Criminal Law

MEDIA 2/21

Posted on February 21, 2008
    Chief Judge Farina (DBR)       Stanton KaplanDAILY BUSINESS REVIEW:"Chief judge?s e-mail suggests future furloughs"http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=47247"Miami-Dade court employees got chilling news this week when they discovered they may be forced to take as many as 11 weeks off without pay by July...

4 on 17

Posted on February 20, 2008
Aramony       Affirmed & remand             4D05-4589-Pineiro v. Law Firm of Franklin & CriscuoloHolmes         Reversed & remand           4D06-409-Baptiste v...

CASES - Civil

Posted on February 20, 2008
Torts -- Automobile accident -- New trial -- Error to grant plaintiff's motion for new trial on ground that jury verdict was product of impermissible compromise based on jury assignment of comparative negligence and award of damages -- Trial court's conclusion that record was devoid of evidence of plaintiff's comparative negligence was clearly erroneous -- Trial court's finding that medical evidence required award of future medical costs was not supported by evidenceReported at 33 Fla...

JAABWATCH: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2008

Posted on February 19, 2008
 Psst, wanna rent an empty courtroom?RESULTS:TUESDAY AFTERNOON BETWEEN 2:20 AND 2:46:24 EMPTY COURTROOMS (Not counting one closed for flood damage, or empty courtrooms from the three Satellites)I'm no statistician, but figuring 34 from yesterday afternoon (granted, there were more from the non-court holiday), 22 on October 1st, 2007, 24 on September 27, 2007, and 24 from today, it would appear there are roughly 24 empty courtrooms downtown each afternoon by 3:00 PM...

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PETTIJOHN AWARD WINNER

Posted on February 19, 2008
                                                                                                                             Alanez                                                  CONGRATULATIONS TONYA                                    Courthouse beat reporter Tonya Alanez wins a prestigious                         Sun Sentinel Pettijohn Award, for excellence in reporting and contribution.

JAABWATCH: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2008

Posted on February 18, 2008
 A Pin DroppedIn light of tomorrow's County Commission Workshop, I figured it was a good time to take another stroll around the Courthouse.  Again, this is not about how hard judges work.  Everyone knows judges take days off, work in chambers, or at home...

COUNTY COMMISSION WORKSHOP TUESDAY MORNING

Posted on February 18, 2008
                                                                            Wexler                            Keechl                   RodstromThe Broward County Commission will meet for a Workshop Session tomorrow morning...

CHANNEL 7 TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY

Posted on February 18, 2008
                                                                                                                         Carmel on the Case                         Investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero returns to the Broward Courthouse...

RES IPSA LOQUITUR

Posted on February 18, 2008
February 18, 2008   The Honorable Victor Tobin, Chief Judge Broward County Courthouse, Room 1010B Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301Dear Judge Tobin,   As you know from our previous conversations, the budget cuts under consideration by Legislative Committees, combined with the budget cuts already imposed on my office, will significantly impact our ability to fulfill our constitutional mandate...

BY "ENTROPY"

Posted on February 18, 2008
I am a long term courthouse worker and I am in favor of building a new courthouse primarily for one reason, my health. I think the courthouse is full of mold and who know's what else. Has anyone noticed anything funny about the 7th floor? I can name 20 people who have worked on that floor who have had or do have or have died from cancer...

BACK TO WORK MONDAY/CULPRIT: CLOGGED TOILET

Posted on February 16, 2008
                                                       According to Chris Stotz, Public Information Officer of the 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida:"Broward County's Main Courthouse at 201 SE 6th Street in downtown Fort Lauderdale will be OPEN for regular business with regular business hours this coming Monday, February 18, 2008...

CASES

Posted on February 16, 2008
Criminal law -- Dismissal -- Amended order dismissing felony information on ground that information was not properly sworn is reversed -- Trial court erred in entering the motion to dismiss under Rule 3.140(g), where defendant pled to merits -- Rule 3...

