Author: Elf
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Legalizing the Appellate Introduction
The problem is that some lawyers are writing really long and argumentative introductions in their legal briefs for the Florida appellate court. This is causing some judges to question if introductions should even be allowed. However, a well-written introduction is actually a good idea and can be an important part of making a persuasive argument.…
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Moot Courts for Real Appeals
Leaving the appellate bench to return to law practice, I thought I might be asked to help lawyers practice their oral arguments. That turned out to be true. I thought I would mainly help lawyers who don’t have much experience with appeals, but I was surprised that even experienced lawyers want to practice their arguments.…
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Off The Record Or Not?
In November 2007, an article called âOff the Recordâ was published in a journal. It talked about how appellate courts are now allowing lawyers to add new information to the record that wasn’t included in the original trial. They are also bringing up new information themselves during appeals. This is different from how things used…
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Funding Your Appeal: Temporary Appellate Fees in Dissolution Cases
If your client gets a bad judgment in a divorce case, you can appeal the decision. While waiting for the appeal to finish, you can ask for money to help pay for the appeal process. This money is called temporary appellate attorneys’ fees. Once the appeal is over, you can also ask for final attorneys’…
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Legal Citation: Which Guide Should You Use and What Is the Difference?
Legal citation is an important skill for lawyers to learn and keep up with, even after they graduate from law school. In Florida, lawyers and judges are required to use Rule 9.800, which provides examples of how to cite common legal authorities like cases and statutes. It’s not full of a lot of technical rules…
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What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You (and Your Client’s Appeal): Understanding Recent Amendments to the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
Change is unavoidable, especially in the law. The rules for appealing cases in federal court have been updated, which can be intimidating for lawyers. Some of the changes are small, like new deadlines for filing certain documents. Others, like reducing word limits for legal documents, are more significant. It’s important to pay attention to these…
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Jurisdiction, That Is the Question: Keeping Your Case in Federal Court After the 11th Circuit Issues a Jurisdictional Question That Stalls Your Appeal
You won a big case in federal court after working on it for years, but now the other side is appealing the decision. However, the appeal might not be able to go forward because of a problem with the court’s authority to hear the case. You have to go back and check if the documents…
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Shifting Requirements for Preservation of Error: Retreat from Reviewability Under Kozel v. Ostendorf
In 1993, the Florida Supreme Court made a ruling in Kozel v. Ostendorf, which said that before dismissing a case, the judge should consider other options first. Since then, the courts have been clarifying when this ruling applies. Recently, the appeals courts have been asking people to show evidence that they brought up Kozel issues…
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Too Little, Too Late? Trial Court Motions for Rehearing and Their Appellate Implications
The rule for asking for a rehearing in a Florida court can be tricky. You can bring up new things in a rehearing, but it’s not always guaranteed that they will be considered. It also depends on your specific case and which court it will be appealed to. Over time, there have been conflicts in…
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Can It Be Done? Evaluating Judicial Authority to Expand the PFS Acceptance Period
When negotiating a settlement in a case, timing is really important. If one party makes a settlement offer and the other party doesn’t accept it within 30 days, they might have to pay the other party’s legal fees if the court case ends with a judgment that’s a lot worse than the original offer. There’s…
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Appellate Mediation: The Art of Settling After the Trial Court Has Ruled
If you lost the trial, think about whether you have a good reason to appeal and if you can afford it. If you won, consider if the other side might appeal and if you want to go through that. Appellate mediation can be a way to end the case without the costs and risks of…
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Unpreserved Errors Are All the Same, Right? Not Exactly
If you want to appeal a decision in court, you have to raise any issues or mistakes during the trial. This gives the judge a chance to fix them and prevents unnecessary delays in the appeals process. There are some exceptions to this rule, but generally, if you don’t speak up about a mistake during…
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The Chasm in Florida Appellate Law: Intra-Circuit Conflicting Appellate Decisions
The Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator has data on court cases in Florida. Some cases have been important in shaping how laws are understood. Courts have also made decisions on cases involving insurance companies and medical providers. These decisions have caused debates and disagreements among different courts in the state. This passage discusses…
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Same, Similar, and Everything in Between: Appellate Courts’ Review of the Same-Specialty Requirement for Presuit Experts in Medical Malpractice Cases
Florida’s medical malpractice presuit process aims to prevent unsupported lawsuits from going to court. Before filing a lawsuit, the plaintiff must get an expert’s opinion supporting their malpractice claim. Meeting these requirements is a must before suing. Defendants often challenge the expert’s qualifications in court. The law on this issue has changed over time, and…
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No Time Like the Present: The Right to Immediate Appeal of Orders Addressing Workers’ Compensation Immunity
In workers’ comp cases, if a court denies the defendant’s right to immunity, they can immediately appeal. This right allows them to challenge the decision before the case is finished. It’s important to understand the purpose and history of this right, as well as the types of orders that can be appealed. The workers’ compensation…
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Preserving Claims of Error in Florida Federal and State Civil Actions: Some Common Rules
In Florida federal and state courts, both civil and criminal jury trials have a rule that says if you want to complain about something that happened in the trial, you need to speak up right away. If you don’t, the appellate court will only consider it if it was a really big mistake. So, it’s…
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To Err is Human, But the Tipsy Coachman Rule Can Get the Trial Judge Home
Florida appellate courts are supposed to correct errors, but sometimes they might not if they think the error didn’t really affect the outcome, or if they affirm a decision even though there was a mistake because they think the result is still the right one. This is called the “tipsy coachman” rule, which comes from…
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Raise Your Standards: A Practitioner’s Guide to the Effective Use of Appellate Standards of Review
It’s important for people involved in a legal case to understand the standard of review that will be used when their case goes to an appeals court. This standard of review determines how much the appeals court will consider the lower court’s decision. There are three categories of decisions that a trial court can make:…
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Navigating the Differences in Circuit Court Appellate Jurisdiction for Nonfinal Orders
This article talks about the differences in jurisdiction between district courts, Florida Supreme Court, and circuit courts, especially when it comes to reviewing non-final orders from county courts. It’s important for attorneys to understand these differences when seeking review of decisions. The District Courts of Appeal and Circuit Courts have the power to review decisions…
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What the Textualist Revolution in Florida Jurisprudence Means for Practitioners
In Florida, judges are big on looking at the exact words of the law when making their decisions. This is called textualism, and it’s a really important thing to know about if you’re a lawyer practicing in Florida. There’s a famous book called Reading Law that explains textualism in detail, and it’s been cited a…
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AWA Compliance: Understanding the Basic Framework
The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is a federal law that sets standards for the humane care and treatment of certain animals in places like zoos and research labs. The law is enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture through inspections and investigations. It doesn’t cover farm animals or certain animals used in research. The goal…
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Padi-Waggin: The Tail of One Dog’s Journey from Death Row to Legislative Inspiration for Dog Bite Due Process
A veterinarian adopted a dog named Padi, who was abused and left with an embedded collar. One day, the dog bit a boy’s ear when he tried to play with him at the veterinarian’s office. The incident led to a legal case that lasted a year. After much concern from the community and involvement of…
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Alligator Harvesting: Hunting as a Regulatory Tool for Species Management
Florida is known for its beaches, orange groves, and swamps. The American alligator is a symbol of Florida and is found all over the state. It was designated as the official state reptile in 1987. You can see them in drainage canals and waterways all across Florida. The alligator population in Florida was in trouble…
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Animal Hoarding in Florida: Addressing the Ongoing Animal, Human, and Public Health Crisis
Animal hoarding is a big problem in Florida that doesn’t get much attention. It’s when someone has a lot of animals and can’t take care of them properly. This causes suffering for the animals and can also put people at risk, like children and older adults. Hoarders’ homes are usually really dirty and can be…