Supreme Rudeness — Should that Really be the Norm?

From time to time I have voiced my concern over the continued loss civility in our society and in the practice of law. In the context of society, it is harder to diagnose why we tend to be less kind to one another but if forced to guess, I would lay significant blame...

Discovery Rules Require Strict Compliance

A very recent opinion from the Third District Court of Appeals merits some discussion. The court has ruled that the rules governing discovery in criminal cases require strict compliance (this case involved Florida’s Rules of Juvenile Procedures but the Criminal Rule...

Thanks for Muddying the Cloudy Waters

In March of this year, in a blow to common sense and an ode to splitting hairs, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of Pantoja v. State, (Florida Supreme Court No. SC08-1879 March 3, 2011). In doing so the Court has really muddied in the waters on...

Threatening the Balance — and the Fabric of our System

It should come as no surprise that I believe that government is, by its very nature, tyrannical and that the fact that those in power happen to be popularly elected presents little safeguard from government’s tyrannical tendencies. So if having popularly elected...

When a Guarantee No Longer Is . . .

To really appreciate the measure of intellectual dishonesty employed by the United States Supreme Court in its February 12, 2011 opinion, Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. ____ (2011), one need not take my word for it; all that is needed is a cursory review of Justice...