Two bills passed by the Florida House died in the Senate as the legislative session ended on March 9th. House Bill 549 would have put an end to permanent alimony in the State of Florida. House Bill 1209 was designed to ban Florida courts from considering foreign or religious law…
Last week, the Florida House passed a bill which would ban all courts in the state from considering foreign or religious law in legal decisions and contract disputes. Despite passionate opposition from a variety of religious activist groups as well as two Jewish lawmakers, House Bill 1209 passed with a…
The members of the bar and bench are mourning the death of Maxine Cohen Lando, a veteran Miami-Dade Circuit Judge who died today at Mount Sinai Medical Center from cholangiocarcinoma, a bile duct cancer. She was 61. Since spring of 2011, Judge Lando had undergone surgery and chemotherapy. Her condition…
In an 83-30 vote, the Florida House has passed Representative Ritch Workman’s bill designed to end permanent alimony in the state. House Bill 549 would not only prohibit new permanent alimony obligations in favor of long-term support orders, but it could also be applied retroactively to permanent alimony awards made…
A Broward County judge recently handed down a rather unusual bond court ruling to a Plantation man charged with domestic violence. At his initial appearance hearing, the 47-year-old defendant was ordered to buy his wife flowers and a birthday card, take her to dinner at Red Lobster, take her bowling,…
This week, Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal declined to disqualify Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis from a child custody case between two prominent area lawyers. After the two attorneys divorced in 2005, the former couple agreed to share custody of their two small children equally. Since that time,…
A Miami-Dade judge has refused to recuse herself in a heated Florida custody dispute between two prominent attorneys, despite her alleged ties to the law firm representing the former wife. The spouses divorced in 2005 after seven years of marriage. At the time of their divorce, the couple reportedly agreed…
Last year, Okaloosa County, Florida created its first Unified Family Court in Crestview. Okaloosa County Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel was appointed to preside over the court. According to Ketchel, the court was set up to bring related domestic issues into the same courtroom before a single judge. He also stated…
Three days after he administered the Florida attorney’s oath to his son Carlos, 58-year-old Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Julio Jimenez succumbed to liver cancer. The former defense attorney started his career as a circuit judge in 2003. He began presiding over Miami-Dade family law matters last January. Judge Jimenez was born…
Last month, a Hillsborough County Circuit judge ordered the arrest of a successful Tampa area businessman, after he was found guilty of five counts of criminal contempt of court for failure to pay his child support and alimony obligations. The man reportedly failed to attend the contempt hearing where Judge…