robertlathamesq.org

Author: Robert Latham

  • What the Florida Supreme Court won’t be hearing

    The Florida Supreme Court denied cert in three cases this week. If anyone has any more information about them, I would greatly appreciate it. T.Y.C. v. DCF – A case from the Second that has done a lot of bouncing around. First there was an untimely appeal in June 2011. Then I assume a writ…

  • ILSAC Conference Call Presenting IL Recommendations

    What’s the new ILSAC been working on? Find out on January 15th at 11:00am.

  • Miami Herald: How Florida limits care for disabled kids

    In a drab, cramped conference room in Doral, a 45-year-old single mother is fighting with the state to secure in-home nursing care for her severely disabled daughter — while the 10-year-old fights for her life. The mother sits across a wooden table from a state hearing officer who will decide whether health regulators were right…

  • Case of a million evidentiary objections is affirmed

    The OA is here. The opinion is here. Condensed version: “After two months of staring at the record we find no reversible evidentiary errors.” N.M. v. Department of Children and Families — So.3d —-, 2012 WL 6601965 Fla.App. 3 Dist.,2012. December 19, 2012 (Approx. 1 page)

  • DCF Rewriting Foster Care Regulations

    The focus appears to be normalcy. I haven’t had a chance to go through them in detail yet. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=12390991

  • I sat in the school’s food court today underneath a television showing news coverage of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. People around me stopped and stared. Some turned away; others called people over to see. I have no words.

  • Free Parking – Is the new Miami juvenile courthouse really more accessible?

    Alan Mishael has been up to some provocateuring for justice with his Request for Information on Free or Reduced-Rate Parking For Volunteers and Poor People at the New Juvenile Courthouse, and the AOC’s soon-to-be-famous response of “let them valet.” I am very excited about the new courthouse. I have never missed an opportunity to point…

  • The Shaken Baby Battle

    In this case, McDonald moved for the appointment of board-certified neurosurgeon Ronald Uscinski, who the defense expected to opine that shaken baby syndrome rests on “flawed science,” and to testify to innocent medical explanations for E.M.’s injuries. A representative of the Justice Administrative Commission (“JAC”) appeared in opposition to the request, but confirmed that the…

  • Third-Party Access to Dependency Records Got a Little Easier Yesterday

    Plant City, being sued for wrongful death, sought access to the decedent child’s dependency records. The dependency court denied the request, balancing the child’s privacy against the city’s interests. Not right, says the Second DCA: In this case, the dependency court abused its discretion by failing to apply the test established in section 39.0132(3). The statute…

  • On the Limited Role of State Courts in SIJ Applications

    From the New York Family Court: This Court would be remiss in not setting forth why it declines to follow the recent opinion of the Supreme Court of Nebraska in Erick M. which, were it binding upon this Court, would require that Mario’s application for special findings be denied. Under the Nebraska Supreme Court’s interpretation…