Miami Divorce Attorney – Andrew Boros, Esq

An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

April 20, 2012

–Legal Profession–

LEGAL AID FUNDING CUT HURTS– Ocala Star Banner, http://www.ocala.com, April 20, 2012.
Low-income Marion County residents facing foreclosure troubles will continue to suffer through a shortage of free legal advice to help them stay in their homes. A $2 million veto by Gov. Rick Scott this week translates to a $200,000 or so loss for Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents in 12 area counties including Marion. About 1,000 people in Marion County received help from the free legal aid office last year, but 2,000 people were turned away because of lack of staffing, Community Legal spokesman Larry Glinzman said. About one-third of all the legal cases his office handles involve foreclosures.

THE FARMER FILE: WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT LEGAL AID– Naples Daily News, column, http://www.naplesnews.com, April 20, 2012.
The column by contributing columnist Don Farmer

Read More...
Article source: http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/PI/PINewsSummary.nsf/FV/D20B88C34A3EB60B852579E6004DBA06

TALLAHASSEE —
Within minutes of Friday’s opening arguments on redistricting, Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente lashed back at lawyers for suggesting the court completely rewrite the Legislature’s new plan.

Instead, Pariente, who was the author of the 5-2 ruling that rejected the first Senate redistricting map, made it clear that the court intends to limit its review to repairing only districts that potentially remain in violation of the state’s new anti-gerrymandering standards.

“If we decided that one district was invalid, nobody would suggest that the whole map should be redrawn,” Pariente said. She said that re-opening districts that were unchanged, or unchallenged by opponents, would not be “fair to the Senate.”

The court rejected the first Senate map March 9 as violating the state constitution because of eight flawed districts, a numbering system that protected incumbents, and a plan “rife with indicators of improper intent.’’ The court unanimously approved the House’s redistricting map, but lawmakers were forced to come back for a 15-day session to redraw Senate boundaries.

The court has until May 14 to review the legislature’s second attempt

Read More...
Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/18/2760870/supreme-court-suggests-it-will.html

As much pressure as we put on Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh to perform to their highest expectations, you have to give them some amount of credit for what they’ve accomplished in their first two seasons together.

They’ve already made an NBA Finals, have won back-to-back Southeast Division titles and are the current Eastern Conference champions. Not bad for a team who had the defensively inept James Jones as their sixth man last year. Not too shabby for a team that’s put an entire franchise on their back, even though the team was advertised as certain domination.

Why aren’t the Heat dominating this year? They went through the experimental stage last year and managed to make it all the way to the NBA Finals with Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem heavily ailing from injuries. When you watch the 2011-12 Miami Heat, you sometimes begin to wonder if the depleted team from last year was just as good as the one from this year.

The Heat’s defense will step up in the postseason. The whole idea of constantly double-teaming, rotating and having every player work together seems like a farfetched concept, but it works perfectly for this team if they’re playing to

Read More...
Article source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1152237-miami-heat-best-and-worst-case-scenarios-heading-into-postseason

An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

April 19, 2012

–Legal Profession–

BUDGET VETO HITS LEGAL SERVICES HARD– News Service of Florida, http://www.newsserviceflorida.com, April 19, 2012.
The article appears in several Florida publications. A $2 million veto by Gov. Rick Scott will mean fewer attorneys to represent low-income residents through foreclosure proceedings, domestic violence hearings and consumer fraud cases, legal aid officials said Wednesday [April 18]. Officials at an organization that provides legal help for low income Floridians said Scott’s decision will mean a 25 percent reduction in the number of attorneys available for legal assistance in the coming year. A year later, the number of available attorneys will drop even further. Jackie Schutz, a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott, said there was not a clear justification for the size of the appropriation or the need for recurring funds. Schutz, also said the program has other funding sources on which it can rely during tough budget times. Legal

Read More...
Article source: http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/PI/PINewsSummary.nsf/FV/74BF3D2BB5C8A6CD852579E5004E8BC2

David Adams

Reuters

4:13 p.m. CDT, April 19, 2012

Read More...
Article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-venezuela-judge-usabre83i1gs-20120419,0,3560827.story

An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

April 18, 2012

–The Florida Bar–

JUDICIAL CAMPAIGN CONDUCT FORUMS SET– The Florida Bar News, http://www.floridabar.org, April 1, 2012.
All candidates seeking election as judges in 2012 will soon be able to participate in judicial campaign conduct forums offering training in the rules governing judicial elections. Sponsored by the Florida Supreme Court and The Florida Bar Board of Governors, the forums are held every election year with the help of the state’s trial court chief judges and the court’s Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. This year’s 90-minute forums are scheduled Thursday and Friday, April 26 and 27, at 1 p.m. local time in 11 cities across the state.

