Florida

Several Florida courts remain closed after Hurricane Michael

Courts in seven Florida counties remained closed on Friday along with the federal courthouse in Panama City. According to a list compiled by the Florida Supreme Court, courts were closed in the counties of Bay, Calhoun, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington. The courts in Liberty and Gulf counties were…

Oct 19, 2018 10:38 AM CDT

Florida Supreme Court rules that current governor can’t replace 3 retiring justices

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the state's next governor, not current Gov. Rick Scott, has the authority to choose justices for three seats that will come open in January.

Oct 16, 2018 1:30 PM CDT

Hurricane Michael survivors in Florida can call hotline for legal assistance

Hurricane Michael survivors can now call a hotline at 1-866-550-2929 to get legal help from volunteer lawyers. The hotline is a partnership of the Disaster Legal Services Program of the ABA Young Lawyers Division, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division and legal aid agencies around…

Oct 16, 2018 1:13 PM CDT

Florida lawyer who uses ‘Ever Argued With a Woman?’ slogan sues law firm for alleged infringement

Bartow, Florida, lawyer Melissa Wilson uses the slogan “Ever Argued With a Woman?” and she is not afraid to argue about it. In a federal suit filed Tuesday, Wilson claims San Antonio lawyer Heather Tessmer of San Antonio and her Tessmer Law Firm are infringing her trademark by using a…

Oct 12, 2018 1:15 PM CDT

Law firm is dropped from app’s antitrust suit; Florida Bar fights request for hotline records

A ticket-fighting company that matches drivers with lawyers has dropped a law firm known as the Ticket Clinic from its antitrust lawsuit. The plaintiff, TIKD, had targeted the Ticket Clinic for allegedly filing ethics complaints against lawyers who worked with TIKD. The Ticket Clinic defendants and TIKD sought dismissal in…

Oct 1, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

North Carolina bar accuses lawyer of stealing from 2 death row exonerees

A Florida lawyer defrauded, deceived and embezzled funds from two mentally disabled clients who were declared innocent after spending 31 years in prison, according to a complaint filed Wednesday by the North Carolina State Bar. Henry McCollum and his half-brother, Leon Brown, were exonerated in 2014 after serving decades in…

Sep 28, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

University of Alabama School of Law receives record $26.5M gift, new name

Hugh F. Culverhouse Jr., a Florida attorney and developer, has agreed to donate $26.5 million to the University of Alabama School of Law over the next four years. The donation is the largest in the university’s history and includes naming rights, the Herald-Tribune reports. The school will be known as…

Sep 21, 2018 4:14 PM CDT

Some immigrants picked up by ICE given ‘fake dates’ to appear in court

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has failed to coordinate or clear appearance dates with federal courts in six cities, the Dallas Morning News reports. Some people received documents with orders to appear in immigration court at midnight on Sept. 31—in a month that has 30 days. More than a dozen…

Sep 17, 2018 11:16 AM CDT

Some ex-students join Charlotte School of Law in limited settlement fund motion

Updated: A joint motion to settle a proposed class action brought by former students of the shuttered for-profit Charlotte School of Law was filed Tuesday with one group of plaintiffs opting not to join. The school agreed to pay $2.65 million for a limited settlement fund, Law360 reports. The action…

Sep 13, 2018 6:05 AM CDT

Florida Coastal still out of compliance with accreditation standards, ABA legal ed council says

The ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has affirmed its findings that Florida Coastal School of Law is out of compliance with certain accreditation standards—increasing the likelihood that the matter will be settled in court.

Sep 4, 2018 3:13 PM CDT

Outdoor food sharing is expressive conduct and ‘more than a picnic in the park,’ appeals court says

Sharing food with the homeless in a public park by a group with a political message is expressive conduct protected by the First Amendment, a federal appeals court has ruled. Last Wednesday’s decision by the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the first federal appellate opinion on the…

Aug 27, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Administrative law judge kills himself after hostage standoff, police say

An administrative law judge who reviewed Social Security disability cases shot and killed himself Friday morning after a 10-hour standoff with police in South Florida. The judge, Timothy Maher, did not harm his three hostages before killing himself, police told the Miami Herald. Though the hostages weren’t identified, a police…

Aug 24, 2018 4:34 PM CDT

Judge resigns after recognizing his courtroom comment was ‘a career-ender,’ chief judge says

A Florida judge abruptly retired last week after he referred to a black lawyer as “the other gorilla defense counsel.” Judge Peter Evans of Palm Beach County, who is white, retired after Chief Circuit Judge Krista Marx reviewed the Aug. 2 courtroom tape and spoke with Evans, report the Palm…

Aug 24, 2018 12:09 PM CDT

Shooter in parking lot dispute charged after sheriff said he was protected by stand-your-ground law

Prosecutors have charged the shooter in a fatal parking lot dispute despite a Florida sheriff’s determination that the man was protected by the state’s stand-your-ground law. Michael Drejka, 48, was arrested and charged with manslaughter for the July 19 incident outside a convenience store in Clearwater, report the Tampa Bay…

Aug 13, 2018 12:16 PM CDT

Are states obligated to educate formerly incarcerated people about their new voting rights?

The last few years have been good for former prisoners hoping to regain the ability to vote. In New York, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued pardons in May to nearly 25,000 parolees in order to restore their voting rights. In Virginia, in an ongoing effort to get more people to…

Aug 10, 2018 6:00 AM CDT