Recent Blog Posts
Florida Supreme Court Reverses Yet Another Decision, This Time Opening Door to Mentally Disabled Being Executed
In late May, the Florida Supreme Court reversed yet another one of its previous decisions; this time involving capital punishment and intellectual disabilities, opening the door to allowing defendants with mental disabilities who were previously sentenced to death under an unconstitutional state law to still be executed even though the US Supreme Court ruled… Read More »
Fifth Circuit Reverses Murder Conviction of Florida Man Who Shot Deputy Defending His Niece
In April, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a Florida man convicted of premeditated first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer while discharging a firearm was innocent due to Florida’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law in an important ruling reinforcing homeowners’ rights when it comes to Florida’s laws on justifiable use of force…. Read More »
Certain Aspects of Divorce Can Still Move Forward in Spite of the Coronavirus
The pandemic has changed family law in a number of ways: For already-divorced parents, it has created significant confusion and questions surrounding child custody and parenting plans, particularly when there are concerns that the other parent could possibly expose the child to COVID-19. This has been especially pronounced for parents who work in healthcare,… Read More »
What Do Divorce Lawyers Do, Exactly?
A majority of Americans believe that getting a divorce is better than staying in an unhappy marriage, and that includes what is best for the children in terms of potentially living with two unhappy parents. Still, regardless of your circumstances, you may have questions about what exactly divorce attorneys do and how having an… Read More »
Coronavirus-Related Criminal Charges On the Rise
Anxiety levels are understandably high as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps through the U.S. and the rest of the world, with approximately one million infected as of early April. As a result, states such as Florida have issued Stay-at-Home Orders, and law enforcement is taking these orders seriously, arresting those who violate them by holding… Read More »
Emergency Sole Child Custody Orders Being Granted Against First Responders in Pandemic
The only family law issues that judges are making themselves available for at this time are emergency issues, such as domestic violence protection orders. In some cases, that also includes court orders granting one parent sole temporary custody of the children if a judge is convinced that one parent could expose the children to… Read More »
The Coronavirus Brings a Number of Custody Complications for Some Divorce Parents
As attorneys who practice family law here in Florida, we have been fielding a number of questions related to the coronavirus over the last few weeks, especially those related to child custody issues (or time sharing/parenting plans, as they are referred to in Florida). Many parents went from trying to figure out what to… Read More »
11th Circuit Rules That Crime Victims’ Act Is Not Triggered Unless Criminal Charges Have Been Filed
In mid-April, the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court made a decision upholding the non-prosecution agreement entered into between Jeffrey Epstein and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, which also effectively decided that the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) was never in effect and Epstein’s victims did not have the right to… Read More »
Supreme Court Opens the Door for States to Prosecute Illegal Immigrants, While Florida Fails to Address Issue of Inmates Serving Outdated Sentences for Drug Crimes
Unfortunately, the beginning of March has already dealt a significant blow to criminal justice, both at the federal level and here in Florida: While the U.S. Supreme Court increased the ability for states to criminally prosecute illegal immigrants over work authorization fraud, overriding existing federal law in doing so, Florida lawmakers entered the final… Read More »
Controversial Alimony & Custody Bill Again Under Consideration in Florida
Florida legislators have once again introduced legislation (HB 843), which would end permanent alimony and create an automatic presumption that equal time-sharing is in the best interests of children in child custody cases; amongst making a number of other noteworthy changes in the area of family law. In the past, Governor Rick Scott vetoed… Read More »
