Articles Posted in Miscellaneous

Within the past two weeks, three bills limiting the rights of everyday citizens to control how they are governed were signed into law in Florida.

On May 10, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 1890. The bill places a $3,000 cap on contributions to political committees trying to put proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Constitutional amendment ballot initiatives are a citizen’s way of creating law. The right extends back to Florida’s 1968 Constitution. Examples of successful initiatives include approval of medical marijuana and  a pathway for restoration of felon voting rights. Getting a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot is a steep uphill climb. It requires forming and registering a committee, getting approval of the initiative language from the Attorney General and Florida Supreme Court, and securing thousands of signatures. Once the initiative is on the ballot, it requires 60% approval from voters for passage. Financial resources provide the wherewithal to accomplish all of these goals. SB 1890 may be an insurmountable hurdle. Recognizing this, the American Civil Liberties Union has wasted no time in filing a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee, Florida claiming that SB 1890 “burdens and chills” free speech and association under the First Amendment.

While recently researching a Florida legal matter, I came upon this Utah Supreme Court case — Hill v. State Farm Mutual Insurance Company. It demonstrates a shocking indifference by a billion dollar insurance company towards the feelings of grieving family members whose loved ones were killed in a crash caused by an intoxicated motorist. State Farm dragged the family members through the coals for more than a year over a measly $5,510.

While the opinion was written in 1988, not much has changed through the years. When it comes to money, State Farm is always ready, willing and able to flex its outsized muscles.

********************************

Trump’s shifting legal defense reminds me of one of our firm’s more interesting past cases.

We represented a lady who fell and suffered a badly broken bone in her leg because of a dangerous condition on her employer’s property. At the time of the accident she had multiple sclerosis, but it was in remission, helped along by Cytoxan therapy. She had been leading a full life, including full time employment. Sadly, following the accident the MS reared it’s ugly head like never before. She became wheelchair bound and required 24/7 attendant care.

July 25, 2018; Facebook

Russia has broken into our home and Trump wants us to be gracious hosts.

July 25, 2018; Facebook

If honest elections, a free press, and civil rights aren’t your priorities, what is it about America that you value?

July 22, 2018; Facebook

Trump v. Putin is like a theatrical WWW phony v. an MMA killer. Making matters worse is that the match is rigged.

July 21, 2018; Facebook

Trump knows that his militant base is very stupid (x 100) and that the moneyed interests are selfish pigs willing to go along, and he believes that the combination of both will keep him afloat. A majority of Americans see him for what he is, but don’t have the power now to do anything about it.

I’d rather be powerless than stupid or craven.

July 20, 2018; Facebook

Trump rants that “attorney client privilege is dead.” BS! I’m a lawyer and feel no less confident that as long as my clients and I keep our noses clean, our privileged communications will remain sacrosanct as always. Major hurdles had to be overcome for the federal judge to authorize the raid [in the Cohen matter]. Moreover, additional post-raid safeguards are in place to prevent unauthorized breaches of the privilege. The AC privilege is not absolute; it is not a license to advance or commit crimes. While the measures taken against Cohen are severe, they are not unfair [despite what the Whiner in Chief declares]. The rule of law has been followed to a T.

********************************

Trump is a despicable pig. Period. Anyone who thinks otherwise is right there with him. Period. One day after Passover, the Festival of Liberation, and mere hours after attending church services on Easter Sunday, a supposed day of joy and compassion for Christians, this human smegma dashes all hope for tens of thousands of good and decent and defenseless young people by gleefully declaring in pathologically perverse tweets that DACA is dead.

In Parsha Yitro (full text here in Hebrew and English), Jethro suggests to Moses, his son-in-law, that the Jewish people would be better served if he appointed a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to assist him in the task of governing and administering justice to the people. The advice was taken, establishing the framework for the form of civil jurisprudence practiced in America today, some 3300 years later.

In Florida, the administration of civil disputes is handled through a series of courts, each with varying degrees of authority and responsibility. Disputes involving $15,000 or less begin in the trial jurisdiction of county courts, while disputes in excess of $15,000 fall within the jurisdiction of the civil circuit trial court system. Appeals from decisions made in both court systems can sometimes be taken all of the way up to the Florida Supreme Court. In some rare instances, the Supreme Court of the United States will consider a state court case.

Continue reading

“Big Business,” for want of a better term, goes to great lengths to misinform the public about many different subjects, all for the purpose of advancing one cause: MAXIMIZING PROFITS!

One of its most popular and successful themes is the notion that the country is suffering under an onslaught of “frivolous lawsuits.” By convincing the public that most lawsuits are baseless and that baseless lawsuits cause the price of products and services like insurance and health care to spiral upwards, Big Business has successfully polluted the minds of potential jurors and gotten politicians to enact legislation curbing access to courtrooms and imposing arbitrary caps on damages in personal injury cases. The end result is that “We the People” have been bamboozled into giving up the right to seek redress for legitimate grievances.

Continue reading

I remember the night, in 1964, that a young Cassius Clay defeated world champion Sonny Liston at the Miami Beach Convention Center. I waited anxiously by the radio for a report of the outcome. He was expected to be eaten alive by the big bad bear Liston and become a footnote in the history books. I was more relieved that he wasn’t hurt than excited about the victory. The next day Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and the rest is much, much more than a footnote in the history books.

While his ring exploits are legendary — Olympic Gold Medal, the Thrilla in Manila, dismantling George Foreman in 8 rounds in Zaire, Africa in the fight known as The Rumble in the Jungle — his greatness came from the character he demonstrated both in the ring and out. In refusing to participate in an unconscionable conflict — the United States never formally declared war in the so-called Vietnam War — in defiance of White Establishment America, he was stripped of his world title, barred from fighting for three and a half years during the prime of his physical prowess, and convicted of draft evasion and sentenced to five years in prison. Instead of complaining, he fought the conviction all the way to the United States Supreme Court and had it reversed by an 8-0 vote.

Continue reading

Lawyers know best!

Jeb’s running for president of the United States. He has a strong chance of winning.

People who care about the rights of families and individuals should be fearful of a Jeb Bush presidency.

For the next two years, millions of dollars will be spent trying to shape Bush’s image in voters’ minds. Among the themes will be that he, like his brother before him George W. Bush was purported to be, is a compassionate conservative.
Continue reading