Category: Florida BAR article
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Leveling the Playing Field: Can Title VII Work to Increase Minority Coaching Hires in NCAA Athletes
In 1978, the Supreme Court approved using race to make college campuses more diverse. Four years ago, the Court said that in the future, using race in college admissions might not be needed. But in sports, there is still work to do to give opportunities to minority coaches. The NFL has a rule to make…
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P2P File Sharing: Direct and Indirect Copyright Infringement
The internet is like a big warehouse of free stuff, but not everything is free to use. Some things are okay to use, but others could get you in trouble. This article is about the laws around sharing files online, like music and videos. In the United States, copyright law protects original works like music,…
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An Athlete’s Right of Publicity
Celebrities like athletes have a valuable asset in their persona, which can continue to make them money even after they retire. The right of publicity protects their economic interest in their name, while the right to privacy protects against intrusion and embarrassment. These rights help protect athletes from others using their identity for profit without…
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A Visual Art Law You Had Better Not Overlook
In short, a legal firm is a company that provides legal services, and an attorney is a person who practices law. Both work together to help people with their legal problems. In 1990, Congress passed the Visual Artists Rights Act (VARA) to protect artists’ rights to prevent alteration and destruction of their work. This means…
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University Liability in Florida When Coaches Refer Student Athletes to Sports Agents: A Fiduciary A
The star running back at State U. was a top college football player but got in trouble because his coach referred him to a shady sports agent. This caused him to lose his college eligibility and be picked later in the NFL draft, costing him lots of money. He sued the university, claiming they had…
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Perspective from a Delegated Local Government Attorney on the State Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act
Mangroves are important for protecting Florida’s waters and ecosystem, but they weren’t regulated until 1984. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has some guidelines, but there haven’t been many updates to the laws since 1996. So, it’s a bit unclear how people can trim or change mangroves legally. Before 1984, local governments were in charge…
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Florida’s Water Quality Rules Under The Clean Waterways Act
The DEP made new rules to make stormwater cleaner, but it will cost a lot of money. People agree that water quality needs to improve, but they disagree on how to do it and how much it will cost. Florida passed the Clean Waterways Act in 2020 to address pollution from stormwater, which can be…
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Water Quality Enhancement Areas: A New Tool to Improve Water Quality
Florida passed a new law to improve water quality by creating special areas called water quality enhancement areas (WQEAs). These areas are natural systems that help treat stormwater to protect water quality. When it rains, stormwater picks up pollutants and flows into ponds where it is treated. Over time, the ponds fill up with sediment,…
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Let the Sunshine In: Is There a Future for Residential Rooftop Solar Energy in Florida?
Governor DeSantis turned down a law that would have changed the way people with solar panels get paid for their extra energy. The big utility companies wanted this law because they say it’s not fair for non-solar customers. But the governor said no because people are already struggling with high prices, and this law would…
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Search and Seizure in Florida Schools: The Effect of Police Involvement
In 1985, the Supreme Court ruled that school officials can search students if they have a good reason to believe the student broke the rules. The search has to be reasonable based on the situation. Police can also be involved in school searches if needed for safety reasons. In the T.L.O. case, a high school…
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Ask Not for Whom the Bell TollsâAsk Why: A Look at the Harassing Telelphone Call Statutes
People still use phones to bother and harass others, just like they did in 1980. In 1996, there were almost 600 complaints about this in Florida. But there isn’t much legal guidance for dealing with this problem. This article will look at the current laws in Florida and other places and suggest ways to interpret…
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Criminal Lawyers or Lawyer Criminals? Ethics of the Criminal Defense Bar Under Attack
A stranger asked a farmer if there were any criminal lawyers in the area, and the farmer joked that they think so, but just haven’t been able to prove it yet. This joke reflects the negative view that many people have of lawyers, especially criminal defense lawyers. There have been many cases of lawyers getting…
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The Instruction on Reasonable Doubt: 200 Years of Sophistry is Enough
