Florida

30-Year Sentence Upheld for Lionel Tate

A Florida youth infamous as perhaps the youngest person in the U.S. ever to receive a life sentence, before it was subsequently overturned, now appears likely to serve a lengthy prison term after all. Lionel Tate’s 30-year sentence for violating his probation in the murder case was upheld today by…

Oct 25, 2007 10:46 PM CDT

‘Girls Gone Wild’ Lawyer Files Misconduct Complaint

The lawyer for the now infamous founder of the “Girls Gone Wild” video series has filed a prosecutorial misconduct motion against the Florida state attorney who pursued charges against his client. Miami attorney Roy Black claims State Attorney Steve Meadows exhibited a “pattern of blatant abuse” in dealing with Joe…

Oct 24, 2007 9:50 PM CDT

Sex Joke No Laughing Matter for Judge, Defender

A Miami judge and public defender have apologized for joking in court last week about a case involving a man accused of having sex with a teenage boy. The mea culpa came from Judge Jeffrey Levenson, 50, and Assistant Public Defender Brian Reidy, 49, who was docked a week of…

Oct 24, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

School Board Member Gives Up Adopted Kid

It isn’t just ordinary parents who sometimes find themselves unable to cope with the extreme demands placed on them by a troubled, potentially violent child. A member of the Pinellas County School Board, near St. Petersburg, Florida, told attendees at a recent state legislative committee hearing that she is going…

Oct 23, 2007 10:28 PM CDT

Civil Rights March Over Boot Camp Death

About 700 people marched on Tallahassee, Florida, today, to call for further investigation of the death last year of Martin Lee Anderson, a 14-year-old black teen being held at a military-style “boot camp” for juvenile inmates. Speaking to marchers at the federal courthouse, Adora Obi Nweze, president of the Florida…

Oct 23, 2007 9:47 PM CDT

Schoolyard Bully Costs FL School $4M

In a verdict that should serve as a warning to school administrators elsewhere, a Florida jury has ordered a private school to pay $4 million to a 12-year-old whose arm was broken by a school bully. The incident has left the now 16-year-old victim with a permanent injury that prevents…

Oct 23, 2007 9:13 PM CDT

Senior Sleuths Right Civil Wrongs in Florida

A special project of the Florida attorney general has grown into a 35-office effort to protect the state’s senior citizens from large injustices and small that don’t constitute crimes. So-called senior sleuths at Seniors vs. Crime gather the facts and help the elderly make an effective complaint in the right…

Oct 22, 2007 7:06 PM CDT

Big Legal Bill for Anna Nicole Smith’s Baby

Adults who had a relationship to Anna Nicole Smith are still wrangling over a number of issues related to the deceased starlet’s estate. But they are seemingly entirely agreed on one thing: a bill of nearly $200,000 submitted by the court-appointed lawyer representing the interests of Smith’s baby daughter is…

Oct 16, 2007 5:27 PM CDT

FL Boot Camp Guards Acquitted

Updated: A jury has acquitted eight employees of a Florida boot camp of manslaughter in the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson. The all-white jury took about 90 minutes to deliberate in the death of the black teen, the Associated Press reports. Anderson died last year after an altercation with…

Oct 12, 2007 5:54 PM CDT

Sharper Image Purifier Settlement Nixed

A proposal to settle a class action against Sharper Image with $19 coupons for buyers of its Ionic Breeze purifers has been rejected by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga rejected the proposal as inadequate, the Daily Business Review reports. The legal publication calls the decision a…

Oct 12, 2007 11:06 AM CDT

Jury: Feeding Homeless No Crime

A Florida man did not violate an unusual municipal ordinance against feeding the homeless when he served up food at a public park in Orlando, a jury decided yesterday. Although the prosecution had video footage of Eric Montanez, 22, participating in the organized meal at Lake Eola Park, it didn’t…

Oct 10, 2007 8:21 PM CDT

Anti-Porn Lawyer Wins Round in Judge Dispute

An anti-porn crusading lawyer says he is no longer at risk of being referred to a court ad hoc grievance committee for attaching gay-sex photos to a court filing. Florida lawyer Jack Thompson says the judge vacated an order to show cause why he should not be referred to the…

Oct 10, 2007 6:42 PM CDT

Fax Cited in Hearing Against FL Lawyer

A lawyer for banking regulators pointed to a fax in an effort to show intentional wrongdoing by a former Greenberg Traurig lawyer accused of hiding evidence of $20 million in losses for a now-defunct bank. Special Counsel Lee Strauss argued that Florida lawyer Carlos Loumiet split pages of a fax…

Oct 10, 2007 11:18 AM CDT

FL Lawyer Accused of Hiding Bank Losses

A former partner at Miami-based Greenberg Traurig goes before an administrative judge today to contest allegations that he suppressed material evidence to hide $20 million in losses for a bank client. The Office of Comptroller of the Currency is seeking a cease-and-desist order against Carlos Loumiet that would prevent him…

Oct 9, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

Man on Trial for Feeding Homeless

In what may be a first-in-the-nation case, a Florida man reportedly is to go on trial today for violating an unusual Orlando ordinance that bans feeding a group of homeless persons in a public place. The prosecution says it has videotape of Eric Montanez, 22, at an organized feeding of…

Oct 8, 2007 6:11 PM CDT