Florida

Padilla gets new 21-year sentence after 11th Circuit says original 17-year term was too lenient

Told by a federal appeals court that the 17-year sentence she had given a convicted terrorism plotter was too lenient, a federal judge in Miami on Tuesday resentenced Jose Padilla to a 21-year term. The Atlanta-based 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals held that U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke had…

Sep 9, 2014 1:00 PM CDT

1 of 3 county judges charged with DUI pleads guilty against counsel’s advice, gets probation

A suspended Florida judge accused of twice taking the bench while intoxicated has pleaded guilty, against the advice of her defense counsel, in a drunken-driving case over a rear-end accident in which another motorist was injured. “I am going to plead guilty because I am guilty,” Judge Gisele Pollack tearfully…

Sep 5, 2014 10:15 AM CDT

School forces teen to wear shaming T-shirt; mom sees violation of discipline-record law

A Florida mom believes her daughter’s school broke a federal law when it forced the teen to wear a “shaming” T-shirt. Miranda Larkin says she was new to Oakleaf High School in Clay County, Florida, when she wore a skirt to school that reached about three to four inches above…

Sep 5, 2014 9:03 AM CDT

Former FSU law student takes plea, gets 3 years for shooting fellow student in the back

A former Florida State University law student was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for shooting another student in the back in 2012. The victim, identified in 2012 news reports as Tyler Thomas, then a second-year law student, objected to the sentence. Thomas told the judge he thought Jeffrey…

Sep 3, 2014 3:25 PM CDT

Prominent law firm says it knew nothing of claimed sunken treasure fraud, wasn’t counsel of record

A partner at a well-known Delaware law firm says in a court filing that he and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor knew nothing about an alleged fraud on a federal court in Florida concerning a client’s claimed sunken undersea treasure find. Responding to the court’s show-cause order, Bruce Silverstein says…

Sep 2, 2014 2:55 PM CDT

Man is charged with 1st-degree murder, accused of shooting panhandler in wheelchair

A 27-year-old Florida man has been charged by Miami-Dade police with first-degree murder after allegedly getting out of his car and shooting a panhandler in a wheelchair Tuesday morning near an Interstate 95 exit ramp. Witnesses gave a license plate number to authorities, who caught up with suspect Rodney Louis,…

Aug 27, 2014 8:25 PM CDT

Ethics complaint cites judge’s ‘inexplicable’ and ‘bizarre’ behavior and ‘paranoia’

Even before she assumed the bench nearly four years ago, a Florida judge had begun to exhibit “a pattern of behavior which is inexplicable, appears to demonstrate instability and is disruptive to the 18th Judicial Circuit,” contends an ethics complaint filed Monday against Judge Linda Schoonover. Perhaps best-known for sending…

Aug 26, 2014 7:55 PM CDT

Still no suspects named in fatal shooting of law prof

Tallahassee police have not yet named any suspects or persons of interest in the slaying of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel, who was shot a month ago Monday. Police spokesman David Northway tells the Tallahassee Democrat that the investigation is ongoing and there are no updates at this…

Aug 19, 2014 2:52 PM CDT

Mystery complainant sends ethics claim to 42 state bars; law firm seeks postal records for answers

Brownstone Law in Winter Park, Florida, has asked a federal court to help identify the mystery complainant who sent ethics complaints targeting the appellate law firm to 42 state bars. The lawyer representing Brownstone Law, Roddy Lanigan, says the ethics charges are false and the return address on the envelopes…

Aug 19, 2014 12:50 PM CDT

Florida man arrested after videotaped beating of autistic boy goes viral

A Florida man has been arrested in connection with the videotaped beating of an autistic 16-year-old boy at a house party. Andrew Wheeler, 18, of Okeechobee, has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, WPTV reports. Wheeler was arrested Sunday after being recognized by police in a video…

Aug 15, 2014 7:28 PM CDT

Ethics charges reveal new details in case of judge who punched public defender

A Florida judge who struck an assistant public defender in a hallway outside his Viera courtroom is now facing a legal ethics case. Assistant public defender Andrew Weinstock was representing a client before Brevard County Judge John Murphy when they got into the argument that led to the physical altercation.…

Aug 14, 2014 6:54 PM CDT

Justin Bieber settles another case, faces more anger management classes

Teen pop singer Justin Bieber has settled another case, this one reportedly involving a luxury-car drag race. The singer agreed to pay $50,000, take 12 hours of private anger management instruction and watch videos about the danger of driving under the influence. His co-defendant in the South Florida case, R&B…

Aug 13, 2014 6:35 PM CDT

Trial went on despite defense lawyer’s late return from lunch; 11th Circuit overturns conviction

Apparently the judge and the prosecutor didn’t notice when the lawyer for Alexander Michael Roy was late in returning from lunch. The trial resumed without the lawyer, and Roy had no lawyer present for seven minutes. During that time, prosecutors introduced incriminating evidence in Roy’s child pornography trial. Because Roy…

Aug 11, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

Speculation abounds in law prof’s slaying; delayed response to his shooting questioned

The fatal shooting of Florida State University law professor Dan Markel has produced an abundance of speculation about the perpetrator. Observers have pointed to his representation of a rabbi and threatening Internet posts by an apparent student, the Jewish Daily Forward reports. Police have said Markel was shot once in…

Aug 7, 2014 1:27 PM CDT

Condo owners in Florida battle developers seeking forced sale of their units

A change to Florida law that makes it easier to change condo buildings to apartments has spurred litigation by owners who object to the forced sale of their units. Developers in buildings where many units remain unsold are using the law to reclaim units and rent apartments, the Wall Street…

Aug 7, 2014 11:15 AM CDT