http://www.abajournal.com/news/ en Copyright 2013 2013-05-25T10:27:38-06:00 http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/windshield_note_says_pedestrian_keyed_suv_to_enforce_traffic_law_against_ba/ A woman who authorities say left a note on the windshield of a SUV explaining that she had keyed the vehicle because the driver failed to yield to a pedestrian has been arrested and charged with criminal mischief, reports the Tampa Bay Times. "Hey I keyed… Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Florida Thu, 23 May 2013 10:15:27 -0500 44332.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/oops._man_accidentally_dialed_911_as_he_was_planning_a_murder_authorities_s/ A Florida man has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly dialing 911 by accident as he was discussing his plan to commit the crime. Authorities say Scott Simon, 24, got into an argument at a restaurant, then called 911 by accident as he was following the soon-to-be-victim home earlier… Criminal Justice, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Florida Thu, 23 May 2013 05:30:42 -0500 44323.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/man_being_questioned_about_boston_marathon_bombings_is_shot_to_death_by_fbi/ A man being questioned by authorities in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings was shot and killed in Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday. Ibragim Todashev, 27, a Chechen who had previously lived in Boston before moving to Orlando, was shot to death by an FBI agent after, the FBI said, "[a]… Criminal Justice, States, Florida, Massachusetts Wed, 22 May 2013 11:20:21 -0500 44304.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/did_convicted_cold_blood_murderers_in_capote_novel_also_kill_a_florida_fami/ When four members of a Kansas farm family were found dead in their home in 1959, the detective in charge of the investigation thought the culprit must be a local man with a grudge against the head of the family. Authorities hesitated for several days before pursuing a lead from… Criminal Justice, Legal History, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, States, Florida, Kansas Fri, 17 May 2013 14:44:59 -0500 44237.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/teen_wont_be_criminally_charged_over_exploding_water_bottle_she_called_a_sc/ All criminal charges have been dropped against a Florida teen who initially faced an adult felony case after she mixed household chemicals in a water bottle and it exploded on school grounds. Kiera Wilmot, 16, has said the incident was a failed effort to develop possible science project. But even… Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Education Law, States, Florida Thu, 16 May 2013 15:20:20 -0500 44225.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_extradited_from_nicaragua_accused_of_role_in_137m_fraud_scheme/ An American lawyer has been deported from Nicaragua after authorities say he tried to get a passport there using a fake birth certificate and is being extradited to Florida, where he will face federal prosecution for his alleged role in a $137 million stock-investment fraud scheme. Lawrence Hartman is accused… Criminal Justice, White Collar Crime, Real Estate & Property Law, Trials & Litigation, 11th Circuit Court, States, Florida Thu, 16 May 2013 13:10:37 -0500 44221.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appeals_court_upholds_20-year_sentence_for_ex-judge_says/ A 20-year prison term for a former Miami judge has been upheld by a Florida appeals court. Former Circuit Judge Phillip Davis had argued that the sentence was excessive, because he had turned down a plea deal that could have gotten him only a four-year prison term. But the 3rd… Appellate Practice, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Judiciary, States, Florida Thu, 16 May 2013 10:45:40 -0500 44215.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/florida_supreme_court_authorizes_judges_to_appoint_foreclosure_magistrates/ Some lawyers who represent homeowners are criticizing an order by the Florida Supreme Court that authorizes chief judges to appoint “general magistrates” to handle foreclosure cases. The court issued the order on Thursday, saying it would help “efficiently process,” foreclosures, report the Associated Press and the Banking Law, Judiciary, Real Estate & Property Law, States, Florida Fri, 10 May 2013 08:18:29 -0500 44122.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/lawyer_with_little_experience_cant_withdraw_at_11th_hour_from_death-penalty/ Gerald Bettman runs a two-attorney law office in Jacksonville, Fla. In addition to criminal defense, the lawyers also focus on divorce and personal injury matters. He has never represented a defendant sentenced to the death penalty during the flurry of appeals that precedes a scheduled execution once the death warrant… Appellate Practice, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Criminal Procedure, Trials & Litigation, States, Florida Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:49 -0500 44096.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/jones_day_opens_new_office_in_miami_its_first_in_florida/ Jones Day has opened a new office in Miami, its first in Florida, in a move that is expected to expand its Latin American practice. Bankruptcy partner Pedro A. Jimenez, who is a native of the city. will head the office, which the the 16th in the U.S. and the… International Law, Law Firms, Large Firm, Partners, Central America, International, South America, States, Florida Thu, 09 May 2013 11:05:39 -0500 44105.