Author: Elf

Local governments can put up holiday displays on their property, but they have to be careful about showing religious symbols. They can only display religious symbols like a crèche or menorah if they’re shown with other non-religious holiday items, like a Christmas tree. In some places, the government has to let people put up their…

“A big law company is being sued by a client for not doing a good job. The client thinks the law company overcharged them and didn’t give good advice. The law company is denying the claims and saying they did everything right.” The Florida Constitution sets up a system to make sure public money in…

The town of Cedar Grove in Bay County, Florida was dissolved in 2008 after a referendum passed. This was a big deal because it had never happened in Florida before. It was a complicated process to transfer all the town’s stuff to the county. The whole thing started with a grassroots campaign by local citizens,…

In the past, courts sometimes allowed immediate review of orders denying a government’s motion to dismiss a case based on sovereign immunity. But a recent ruling by the Florida Supreme Court has ended this practice. The court said that certiorari review should only be allowed in rare cases where there is a serious legal mistake…

As a city council member in Florida, you have to be careful about how you conduct your work outside of public meetings. The Sunshine Law requires that all meetings where official acts are to be taken must be open to the public and provide reasonable notice. This means that any discussions or actions that could…

Cities in Florida are dealing with a problem of neglected and abandoned properties that violate city codes and create health and safety issues. These properties have racked up huge fines, but the city has a hard time collecting the money. To solve this problem, some cities are considering adding the costs of cleaning up these…

When elected or appointed as a public official in Florida, there are many laws and rules to follow, including ethics and open government laws. If a public official is sued for not following these laws, there are some ways for the official to get their legal fees paid for by the government. In some cases,…

In part one, I talked about how a Florida public official might use the law to get money for hiring a private lawyer to defend against a Florida Public Records Act lawsuit. Now, in part two, I’m going to talk about another way they might be able to do that. If a public official is…

Medical marijuana has been used for thousands of years and has many health benefits, like helping with seizures, easing pain, and reducing nausea from chemotherapy. It’s also safer than opioids. In the past, the government has heavily regulated marijuana, but there have been changes over time. Robert Randall was arrested for growing marijuana to treat…

When parties in bankruptcy court are unhappy with a decision made by the court to either abstain from a case or remand it to a state court, they may want to appeal the decision. However, the rules about when and how they can appeal these decisions are unclear and can be frustrating. This is especially…

The court in Florida has made a decision that says if a traffic signal is broken and causes a car accident, the drivers involved are responsible for their injuries, even if they didn’t do anything wrong. This changes the usual rule that the person who causes the problem is responsible for it. The court also…

Every lawyer must know how to properly cite sources in their writing. Mistakes in citation can make it seem like the lawyer is not paying attention to detail or doesn’t know the correct form. However, errors in citation are common in legal writing and even in judicial opinions. This may be because the rules for…

Appellate practice is a specialized area of the law that deals with handling appeals, which are requests to higher courts to review decisions made by lower courts. It is considered a specialty because it requires unique skills and expertise, different from those needed for trial practice. In appellate practice, attorneys focus on legal issues and…

Harmless error is a mistake made during a trial that doesn’t really affect the outcome. It’s not a big deal for the side that won, but it can be frustrating for the side that lost. Appellate courts usually don’t do anything about harmless errors, unless they’re really sure that the error could have changed the…