LATEST SUMMARIES

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CIVIL PROCEDURE, INJURY AND TORT LAW
• Frosti v. Creel

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, HABEAS CORPUS, PER CURIAM, SENTENCING
• Israel v. State of Florida

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, PER CURIAM, SENTENCING
• Bevel v. State of Florida

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, HEALTH LAW, PER CURIAM
• Phillips v. State of Florida

ETHICS & DISCIPLINARY CODE, ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, SANCTIONS
• Florida Bar v. Thompson

SANCTIONS
• Mora v. McNeil

LATEST SUMMARIES

ATTORNEY'S FEES, CIVIL PROCEDURE, INJURY AND TORT LAW
Frosti v. Creel, No. SC07-122
A motion for attorney fees and costs made pursuant to Florida's offer of judgment statute need not be denied because the underlying proposal for settlement was filed in the trial court before the judgment was entered. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, HABEAS CORPUS, PER CURIAM, SENTENCING
Israel v. State of Florida, No. SC05-1739, SC06-653
Denial of a motion to vacate a conviction for first-degree murder and death sentence, as well as a petition for habeas relief, are affirmed and denied, respectively, over claims of error regarding: 1) ineffective assistance of counsel; 2) whether procedural and substantive errors deprived him of a fundamentally fair trial; 3) the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty statute; 4) cumulative error; 5) jury instructions; 6) defendant's competency to be executed; and 7) whether execution by lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, EVIDENCE, PER CURIAM, SENTENCING
Bevel v. State of Florida, No. SC05-2213
Defendant's convictions for two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder and sentences of death are affirmed over claims of error regarding: 1) a failure to strike a prospective juror for cause; 2) admission of photographic evidence; 3) erroneous admission of defendant's confession; 4) the sufficiency of the evidence; 5) findings regarding aggravators and mitigators; 6) the adoption of the state's proposed findings in the sentencing order; 7) the proportionality of the death sentence; 8) defendant's mental age; and 9) the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty statute. Read more...

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE, HEALTH LAW, PER CURIAM
Phillips v. State of Florida, No. SC06-2554
In a death penalty case, an order denying inmate's successive motion to vacate his judgment and sentence and an order concluding that he is not mentally retarded under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.203 are affirmed where: 1) the circuit court did not err in finding that he does not function at a significantly subaverage intellectual level; 2) the trial court did not err in concluding that he failed to demonstrate the requisite deficits in adaptive functioning; and 3) ample evidence supported a finding that he failed to prove the onset of mental retardation before age 18. Read more...

ETHICS & DISCIPLINARY CODE, ETHICS & PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, SANCTIONS
Florida Bar v. Thompson, No. SC07-80, SC07-354
In attorney disciplinary proceedings, sanctions are imposed on respondent due to his abuse of the processes of the court. The clerk is directed to reject for filing any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by respondent, unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar other than himself. Read more...

SANCTIONS
Mora v. McNeil, No. SC06-267
Sanctions are imposed on petitioner based on his being an abusive litigant through his use of obscene and vulgar language, and the clerk is instructed to reject for filing any future pleadings, petitions, motions, documents, or other filings submitted by petitioner unless signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Read more...