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/cops_cant_search_cellphone_seized_during_arrest_florida_supreme_court_says_/ A cellphone is different from a cigarette pack, the Florida Supreme Court says in a ruling requiring police to get a warrant before searching cellphones seized during an arrest. The ruling deepens the split on the constitutionality of cellphone searches incident to arrest, according to the Volokh… Constitutional Law, Privacy Law, States, Florida Fri, 03 May 2013 08:02:37 -0500 44025.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/2_lawyers_who_say_their_bookkeeper_fled_to_argentina_with_4.8m_in_client_fu/ Two Florida lawyers who say their bookkeeper embezzled $4.8 million and fled to Argentina have been disbarred. A referee hearing the Florida Bar legal ethics case had recommended that Mark E. Rousso and Leonardo A. Roth merely be temporarily suspended from practice, for 12 and 15 months, respectively. But the… Legal Ethics, Trials & Litigation, Evidence, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Thu, 02 May 2013 10:15:29 -0500 44005.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/before_lawyer_and_authorities_say_3m_in_firm_money_disappeared_he_deeded_44/ Updated: Missing for nearly a month along with, authorities allege, around $3 million from his law firm and his title company accounts, a South Florida lawyer satisfied a $386,000 mortgage on his Boca Raton home in December and deeded the house, worth an estimated $445,000, to his wife shortly before… Bar Associations, Legal Ethics, Real Estate & Property Law, States, Florida Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:40:25 -0500 43950.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disabled_woman_who_couldnt_afford_vet_for_dog_gets_6_months_house_arrest_ca/ As the Tampa Bay Times earlier told the story, a disabled Florida woman living on a $508-a-month government check had essentially done the best she could for her beloved 14-year-old dog, Harley. But those who charged, convicted and sentenced Tammy Brown in a felony animal cruelty case saw a different… Animal Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:25:11 -0500 43940.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/widow_who_owed_21.6m_to_feds_gets_effectively_5_seconds_of_probation_as_jud/ An elderly Palm Beach, Fla., widow with a high school education got "effectively five seconds" of probation from a federal judge in an offshore tax-evasion case after paying a $21.6 million penalty and back taxes. Mary Estelle Curran, 79, had inherited $43 million in Swiss bank accounts from her husband,… Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, White Collar Crime, Tax Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, 11th Circuit Court, States, Florida Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:50:51 -0500 43933.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/judge_stands_alone_in_perfect_attendance_at_fla._triathlon_which_he_hopes/ A Florida judge plans to compete—and, he hopes, complete—his 30th consecutive St. Anthony's Triathlon on Sunday. Organizers say Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Jack Helinger, 62, is the only participant to have a perfect record of attendance for the race, which was originally known as the Tampa Bay Triathlon, the Judiciary, Personal Lives, States, Florida Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:03:48 -0500 43928.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/disabled_woman_who_couldnt_afford_to_take_pet_to_vet_is_convicted_of_felony/ At 14 years old, a chow mix named Harley wasn't in the greatest shape. But the pet dog was still enjoying life in his old age, despite a skin condition and a large growth dangling from his neck, his owner, Tammy Brown, and her adult daughter tell the Animal Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Disability Law, Trials & Litigation, States, Florida Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:10:56 -0500 43923.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/bar_passage_or_your_money_back_law_school_offers_partial_refunds_to_some_st/ There could be an upside to failure for some students at Florida Coastal School of Law. Starting this fall, the school will give partial tuition refunds to qualified incoming students who flunk out after one year or who fail the bar after two tries, the Florida Times-Union… Law Schools, Law Students, States, Florida Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:49:59 -0500 43909.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/appeals_court_oks_180-day_contempt_term_for_millionaire_who_helped_16-year-/ A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld without comment a 180-day contempt term imposed on a millionaire for taking his then-16-year-old son to Las Vegas to get married to his housekeeper's 18-year-old daughter. A Miami-Dade circuit judge had ordered Dan Rotta to take the troubled teen to a Utah boarding… Appellate Practice, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Justice, Sentencing/Post Conviction, Family Law, Trials & Litigation, Verdicts & Settlements, States, Florida Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:01:10 -0500 43906.abajournal.com http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/no_cash_no_problem._lawyers_take_cars_yorkies_fish_bait_and_food_as_fees/ When clients don't have cash, many get creative in offering to barter something else for legal services. And, perhaps surprisingly, lawyers often take them up on the offer, reports the Sun-Sentinel. Attorneys tell the Florida newspaper they've taken cars (including a Rolls Royce and a Mini Cooper), Yorkies,… Business of Law, Law Practice Management, Trials & Litigation, Attorney Fees, States, Florida Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:18:55 -0500 43850.abajournal.com