Florida

Defense Rests, Calls No Witnesses in Wesley Snipes Case

The defense in the tax fraud trial of Wesley Snipes rested unexpectedly today without calling any witnesses, 13 Central Florida News reports. Earlier reports said the defense witness list included celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone, Muhammad Ali, Spike Lee and Tom Brokaw. Snipes’ lawyer, Robert Barnes, had said they may…

Jan 28, 2008 5:25 PM CST

PI Lawyer Quits Practice to Write Full Time

Just before turning 50, Gonzalo Barr left his lucrative personal injury practice in Miami to write full time. It’s a decision, at two months out, he doesn’t regret. ”It’s scary to quit your job, but at the risk of sounding pompous I think I did it at the perfect time,”…

Jan 28, 2008 4:44 PM CST

Padilla Judge’s Views Wavered

The decision to spare convicted terrorist Jose Padilla a life sentence came as a surprise to many. But a Miami Herald analysis indicates U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke of Miami waffled throughout the case. ”There were points during the trial when she said things that suggested she thought there was…

Jan 28, 2008 4:28 PM CST

Celebrity Witnesses Could Appear in Wesley Snipes Trial

The defense will begin to present its case this week in the trial of actor Wesley Snipes, accused of tax fraud, conspiracy and failure to file tax returns. The witness list includes some celebrities. On the star-studded list of potential witnesses are Sylvester Stallone, Muhammad Ali, Spike Lee and Tom…

Jan 28, 2008 1:29 PM CST

Facing Prison, Prominent Fla. Lawyer Still Has Many Friends

Disbarred and facing a prison sentence, a once-prominent member of Palm Beach County’s political structure still had a significant team of well-wishers in his corner as he was sentenced today to a two-year federal prison term in a corruption case . William Boose III, 63, kissed his former law partner,…

Jan 25, 2008 11:00 PM CST

Miami Lawyer Withdraws from Cruise Cases, But Denies Paying for Info

A Miami plaintiffs lawyer has withdrawn from 77 injury cases against a cruise line following allegations that two investigators for his law firm paid for inside information. Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines claims investigators for the Wingate Law Firm paid a cruise employee for confidential information that included the amount of…

Jan 25, 2008 3:09 PM CST

Judge Lowers Padilla Sentence Because of Harsh Confinement

Updated: Jose Padilla, once accused of plotting to release a dirty bomb in the United States, has been sentenced to 17 years and four months in prison for conspiring to “murder, kidnap and maim” people overseas. The 37-year-old Padilla had been expected to get life in prison, the Miami Herald…

Jan 22, 2008 5:41 PM CST

Scammed Clients Seek Leniency for Convicted Lawyer

Clients of a disbarred Florida lawyer who pleaded no contest today to stealing some $200,000 from them are reportedly likely to seek leniency for the man they thought was representing their interests rather than his own. That’s not because they sympathize with the crimes, however, but because they will see…

Jan 17, 2008 11:57 PM CST

Defendant Claims Miami Law Firm Paid for Settlement Info

A defendant cruise line has filed motions seeking to disqualify a Miami plaintiffs firm from pursuing 75 pending claims by passengers and workers, contending that the Wingate Law Firm retained two investigators who paid a cruise line employee to provide confidential settlement information. The investigators allegedly paid a Royal Caribbean…

Jan 16, 2008 8:02 PM CST

Miami Court Worker Charged in Quickie Divorce Scam

A 16-year employee of the Miami-Dade clerk of courts office has been charged with using her now-former job to scam couples seeking quickie divorces. Olga Avila allegedly charged couples she met through the courts’ Self Help program $670, of which $364 represented filing fees she paid. Authorities say she filled…

Jan 15, 2008 5:11 PM CST

Op-Ed Argues for Preventive Detention of Terrorism Suspects

The laws have been stretched to cover the case of Jose Padilla, paving the way for precedents that could allow government overreaching in garden-variety criminal cases, a former New Jersey attorney general argues in a New York Times op-ed. Padilla, at one time accused of plotting to detonate a dirty…

Jan 14, 2008 7:32 PM CST

Use of Assault Weapons Up in Miami

The use of assault weapons reportedly is surging in South Florida, as well as a few other areas, including Atlanta and parts of Texas near the Mexico border. In 2004, assault weapons were used only in about 4 percent of all homicides in Miami, reports the Miami Herald. But, as…

Jan 14, 2008 4:48 PM CST

Bankruptcy Judges Question Countrywide Errors, Evidence

Bankruptcy judges are criticizing the business practices of Countrywide Financial, part of the legal headaches that Bank of America Corp. will be taking on when it acquires the troubled lender. Improper charges and suspect evidence have gotten the attention of judges overseeing the bankruptcies of Countrywide borrowers. The company is…

Jan 14, 2008 12:48 PM CST

Thousands of Fla. Tobacco Suits Filed as Deadline Looms

When the Florida Supreme Court in 2006 invalidated a $145 million punitive damages award in a class action case against the tobacco industry, it gave the plaintiffs a year to file individual claims, starting on Jan. 11, 2007. At the same time, the court also made it easier for the…

Jan 10, 2008 6:35 PM CST

Fla. Field-Workers File Class Action Claiming Wage Violations

In an unusual move that has caught the attention of local South Florida residents, several field-workers have filed a federal lawsuit contending that the owner of the farm at which they have been harvesting beans for years has underpaid them and hundreds of other laborers. The basis of their suit,…

Jan 9, 2008 10:12 PM CST