Lawyers: airport shooting suspect ill but legally competent

Lawyers for the Alaska man charged in a Florida airport shooting rampage say he’s definitely mentally ill but is also competent to stand trial. The attorneys say in court papers that 26-year-old Esteban Santiago of Anchorage, Alaska has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. He’s accused in the Jan. 6 shooting that killed five and wounded six at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Santiago’s lawyers say he is taking an anti-psychotic drug and is able to com…
See all stories on this topic

MIAMI (Legal Newsline) – A Miami-based law firm that typically specializes in asbestos litigation has filed a lawsuit against a former client and his South Carolina attorney for allegedly interfering with a business relationship in an effort to keep the firm’s fees to themselves. The Ferraro Law Firm PA, which according to its website handles a broad range of injury cases including those involving asbestos exposure and environmental toxic tort lawsuits, filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District…
See all stories on this topic

There was no calm before the storm, just lots of confusion. Local elections for most New Hampshire towns were scheduled for Tuesday, the day a nor’easter is expected. Many towns decided to postpone them, even though the secretary of state’s office said they couldn’t. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, following a conference call with towns and the attorney general, strongly recommended Monday that the elections be held. “We think that’s a very important part of the process,” he said. &quot…
See all stories on this topic

Florida will now require a unanimous jury recommendation before the death penalty can be imposed under a bill signed late Monday by Gov. Rick Scott, who has remained relatively quiet about the problems with the state’s death penalty law in recent months. Lawmakers rushed to get the bill passed on the fourth day of their legislative session in hopes of fixing a death penalty law that’s been found unconstitutional twice since January 2016. It’s been seen as a better-than-nothing option for death …
See all stories on this topic

Gov. Rick Scott and other top Florida Republicans frequently complain about government spending, but they have quietly spent more than $237 million on private lawyers to advance and defend their agendas, an Associated Press investigation has found. Florida taxpayers also have been forced to reimburse nearly $16 million for their opponents’ private attorney fees. That means an overall $253 million has been spent on legal fights in the last six years, including a water war with Georgia and losing…
See all stories on this topic