employment lawyer, who was a partner of Rothstein Rosenfeldt Adler, was last seen two days ago. There were signs of a struggle in her home when authorities began…

Mar 7, 2008 11:42 PM CST

Pro Golfer Charged With Beaning Bird

Updated: Apparently irritated by the noisy call of a red-shouldered hawk as he was trying to tape an instructional video in Florida last year, National Tour pro Tripp Isenhour started driving some balls in the direction of the protected migratory bird. He didn’t have any luck at 300 yards. But…

Mar 6, 2008 11:31 PM CST

Two Florida Lawyers Accused of Making ‘Sham’ Claims for Credit Card Holders

Two Florida lawyers and their affiliated firms are accused in a lawsuit of making “sham” claims on behalf of consumers seeking to avoid payment of credit card debt. The suit by Chase Bank claims the lawyers falsely tell customers that the credit card company violated the federal Fair Credit Billing…

Mar 6, 2008 1:42 PM CST

Jail Isn’t End of SEC Saga for Convicted Lawyer in $1B ‘Ponzi Scheme’

After pleading guilty in a $1 billion federal securities fraud conspiracy case last year, Florida attorney Stephen Ziegler was sentenced to a five-year prison term and had his law license suspended. But that’s not the final answer, as far as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement efforts against him…

Mar 4, 2008 8:22 PM CST

Lawyer’s Death After Shark Bite Ignites Legal Debate

The death last week of an Austrian attorney who was bitten by a shark has sparked a debate about cageless shark diving. The practice, which involves baiting the waters with chum to attract sharks, is illegal in the United States but permitted in the Bahamas, where Markus Groh was headed…

Mar 3, 2008 4:37 PM CST

Scruggs Gets Contempt Prosecution Tossed

After repeated press accounts about charges that Richard “Dickie” Scruggs conspired to bribe a judge, the plaintiffs lawyer finally has some good news. A federal judge on Friday tossed a criminal contempt charge against the lawyer for failing to return documents about State Farm’s Hurricane Katrina claims practices, the Associated…

Mar 3, 2008 12:57 PM CST