Florida

A Paltry Sum for ‘Fundamentally Unfair’ Conviction

An 83-year-old Florida man whose Army conviction for the 1944 lynching an Italian prisoner of war was overturned as “fundamentally unfair” has gotten a check for back pay. The amount was $725. Samuel Snow told the New York Times he thinks he deserves more money. In October, an Army review…

Dec 4, 2007 5:21 PM CST

Man Who Lent Car to Felonious Friends in Jail for Life

The felony murder doctrine has put a Florida man in prison for life because he lent his car to four burglars who killed an 18-year-old girl during the crime. Ryan Holle told police he knew about the men’s plans to burglarize the home of a drug dealer in statements that…

Dec 4, 2007 1:58 PM CST

Pricey Perks Risk Miami Attorney’s Job

A $300,000 office renovation. A $1,500 lunch tab. Expense-paid staff training trips—to Hawaii and Cancun. No, these aren’t the hallmarks of a successful private-practice law office. They’re some of the expenses run up by Miami City Attorney Jorge Fernandez, who envisions his municipal law office as a “world-class law firm…

Dec 3, 2007 7:38 PM CST

Dell Serves up ‘Domain Tasting’ Suit With Novel Claim

Computer maker Dell Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit that claims several companies violated counterfeiting laws by buying and selling Web addresses with misspellings of its name. The lawsuit contends three companies that register domain names set up a network with Caribbean shell companies to use Web addresses with typos…

Nov 29, 2007 2:04 PM CST

Ford Agrees to 4-State Rollover Settlement

Ford Motor Co. has struck a rollover settlement deal that applies to some 1 million people in four states. The litigation involved Ford Explorers that plaintiffs in California, Connecticut, Illinois and Texas, claimed were prone to rollovers, the Associated Press reports. The AP reports that vehicle owners will be allowed…

Nov 28, 2007 11:45 PM CST

Fla. Judges Feel the Heat of Blog Spotlight

Like politicians before them, judges in Florida are feeling the pressures of the ever-watchful, ever-critical blogosphere. Case in point, Dale Ross, who was chief judge for the Florida circuit court in Broward County for 16 years. He stepped down after a year of “embarrassing scandals, gaffes and bad behavior by…

Nov 28, 2007 7:04 PM CST

Alert Solo Catches Clerk’s Error, Derails 200 Christmastime Evictions

More than 200 Florida homeowners facing foreclosure got an early Christmas present from an alert Miami solo—the ability to remain in their homes through the holiday. Solo Scott Jay was discussing a partition case with co-counsel when he noticed a problem: A clerk had inadvertently counted Veteran’s Day in the…

Nov 28, 2007 3:10 PM CST

‘Harvard Lawyer’ Now Has New Title: Inmate

Young, attractive and clean-cut, Charles Brady certainly looked the part of the Harvard-trained land use and zoning attorney police say he claimed to be. Even a number of fellow practitioners reportedly were fooled by the 26-year-old stepson of a former Florida legislator. However, Brady, despite regularly practicing law and collecting…

Nov 20, 2007 11:23 PM CST

Lawyer’s Conviction for Obstructing Probe Upheld

A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a former Florida lawyer for conspiring to obstruct an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The lawyer, Donald Frank Mintmire, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court…

Nov 20, 2007 2:33 PM CST

New York Sues Yankees’ Jeter Over Residency Claim

A high-profile New York tax case against a professional baseball player is giving star billing to the legal issue of establishing state residency. Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees considers himself a resident of Florida, which has no state income tax. But the state and city of New York…

Nov 17, 2007 1:44 AM CST

New Florida Plan for Mentally Ill Inmates: Community Treatment

An ambitious effort to treat mentally ill Florida residents who have been clogging the state’s prison system after they commit crimes has been jointly announced by the governor and the head of the supreme court. The plan, discussed in a 170-page report released yesterday, calls for diverting money now spent…

Nov 16, 2007 7:28 PM CST

Bookkeeper Admits Paying Personal Loans From Dead Lawyer’s Accounts

A former bookkeeper for Miami lawyer William Huggett has pleaded guilty to writing checks from his personal accounts after his death in 2004. Sara San Martin, who is also known as Sara Echeverria, pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud in Miami federal court on Tuesday, the Daily Business…

Nov 15, 2007 1:39 PM CST

Fla. Mortgage Fraud Monolith: Building Had Most Bad Deals

Although there has been an explosion of mortgage foreclosures throughout the country during the past year, one 43-story building in Miami’s international banking district is at what could be considered ground zero in this real estate debacle. It is, reports Reuters, perhaps the most mortgage fraud-riddled residential building in the…

Nov 13, 2007 4:03 PM CST

Death Detective Extraordinaire Aids South Florida Researchers

Those who need details about a little-known death long ago in or around Miami, Florida, may be some of the luckiest information-seekers in the country. A local volunteer has compiled an extraordinary 4,000-page record of virtually all deaths listed in the local newspapers for more than a century. And, as…

Nov 12, 2007 6:25 PM CST

Ex-Bush Lawyer to Blast Administration in Dinner Speech

Barry Richard, the lawyer who represented President Bush in election recount lawsuits, will use a dinner speech to blast the administration. Richard, of Greenberg Traurig, told the National Law Journal he will protest the erosion of civil liberties when he speaks to the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys. “I’m…

Nov 9, 2007 3:44 PM CST