FlaLaw » LIC Notes

LIC Notes: Welfare drug testing case heard before the 11th Circuit

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:16:14 +0000

Last year, Florida passed a controversial law (Laws of Florida 2011-81 (codified at Fla. Stat. § 414.0652)) providing for universal drug testing for applicants for Temporary Cash Assistance under Florida’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. On Nov. 1, 2012, oral arguments before the United States 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Lebron v. Secretary, Florida Department of Children and Families, No. 11-15258, challenged the constitutionality of TANF’s universal drug testing requirement. To track this case or read the pleadings, Bloomberg Law provides free access to federal filings for UF Law faculty, staff and students. If you would like access, contact Jennifer Wondracek at wondracekj@law.ufl.edu. All others may use the PACER system to track the docket.

LIC Notes: Billable Hours LexisNexis Surveys

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 19:16:19 +0000

Two recent LexisNexis law firm surveys attempt to understand better the gap between hours billed and actual hours worked. The first study, “Billable Hours,” asks “Does the ability to bill more of the time worked vary by state and size of firm?” The second survey, “Non-Billable Hours,” digs deeper to attempt to answer questions such as “What types of activities eat up the time attorneys work but don’t bill to clients?” and “Do attorneys at larger firms more effectively bill hours than their colleagues at smaller firms, or is billing efficiency more related to practice area versus firm size?” While neither study solves the issue, both produce interesting results that can lead to more robust conversations among and with students.

LIC Notes: Legislative and Regulatory Research: A New CRS Report

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 19:16:52 +0000

Legislative and regulatory research can be complex and selecting the correct resource can be challenging. A recent Congressional Research Service report provides an overview of both freely available federal government and common fee-based legislative and regulatory resources. Learn more in “Researching Current Federal Legislation and Regulations: A Guide to Resources for Congressional Staff,” Aug. 31, 2012, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL33895.pdf

LIC Notes: Florida Administrative Regulations ‘officially’ say goodbye to print

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:17:31 +0000

Effective Oct. 1, 2012, Florida took a digital leap with regards to administrative law. The Florida Administrative Code and the newly renamed Florida Administrative Register (formerly the Florida Administrative Weekly) are now officially published electronically. Both publications will be continuously revised and published and made freely available at http://www.flrules.org. While primary legal materials have been available digitally for many years, they have been deemed unofficial in Florida until now.

To read the complete act, see Laws of Florida 2012-63 (pertinent section codified at Fla. Stat. § 120.55 (2012)).

LIC Notes: Supreme Court Case Fisher v. University of Texas Resource Guide

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:18:08 +0000

The United States Supreme Court began hearing arguments for cases on Monday at the start of the 2012 October Term. The court currently has 31 cases scheduled to be heard before the end of the calendar year. On Wednesday, the Court will hear arguments for Fisher v. University of Texas. The question presented in this case is “Whether the University of Texas at Austin’s use of race in undergraduate admissions decisions is lawful under this court’s decisions interpreting the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, including Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003).”

An excellent resource guide http://tarltonguides.law.utexas.edu/fisher-ut provides the text of selected court documents filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5^th Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. The guide also includes news coverage and law review articles about the Fisher case, and some basic information on UT student body profiles and statistics since 2008.

LIC Notes: Florida procedural rules change

wsmitty@ufl.edu — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:00:00 +0000

The Florida Supreme Court has announced two major changes to Florida procedural rules. As of Sept. 1, 2012, email service of most documents is required in the majority of Florida cases. The corrected Florida Supreme Court Order, including new forms, was released June 21, 2012, and may be found at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2012/sc10-2101.pdf. The procedural rules sets modified by this order include:

Florida Rules of Judicial Administration
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure
Florida Probate Rules
Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure
Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure
Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure

The second major change to the Florida procedural rules will become effective on Oct. 1, 2012. The Florida Supreme Court has adopted a new uniform computation of time rule for the following procedural rules:

Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.514
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.090
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.040
Florida Rule of Civil Procedure for Involuntary Commitment of Sexually Violent Predators 4.090
Florida Probate Rule 5.042
Florida Rules of Traffic Court 6.350 & 6.370
Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure 8.085, 8.180, 8.240, & 8.630
Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.420
Florida Family Law Rule of Procedure 12.090

The Florida Supreme Court Order, dated July 12, 2012, explaining the new rule may be found at http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2012/sc10-2299.pdf.