Florida

Florida AG held in civil contempt for disobeying order; ‘litigants cannot change the plain meaning of words,’ judge says

A federal judge held Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in civil contempt of court Tuesday for disobeying an order temporarily blocking a state immigration law.

Jun 18, 2025 2:05 PM CDT

5 Proud Boys leaders sue Justice Department over Jan. 6 prosecutions

Five leaders of the Proud Boys, four of whom were found guilty of engaging in a seditious conspiracy to keep President Donald Trump in power on Jan. 6, 2021, want the government to pay them $100 million in restitution over claims their constitutional rights were violated, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday in Florida.

Jun 6, 2025 1:33 PM CDT

How a Florida murder and an unlikely justice created a ‘criminal procedure revolution’

In Chambers v. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution, historian and former ABA Journal editor Richard Brust lifts the veil on a case that laid the groundwork for some much more famous civil rights victories.

Jun 4, 2025 8:45 AM CDT

‘Whole lot of oddities’ excuse wrongdoing of lawyer with likely COVID-19 delirium, ethics referee says

Ethics charges should be dropped against a lawyer who told a judge that, “I think I’ve got some COVID brain” after he talked to a sequestered witness during a trial break and then made a false statement about it, according to an ethics referee with the Florida Bar.

May 29, 2025 1:17 PM CDT

Florida law with ‘Goldilocks’ approach to banning minors at drag shows is overbroad, 11th Circuit says

A Florida law that bans admission of minors to live performances depicting “lewd conduct” is likely unconstitutional because it provides only “vague guidance” on prohibited conduct, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Atlanta ruled Tuesday.

May 16, 2025 9:18 AM CDT

Florida judge is accused of sharing ‘objectively unrealistic’ fake recording with editorial board

A judge in Broward County, Florida, is facing ethics charges for citing a book she never read and providing a fake recording she didn’t fully review or vet to bolster her claim that the judiciary has an image crisis.

May 13, 2025 12:08 PM CDT

‘There was in fact a defendant named Jaques Strapp,’ says judge defending his corny ‘dad jokes’

A judge accused of making inappropriate remarks on the bench told the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission Tuesday that his comments generally were “G-rated ‘dad jokes’ that are corny but not offensive.”

May 8, 2025 11:13 AM CDT

After Texas chief justice criticizes ABA, state supreme court reconsiders ABA accreditation for law schools

The Texas Supreme Court is inviting comments on a requirement that law grads seeking bar admission in the state must have graduated from a law school accredited by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.

Apr 8, 2025 3:54 PM CDT

Judge won’t block questions about book by ex-wife of slain law prof in her mom’s murder trial

A judge in Tallahassee, Florida, indicated last week that he might allow prosecutors to question the ex-wife of a slain law professor about a book that she wrote in which a character felt stuck in a small Florida town because of her husband’s job.

Apr 1, 2025 3:15 PM CDT

Federal judge who sought female attorneys among class counsel has acknowledged sex-bias concerns, order says

A federal judge who called for female attorneys to be “adequately represented” on the leadership team for plaintiffs in multidistrict contraceptive litigation has “acknowledged the concerns created by her statements,” according to an order closing an ethics inquiry.

Mar 25, 2025 9:21 AM CDT

St. Thomas College of Law falls out of compliance with ABA accreditation standard

Updated: The council of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar has found the St. Thomas University Benjamin L. Crump College of Law out of compliance with an ABA accreditation standard focused on sufficiency of financial resources and also denied its application to create a part-time hybrid-distance JD program.

Mar 19, 2025 2:53 PM CDT

Attorney’s ‘egregious’ conduct warrants disbarment, not suspension, Florida Supreme Court says

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a Palm Beach County, Florida, attorney should be disbarred over professional misconduct, despite a referee’s recommendation that he only receive a 91-day suspension.

Mar 17, 2025 9:22 AM CDT

DEI standard prompts Florida to reconsider ABA accreditation

Citing the ongoing controversy over diversity and inclusion in law school admissions, the Florida Supreme Court has created a workgroup to both reconsider its requirement that law students graduate from an ABA-accredited school to sit for the Florida bar exam and develop options for alternatives.

Mar 13, 2025 3:55 PM CDT

What will happen to homeowners insurance in wake of natural disasters? Lawyers have growing concerns

Updated: The Southern California wildfires in early January engulfed the home insurance market in crisis, but even before the flames left billions of dollars in destruction, many big insurers, including Allstate, Farmers and State Farm, already had left the state or reduced coverage.

Mar 13, 2025 9:14 AM CDT

Lawyer accused of ghosting client had listed Irish pub as his address, ethics referee says

A Miami lawyer has been disbarred after an uncontested referee’s report found that he filed a notice of appearance while suspended, abandoned a client, and listed an Irish pub as his address with the Florida Bar.

Mar 4, 2025 11:08 AM CST