–Legislature–

SUMMARY: GOV. SCOTT’S VETOES, BUDGET OVERVIEW– The Tampa Tribune, http://www.tbo.com, April 17, 2012.
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed $142.7 million in line-item spending, including $2 million for the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act passed by the

Read More...
Article source: http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/PI/PINewsSummary.nsf/FV/070FE22C5903F3D5852579E4004DFB2C

A new judge has been appointed in the case of a Sanford man accused of murdering a Miami Gardens teen in February, according to a Seminole County courts spokeswoman.

Seminole Circuit Judge Kenneth M. Lester Jr. will replace Circuit Judge Jessica Recksiedler, who agreed to disqualify herself from overseeing the murder case against George Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, 28, is accused of second-degree murder in the slaying of Trayvon Martin, a case that has garnered worldwide attention. A neighborhood watch volunteer, Zimmerman confronted Trayvon, whom he believed to be suspicious, and shot the teen in the ensuing scuffle.

Sanford police cited Florida’s self-defense law in not initially charging Zimmerman. A specially appointed prosecutor, Angela Corey, earlier this month announced the murder charge.

Zimmerman’s defense attorney, Mark O’Mara, had asked Recksiedler to disqualify herself from the case. Last week, the judge had revealed a potential conflict of interest: Her husband works with an Orlando-area lawyer, Mark NeJame, who was originally approached to represent Zimmerman on the case.

NeJame, who also is providing on-air legal analysis for CNN on the case, declined and referred the case to O’Mara.

The defense lawyer’s exact

Read More...
Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/18/2755655/new-judge-appointed-in-trayvon.html

An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

April 17, 2012

–The Florida Bar–

THE VOTE’S IN YOUR COURT: BAR LAUNCHES MERIT RETENTION PUBLIC EDUCATION CAMPAIGN– The Florida Bar News, http://www.floridabar.org, April 15, 2012.
Early in May, The Florida Bar will kick off its public education program on judicial merit retention with events timed to coincide with Law Week. The program will work with civic organizations and local bars to educate voters about what merit retention is and how it works. Bar President Scott Hawkins told the Board of Governors that board member Sandy Diamond is leading a steering committee to assist with implementing the program. He said it’s a critical matter for the Bar because 15 district court of appeal judges and three Supreme Court justices are up for merit retention this year. The Bar also will collaborate with the Florida League of Women Voters, which will publish a voting guide in the fall. Hawkins noted that he and

Read More...
Article source: http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/PI/PINewsSummary.nsf/FV/E53C8CD6233033F0852579E3004DB204

The Miami Herald and other media outlets are asking a judge to unseal court documents in the case of George Zimmerman, charged with the second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin in Sanford.

In a motion filed Monday, the press asked that a Seminole County circuit judge reconsider a decision made last week to seal the court file, which in Florida is normally a public record.

The request came the same day Zimmerman’s lawyer filed a motion asking Circuit Court Judge Jessica Recksiedler to recuse herself from the case. The judge last week revealed a potential conflict of interest: Her husband works with an Orlando-area lawyer, Mark NeJame, who was originally approached to represent Zimmerman on the case. NeJame, who is providing on-air legal analysis for CNN on the case, declined and referred the case the Zimmerman family to defense attorney Mark O’Mara.

Zimmerman is charged with the Feb. 26 shooting of Trayvon, an unarmed teen visiting his father’s girlfriend in a gated Sanford community. Trayvon, 17, and Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, got into a physical confrontation, and Zimmerman shot the teen. Claiming

Read More...
Article source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/16/2751754/miami-herald-other-media-outlets.html

An electronic digest of media coverage of interest to members of The Florida Bar compiled each workday by the Public Information and Bar Services Department. Electronic links are only active in today’s edition. For information on previous articles, please contact the publishing newspaper directly.

April 16, 2012

–Legislature–

THE PRICE OF JUSTICE– The Miami Herald, editorial, http://www.miamiherald.com, April 16, 2012. [Also: COURT CLERKS IN FLORIDA FACE CUTS-- The News-Press, http://www.news-press.com, April 16, 2012].
The editorial states: “If you file a suit, say for divorce, in a Florida court, you pay a handsome fee of $401, one of the highest filing fees in the nation . . . .The Florida Constitution provides that the clerk’s office should be supported by fees and fines. However, more than $100 of the filing fee is siphoned off into the state’s general fund with bites of fees and fines going to 30 special funds . . . . This year, the state will raid clerks’ revenues even more, taking back $31 million from the current budget . . . . Sarasota Clerk Karen Rushing, who bird-dogs legislative issues for the state clerks’ association, says the association is

Read More...
Article source: http://www.floridabar.org/DIVCOM/PI/PINewsSummary.nsf/FV/5571B24C0F0C0438852579E2004F9CDB