Tara Mapes News
Florida's new security workgroup has begun studying courthouse safety
FORT LAUDERDALE — After a year of alarming escapes by inmates while in custody at Florida courthouses, the Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) and the Broward County Board of Commissioners continue to disagree on the source of increased escapes. But they do agree a solution is needed.
Miami Gardens mayoral candidate awarded second chance at bid after bank error disqualified him
MIAMI – The state's high court has ruled that the city of Miami Gardens needs to pay for another election after a mayoral candidate was disqualified because of a bank check.
Florida may allow licensed military spouses to practice law in the state
TALLAHASSEE - A proposed rule permitting spouses of military personnel
stationed in Florida to practice law in the state if they hold licenses elsewhere was presented to the Florida Bar's Board of Governors recently.
League of Women Voters chair: Legislature 'circumvented' the law with scholarship program
TALLAHASSEE – A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld an earlier decision by the circuit court that found the Florida Education Association (FEA) and other plaintiffs lacked standing in its attempt to have a state-funded scholarship program declared unconstitutional.
Melissa Nelson: 'I will bring a new and different vision for the justice system as a whole'
JACKSONVILLE – Angela Corey, the Florida prosecutor who presided over some the 4th Judicial Circuit Court’s most controversial cases of the past several years, lost her bid for re-election Aug. 30 to Melissa Nelson.
Judge's recommendation of five-year disbarment for Pasco attorney 'shocking,' attorney says
PASCO – The Florida Bar is recommending a five-year disbarment for Pasco attorney and real estate investor Constantine Kalogianis for allegedly convincing an elderly woman to give him nearly $230,000 under the façade of a real estate investment and then failing to pay it back.
Report: Duval County 'plagued by prosecutorial misconduct, bad lawyers and racial bias'
JACKSONVILLE – A new report released Aug. 23 by a Harvard Law group contends that Duval County is among the country’s leaders in death sentences and it, along with the other counties, is “plagued by prosecutorial misconduct, bad lawyers and racial bias.”