Florida Bar Journal articles from December 2003

Florida Bar Journal archives from December 2003

"The first duty of society is justice".(Florida)(President's Page)
December 1, 2003... Those words were penned by Alexander Hamilton, one of our nation's early architects and author of many of the Federalist papers. Helping to ensure Hamilton's vision that all of our citizens deserve the opportunity to be heard and pursue...

"Double offense" problems in kidnapping and false imprisonment cases.(Florida)
December 1, 2003... Florida criminal law has long protected a person's interest in freedom from unlawful restraints and confinements. Current statutes recognize the offenses of kidnapping and false imprisonment. Both statutes create a "double offense" problem well...

So this isn't work? When a wage isn't protected: Florida bankruptcy court decisions erode earnings exemption for professional practice and business owners.
December 1, 2003... The Florida Statutes provide creditor protection from garnishment of "earnings." Over the course of the last several years, however, a number of troubling decisions have emerged from the bankruptcy courts in decisions that circumvent the clear...

The guardian ad litem program: expanding the model and meeting new challenges.(Florida)
December 1, 2003... Florida guardian ad litem programs are facing an exciting period of growth and opportunity. (1) The program has had a significant increase in its budget, and with the infusion of funds to hire additional program attorneys and case coordinators,...

Florida's four orders of protection against violence: distinguishing the difference.
December 1, 2003... As of July 1, 2003, Florida law provides for four distinct types of orders of protection against violence, also commonly known, locally and nationally, as restraining orders, and in Florida, legally called injunctions. These orders protect a...

Avoiding pitfalls in closing arguments.
December 1, 2003... The closing argument is an integral component of the entire trial presentation. It is the lawyer's last opportunity to summarize the evidence, tie together key themes, and convince the jury why his or her position should prevail. It is the...

Taxation of contingent fees.
December 1, 2003... Cases of this kind are not easy to decide. In seeking to reconcile the implications of the infinite variety of facts presented by the decided cases and all that has been said about the subject of anticipatory assignment of income, one is likely...

Staying a money judgment in federal court without posting a supersedeas bond.
December 1, 2003... Notwithstanding the language of Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(d), which appears to require a bond in order to stay lower court proceedings pending appeal, federal courts have held consistently that a trial court has authority under the rule to stay a...

The LLC envelope.(limited liabilites company, asset protection and federal tax benefits)
December 1, 2003... For those intending to form a closely held operating business in Florida, the entity of choice, in most cases, will be a limited liability company that elects to be taxed as a Subchapter S corporation. We refer to this entity as the LLC...

Regulating public access programming without violating First Amendment rights.
December 1, 2003... Congress enacted 47 U.S.C. [section] 531 in order to allow local governments serving as the franchising authority for cable rights to require a cable operator receiving the local franchise to set aside certain stations for public, educational,...

Private employers' workers' compensation liability for on-call employees.(Florida)
December 1, 2003... Many private employers have employees who are "on call," either at scheduled times or on a continuous basis. In fact, one may argue that with the invention of beepers and cell phones, most employees are "on call," even if not so designated. ...

The demise of the death penalty for the mentally retarded.
December 1, 2003... On June 20, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its opinion in the case of Atkins v. Virginia, 122 S. Ct. 2242, 153 L. Ed. 2d 335 (2002), effectively eliminating the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. In this historic opinion...

Privileged Information.(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Terry Lewis In his new novel, Privileged Information, Judge Terry Lewis weaves his second legal mystery tale involving attorney Ted Stevens and Florida's Big Bend territory. Amid cash flow problems in the firm and a drinking problem...

Restatement of the Law (Third) Trusts, 2 vols.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... The American Law Institute presents a contemporary treatment of trust law with its new Restatement of the Law Third, Trusts, Volumes 1 and 2. The volumes cover the nature, creation, and elements of trusts. Drawing both on court decisions...

The Law and Older Persons: Is Geriatric Jurisprudence Therapeutic?(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Marshall B. Kapp Therapeutic jurisprudence is a way of exploring the ways that the practice of law, as opposed to theory, can have positive or negative effects on real people in real situations. Written by Marshall Kapp, The Law and...

Self-Representation and Pretrial Allegations of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Angela D. McCravy Complaints about the quality of legal representation, as well as requests for self-representation, are occurring with increasing frequency in today's criminal courtrooms. The intricate nature of these issues, and the...

Winning on Appeal: Better Briefs and Oral Argument.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert Since it was first published more than a decade ago, Winning on Appeal: Better Briefs and Oral Argument by Judge Ruggero J. Aldisert has been adopted by many law schools for appellate advocacy courses. In...

The Law of Teacher Evaluation, 2d ed.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
December 1, 2003... by Lawrence F. Rossow and James O. Tate The second edition of The Law of Teacher Evaluation, written by Lawrence F. Rossow and James O. Tate, provides an exhaustive guide to the arena of teacher evaluation. Rossow and Tate provide a wealth...