Florida Bar Journal articles from November 2002

Florida Bar Journal archives from November 2002

Message to young lawyers. (practicing law isn't just about making money) (President's Page)
November 1, 2002... How fitting it is that I am writing this message on the day that bar exam results came out. I received e-mails expressing excitement, enthusiasm, and relief from two recent law grads after getting the "good news." I have known these young lions...

Offers of judgment and tenders of relief before class certification; when is it permissible to pick off the class representative.
November 1, 2002... Class actions present unique problems with regard to settlement and dismissal. The problems are particularly thorny before there has been a determination by the court on the issue of class certification. The difficulties lie in the...

Scattered, smothered, and covered under water regulation. Have the courts (finally) unscrambled franchise rights of IOUs and local governments?
November 1, 2002... Florida's constitution divides government into state and county levels. Florida's statutes allow for municipalities to be chartered, some with home rule, some without. When all of these political entities begin exercising their authority over...

President Bush's military order establishing military tribunals to try noncitizens; is it beyond his constitutional and statutory authority?
November 1, 2002... On November 13, 2001, President Bush signed a military order authorizing the creation of military tribunals to try individual noncitizens of the United States who are suspected to be members of an organization known as al Quaida, or who have...

Bush v. Gore. Implications for future federal court practice.
November 1, 2002... It has been just about two years since Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), the U.S. Supreme Court's extraordinary decision that ended the debate over how to count the ballots in Florida and unofficially declared a winner in the 2000 presidential...

Federal Court Manual Questionnaires: an invaluable source of information for litigators in federal court.
November 1, 2002... Litigators in federal court frequently have questions concerning the practices and procedures of the federal judges assigned to their cases. For example, federal practitioners often seek information regarding a wide range of issues relative to...

An athlete's right of publicity. (Entertainment, Arts and Sports Law).
November 1, 2002... One of the more valuable assets a celebrity-athlete may possess is his or her identity or persona. (1) This asset may be of considerable and lasting value, because when one's ability to play the game wanes, the marketing power of one's persona...

Florida homestead transfers: the advantages of short-term qualified personal residence trusts. .
November 1, 2002... Estate planning involving Florida homesteads poses special challenges to estate planners because of the Florida legal requirement providing that if the owner is survived by a spouse or minor child, the homestead must pass as a life estate to...

Time waits for no one: the death of a litigant.
November 1, 2002... A litigant's death presents counsel representing the litigant or an opposing party with a variety of issues. Failure to react in a timely fashion to a litigant's death may lead to the lawyer becoming the next target. Suggestions of Death...

Those tasks aren't important--the Supreme Court limits application of the ADA. .
November 1, 2002... In Toyota Motor Mfg., Ky., Inc. v. Williams, 122 S. Ct. 681 (2002), the Supreme Court held that the determination of whether an individual's physical impairment substantially limits the major life activity of performing manual tasks, thereby...

"Intervene" means "intervene": the Florida Legislature revises citizen standing under F.S. s. 403.412(5). (Environmental and Land Use Law)
November 1, 2002... One of the most controversial bills enacted during the 2002 Regular Session affects both administrative and environmental law by revising the standing afforded citizens to challenge environmental permitting decisions under F.S. [section]...

Assessing the veracity of domestic violence allegations in parenting disputes. .
November 1, 2002... Domestic violence allegations are all too common in child custody cases. Some of these allegations are true; some are false. An unfortunate consequence of the false allegations is that suspicion is raised as to credibility any time domestic...

The Florida Legislature's response to skateboarders and skaters: skating on thin concrete. (City, County and Local Government Law).
November 1, 2002... They fly through the air with the greatest of ease and far too often land with a bone-crushing, vertebrae-jarring crunch. They are inline skaters and skateboarders ("skaters"), and they have become the bane of public sector attorneys and risk...

Pop quiz: why is fundamental error like pornography? (Appellate Practice and Advocacy).
November 1, 2002... Answer: To paraphrase Justice Stewart's often quoted standard, because a court knows it when it sees it. (1) The doctrine of "fundamental" or "plain" error, which permits appellate review of error without a proper preservation of the issue...

Jacksonville Bar Association attorneys assist homeless on journey to self reliance.
November 1, 2002... Members of the Jacksonville Bar Association have raised the bar in their efforts to assist the indigent--those who are homeless and often can not afford shelter or food. Once a month, members of the Jacksonville Bar Association and the...

Elements of Florida Civil Causes of Action and Defenses.
November 1, 2002... by Arthur L. Berger As any experienced lawyer will tell you, time is money. Whether representing a Fortune 500 client in complex negotiations or prosecuting a penny-ante pro bono action in small claims court, the ability to determine the...

On Trial: Lessons from a Lifetime in the Courtroom.
November 1, 2002... by Henry G. Miller Henry Miller's educational and entertaining book is adapted from a series of 12 articles he recently wrote for the New York Law Journal. Readers of the articles urged Henry to consolidate and share the articles with the...

Trilogy on South Beach.
November 1, 2002... Miami Beach attorney James Sabatino has written three short stories about another Miami Beach attorney--his protagonist, Duke Jacobs. The stories are collected in a 260-page paperback book published by Xlibris Corporation called Trilogy on...

Florida Litigation Guide.
November 1, 2002... Deerfield Beach attorney Marc A. Wites for years wrote The Florida Civil Litigation Handbook: Actions, Defense, Evidence and Rules, which was published annually by Matthew Bender & Company. Now, he's struck out on his own with The Florida...

The Liberty Incident: The 1967 Attack on the U.S. Navy Spy Ship.
November 1, 2002... by Judge A. Jay Cristol U.S. Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol, a former naval aviator and current Miami resident, spent 10 years investigating the June 8, 1967 attack of the USS Liberty by Israeli air and naval forces during the height of...

Spiritual Practice.
November 1, 2002... by George J. Felos As a legal advocate of his client's right to die, Felos has plumbed the depths of death and dying, and uses a landmark case and a decade-long tax battle with the U.S. Justice Department to show that spirituality can...

Domain Name Disputes.
November 1, 2002... Analyzing critical topics relevant to the use and ownership of domain names has just been made easier, thanks to the release of Domain Name Disputes by Aspen Law & Business. The 600-page book delves into how legal disputes involving...

NITA.(National Institute for Trial Advocacy)
November 1, 2002... Eyewitness Testimony: Challenging Your Opponent's Witness, a 200-page pocket-size guide published by the National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), is designed to show attorneys how to use scientific knowledge on eyewitness memory to more...