Topic: Court Rulemaking

A battle between community association managers and a section of the Florida Bar is getting testy in the legislative session's final days.

In the case of the late Coy A. Koontz Sr. in Orange County, the St. Johns River Water Management District said it would approve a permit to build in wetlands if Koontz paid for culverts on public land seven miles away. Koontz refused and won in court before the Florida Supreme Court reversed the decision in 2011. The U.S. Supreme Court sent the case back to state Supreme Court to determine whether a taking occurred. ... Related Research: Links to court opinions and related articles.

Florida Times-Union says the state can track leaks in Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's office without a deposition from its reporter in the case of a recording made of a top aide.

Voters' rights group expresses concern about cuts to state services and possible damage to the checks and balances of state government. ... Related Research: LobbyTools' 2012 Election Coverage and the League of Women Voters news release on the proposed amendments.

"There is no meaning to the right to counsel under the Gideon decision if public defenders are required to take as many clients as they're assigned without any limitation, without any review by the court whether that representation is actually effective and it's competent," said 11th Circuit Public Defender Carlos Martinez of Miami. ... Related Research: Appropriation levels for the Public Defender - 11th Judicial Circuit program for 2007-2012.

Georgia's downstream neighbors hope to reverse the ruling that overturned a 2009 decision that said the Atlanta area had no right to water in Lake Lanier, a federal reservoir.

What passed, what failed, what you need to know regarding courts and the law. House Speaker Dean Cannon won approval for a constitutional amendment that if approved by voters would make several changes to the judicial branch -- including giving lawmakers control over court rulemaking and subjecting Supreme Court justices to Senate confirmation. Lawmakers also passed several measures aimed at limiting lawsuits.

A readers poll taken the final week of the session predicted that House Speaker Dean Cannon would wind up the biggest winner from the 2011 session. 37 percent of those polled picked Cannon as compared to 32 percent for Senate President Mike Haridopolos and 31 percent for Gov. Rick Scott.