Florida

Laid-Off Holland & Knight Partner Sues Over Retirement Benefits

A partner laid off by Holland & Knight in 2002 has filed a suit seeking retirement benefits of more than $5,000 a month. R. Thomas Farrar claims in the suit that the law firm violated his partnership agreement and waived its right to arbitration, the Daily Business Review reports. He…

Jan 7, 2009 11:57 AM CST

Fla. Prosecutor’s Office Disqualified for Listening to Lawyer Phone Calls

A Florida judge has disqualified the entire Broward State Attorney’s Office from trying a murder case after learning that two prosecutors had listened to recordings of the jailed defendant’s phone calls to his attorney. Defendant Luis Martinez’s right to a fair trial was violated by the eavesdropping, Circuit Judge Susan…

Jan 6, 2009 7:59 PM CST

Top Fla. Court Reprimands Appeals Judge Over Written Opinion

In what is believed to be a unique judicial disciplinary case, a Florida appeals court judge was publicly reprimanded by the state supreme court today for attacking a fellow appellate jurist’s character by making “unsubstantiated allegations” in a written opinion. As Judge Michael Allen of the 1st District Court of…

Jan 6, 2009 6:24 PM CST

Key Money Laundering Charge Dropped Against Miami Defense Lawyer

A federal judge in Florida has tossed a key charge in the government’s money laundering case against a prominent Miami defense lawyer. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke of Miami tossed a count that alleged Ben Kuehne conspired to transfer $5.2 million in Colombian drug proceeds to pay legal fees, the…

Dec 23, 2008 12:46 PM CST

Female Lawyer in Fistfight, Male Lawyer Arrested in Wild Restaurant Scene

Updated: Attorney Aimee Marie Dias said she just wanted to use the women’s room at an upscale restaurant in Tampa, Florida. But when she entered the women’s restroom at SideBern’s, at about 11 p.m. on Saturday, she said she saw a man and a woman having sex there, reports the…

Dec 22, 2008 10:07 PM CST

Despite Seeming Attorney Grudge, Florida Judge is Now on Appeals Bench

It all started with a routine recusal by a Florida judge on May 23, 2007. Palm Beach Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga said he would step down because a former law partner was counsel for one of the co-defendants in a criminal case. But when Fort Lauderdale attorney Gary Kollin then…

Dec 22, 2008 7:53 PM CST

A Secret to Success for ‘Jake the Bake’: Crushed Potato Chips

It isn’t just in the courtroom that Florida trial lawyer Jake Schickel excels. His skills in the kitchen have earned the Coker Schickel Sorenson & Posgay founding partner the nickname Jake “The Bake” at his law firm’s annual holiday cookie exchange, reports the Jacksonville Daily Record. One winning combination involves…

Dec 22, 2008 7:17 PM CST

Caylee Anthony Is Dead and Was Murdered, Fla. Medical Examiner Says

There won’t be a happy ending to the story of a missing 3-year-old girl in Florida that has captured international attention, DNA testing and a medical examiner’s report have confirmed. Caylee Anthony is dead, and was murdered, according to medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia of Orange County. DNA testing of…

Dec 19, 2008 8:45 PM CST

Reprimand for Fla. Appeals Judge Who Criticized Colleague in Opinion

A Florida appeals judge who criticized a colleague in a written opinion is to be called before the state supreme court for a public dressing-down. “Judge Michael E. Allen will be publicly reprimanded for his scathing published opinion that said a fellow 1st District Court of Appeal Judge cast a…

Dec 18, 2008 7:52 PM CST

Fla. Lawyer Fires Back at Judge After Ineffective Assistance Ruling

Apparently stung by a Florida judge’s finding Monday that his client deserves a new murder trial because of ineffective assistance of counsel, a Tampa lawyer has fired back at the judge who made the ruling. Attributing the ineffective assistance finding by Circuit Judge William Fuente to a desire to embarrass…

Dec 17, 2008 7:31 PM CST

Law School Raises $600K as Lawyers Ante Up to Name Walkways, Classrooms

The St. Thomas University law school in Miami has raised about $600,000 from lawyers willing to make donations in exchange for naming rights to everything from walkways to classrooms. The largest donation so far is from alumnus Alex Hanna, who gave $250,000 to name the law library and $25,000 to…

Dec 17, 2008 4:01 PM CST

Couple Claims Airline is Liable for Beating by Drunken Husband

A lawsuit against United Airlines seeks to apply dram shop laws to air carriers that serve too much liquor during flights. The suit claims United served too much wine to Yoichi Shimamoto on a flight from Japan to San Francisco, causing him to beat his wife and get arrested for…

Dec 17, 2008 2:21 PM CST

Adam Walsh Case Closed: Drifter Murdered Son of ‘Most Wanted’ Host

Updated: In a news conference this afternoon, police in Hollywood, Fla., have announced that they are closing the Adam Walsh murder case as solved. Ottis Toole, a drifter who confessed, but then recanted, concerning the 1981 abduction and murder of the 6-year-old boy is, in fact, guilty, Hollywood Police Chief…

Dec 16, 2008 8:35 PM CST

Defense Wins Rare Insanity Verdict in Florida Murder Case

It isn’t all that unusual to assert an insanity defense. But winning a murder case on that basis is such a rarity that courthouse observers in a South Florida case can’t remember the last time it happened … until now. A trial last week in Miami concluded with a jury…

Dec 15, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Lawyers Seek Special Prosecutor to Probe Brevard, Fla., State Attorney’s Office

After news earlier this week that William Dillon will not be retried in a murder case for which the apparently wrongfully convicted Florida man spent 27 years in prison, defense lawyers are calling for an investigation of what they described at a news conference yesterday as prosecutorial corruption in Brevard…

Dec 12, 2008 8:55 PM CST