How to Find out Why a Lawyer Was Disbarred From the Florida Bar Association
- 1). Determine the full name and address of the attorney in question. The Florida Bar maintains an online directory of every attorney that is licensed to practice law in Florida. By searching this directory you can obtain the full name, the license number, and the address of the attorney in question. If the disbarment occurred on or after the date of August 1, 2007 a link to the disciplinary case file will be found in the lawyer directory. A link to this online directory can be found in the Resources section.
- 2). If the discipline occurred between August 1, 2007 and 1999, then you will need to research the records of the Florida Supreme Court to obtain the case number. The Florida Supreme Court maintains a description of official court records from 1999 to the present on their online docket search system. You simply visit the online docket search, enter the attorney-in-question's name, and find a link to the docket of the disciplinary case in question. Once you have reached the correct docket, write down or print out the supreme court case number and the date it was issued. Find a link to Florida Supreme Court's online docket search below.
- 3). Once you have found the docket information, the case number, and the date it was issued, then search the website for the opinion of the court. Unfortunately, the Florida Supreme Court maintains their opinions in this area by issue date. Therefore it is not possible to search by either case number or by party name. Use the issue date to scroll through the opinions until you find the correct one. The reasons why the attorney was disbarred in the State of Florida should be fully explained by the court's opinion.