Florida

HS Deportation Case: 1,500 Lobbyists

In less than a week, the government’s attempt to deport a star graduate of a Miami high school has provided an unexpected civics lesson that has turned some 1,500 friends and well-wishers into lobbyists. With the help of money from their college funds and Internet posts seeking support, friends of…

Jul 30, 2007 5:21 PM CDT

8 Targets in Prison Masturbation Cases

Updated: A Florida inmate convicted this week of masturbating while alone in his jail cell is reportedly only one of eight targets—along with state taxpayers—of what a Miami Herald columnist describes as “a spectacular case of selective prosecution.” Given the likely prevalence of such commonplace behavior in state prisons (not…

Jul 27, 2007 8:09 PM CDT

Top HS Grad, 18, Jailed for Deportation

When Juan Gomez graduated from high school in Miami this year, everyone he knew expected great things of him. The 18-year-old reportedly is one of the most stellar students ever to attend Killian High—a popular football player, he also graduated among the top 20 in his 780-student class and earned…

Jul 27, 2007 7:44 PM CDT

Judge’s Loafers Lucky Fit for FL Inmate

Wearing the trial judge’s loafers may have been the final sartorial touch that helped a Florida inmate win an acquittal on cocaine trafficking charges. Michael Fernandez, 22, was mistakenly brought from jail to his Fort Lauderdale trial Tuesday in his jail uniform. Although officials sent for—and received—his street clothes before…

Jul 26, 2007 8:57 PM CDT

Masturbating Inmate Convicted

Jurors deliberated only 45 minutes before finding a Florida inmate guilty of indecent exposure for masturbating alone in his jail cell. A Broward County sheriff’s deputy claimed inmate Terry Lee Alexander, 20, did not try to hide what he was doing, the Miami Herald reports. Deputy Coryus Veal testified she…

Jul 26, 2007 1:45 PM CDT

$6 Million Rollover Verdict

A Florida jury has awarded $6 million to a man injured in a rollover of a 1993 Ford Aerostar van. The jury found that the van’s roof was defectively designed, causing it to collapse in the accident five years ago, the Daily Business Review reports. Plaintiff Julian Felipe suffered a…

Jul 26, 2007 1:28 PM CDT

Major Jacksonville PI Firm is Splitting Up

Two longtime law partners in Jacksonville, Fla., have agreed to an amicable split, saying that their plaintiff personal injury firm had grown so large they were essentially officing together rather than practicing together. Woody Wilner and Robert Spohrer now plan to dissolve the firm they formed in 1991 and go…

Jul 26, 2007 12:40 AM CDT

Fla. Deals Cold-Case Cards to Inmates

In what a Miami newspaper describes as a macabre—and, so far, unique—game of cold-case poker in the nation’s prisons, authorities in Florida are spending $80,000 to print and deal out to inmates decks of special playing cards that provide information about unsolved crimes and photographs of victims. The poker decks,…

Jul 25, 2007 10:17 PM CDT

Jurors Questioned re Masturbation Habits

Jurors were questioned about their own personal masturbation habits today at the outset of a Florida trial in which they must determine if a 20-year-old inmate is guilty of masturbating while alone in his jail cell. In response to a defense lawyer’s questioning, all nine men among the prospective jurors…

Jul 25, 2007 9:54 PM CDT

$21 M for Wrongful Birth Needs Fla. OK

A Florida couple has won a $21 million jury award over a misdiagnosis of their first child’s rare genetic defect that led them, they say, to have another child two years ago with the same debilitating disease. But Daniel and Amara Estrada won’t be able to collect the award unless…

Jul 24, 2007 8:30 PM CDT

Fla. Judge: No Execution; It’s Too Cruel

A Florida judge has refused to impose the death penalty on a specific prisoner, following a botched 30-minute execution of another inmate on Dec. 13. Ruling Sunday in Ocala, after an 11-day evidentiary hearing, Circuit Judge Carven D. Angel agreed with the defense, reports the Associated Press. It would be…

Jul 24, 2007 5:18 PM CDT

Six Arrested in $3 M Fla. Mortgage Case

Following a three-year investigation, six men have been arrested by Florida authorities and charged with racketeering and conspiracy in a home-repair scam that allegedly bilked at least 31 homeowners of $3 million. Run at least in part by a recently released convict, the alleged scheme preyed on low-income and minority…

Jul 20, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

Law Store Sells Fla. Legislation to Clients

Lots of attorneys and public relations executives help corporate clients lobby federal and state legislators for new laws. But Margaret Kessler had a different idea. The south Florida marketing pro has set up shop as a one-stop service for consumers who think there ought to be a law about something.…

Jul 20, 2007 8:07 PM CDT

Lawyers Outfox Fla. Legislature—For Now

Persuaded by a lobbyist that Minouche Noel really needed the $8.5 million she had been awarded by a Florida jury for being paralyzed in a botched surgery, the state legislature this year enacted a rare claims bill agreeing to pay the medical malpractice award. Until then, the vibrant young woman…

Jul 19, 2007 7:21 PM CDT

Fla. Executions to Resume

A convicted child murderer is scheduled to be the first person put to death in Florida since the state suspended executions over concerns about its lethal injection procedure. Mark Schwab is scheduled for execution on Nov. 15, the New York Times reports. Gov. Charlie Crist signed the death warrant yesterday.…

Jul 19, 2007 2:54 PM CDT