Aspiring lawyers may soon have more paths to a legal career.

In a 5-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court amended its rule making the American Bar Association (ABA) “the sole accrediting agency for law schools whose graduates are eligible to sit for this state’s General Bar Examination.”

The revision will “expand the accrediting agencies by which a law school may be approved or provisionally approved” to allow law school graduates to take the Bar.

The opinion, which follows the lead of Texas, was issued after Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier called for alternative accreditors, with the former taking issue with the ABA’s “progressive agenda” and the latter criticizing the organization as “woke” and accusing it of discriminating against Catholics.

“Mission accomplished,” exulted Jason Weida, Chief of Staff for the Governor.

The high court started a workgroup last year to explore alternatives to the ABA given its perceived political stances and “accreditation standards on racial and ethnic diversity in law schools,” with an eye toward trying to “reduce Florida’s near-exclusive reliance on the ABA while promoting greater flexibility and innovation in legal education.”

That study provided the framework for the rule revision.

“Based on its independent study and its consideration of the workgroup’s report, the Court is persuaded that it is not in Floridians’ best interest for the ABA to be the sole gatekeeper deciding which law schools’ graduates are eligible to sit for the state’s General Bar Examination and become licensed attorneys in Florida,” reads the opinion, which was led by Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, with Justices John Couriel, Jamie Grosshans, Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso concurring.

“Instead, the rule changes create the opportunity for additional entities to carry out an accrediting and gatekeeping function on behalf of the Court.”

The revised rule opens the door “to a programmatic accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education to accredit programs in legal education that lead to the first professional degree in law or an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education to accredit institutions of higher education, provided the institutional accrediting agency is also approved by the Court.”

In a dissent, Justice Jorge Labarga worried about “detrimental” consequences for “replacing an established entity with an unknown alternative.”

Miami-Dade Clerk Juan Fernandez-Barquin’s Office has approved a recall petition against Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, launching a 120-day signature-gathering window that could trigger her removal.

Levine Cava now faces a determined opposition effort as organizers race to collect nearly 66,000 signatures, representing 4% of the county’s more than 1.64 million registered voters, by the May 14 deadline.

Levine Cava, first elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024 with 58% of the vote, responded to the Clerk’s approval by calling the campaign “frivolous and politically-motivated,” but stressed it won’t change her focus at County Hall.

“Miami-Dade residents from every corner of our community have overwhelmingly entrusted me as their Mayor to lead and deliver results, and that’s exactly what I will continue to do,” she said in a statement.

“This political sideshow will not distract from the work we’re focused on every day: creating a future-ready Miami-Dade that is safer, more affordable, and more resilient. Our residents expect a Mayor who shows up, works hard, and delivers. That is where my full attention remains.”

The current push has been promoted by critics including Alex Otaola, a former mayoral candidate and conservative media personality, and organizers like Mercy Perez, who told NBC 6 last month that the county’s basic services are faltering.

“The potholes, every day they get bigger,” Perez told the outlet, complaining also of issues with flooding, breakdowns at Miami International Airport and poor conditions at the county’s animal shelters.

The recall effort has already hit procedural turbulence. In early December, elections officials said the Clerk could not accept a recall petition because the county needed to clarify responsibilities tied to the now-elected Supervisor of Elections — an issue the County Commission later addressed by approving a resolution aimed at clearing the path.

Fernandez-Barquin’s approval of the petition Thursday came after Supervisor of Elections Alina Garcia certified the size of the voter rolls.

If organizers reach the signature threshold, the county would move toward a rare, stand-alone recall vote asking whether Levine Cava should remain Mayor.

Miami-Dade last held a successful mayoral recall in 2011, when voters removed then-Mayor Carlos Alvarez amid controversy over public financing tied to the Marlins ballpark.

Alvarez is a Republican, as are Fernandez-Barquin and Garcia — both former state Representatives — and Otaola, who placed third in the 2024 mayoral race with 12% of the vote.

Levine Cava is a Democrat, Miami-Dade’s first woman Mayor and the first Jewish person to hold the job.

Florida’s First Couple continues to demonstrate a commitment to cancer research, helping to bring new technology to the state that can help those with the toughest forms of the disease.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and First Lady Casey DeSantis returned to Jacksonville to highlight new investments at the Duan Family Building at the Mayo Clinic. It’s part of $218 million appropriated last year, marking over a billion dollars since the Governor was elected, with more than $100 million going to Mayo alone.

“We are here today with the backdrop of all the heavy artillery you see for treating cancer to announce the next major step forward,” the Governor said.

“Mayo Clinic is now launching the technology for the first carbon ion therapy program anywhere in the United States of America. And in fact, it’ll be the only carbon ion therapy program in the entire Western Hemisphere. So this is newer technology. Japan has really embraced it. Mayo’s the first one in the United States.”

Roughly $30 million of state money went into this initiative, which the Governor said is the most advanced form of radiation treatment for cancers that don’t respond well to traditional radiation. He also said it’s a way to continue boosting the “upward trajectory of the medical community” in Florida.

DeSantis said proton and carbon-ion treatments would be available in 2027 and 2028, respectively, with the latter pending federal approval by the Food and Drug Administration. He said carbon-ion had been proven successful in Japan, and had benefits beyond the localized cancer itself.

“There’s a school of thought that it basically helps with your natural immunity or some of the other medications for other parts of your body that would potentially be subjected (to cancer risk),” DeSantis said.

Dr. Kent R. Thielen, Vice President of the Mayo Clinic, called this investment a “transformative moment in the future of family care,” with the most technologically advanced treatment modality anywhere. Carbon-ion treatment particularly helps patients and cancers resistant to proton therapy, he said, as the former is 12 times heavier than the latter and therefore can be more medically effective than proton therapy alone.

Adults and children could be treated in the coming years, Thielen added.

Casey DeSantis said this was a “huge deal” for Florida and well beyond. A cancer survivor who has ongoing effects from radiation therapy herself, she expressed hope that the new technology would improve the quality of life of those who beat the dreaded disease.