CASES - Civil

Posted on February 16, 2008
Torts -- Automobile accident -- Injuries to minor -- Action against caretaker on behalf of minor injured in automobile accident alleging caretaker breached common law duty to use reasonable care in caring for child by failing to use proper child passenger restraint -- Statute stating that ?[t]he failure to provide and use a child passenger restraint shall not be considered comparative negligence, nor shall such failure be admissible as evidence in the trial of any civil action with regard to negligence? does not prohibit introduction of any evidence of the failure to provide and use a proper child passenger restraint in a negligence action brought by an injured child against a caretaker who allegedly failed to secure the child in such a device prior to the automobile accident that caused the injuries -- Statute interpreted as prohibiting evidence of comparative negligence and evidence of negligence that may be similarly used to reduce an injured child's recovery -- Court rejects defendant's contention that statute is, in essence, a grant of immunityReported at 33 Fla...

CHIEF JUDGE CLOSES OLD COURTHOUSE

Posted on February 16, 2008
                                                                        SENTINEL:http://www...

JAABLOG PRESENTS: "You Make The Call"

Posted on February 16, 2008
                                                                                                    Attorney John Fry                      Judge Lee Seidman                                            "The Speaker"                            "The Court"                                                                        ISSUE:                          Did Judge Seidman properly deny an indigent defendant the services of                           Ft...

MEDIA 2/15

Posted on February 16, 2008
 Chief Criminal Judge Ana GardinerSENTINEL:"BROWARD JUDGE LEFT SCENE OF ACCIDENT, WOMAN CHARGES":http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbgardiner0215sbfeb15,0,6300945.storySENTINEL COMMENTS (get them while they last):http://www.topix...

MEDIA 2/14

Posted on February 16, 2008
 Stuart SmalleyDAILY BUSINESS REVIEW:TOBIN ARRANGES SERIES OF VOLUNTARY JUDICIAL SENSITIVITY ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS: http://www.dailybusinessreview.com/news.html?news_id=47156?The fact that Judge Tobin so quickly grabbed this problem and proactively did something important truly shows there?s a new dawn at the Broward County Courthouse,? (Public Defender) Finkelstein said...

CONTESTED 2008 JUDICIAL ELECTION

Posted on February 16, 2008
        ATTORNEY BRIAN PETER WOLK FILES AGAINST COUNTY COURT JUDGE JULIO GONZALEZ, JR.BROWARD SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS:GROUP 18:http://www.browardsoe.org/electioncandidates.aspx?eid=76WOLK CANDIDATE INFO:http://www...

ANA GARDINER: RECKLESS DRIVER?

Posted on February 16, 2008
 Chief Criminal Judge Ana GardinerBROWARD NEW TIMES:"THERE GO DA JUDGE: DRIVING BLIND":http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2008-02-14/news/there-go-da-judge/ The collision left a mess on the back end of the Mercedes, with the bumper hanging loose, the left taillight smashed, and the exhaust pipe driven under the body...

MESSAGE FROM THE JNC

Posted on February 16, 2008
 Richard Zaden, Chair, 17th JNC                                                                                                   NOTICE OF JUDICIAL VACANCIESThe Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission announces it is now accepting applications for the upcoming Circuit Court vacancy resulting from the resignation of Judge Barry Goldstein...

CIRCUIT COURT NOMINEES ? February, 2008

Posted on February 16, 2008
            Names                                 1...

25 JNC QUESTIONS

Posted on February 16, 2008
The 17th Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission (JNC) held 21 interviews Tuesday afternoon (the schedule is HERE).  I sat in on seven of the interviews.  I wanted to get a feel for the process and the type of questions asked.  These were basically all of the questions I heard:1...

CASES

Posted on February 15, 2008
Criminal law -- Murder -- Death penalty -- Statute which prevented defendant from asserting defense of voluntary intoxication is constitutional -- Evidence was sufficient to support first-degree murder convictions -- Aggravating circumstances -- Trial court properly found as aggravating circumstance that murders were committed while engaged in commission of burglary -- Trial court properly found that murders were committed in cold, calculated, and premeditated manner -- There was no abuse of discretion in trial court's assignment of great weight to burglary and prior violent felony aggravators -- No merit to claim that sentencing order lacks clarity because court did not expressly consider jury's recommendation of life for one murder when sentencing defendant to death for two other murders -- Trial court thoroughly considered aggravating and mitigating circumstances and supported each with specific written findings of fact -- State was not bound by its letter to Mexican officials offering to forego death penalty if Mexican government returned defendant to United States where Mexican government released defendant before state's letter reached the appropriate officials -- No merit to claim that death sentence is unconstitutional under decision of U...

