FindLaw's U.S. Eleventh Circuit Blog

Court Rejects Mass Killer John Ferguson's Stay of Execution

2013-05-21T18:56:12Z

Death Row inmate, John Errol Ferguson, one of Miami's most notorious mass murderers lost his appeal this Tuesday. Ferguson is scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection as early as Tuesday evening. Ferguson's attorney, Chris Handman, represented him...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Summary Judgment Reversed in Another Kosher Prison Meal Case

2013-05-16T16:04:58Z

Florida has dabbled in kosher cuisine. From 2004 to 2007, seven prisons administered kosher meals to inmates under the Jewish Dietary Accommodation Program (JDAP). For unknown reasons (likely budgetary), the program was discontinued. In 2010, they tried a pilot program,...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

11th Cir Judicial Conference: Sequester? Budget Cuts? GOLF!

2013-05-10T19:27:06Z

Faced with the “devastating impact” of the $85 billion in sequestration cuts on the federal judiciary, the Eleventh Circuit did what any responsible circuit facing budget cuts would do: PARTY! O.K., that’s not a completely fair assessment of the situation,...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Case Remanded for Sentencing; 'He Did it' Isn't Good Enough

2013-05-02T13:02:19Z

Gary Washington participated in a credit card scheme. Along with his cohorts, the group purchased stolen credit card numbers off of the internet and imprinted new cards with those numbers. They then used them or sold them to third parties....

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Hill Dissent - Bypass AEDPA for Those Exempt from Execution?

2013-04-26T19:38:18Z

Seven experts. Seven opinions that all agree: Warren Lee Hill, Jr. is mentally retarded. Judge Barkett's passionate dissent starts at a point the majority barely reached when they used procedural hurdles to deny Hill's habeas petition -- the fundamental proposition...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Strict Adherence to AEDPA Means 'Retarded' Inmate Will be Executed

2013-04-25T19:01:29Z

While in prison for murdering his girlfriend, Warren Lee Hill ripped the leg off of a sink and beat a fellow inmate to death while other prisoners watched. He was tried and convicted by a jury and sentenced to death....

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

'Dukes of Hazard' Chase, Arrest Didn't Violate Jilted Man's Rights

2013-04-17T20:43:50Z

"There would be no wedding bells, no wedding cake, and no tuxedo and white dress for Dustin Myers and Kelley Bowman. The couple was engaged to be married, but before the time came to say 'I Do,' Kelley found herself...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Judge Disregards 11th Cir, Allows Baseball Antitrust Lawsuit

2013-04-10T18:55:34Z

Perhaps the oddest thing about the American legal system is the separate state, federal, and administrative courts. The law in federal court can be completely different than the law in the state courthouse next door. And on that same note,...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Death Row Habeas Petition Doomed by Laziness, Counsel

2013-04-05T19:22:11Z

Note to Death Row inmates: nag your attorney incessantly - your life may depend on it. Robert Melson was convicted of three counts of capital murder in 1996. He burned through his direct appeals by 2000 and SCOTUS denied his...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

11th Circuit Regulates on Dep't of Labor H-2B Regulations

2013-04-04T19:20:11Z

They may be the Department of Labor, but they have no authority over H-2B labor. Temporary foreign workers are governed by the H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (non-agricultural) programs. While both programs were originally administered by the Attorney General, the authority...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Who Needs Proof? You're Serving Time for Murder Regardless

2013-03-29T19:01:38Z

Archery Lynn Overstreet, in addition to having a highly unfortunate name, also has an exceptionally sordid past. In 1986, while on probation for a burglary, he joined his brother, Clifford Carter, burglarized a home, and stole 13 firearms and a...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Atheists Lose Because You Can't Please Everybody

2013-03-27T16:01:45Z

Lakeland, Florida used to have this ... thing. Before every city council meeting, they'd have a Christian chaplain lead a prayer. Obviously, this leaves out a lot of people. Tradition is one thing, but you've got to balance that with...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Don't Wait to Object to Jury Verdict Inconsistency

2013-03-22T19:13:52Z

Megan Sands was seriously injured in a jet ski accident in 2006 while in the Bahamas. Sands filed a products liability action against Kawasaki, the jet ski manufacturer, under maritime law. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Sands...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Drug Company's Private Docs Revealed for SCOTUS Briefing

2013-03-21T21:22:34Z

Solvay, since acquired by Abbott Laboratories (and renamed AbbVie), makes a topical testosterone cream, which is protected by a patent until 2020 and has brought in $1.8 billion in revenue. Like many pharmaceutical companies, it sought to protect its product...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...

Derivative Citizenship Flip-Flopping Leads to Court Confusion

2013-03-15T19:01:48Z

One of the many provisions of the Illegal Immigrant Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 removed federal courts' jurisdiction to hear lawsuits brought "by or on behalf of any alien arising from the decision or action by the Attorney...

Click through to continue reading this post on FindLaw.com...