For the past 200 years, the definition of reasonable doubt in Florida has been confusing and difficult to understand. It’s time for a change. The current definition is filled with long, complicated words that even the person speaking them may not fully understand. This leads to jurors being deceived into thinking they are being given…
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Tragedy Behind the Wheel: Understanding Manslaughter by Culpable Negligence, Vehicular Homicide, and
This article discusses the three most common charges for unintentional killings caused by drivers in Florida. These charges are manslaughter by culpable negligence, vehicular homicide, and DUI manslaughter. Each charge has different properties that lawyers should understand to best represent their clients. Manslaughter by culpable negligence, vehicular homicide, and DUI manslaughter are different charges for…
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A Loitering and Prowling Primer
The loitering and prowling statute in Florida is difficult to understand because it relies on subjective judgment and vague language. To analyze whether a charge can be prosecuted, we can use a framework with three elements. The first element is when a law enforcement officer sees or hears from a reliable source about potential criminal…
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Self-Representation and Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: How Trial Judges Can Find Their Way Thro
This article is about how judges deal with requests from defendants who want to represent themselves in court or claim that their court-appointed lawyer was not effective. It can be a confusing issue for judges because the rules are complex and sometimes unclear. One judge tried to help by giving a basic outline to follow,…
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Deposition Reform: Is the Cure Worse than the Problem?
In 1996, Florida changed the rules for criminal defendants to gather information before trial. These changes might make the entire pretrial process in Florida unconstitutional. Before the changes, defendants could only ask for depositions if they showed the testimony was important and the witness wouldn’t give a statement. In 1972, this rule was changed to…
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Following the Crime of Stalking
Stalking is a serious crime that can affect anyone, not just celebrities or wealthy people. There are different types of stalkers, such as those who want to harm their victims and those who believe their victim is in love with them. It’s important to be aware of the different types of stalkers and the harm…
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Understanding the New Federal Health Care Fraud Legislation
In 1996, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed and became effective on January 1, 1997. It created new criminal statutes related to health care fraud, making it illegal to defraud health care benefit programs and obtain money or property fraudulently. This new law allows federal prosecutors to charge individuals involved in…
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Scientia Sit Potential: Is the Education Department’s Newest Financial Responsibility Reporting Rule a Source of Powerful Knowledge or a Bureaucratic Mess?
The U.S. Department of Education has a rule called the Financial Responsibility Reporting Rule. This rule sets out requirements for colleges and universities to report on their financial health. It could have an impact on Floridaâs public colleges and universities. Title IV of the Higher Education Act allows students to get federal loans for college.…
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New Opportunities to Decant in Florida, Part II: Successful Execution of Trust Decanting
In the first part of the article, we talked about changes to Florida’s trust decanting law in 2018. Now, let’s look at how to actually decant a trust and how it might affect someone with special needs. There are different options for decanting depending on the trustee’s power to distribute money from the trust. If…
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New Opportunities to Decant in Florida, Part I: Recent Changes to the Trust Decanting Statute
A revocable trust can be changed or revised, while an irrevocable trust cannot be changed. However, in Florida, there is a process called decanting that allows for the transfer of assets from one trust to another, providing some flexibility for addressing changes in circumstances or laws. Decanting is like pouring wine from one container to…
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Is My Judgment in Your Best Interest? How Decisions Are Made in Guardianships and a Suggested Reform
Glenda Martinez and J. Alan Smith met on social media in 2008, got engaged in 2009, and then Smith got into a car accident in 2010 that left him with head trauma. Smith’s daughter filed a petition to appoint a guardian for him, which led to a long legal battle. This case highlighted the conflict…
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Twelve Ways of Proving the Negative and Overcoming the Carpenter Presumption of Undue Influence
The Carpenter presumption in Florida law says that if someone who benefits from a will was involved in making the will in certain ways, it’s assumed they unduly influenced the person who made the will. There are seven things that can make this assumption stronger, like being there when the will was made or knowing…