Zone of Risk

In the debut episode of Zone of Risk, trial attorneys Joni Mosely and Spencer Charif dive headfirst into three courtroom sagas you have to hear to believe.

The Karen Read retrial: a high-profile case featuring discredited expert witnesses, alleged police cover-ups, and a prosecution theory torn apart by its own evidence.

The Diddy/Cassie case: and why the defense’s strategy to flip blame on the victim could actually work.

And a case f...

Melanie Kalmanson, a partner at Quarlers & Brady, joined Robert to discuss a new Florida statute that requires judges to impose a sentence of death if an "unauthorized alien" commits a capital offense. Melanie and Robert examine potential constitutional issues the law faces under current Supreme Court precedent and how the law will be challenging for trial courts to implement.  

921.1426 Sentence of death for capital o...

On February 6, Robert debated Judge Adam Tanenbaum (First DCA) about whether the prior-panel rule applies in the DCAs. The rule requires 3-judge appellate panels to follow prior-panel precedent unless the court overrules the prior precedent en banc or the precedent has been overruled by the Florida Supreme Court. 

Robert is a proponent of the rule, which he argues flows from Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.331 (the en banc rul...

Aliza Shatzman joined Robert on this episode. Aliza is the President and Founder of the Legal Accountability Project. The Project’s mission is to "ensure law clerks have positive clerkship experiences, while extending support and resources to those who do not." Aliza shared her experience as a law clerk and explained the Project’s great resources for future law clerks. She and Robert also discussed the kerfuffle at a rece...

Lindsey, Joni, and Robert rundown several appellate opinions from October 2024.

Contact to get on the Guardian ad Litem pro bono mailing list: Samuel Alexander samuel@alexanderappeals.com.

• In re: Amends. to R. Regulating Fla. Bar 6-10.3, FSC (CLE credit for pro bono hours).
• McLane Foodservice Inc., v. Wool, 3d DCA (punitive damages).
• BAM Trading Servs., Inc. v. Florida, Off. Fin. Regul., 1st DCA (en banc) (prior panel rul...

Joni and Robert were joined by Florida Bar President Roland Sanchez-Medina, Jr. They discussed President Sanchez-Medina's path to the law, his vision for the Bar, and what he is doing to make the practice of law "kinder and gentler." 

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This podcast is supported by Stafi. Stafi provides trained, vetted, and experienced virtual legal assistants and paralegals who will take routine ta...

On November 11, 2024, the Miami Herald reported, "Miami Judge's Venomous Texts Come Back to Bite her in Crumbling Death Penalty Case." The article leads of: "An appellate judge at the center of one of Miami’s biggest criminal cases is facing intense scrutiny after text messages were released showing her pressuring Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle about how to handle the case, denigrating defe...

Jennifer Opinion is leaving the podcast (hopefully not forever) to attend to family matters. Before she signs off, she shares her expertise about PIP and insurance law. She and Robert discusses several DCA opinions from August, September, and October.

We thank Jen for her commitment to the podcast and to the members of the Florida Bar.

Progressive Select Ins. Co. v. Hilchey, 2d DCA (jurisdiction to decide dec act...

Professor Harold Krent joined Robert to discuss major cases at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Garland v. VanDerStok, (ghost guns) (oral argument).
E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, (burden of proof in FLSA litigation).
Ames v. Ohio Dep't of Youth Servs., ("majority" plaintiffs burden of proof under Title VII).
United States v. Skrmetti, (medical treatment for transgender children).

Thank You Spon...

Robert, Lindsey, and Joni recap several recent DCA opinions.

Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp. v. Walden, 3DCA (first impression, presuit under section 627.70125, certiorari).
State v. Myers, 3DCA (Miranda).
Pacheco v. Jinete, 3d DCA (residency requirement for elected office). 
Beans v. Beans, 1st DCA (modification to alimony).
Julia v. Ramos-Baez, 6DCA (attorneys’ fees under 61.16) (creating split among DCAs).

Adam Unikowsky is a Partner at Jenner & Block. He is at the forefront of thinking about the use of AI in the law. Adam is a graduate of MIT and Harvard Law. He focuses on appellate and Supreme Court practice in the areas of securities litigation, Indian law, patents, civil procedure, and constitutional law.

Check out Adam's substack articles on AI: In AI we Trust (Part 1) & In AI we Trust (Part 2).

Sn...

Jennifer joined Robert to run throw opinions from June and July. 

• Health and Wellness Evolution Co. V. Infinity Auto Ins. Co., 3d DCA (EUO; hearsay).
• Crown Asset Mgmt., LLC v. Bribiesca, 3d DCA (small-claims rules).
• Sch. Bd. of Broward Cnty., FL. v. State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Co., 4th DCA (reimbursement under section 627.7405).
• Auto Club Ins. Co. of FL. v. Express Care of Belleview, LLC (Eileen Fonti), 5th DCA; Auto Club Ins. Co. ...

Professor Harold Krent of the Chicago-Kent College of Law sat down with Robert to discuss the Court's decisions in United States v. Rahimi and Garland v. Cargill.

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This podcast is supported by Stafi. Stafi provides trained, vetted, and experienced virtual legal assistants and paralegals who will take routine tasks off your plate so you can focus on growing your firm and maximizing revenue. S...

Robert and Lindsey recap opinions from the DCAs, the Florida Supreme Court, and the 11th Circuit.

• In re: Amends. to Fla. R. Civ. P 1.110.
• In re: Amends. to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.200, 1.201, 1.280, 1.440, & 1.460.
• In re: Amends to Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.510 and New Rule 1.202.
• In re: Amends. to Fla. R. App. P. 9.130.
• BAM Trading Servs., Inc. v. Florida Off. of Fin. Regul., 1st DCA (intra-district conflict); see also A Not-So-Little Proble...

Robert sat down with Erin Chlopak, Senior Director of Campaign Finance at the Campaign Legal Center, to set the record straight about whether Vice President Harris will be able to use funds raised by the Biden/Harris campaign. Erin also explains why republican threats to sue to prevent VP Harris from using the funds are ill-conceived.

Before joining CLC, Erin spent nearly a decade working on a wide range of campaign finan...

Robert discussed three important Supreme Court opinions handed down in late June and early July with administrative law experts Professor Harold Krent of the Chicago Kent College of Law, and Professor Lisa Heinzerling, the Justice William J. Brennen Jr. Professor of Law at Georgetown Law.

Hal and Lisa explain how Loper Bright v. Raimondo, SEC v. Jarkesy, and Corner Post v. Board of Governs are likely to change the practic...

Co-host Jennifer Opiola joined Robert to review recent PIP and insurance law opinions issued by the Florida DCAs.

• Allstate Ins. Co. v. Revival Chiropractic, LLC., FSC (PIP fee schedule); see also Progressive American Ins. Co., v. Express Care of Belleview, 5th DCA). 
• Finell v. Florida Ins. Guar. Ass'n, Inc., 4th DCA (EUOs).
• HCA Health Servs. of Fla., Inc. v. Jo Ann Berlin, M.D., 4th DCA (jurisdiction; fee hearings).
• Lassiter v...

This is a special edition to explore the Supreme Court's opinion in Trump v. United States, the presidential immunity case. The Supreme Court granted former presidents absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his "conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority," and presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. The devil is in the details.

I spoke with Professor Harold Kren...