Bill Gelin, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer whose courthouse blog trades in news and gossip about South Florida’s legal community, is fighting off an investigation by the Florida Bar after publishing articles that criticized judges in Palm Beach and Broward counties. The Bar’s action may provide a test case to determine just how far a lawyer can go in exercising his First Amendment right to criticize judges without jeopardizing his professional standing. The Bar has rules barring lawyers from bringing the profession into disrepute and criticizing judges with false or reckless statements, but Gelin said they don’t apply to the posts on JAABlog. (Read Full Article Here)

Larry Fox, a Yale University law professor, testified Friday [May 17] that prominent Sarasota attorney Robert Messick’s conflicts of interest in a First Priority Bank land deal were the worst he’s ever seen. Fox said Messick and his Icard Merrill law firm represented too many clients in the same Manatee County real estate deal. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sued Messick and Icard Merrill alleging malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty in the wake of First Priority’s collapse. Messick and Icard Merrill defense attorneys countered by producing a University of Miami law professor who described Fox’s analysis as “totally inaccurate.” (Read Full Article Here)

The Koontz family’s case and its nearly two-decade old fight to allow a sliver of land to be developed without having to pay for off-site mitigation now resides with the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. The issue before the justices is whether the government can demand off-site mitigation for allowing property it deems wetlands to be developed. Thirteen groups filed amicus briefs before the Jan. 15 oral arguments, including the American Civil Liberties Union, National Association of Home Builders, National Governors Association and one from 20 states in support of Florida’s position. “The decision, however it goes, will define the extent government can demand property, especially as a condition of issuing a permit,” said Paul Beard, the Koontz family attorney. (Read Full Article Here)

An editorial by the Palm Beach Post urges Gov. Scott to veto the Timely Justice Act, aimed to speed up executions. The editorial states that “in the state with the most exonerations from Death Row — 24 since 1979 — this would be like giving Bernie Madoff a new line of credit.” A Times-Union article notes that not all victims’ families support the bill. The Miami Herald examines how Gov. Rick Scott has accelerated the pace of signing death warrants in Florida by lining up three executions over the next few weeks, the most in such a brief period of time in more than two decades. (Read Full Article Here)

Letter by Robert Bertisch, executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. Bertisch urges Gov. Rick Scott to support the $1 million appropriation in the state budget to fund the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act (FACLA). The money helps to address the civil legal needs of those whose incomes are at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. He states that a “$1 million appropriation would mean a great deal to low-income residents of Palm Beach County and throughout the state.” (Read Full Article Here)

A profile of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Thomas J. Rebull. The Miami native considers missing Hurricane Andrew a lifelong regret. “The first day of the first year of law school, Hurricane Andrew hit — in August 1992. And I was there and not here . . . it’s always been weird to me that one of the formative events of my community, which I love to death, I wasn’t here for it.” (Read Full Article Here)

The 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee has ruled that Duval County Judge Tyrie Boyer used flawed logic in 2011 when awarding nearly $15 million as part of a tobacco settlement. The case surrounds Patricia Allen, who smoked for 36 years before dying in 2009 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. As a result, her estate sued certain tobacco companies for wrongful death. In April 2011, a Duval County jury awarded her $40 million but Judge Boyer later lowered the award to $14.4 million after considering motions filed by the tobacco companies. In order to take legal action, there has to be evidence that “addiction was the legal cause” of a disease, which the 1st District Court of Appeal said was not the case with Allen. (Read Full Article Here)

Missing Boca Raton attorney Timothy McCabe got some of his clients through companies the Federal Trade Commission alleges were part of a phony mortgage relief scheme that took in more than $23 million before being shut down, according to court records and interviews with federal authorities. The FTC is suing Fort Lauderdale-based Prime Legal Plans, accusing them of failing to deliver on promises of home loan modifications and leaving many customers worse off financially. McCabe, who was last seen on April 2, is not a defendant in the FTC lawsuit, but he and his law firm, McCabe & Samiljan, are being scrutinized by the court-appointed attorney. (Read Full Article Here)

Opinion column by Alan Frisher, spokesman and co-director of Family Law Reform, Inc. Frisher discusses Gov. Scott’s decision to veto legislation to eliminate permanent alimony. He states that the award of permanent alimony “is unfair, not just to the payers but to their children, their new spouses — and even the recipients, who are told to never move on with their lives, who remain on lifetime welfare.” Finally, he applauds Rep. Ritch Workman and Sen. Kelli Stargel for their efforts in getting the legislation passed in the House and Senate. (Read Full Article Here)

Debbie Poole was sworn on May 1 as Nassau county judge at the Nassau County Judicial Annex in Yulee. Poole was appointed to the bench March 26 by Gov. Rick Scott to replace Judge Granville “Doc” Burgess, who died Dec. 6. Before the appointment, Poole served as attorney for the City of Fernandina Beach and worked in private practice. (Read Full Article Here)