Criminal Law.

AuthorBarksdale, David
PositionAnnual Reports of Sections and Divisions of the Florida Bar: 2018-2019

In June 2018, the section awarded its Selig Goldin Award to Rick Parker, former public defender for the Eighth Judicial Circuit and a leader and mentor to countless Florida lawyers. Parker's children, Rhett and Allison, both lawyers, spoke at the ceremony, as did Former Eighth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Rod Smith. This recognition of Parker became particularly poignant because in December 2018, he died after a long battle with cancer.

In July 2018, the Gerald T. Bennett Public Defender/Prosecutor Trial Training Program was again hosted at the University of Florida College of Law. Trial lawyers from around the country and the United Kingdom served as instructors. In addition to helping fund the program, the section also funded flights for two assistant state attorneys and two assistant public defenders to attend a parallel criminal trial training program in London in late August 2018.

The section filed an amicus brief in the Florida Supreme Court in support of a challenge to proposed constitutional Amendment 6. The challenge was based on the bundling of Marsy's Law with other topics and the ballot summary language. The section retained noted appellate lawyers Phil Padovano and Thomas Seider with Brannock and Humphries to author the brief.

The section began a regular monthly email update to its members. The update provides a succinct summary of section activities and accomplishments by members. The e-blast also directs section members to the weekly criminal case law summaries prepared by executive council member Richard Polin.

In January, Circuit Judge Samantha Ward and Federal Magistrate Judge Anthony Porcelli presented a lunch-hour call-in CLE, "A View from the State and Federal Bench: Search Warrants in a Digital World." More than 190 people enrolled for this CLE. The section also presented the "Masters of DUI" on April 5 in Ft. Lauderdale. In the section's continued effort to support assistant state attorneys and assistant...

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