By: Tracy M. Evans

 

Over 2,600 hundred bills were filed this past legislative session, but only a fraction of those bills were heard, and an even smaller number actually passed through both chambers.  The following are a few bills that were passed that are of particular significance to the legal field, consumers, employers and businesses:

Workman's Compensation Attorney Gee Glitch (HB 903):

A victory for Florida employers, this bill will restores a cap on attorneys' fees in worker's compensation cases and ensure that injured workers get more in benefits then their lawyers receive in attorney's fees.

 

Buren of Proof in Property Tax Challenges (HB 521): 

This bill lowers the burden of proof in property tax challenges from "clear and convincing evidence" to a "preponderance of the evidence" and helps to level the playing field between the taxpayer and the property appraiser.  This is bill is the result  of the Florida Chamber and the Florida Association of Realtors' continuing fight to restore fairness in Florida's broken property tax system.

 

Court Funding (SB 2108):

In an effort to create greater efficiency for the court system, this bill consolidates the activities of judicial clerks by removing some of the duties from the clerks and transferring them to the judiciary.  In addition, this bill imposes a requirement on the clerks to undergo the same budgetary process that other state government entities are required to undergo.

 

Crash Tax Ban (SB 2282): 

Recently, local governments have proposed laws that would allow for the billing of motorists involved in accidents for any emergency response services required.  However, this bill bans any such legislation and prevents this additional burden on Florida consumers and business.

 

While several bills of great significance were passed, many remained unheard in either chamber.  For instance, a bill that would strengthen the standard for expert testimony in Florida courts did not make it to the floor of either chamber.  Since Florida is among a minority of states still following an out-dated standard for regulating expert testimony, this bill would have helped in preventing the unfair decisions resulting from Florida's current expert testimony standards.

On May 26, 2009 President Obama announced his nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice David Souter. Sonia Sotomayor currently sits as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She was appointed to this position by former President Bill Clinton. Prior that, she was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by George H.W. Bush.

 

Since Sotomayor has received prior judicial appointments from both parties, there was early speculation that she would receive the Presidential nomination for Supreme Court after Justice Souter's retirement was announced in April of 2009.

 

Sotomayor is a native of Bronx, New York and was a former constitutional law professor. She graduated summa cum laude from Princeton undergrad and was editor of the Law Journal while attending Yale School of Law. Prior to her judicial appointments she worked as a prosecutor and a corporate litigator for several years. Sotomayor's appointment to the Court would make her the first Justice to ever have trial court judge experience. She remains active in her community, winning numerous awards for her advocacy and educational efforts. Her peers describe her as a "tough, fair and intellectual" judge who is a perfect fit for the Supreme Court.

 

Sotomayor herself has stated that her place on the Court will bring a different view to the American Justice system. Sotomayor's appointment to the Supreme Court would be historic in that she would be the first Hispanic -American ever appointed. 

 

A group of mostly white firefighters sued the city of New Haven, Connecticut on the basis of reverse discrimination. The firefighters took a promotion exam. Two Latino and no African-American firefighters qualified for promotion based on the exam. Consequently, the city of New Haven threw out the exam results and issued no promotions. New Haven officials feared that if they honored the exam results, they could have been sued under racial equality legislation. Thus, some of the city's firefighters filed suit against the authorities to honor the results of the exam.

 

Judge Sonia Sotomayor heard the case on her federal appeals court with her colleagues last year and ruled that the white firefighters had not been unfairly denied promotions and that the city acted correctly. Sotomayor was part of a three-judge panel that ruled in February 2008 to uphold a lower court decision supporting New Haven's move to dismiss the results. Sotomayor is President Obama's Supreme Court nominee.

The Supreme Court overturned the appeals court ruling. Instead, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the firefighters had been unfairly discriminated against. Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his majority opinion, said, "Fear of litigation alone cannot justify an employer's reliance on race to the detriment of individuals who passed the examinations and qualified for promotions."

This case attracted attention as Ms. Sotomayor was one of the judges which sided with the city of New Haven. She is expected to be confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Legal analysts believe that some members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will want to ask her about her role in this case as well as her comments about ethnicity.