CASES - Civil

Posted on February 15, 2008
Torts -- Premises liability -- Slip and fall -- Error to deny defendant's request for new trial where plaintiff's counsel engaged in series of improper attacks on defendant and its counsel, including allegations that defendant and counsel hid evidence and committed discovery violations and that witnesses lied, and where counsel made improper golden rule argument in closing     Reported at 33 Fla...

CASES - Civil

Posted on February 14, 2008
Torts -- Medical malpractice -- Hospitals -- Negligent credentialing of physician -- Action for damages caused by neurosurgeon who performed posterior cervical surgery with rod insertion using Luque rods which were not suitable for use in cervical spine -- Evidence -- Expert -- Qualifications -- No abuse of discretion in permitting plaintiff's expert on credentialing to testify, although expert had no experience in hospital administration in Florida -- Florida hospitals are governed by the same accreditation standards used by hospitals all over the country, and witness had previously been accepted by other courts as an expert in credentialing cases in Florida as well as in other jurisdictions -- Expert's testimony that neurosurgeon had not been required to demonstrate proficiency in any of the procedures he performed, that neurosurgeon was not even eligible to request the privilege to perform the particular procedure at issue, that neurosurgeon was performing the procedure for the first time, and that hospital had, in effect, simply given neurosurgeon unrestricted privileges, in violation of its own regulations, together with testimony of expert neurosurgeon that any properly credentialed neurosurgeon would have known that rods used could not be used in cervical spine due to high probability that they would migrate into brain, was sufficient for jury to find that, but for negligent credentialing, neurosurgeon would not have been permitted to do the operation which caused plaintiff's injuries -- Damages -- Testimony by plaintiff's wife that plaintiff could no longer do household chores and yard work, unsupported by evidence as to the value of those services, was not sufficient to support amount awarded to wife for past and future lost services -- Attorney's fees -- Error to award attorney's fees under section 766...

CASES

Posted on February 14, 2008
Criminal law -- Post conviction relief -- Timeliness of motion -- The filing of a petition for discretionary review in Florida Supreme Court based on an appellate per curiam decision with citations, one or more of which are pending review in Florida Supreme Court, tolls the time for filing motion under rule 3...

4 on 17

Posted on February 14, 2008
Imperato  Reverse & discharge   4D06-1307-Doe v. State*Gold          Reverse & Affirm         4D06-3784-State v. Barnes*Backman   Reverse & remand      4D06-4051-Wilson v...

THE SEVENTEENTH

Posted on February 12, 2008
THE ONLINE NEWSLETTER OF THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, 17th JUDICIAL CIRCUIT:FEB 2008

CASES - Civil

Posted on February 12, 2008
Torts -- Conversion -- Trial court properly found that defendant did not commit conversion of RV where defendant had right to repossess RV upon plaintiffs' default on sales agreement, and it is undisputed that plaintiffs failed to make payments due and defaulted under terms of sales agreement -- Even if plaintiffs were somehow entitled to possession of RV, plaintiffs did not demand its return or demonstrate that such a demand would have been futile -- Trial court's finding that defendant did not commit conversion of plaintiffs' personal belongings was supported by competent, substantial evidence -- Even if defendant had kept plaintiffs' personal belongings as alleged, plaintiffs did not demand their return or demonstrate that such a demand would have been futileReported at 33 Fla...

CASES

Posted on February 12, 2008
Criminal law -- Search and seizure -- Investigatory stop -- State failed to carry burden of showing that officer had reasonable suspicion of criminal activity to justify investigatory stop of defendant and his companion who were walking behind a closed store in mall parking lot at 8:30 p...

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