Lawson Lamar .com

DISCLAIMER:  THIS IS A POLITICAL WEB SITE TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC REGARDING OPINIONS ABOUT  LAWSON LAMAR. IT IS NOT THE PERSONAL HOME PAGE OF LAWSON LAMAR, STATE ATTORNEY FOR THE NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF FLORIDA

LAWSON AND THE PRESS

A sampling of Orlando Sentinel articles going back to 1989 when Lawson first took office as State Attorney after having served two terms as Sheriff of Orange County:

- Lamar left his critics frustrated, public liked sheriff by Bob Levenson (1/1/89, page B-1).  Behind the public image is a different Lamar, say about 20 top department administrators, current and former deputies, and colleagues in other police departments÷he is loyal to no one but himself and does nothing without weighing political consequences/often demanding that his closest associates shield him from negative publicity by accepting blame for anything that goes wrong."   The article also reported on how, as State Attorney, Lamar intended to concentrate on prosecuting water and land polluters. Strange, in light of the downtown TCE dumping/thats the same carcinogenic chemical portrayed in the movie, A Civil Action with John Travolta (see the Orlando Business Journal article by Melissa Kendall dated September 29, 1995: TCE cleanup plan may be challenged)/that Lamar took no action in prosecuting the Orlando Sentinel which dumped the chemical. Cleanup cost is estimated to be in excess of $4 million.  The City of Orlando is paying for part of the cleanup cost.

- Prosecutor suspends paralegal for lagging by Bob Levenson, 11/13/93, B-3. Warning signs were already there that workers were being overburdened with work. First, 500 misdemeanor cases turned up missing.  In January, 1995, Lindamood reported by email to my supervisors that there were 349 felony cases that were missing from the office and a backlog of 1100 un-reviewed felony non-arrest cases that had sat for months.

- Paralegals suit says firing was retaliation by Debbie Salamone, 7/5/96, page B-3.  A different paralegal from the above was fired after she had filed an EEOC complaint.  This case was settled out of court for $50,000 of taxpayers money.

(This is a different paralegal from the article above.)

  • "Badge has advantages for parking scofflaw," by Mark Schlueb, 12/21/2001, page C-1."If you're not going to pay your parking tickets, it helps to have a badge...when Parking Bureau officials learned Vose works for the State Attorney's Office, they waived the late and boot fees. Vose paid $65 for the three tickets--two from February and one from April--but saved another $145...An anonymous complaint of favorable treatment for Vose was sent to city auditors."

  • "Eatonville official sees case dropped, " by Kelly Brewington, 2/12/2002, page B-1." An Orange circuit judge Monday night tossed out the case against an Eatonville recreation director accused of molesting a 12-year-old boy in the city's swimming pool because prosecutors failed to file evidence on time...A victims advocate said the State Attorney's office failed in its handling of the case."

  • "Man no longer a suspect in friend's death," by Susan Clary, 2/28/2002, page D-1. "Defense attorney Don West, who represented Kurpiewski during the two years he pondered the possibility of life in prison, said his client paid a hefty price. In addition to the jail time, he lost $10,000 to the bail bondsman. He also paid $5 a day to Orange County for his home confinement for 14 months. During that time he was only permitted to travel to work, his attorney's office, church and the doctor." Kurpiewski testified against co-defendant Borland, who was convicted of the shooting and sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors sought to use Borland's testimony against Kurpiewski. "Records show Borland changed his testimony several times."

  • "Despite his ordeal, lawyers contend system worked," by Susan Clary, 3/1/2001, page B-3. "Prosecutors who dropped murder charges against Michael Kurpiewski III on Wednesday, the day his trial was to begin, blame scheduling conflicts and a burdensome process for the man's nearly two years in jail and on home confinement." "I've been pretty upset and angry about how this case was handled from the beginning, but obviously I am thrilled the charge has been dropped," West said. "This case never should have been pursued as a murder case."